St. Helena Vineyard Series: Hearts in St. Helena (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Grace Conley

Author:Grace Conley [Conley, Grace]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kindle Worlds
Published: 2017-11-13T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Four

The next morning, Nick woke up with a paw to the spleen as Magnum the dog pranced across his abdomen to signal his need to go out to do his dogly duties.

“Yip!” said the little dog.

“Nope!” answered Nick, rolling over to pull the blanket over his head and catch another ten minutes of shut-eye, only to be rewarded with a doggie jujitsu leap to his lower back.

He squeezed both eyes shut hard at the idea of being gotten up this early on a Saturday, then remembered that this was the morning he’d promised Emme he’d help out with the St. Paw’s parade float build-out.

With a sigh he swiveled out of bed, tucking Magnum under his arm like a football. He padded carefully over the cold terra-cotta tiles to the living room of the tiny cottage that on the DeLuca Estate that was the housing that came with his internship and looked out the window to verify the decorative white picket fencing would actually keep a Westie inside it. Satisfied, he let Magnus out the back door to the small fenced-in patio.

“Knock yourself out, man,” he said to the little dog, mentally noting that he might need to buy Great Aunt Chi Chi a new rose bush.

After a quick shower and throwing on jeans and a sweatshirt, he loaded Magnum into his doggie carrier and drove over to the storage warehouse over on the other side of St. Helena, where the Operation Deck That Float was in full swing.

He noticed a set of three holiday bedazzled elderly ladies directing their way-too-overdressed-for-float-building granddaughters on another float, and quickly steered Magnum’s leash in the opposite direction.

He had to smile as he caught sight of Emme, looking hot in a tight black t-shirt that said “Pit Happens” with a cute cartoon of a bull terrier puppy. She held a clipboard and was directing volunteer traffic, pointing two smitten-looking guys that Nick didn’t like the looks of to large buckets of floral material and craft supplies.

Then she looked up and beamed at him, then her lips turned up in a sarcastic grin. Which meant he’d gotten caught looking at her headlights.

“This is Rose Parade-worthy,” he said as Emme set her clipboard aside and led him to a folding table where she filled up a large coffee for him and and pointed out a tray of chocolate breakfast éclairs from the Sweet and Savory Bistro.

“Here, I’ll trade you,” she said, handing him the coffee cup and taking Magnum’s leash. She cuddled the little dog before popping him inside a small fenced-in area, “not safe for you in this big warehouse, buddy, you’re gonna need to stay cooped up.”

“I didn’t want to leave him at home,” said Nick. “He started barking every time I tried to leave. Figured he’d rather come chew on a float, anyway.”

Emme grinned. “He’s fine in there, and he’s safer with all the trucks and supplies going in and out of here. He just wants to know he’s near his people.”

“Come on!” she said brightly.

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