Sit, Stay, Love by Debbie Burns

Author:Debbie Burns
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2018-01-31T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

It was sunny, bright, and predicted to be a perfect late-September Sunday. Kelsey wasn’t surprised to find the streets of Webster Groves bustling with activity as she and Kurt neared the shelter. He’d driven the Mustang, commenting that he’d had more opportunities to get behind the wheel in the service than he had in the last week.

He paused on the street outside the shelter parking lot, waiting to make a left turn into it. The shelter wasn’t far from the town center, close to dozens of houses with perfectly manicured lawns, but also within walking distance of a number of shops, restaurants, and a park. It wasn’t uncommon, especially on nice, weekend days, for the tree-lined street out front to be lined with cars.

But this morning, that area was an unparalleled bustle of commotion. People were everywhere. Wondering if a Webster Groves fall event had missed her radar, Kelsey took in the crowds while Kurt waited for a young couple to cross the street so he could pull into the nearly full parking lot.

Kelsey gripped the door handle as she looked around. They couldn’t all be protesters, could they? She’d texted Megan earlier, asking if they’d shown up today, and Megan had replied that they had, but not to worry. Everything was under control.

Kelsey scanned the individual groups of people until she spotted the core group who’d protested in front of the Sabrina Raven estate for a few days. They were here, and their group had multiplied. Kelsey estimated there were close to thirty now. With their camping chairs and rolling coolers, they were making themselves at home on the sidewalk under the tall trees. At least they seemed to be keeping off shelter property.

However, this didn’t explain the bustle of commotion flowing out from the shelter. Two parking spaces immediately outside the main doors had been roped off, and people Kelsey had never seen before were covering a U-shaped row of folding tables with purple tablecloths. Another man was dumping a giant bag of charcoal into a portable grill.

“Looks like someone’s having a party,” Kurt said, pulling in and parking in an empty spot at the back of the lot.

“I saw Megan yesterday morning. She didn’t say anything about this.”

“From the looks of it, it’s coming together as we speak.” As they got out of the car, Kurt motioned toward two teen girls. They were huddled on the walkway near the main doors, making posters with poster board and marker. Ten feet away, a woman was dumping bags of ice into two large coolers. Two preteen boys were attempting to tie purple and green balloons to the concrete dog statue that stood alongside the big pots near the entryway. They didn’t seem to be making much progress because they kept pausing to bonk each other on the head.

“It’s like parade day,” Kelsey said, shaking her head. “But that’s in April.”

Bypassing the strangers, Kelsey hurried inside, determined to go directly to the source. Megan was behind the counter talking to Patrick and dabbing at her nose with a Kleenex.

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