1022 Evergreen Place - Debbie Macomber [24]
Grace nodded sympathetically. “She moved into the area a few years back. She’s a divorced mother of two and a dog trainer by profession. She already had three dogs of her own and then adopted the others…and it sort of grew from there.”
Grace had met Beth while working as a volunteer at the animal shelter. When she discovered Beth had therapy dogs, it seemed natural to use them in the Reading with Rover program. Grace had first spoken to Beth in early winter, and the other woman had immediately caught her vision and agreed to help.
“I’m excited about it,” Grace said. Not only did she love bringing new programs into the library, but this one had felt right from the moment she’d heard of it. Now, after months of planning, she was about to see it come to fruition.
“I know it’s going to go well,” Olivia said with unwavering confidence.
“I hope you’re right.”
“Do I detect a note of hesitation?” Olivia asked.
Having been friends all these years, Olivia knew her better than anyone, even Cliff. “Not hesitation, exactly. I’m a bit concerned about the two high school volunteers.”
The waitress brought their meals and they both started to eat.
“One is Tanni Bliss and the other is Kristen Jamey,” Grace said after a spoonful of soup. “Those two are about as different as any two teenagers can be. Kristen is a cheerleader and I understand she’s well liked. Tanni, on the other hand, goes out of her way to avoid hanging out with the popular crowd. I know from her mother that she’s had a rough time of it since her father died and pretty much isolates herself. I just hope Tanni and Kristen can work together.”
“What makes you suspect they can’t?”
Grace wasn’t sure how to explain it. “At the first volunteer meeting, I saw how Tanni looked at Kristen, like she thought the time I spent training Kristen was a complete waste. She as much as said so—she hinted that after a couple of weeks, Kristen would be gone. Kristen pretended not to hear, but she did and I could tell she was offended.”
Olivia paused with her fork next to her plate. “Why would Tanni take such a strong dislike to Kristen?”
“She seems to view Kristen as an airhead who’s gotten involved because she needs a volunteer project on her college application. Tanni implied Kristen wasn’t going to get into college on her grades alone. She’s a cheerleader, very cute and bubbly, and Tanni isn’t that type. Like I said, the two are total opposites.”
“She’s recently lost her father, so my guess is that Tanni’s dealing with depression.”
“I think so, too.” Grace hoped the program would provide Tanni with some encouragement—and that the girls would keep their mutual dislike out of the library.
At three-thirty that same afternoon, Grace was surrounded by dogs and kids and mild chaos as the children were matched up with their new canine friends.
“Kristen,” Grace said, “I want you to work with Mimi and Aubrey.” Mimi was a mixed breed, part Pomeranian and part something else she couldn’t identify. Aubrey was a first-grader who clung to her mother’s hand until she was introduced to Mimi. Grace found it gratifying to see how quickly the youngster responded to the dog.
Kristen led the girl to a fairly secluded area by the window, where the lighting was good. Together Aubrey and Kristen sat down on the carpet. Mimi snuggled up next to Aubrey and placed her chin on the little girl’s knee.
“Tanni, I’m going to assign you to Boomer and Tyler.”
“You got it.” The girl nodded and led seven-year-old Tyler and Boomer to the opposite end of the area reserved for the program. Boomer was a golden retriever who reminded Grace of Buttercup, her own dog.
Grace couldn’t help noticing that Tanni moved as far away from Kristen as she could, which didn’t surprise her.
She paired the two adults with two children and two dogs each, but those children were older—ten and eleven, eight and ten, respectively.
Grace stood back and waited. Her research indicated that the children felt more comfortable reading aloud to the dogs than to adults and achieved