Mrs. Saint and the Defectives: A Novel by Julie Lawson Timmer

Author:Julie Lawson Timmer [Timmer, Julie Lawson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781477819968
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Published: 2017-08-01T07:00:00+00:00

As it turned out, an hour-long stroll was not enough to tire Angel for the day, and before she finished her first file, Markie knew there was no way she would be able to work with all the fussing going on in the other room. By ten, she had been through half a bag of dog treats in an effort to bribe the animal into being quiet. She had stuck all of Angel’s toys through the metal bars, had reached in to pet her, and out of sheer desperation, had even sung to her.

Nothing worked, and Angel had gone from whining to crying to barking and, finally, howling. The windows were open, and Markie couldn’t help hoping the noise was disturbing Mrs. Saint, too. She was tempted to let the dog get louder to teach her neighbor a lesson. But she couldn’t afford another two-file day like Tuesday, so she clipped Angel’s leash on, opened the back door, and let the overly energetic animal drag them both to the tie-out.

“You have a time-out, young lady,” she growled as she switched the leash for the tie-out clip and stomped away.

She heard Bruce’s voice as she reached the door. “Sounds like someone’s not behaving well.”

“She needs way more exercise than we thought,” Markie told him. “And Jesse is physically incapable of getting up early enough to make that happen. I haven’t gotten a minute of work done since Monday. I don’t think Mrs. Saint realized how high maintenance she’d be. This breed is . . . something else.”

“Oh, she knows her dog breeds,” Bruce said, glancing at the dog, who was busy digging a deep hole in the middle of the yard. “I’ll take care of that hole later. And hey, I bet Patty could walk her sometimes. She could go way longer than an hour since she ain’t in no rush for school or nothing in the mornings. She’s fast, too. Got those long legs. Probably make a big difference.” He turned to Mrs. Saint’s house. “You want me to get her out here to talk about it? She could start today, I bet.”

For Markie, the notion of even more traffic over the fence was worse than the thought that Angel might keep her from ever reviewing another file. It made her chest tighten to think of it, and in her anxiety, her next words came out snappish.

“I thought she had a job,” she said.

She heard the irritation in her voice and was appalled at her own rudeness. Bruce wasn’t responsible for any of this. He didn’t appear offended, though, and Markie considered the fact that he seemed not to read social cues very well. Maybe his mess-ups on the job were more about not hearing the subtleties in communication than they were about not being a capable gardener.

But he deserved no less respect because he wasn’t easily offended. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’ve just had it with this today.” His expression showed he still didn’t follow, so she moved on. “Anyway,” she said, “I can’t afford a dog walker on top of her food and .

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