Read Online Putting on the Dog by Cynthia Baxter - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Cynthia Baxter
Ads: Link
glasses slipping down the bridge of her nose again. She stopped scratching Max’s belly long enough to push them back into place. “It’s okay, I guess. I like the school part. But it’s not like I have tons of friends or anything.”
“Personally, I’ve never found that having tons of friends mattered. Having one or two really good ones always seemed a lot better.”
She brightened. “Yeah, you’re right. Hey, maybe you and I could be friends! I don’t know a lot of people out here.”
“Haven’t you met other kids out here over the years?”
“This is the first summer I’ve spent on the East End. I usually go to summer camp. Or else one of those travel programs where you spend the summer biking around Italy or kayaking on the Colorado River.”
“Wow! Lucky you!”
“I guess. Except the only reason my parents send me is to get rid of me.”
“I doubt that!”
“You don’t know my parents.” She puckered up her face into a sour expression. “I’m kind of a disappointment to them.”
“Oh, Emily! I hope you don’t really believe that!”
Another shrug. “It’s true. The only reason I’m here this summer is that my father decided it was time to start turning me into somebody who fit into his world.” She grimaced. “You know, the whole scene out here.”
“What about your world?” I asked in a gentle voice. “What matters to you?”
“I think I’d like to work with animals, like you,” she answered shyly. “They’re so...honest. They always let you know exactly what they’re thinking, you know?”
Lou chose that moment to lift his leg on the giant tick.
I moaned. “Sometimes I wish they’d try just a little harder not to!”
Emily giggled. I felt oddly pleased.
“So these dogs who are in dog shows like this... they’re probably nervous wrecks, right? They must get all kinds of special diseases and things.”
“Actually, the opposite is true,” I told her. “Most show dogs adore the attention. They love all the time they get to spend with their owners and their trainers. Then there’s the excitement of the actual event. If you watch them, you can see they have a pretty good sense of what’s going on, and they really get into it. Of course, their owners also take very good care of them, making sure they’re inoculated and taking them for regular check-ups. All in all, they’re a pretty healthy, well-adjusted bunch.”
“That’s a relief,” Emily said. “I’d hate to think that all these sweet doggies—”
“Jessie!” I glanced up and saw Kara Liebling trotting toward me, her silky blonde hair framing her face and giving her the look of an angel. She was even dressed all in white so that she matched the meticulously groomed borzoi beside her.
“Good morning!” she greeted me when she reached the booth. “How lovely to see you again!”
“Nice to see you, too, Kara. And who’s this lovely creature?”
I reached down to stroke the graceful white animal. Even though she probably weighed in at seventy-five pounds and stood almost to my hip, the leggy hound with the long, silky coat was surprisingly dainty.
A good choice for Kara, I decided. They both have the same aura of elegance.
“Just look at this beautiful animal!” I turned my head toward Emily, who was standing a couple of feet behind me.
She gave a little shrug, twisting her face into a disagreeable expression. She stubbornly continued to pet Lou’s head, as if demonstrating that her affections were not easily swayed.
Even so, Kara brightened. “Hello, Emily. I didn’t realize that was you!”
“It’s me,” she said meekly.
“Do you two know each other?” I asked, genuinely surprised.
“Everybody knows Emily Bolger!” Kara said a little too heartily.
Bolger, Bolger...of course! Russell Bolger, the movie executive on whose estate the opening-night gala had taken place. So he was her father, the man she was so certain was disappointed in her. Given the glimpse I’d had of
“Personally, I’ve never found that having tons of friends mattered. Having one or two really good ones always seemed a lot better.”
She brightened. “Yeah, you’re right. Hey, maybe you and I could be friends! I don’t know a lot of people out here.”
“Haven’t you met other kids out here over the years?”
“This is the first summer I’ve spent on the East End. I usually go to summer camp. Or else one of those travel programs where you spend the summer biking around Italy or kayaking on the Colorado River.”
“Wow! Lucky you!”
“I guess. Except the only reason my parents send me is to get rid of me.”
“I doubt that!”
“You don’t know my parents.” She puckered up her face into a sour expression. “I’m kind of a disappointment to them.”
“Oh, Emily! I hope you don’t really believe that!”
Another shrug. “It’s true. The only reason I’m here this summer is that my father decided it was time to start turning me into somebody who fit into his world.” She grimaced. “You know, the whole scene out here.”
“What about your world?” I asked in a gentle voice. “What matters to you?”
“I think I’d like to work with animals, like you,” she answered shyly. “They’re so...honest. They always let you know exactly what they’re thinking, you know?”
Lou chose that moment to lift his leg on the giant tick.
I moaned. “Sometimes I wish they’d try just a little harder not to!”
Emily giggled. I felt oddly pleased.
“So these dogs who are in dog shows like this... they’re probably nervous wrecks, right? They must get all kinds of special diseases and things.”
“Actually, the opposite is true,” I told her. “Most show dogs adore the attention. They love all the time they get to spend with their owners and their trainers. Then there’s the excitement of the actual event. If you watch them, you can see they have a pretty good sense of what’s going on, and they really get into it. Of course, their owners also take very good care of them, making sure they’re inoculated and taking them for regular check-ups. All in all, they’re a pretty healthy, well-adjusted bunch.”
“That’s a relief,” Emily said. “I’d hate to think that all these sweet doggies—”
“Jessie!” I glanced up and saw Kara Liebling trotting toward me, her silky blonde hair framing her face and giving her the look of an angel. She was even dressed all in white so that she matched the meticulously groomed borzoi beside her.
“Good morning!” she greeted me when she reached the booth. “How lovely to see you again!”
“Nice to see you, too, Kara. And who’s this lovely creature?”
I reached down to stroke the graceful white animal. Even though she probably weighed in at seventy-five pounds and stood almost to my hip, the leggy hound with the long, silky coat was surprisingly dainty.
A good choice for Kara, I decided. They both have the same aura of elegance.
“Just look at this beautiful animal!” I turned my head toward Emily, who was standing a couple of feet behind me.
She gave a little shrug, twisting her face into a disagreeable expression. She stubbornly continued to pet Lou’s head, as if demonstrating that her affections were not easily swayed.
Even so, Kara brightened. “Hello, Emily. I didn’t realize that was you!”
“It’s me,” she said meekly.
“Do you two know each other?” I asked, genuinely surprised.
“Everybody knows Emily Bolger!” Kara said a little too heartily.
Bolger, Bolger...of course! Russell Bolger, the movie executive on whose estate the opening-night gala had taken place. So he was her father, the man she was so certain was disappointed in her. Given the glimpse I’d had of
Similar Books
