A moment for you

When a lost dog shows up at Lisa’s coffee stand, she goes on a mission to return the pup to his handsome owner… and finds love along the way

Lisa stifled a yawn as she opened the window of the drive-thru coffee stand where she had the first shift. Five-thirty am was early, especially following a night class. But as she sat by the window, opening her textbook while she waited for customers to arrive, Lisa couldn’t help but smile. Going back to school after her failed marriage was more challenging than she’d expected, but even as an older student, the idea of a new start had inspired her.

A few seconds later, Dave, a regular, drove up, his classic Studebaker Commander polished as always. “The usual?” Lisa asked, smiling. “Nope,” he said with a grin. “I think I’m going to be daring today.”

For a split second, she wished she could be daring as well— daring enough to ask this handsome man, with whom she’d been flirting for months, out to lunch. But she was distracted from her thoughts by Finn, Dave’s dog, whose muzzle strained from the window as she handed him a biscuit. “What’s the occasion?” she asked. “Oh, just feeling adventurous,” he said, his green eyes sparkling in the summer morning sunlight. For a second, their eyes met and Lisa felt so lost in his gaze that she forgot where she was, until she realized how expectantly Dave was looking up at her.

“Right! Well… how about our Mexican mocha iced coffee?” she said, flashing her most alluring smile. “It’s all the rage.” “Sounds perfect.” While Lisa prepared the beverage, they

made small talk about their plans for the day. When she handed Dave his cup, he looked as though he wanted to say something else, but with cars lining up behind him, he simply said, “You’ve got a busy morning. Wish I could chat longer…” Lisa felt a twinge of disappointment as he pulled away, but a steady stream of patrons kept her occupied until her shift ended. She was preparing to leave when her co-worker, Michaela, came in. “Did you know there’s a dog out there?” “Hmm?” Lisa murmured, opening the door to look out. “Finn!” The dog danced up to her, licking her outstretched hand.

“Their eyes met, and Lisa felt so lost in his gaze, she forgot where she was”

“It’s Finn. He belongs to one of my regular customers, Dave.”

“Maybe you can find out where he lives,” Michaela said. “He has tags.”

“Of course.” She knelt to check Finn’s collar, and sure enough, one of the tags had his address on it. “14 Magnolia Road,” she said, flushing as she realized she knew the street…and would have the chance to see Dave, without a window between them.

“Wanna go for a ride, pup?” Lisa chimed, escorting him to her sedan. A few minutes later, they pulled up to the address.

As soon as she opened her car door, Finn bolted to the front of the house. She followed him, tucking her styled bob in place behind an ear, tugging at her shirt self-consciously.

She rang the doorbell as Finn pawed the door with a mewling whine. No response.

“No one’s home,” Lisa frowned down at the dog. “I guess we’ll just have to wait.” She headed back to her car, but before she reached it, Dave pulled into the driveway.

Finn charged across the lawn, doing a stand-up dance as Dave opened the door.

“Hey, buddy! Oh, I’ve missed you!” Dave smiled as he hugged his dog close.

“He was outside the stand when my shift ended. I found your address on his tag.”

“Oh, thank God,” Dave said, coming so near to Lisa that she could smell his cologne. Suddenly, he wrapped her in a big hug. “I’ve been going crazy looking for him. We were at the park when he escaped, and I’ve been driving around to find him since.”

“Maybe he was coming back for another biscuit,” Lisa said, smiling as she pulled away, her face a flaming shade of red.

“I don’t blame him,” he said, meeting Lisa’s eyes. Once again, their emerald hue captivated her, and time felt suspended between them. “I wanted to go back too.”

“You did?” she swallowed, hope seizing her heart as she gazed into his eyes.

“Of course. It’s my favorite part of the day, seeing your beautiful smile every morning,” Dave said huskily, taking her hand in his softly.

“I knew you’d be swamped,” he continued, as Lisa squeezed his hand. “But I’ve been meaning to ask you a question, and I guess Finn here just wanted to get the ball rolling. I was going to ask…if maybe you’d want to go out with me sometime?”

Lisa smiled at the handsome man, his excited dog panting happily by his side. Perhaps this would be the fresh start she was looking for. In fact, she had a warm feeling it would be. —Tracy Savage Wilson