1. An Embarrassing Situation

1

AN EMBARRASSING SITUATION

T en Years Later

"Nine-one-one, what's your emergency?"

"I'm not sure this is an emergency, but I didn't know who else to call," Kelsey Raymond said.

She was on her hands and knees in her backyard on her lunch hour and looking under her deck as best as she could with a flashlight.

Her heart was racing, her palms were sweating and clinging to the grass while she was trying not to curse and swear at the same time.

"Why don't you tell me what is going on and we'll figure it out," the nice calm male voice said.

"Mr. Franklin is stuck under my deck," she said in a panic when a loud whine echoed under it.

"Sounds like an emergency to me," the man said. "What's your location?" She read off her address to him. "I'll dispatch fire and police."

Oh shit! This was turning into an embarrassing situation. It'd be her luck a family member would show up.

"No need to bring in the cavalry," she said. Another whine came out. "Oh, he's crying. Mr. Franklin, I'm sorry. But you shouldn't have run through that hole."

What the hell was wrong with her to not think about patching that up?

"He ran through a hole?" the man said. "Is he hurt? Can you see him?"

"I don't think he's hurt," she said. "I can't see him." She knew her breathing was more rapid than normal. Her parents and brother told her she wouldn't be able to handle this. It was all the more reason to prove them wrong.

Except they weren't all that wrong.

"Try to relax. What's your name?" the man asked. "Help is on the way."

She'd been hearing typing and was put on hold for a brief second. Now she was starting to panic the more whimpering that came through the cracks.

"Kelsey," she said. "My name is Kelsey."

"Okay, Kelsey. Tell me what happened. I'd like to get as much information as I can."

She was trying to rewind it in her mind, but she really couldn't.

"We were outside playing and then something caught his eye and he went right for the deck. Before I could figure out what he might do, he was crawling under it."

"Playing?" the male asked. "Is Mr. Franklin a child?"

There was more typing to that and she could imagine he was passing on all the information to the police and fire or whoever was on the way.

"What?" she asked. "No. Mr. Franklin is my puppy. Sorry. I should have said that. I told you I didn't think it was an emergency, but it's not like I can fit under the deck myself to get him."

"A puppy?" the man asked.

"Yes," she said. "This is embarrassing, but I guess it's no different than a cat in a tree. But I can't fit under the deck so not sure how any man is going to."

Her voice rose. She would have called her brother, but he was working and Duke would never fit. He'd just start pulling the wood siding off to get there.

Maybe that was what she should have done. But she didn't want to scare the puppy any more than it was either.

"When there is a will there is a way," the man said. "Have you tried coaxing him out with a toy or a favorite treat?"

Why the hell hadn't she thought of that?

"No," she said. "Good idea. But then I have to leave him and if I leave to go get something, he might sneak out and I could lose him in the yard."

"But he was loose to get under there?" the man asked.

"Yes. My yard is fenced in." She knew she wasn't making sense. "But there are trees and bushes. What if he comes out and hides in a bush next?"

"He'll be found if that is the case. Do you have a toy in the yard? You said you were playing."

"Oh," she said. "Yes, there is a ball that squeaks. I just came home for lunch so he could go out and expend some energy."

She jumped up and ran to where she'd thrown the ball last. She liked to get some excess energy out of him before she brought him to the office. If she was out running around or in meetings, she kept the puppy home, but she'd be in the office all afternoon today.

She was jogging around the yard barefoot since she'd kicked her shoes off once her mischievous pup took off on her.

What she hadn't expected to do was step in something warm and squishy and then slip and right herself.

She swore loudly. "Are you okay?" the male voice asked.

"Yes," she said. "I just slipped in his most recent deposit on my lawn. I wasn't thinking." She was good about picking it up as it occurred, but everything was happening so fast that she didn't stop to get the shovel.

It's not like she thought the pup would dash under her damn deck.

There was silence on the other end and the typing stopped. "I'll omit that part from the report."

"Thank you for that," she said drily.

"Help is two minutes out," he said.

"Great," she said. "I've got the toy." She dashed back to the opening in the deck making sure she sidestepped the pile of shit she'd stepped in moments ago and tried not to gag that every step pushed more stink between her toes.

She was squeaking the ball as she ran so she was positive the guy on the other end could figure that out himself.

"Good," the man said. "Now just calmly call his name while you squeeze it. If you're in a panic he will be too. Dogs can sense that."

"So I'm learning," she mumbled. "Mr. Franklin. Come get your toy. That's it, come get it." She kept repeating the same thing again and again as calmly as she could, but it wasn't working. "Mr. Franklin!"

"Yelling won't help," the man said. "Keep trying to engage in a playful voice."

She knew her face turned bright red. She felt the heat of it. Who was this guy? "I wasn't snapping at him," she said. "I was swearing. You wouldn't understand."

There was more silence on the other end. "You're doing well, Kelsey. Not much longer. Help is rounding the corner now."

"At least they don't have their sirens on," she said. It was the last thing she needed. Not that she was positive any of her neighbors were home, but the fewer witnesses to this the better.

