“I’m not sure I’m up for task of taking four at once.” He turned to Dixie. “Do you think they’ll be—”
Dixie waved her hand. “Of course. They’ll be fine. Just take them two at a time.”
He nodded and took the two standard poodles first. Chyna and Leia were so well-behaved, they didn’t need to be leashed, but I learned from Dixie that all dogs had to be leashed on the grounds of a dog show.
Dixie and I walked the short distance to the RV and took care of business. We were just on our way back when we heard a huge commotion.
“STOP!” I recognized Beau’s voice and we ran toward it.
Just as a mother will recognize her child’s cry in a room full of babies, I recognized Aggie’s bark. My children called it my mom “Spidey sense.” She had several different barks and while I hadn’t figured out what they all meant yet, I knew this one wasn’t good. There was a growl in between each bark that made the hair on my arms stand up. “Oh my God, Aggie!”
Chapter 5
We ran through the crowd. Just as we turned the corner, I saw a figure dressed in black pants, a black hoodie with a baseball cap and sunglasses racing across the grounds. I knew from experience that Aggie had issues with men wearing baseball caps, but there was a lot more going on here. The figure was running, and Aggie was pouncing and nipping at his pant legs, her leash trailing behind.
I rushed toward the fray screaming, “Aggie, no!”
Just as I got within fifty feet, I noticed that the figure dressed in black was also holding a small gray poodle.
I stopped and pointed. “He’s got Rex.”
At that moment, the figure turned toward us and saw me pointing. That’s when Aggie leapt into the air like a guided missile and sunk her teeth into the man’s arm.
He screamed and dropped his arm to his side with Aggie still attached to the fabric. In the commotion of trying to dislodge Aggie’s teeth from his sleeve, he dropped Rex who fell to the ground. The poodle rolled a couple of times but then stood up and shook himself and then turned to add his bark to the fight.
The man gave his arm a vigorous shake and Aggie lost her grip on his sleeve and flew through the air.
“You get Aggie. I’ll get Rex.” Dixie ordered.
The man took off running full steam ahead dodging poodles, grooming tables and crowds of people. He rushed through the parking lot and jumped into a black pickup truck.
Aggie followed in hot pursuit. She lunged at the door of the truck, but the stranger managed to get inside. He quickly started the ignition with Aggie still barking and jumping at the truck’s door.
The stranger gunned the engine, spinning dirt, pebbles and grass from his tires as he took off.
My heart pounded as I watched Aggie getting sprayed by the debris and still racing after her prey.
From the edge of the parking lot, I screamed, “Aggie, come!”
To my complete and utter surprise, she stopped, turned to look at me and then ran toward me full steam. From five feet away, she took a flying leap into my arms.
I reached out and caught her and then held her tightly to my chest.
Dixie ran up to me with Rex clutched in her arms. “That little poodle is fearless.” She stared at Aggie.
I snuggled Aggie close. “I can’t believe she actually came when I called.” I turned to Dixie. “I’m so happy, I could cry.”
* * * *
For over an hour I sat in Dixie’s RV clutching Aggie to my chest. When Red arrived, he literally had to pry her out of my arms. It was only then that I realized I was shaking.
He pulled me to my feet, drew me close and held me tightly until the shaking stopped. I held onto him and cried.
“I’ll be in the tent if you need me.” Dixie slipped out of the RV.
I cried for what felt like hours. When I didn’t have any more tears, I pushed away.
“I’m sorry.”
Red lifted my chin, forcing me to look him in the eyes. “You don’t have to apologize to me for being human.”
I hiccupped. “How about for ruining your shirt.” I pointed to where I had gotten makeup on his white shirt. I looked around for my purse. “I’m sure I have a wipe or a pen here that will get that stain—”
He gave me a gentle shake. “Lilly, I don’t care about the shirt. I care about you.” He glanced down at me. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “I’m fine…now.”
“Can you tell me what happened?” He looked around with surprise.
“What?”
“Nothing, it’s just…this is a really nice RV.”
I realized he’d seen Dixie’s RV many times, but this was his first time inside. I smiled. “Want the guided tour?”
He shook his head. “Maybe later.” He directed me toward a surprisingly comfortable sofa and mumbled, “Might need a GPS to find my way out.”
I smiled and sat. Aggie hopped onto my lap.
I petted her absently and recapped what happened.
He asked several questions which I felt like I should know the answer to. ‘Did I get a good look at the person? Was I certain it was a man? How tall was he or she? Had I ever seen him or her before?’ On and on the questions came until I wasn’t sure about anything, other than the fact that I was tired.
He looked down at Rex. “Are poodles valuable?”
I shrugged. “You’ll need to ask Dixie. She’s the expert, but I do know that some champions can be worth several thousand dollars.”
His eyes widened. “For a dog?”
I nodded, then reached into my purse and pulled out my cell phone and dialed Dixie’s cell.
When she picked up, I asked, “Are you busy?”
She wasn’t and said she’d be there shortly.
After a few minutes, there was a knock on the door and Dixie climbed inside.
Red asked her the same questions he’d already asked me, and her answers were much the same as mine. We were both more focused on the dogs than on the person who’d just tried to steal them. When Red asked Dixie about the value of the dogs, she confirmed what I’d said.
Red shook his head. “Is there a market for the dogs? I mean, if someone were to steal one of these dogs, would they be able to sell it?”
Dixie went into teaching mode. “Not really, not like stealing