"No," the man said. "No reason to scare your pup anymore than he is."

"But it's okay to scare me," she said. She was still squeaking the toy and calling her dog, but it wasn't helping.

"Help should be on the scene now. Do you hear anyone?"

"Yes," she said. "I hear voices over a radio and a car door. We'll be good now. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Kelsey. Hope your pup is okay."

"Me too," she said and hung up the phone only to turn and see her cousin Alex Bond standing there grinning at her while she was on her hands and knees in a skirt. Alex's eyes dropped to her shit-covered bare foot and then back to her face.

"Looks like the pup is getting the better of you," Alex said.

"Figured you'd be here first," she said.

"I was the closest," Alex said. "I heard the address come over the radio. Once I realized it was a puppy and his name, I knew who it had to be."

"Very funny," she said. "Is anyone else coming to witness my calamity of errors?"

"Just me for the moment," Alex said. "If we can't get him out, then I'll see if I can get Carter here. We know he's good with dogs. If he brings Dopey or Doc, maybe Mr. Franklin will want to come out and play. Otherwise, I'll bring the fire trucks in and we'll start pulling the deck out a few boards at a time."

Carter Bond was Alex's first cousin who owned a garage on the island. Alex worked there on his off days. Carter was not only known for his two St. Bernard dogs that stayed at the garage daily but also was married to the island vet.

Maybe Kelsey had it in her mind she could have a companion like that too.

One to bring to work and then keep her company at night.

It's not like she was having any luck looking for another male species.

"Frankie," she said. "We can call him that now that I'm calming down and know I'm not alone."

Alex laughed even harder. "Good lord, Kelsey." Alex grabbed the ball and got down on his knees. His black dress pants in his captain's uniform were going to get dirty, but she supposed that was part of the job.

Alex squeaked the ball a few times and called out.

"I'll go get some treats. Maybe that will help."

"Sure," Alex said. "You might want to wipe your foot off before you walk in the house."

She walked to the grass and wiped off as much as she could and held in the gag as she envisioned it going under her toenails.

The hose was close by so she turned it on and started to rinse her foot off. Her puppy must have seen the water from where he was holed up and the next thing she knew Frankie was darting out and over to the hose and licking the water.

She dropped the hose and picked up her little fugitive. "You were a bad boy, Mr. Franklin."

"What happened to Frankie?" Alex asked.

"Right now he's Mr. Franklin." She was hugging the puppy to her chest, feeling the silky fur against her face, all the while checking him over for any injuries.

"Are we good now?" Alex asked.

"Yes," she said. "I don't see any issues here other than my baby is a mess. He needs to at least be wiped down. I don't have time to bathe him." The signature long soft ears of her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel were coated in dust and cobwebs. There might be bugs on him too. She held him at arm's length when that popped into her head.

"Then I'll return to the inspection I was doing."

"Thanks, Alex. I don't suppose we can keep this to ourselves?"

Alex laughed even harder. "Considering it's on public record, nope. Besides, I'm positive you're going to be telling it to people anyway. Need to explain your wardrobe change returning to work."

She looked down and saw the grass and dirt on her skirt. Her shirt was untucked and wrinkled on top of it.

There might be dirt on her peach shirt too.

"You're right," she said. "I guess now that I'm calmed down and Frankie is safe, it is funny."

"Sure made my day," Alex said. "When I'm done with the inspection, I'll cover up that hole for you. I've got some scraps of wood at the house and can just temporarily nail it in place until he's bigger."

"Thanks, Alex. I owe you one." And this would save her from having to do it herself or asking someone to do it for her.

Her cousin left after that. She and her pup went into the house. She set him down and he ran for his bowl. Poor pup was probably hot under the deck and now was draining the water as fast as he could.

She went to her room on the first floor of her house. Frankie couldn't get up the stairs as she had it blocked off by a gate. She didn't go up there much either but no reason to have the newest addition to her house making a mess since he liked to explore.

When she was coming out of her room in a blue shirt and another black skirt that was close enough she hoped no one noticed the change, she found the dog still drinking water. At least Frankie was occupied enough that she could wash her foot off better in the bathroom connected to her room.

Next, she wet a washcloth and gave her dog a quick little wipe down, then made a sandwich, ate it while she walked outside to get her shoes and carefully looked on the ground.

After her sandwich was done, she gathered her pup, put his collar on him and clipped the leash, then left to return to the office.

Frankie was always a big hit when she brought him in. Maybe she should just do it every day at this point and someone would watch him while she was out.

She just didn't want to have to ask her staff to babysit and shouldn't have to.

She had no one to blame but herself for this mishap.

"There is the little guy," Kara said when she set the puppy down. Frankie went running to her receptionist, his long copper-colored ears blowing in the wind like a model in front of a fan. No dust or cobwebs in sight. "He's just so stinking cute."

"Yeah," she all but snarled. "Cute."

"Oh no," Kara said. "What happened? You changed your shirt."

Alex was right. She was going to tell everyone what happened because it was too funny not to.

"Well," she said. "There was this small hole on the side of my deck..."