The Dog-Keeper (#Wattys2016)

1-Introduction

This chapter is dedicated to SiredToNiall_Justin and Vampiregirl13042 . Thank you so much for all your support on my previous stories. It meant a lot to me and I hope you enjoy this story too!!!

"I've never seen it, I found this love, I'm gonna feed it

You better believe, I'm gonna treat it better than anything I've ever had

Cause you're so damn beautiful"

-Colbie Caillat- Brighter Than The Sun

KIRA'S POV:

Hi! My name is Kira Jones. I am nineteen years old. My hobbies include reading (mostly Jeffrey Archer and regular teen fiction), eating and playing with my labradors- Marley and Jonas. I have a deep love for animals. I babysit my neighbours pets when they go away on vacations.

In fact, I got to bring home Marley and Jonas after I proved I was responsible around pets. The first pet I ever babysat was Mrs.Mackenzie's dog, Hoover. He was a bulldog with weird conditions. One time he-
I groaned and set my pen down. This was ridiculous. I was supposed to be writing about myself for some colleges mom wanted me to apply to, but I always got carried away once I started talking about animals. It was a Sunday. Why was I home? I ran my fingers through my hair, pushing the loose strands of hair back into my ponytail. I adjusted my t-shirt and headed downstairs to the kitchen. My family was still asleep, enjoying their afternoon naps. I had a glass of water and softly whistled.
In a matter of seconds, the two balls of terror skittered into the kitchen. "Hey boys! Come here! Here Jonas." I whispered and pet them on their head and scratched them behind their ears.
Marley and Jonas were six months old. They both had golden fur, except Marley's tail had a white tip. Despite that, I had given them different collars. Marley's was red and Jonas' was blue. "Okay okay...shush. Are you ready for a walkie-walkie?" I asked in my 'talking to dogs' voice. I don't know why, whenever I talk to animals, my voice changes and becomes all high and squeaky.
I put on my running shoes and brought out their leashes. I put the house keys in my pocket and we headed out. My neighbourhood is one long street that ends in a dead end.
There are individual houses on both sides of the street. The houses are huge, none with less than three bedrooms and they all have huge backyards. Traffic during the day is minimal, so it was an ideal place for families with pets. As the neighbourhood filled with pet friendly families, a park was built, so that the pets could have walks.
I jogged towards the park while Marley and Jonas trotted with me, obediently staying close to my heel. On the way I call up my best friend, Amanda. "Hey Maddie. Meet me at the park in five? I'm bored." I said. I heard her agree and cut the call. As we got closer to the park, I slowed down. It was only four in the evening, and the park would be pretty much deserted. I slowed to a walk and waved to Amanda, who was stepping out of her house. She lived right next to the park, so I could always meet her when I brought the boys out for their walks. She wore a white frock and her hair was plaited on her shoulder with her staple, ever-present beanie covering her head. Today it was red. When I met her yesterday, it was blue with neon green patterns. Let me explain.
Everyone has their obsessions. Mine was animals. For others it books, or clothes or coins or stamps. My dad was obsessed with old war documents. Mom had a thing for collecting beads. Amanda's were beanies.
She has them in every size, shape and colour. She has beanies that could fit a giant or a newborn baby. She has them in normal colours like red, blue and black and then she has them in bubble gum pink, lemony orange (which is peach? I think?), sparkly purple...name a colour. She has it. She has beanies with weird patterns. She has bows, Hello Kitty, flowers, hearts, unicorns, cheeseburgers, doughnuts, circles, pentagons. She has beanies with socks on them. And the best thing is, she knits most of them herself! You just give her some wool and she can make you a beanie with anything you want on it.
Thankfully, today she wore a normal one. "Hello!" Amanda called out and I hugged her. She bent down and greeted the boys. "My, the grow really fast, don't they?" Amanda said as Marley gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek. "I know. Feels like we drove them home just yesterday!" I said and I untangled Jonas' leash from Marley's.
We walk into the park and I free the boys of the leash. I toss them a ball and they begin to play among themselves. I and Amanda sit on a bench nearby and watch them. We sat in comfortable silence until Amanda said, "So, you're getting a new neighbour." "I am? I didn't see anything." I answered. "Neither did I, but mom saw some trucks loading furniture into the house opposite yours, so she assumed you have a new neighbour." Amanda said. "Okay. Spill." I said and smiled at her. She jumped in her seat and said, "Great! Okay, so it's a couple. The man, Mr.Meyers has just remarried. His first wife died of lymphoma. He has a son who's our age. He's apparently drop dead gorgeous, but that's just something I've heard. No one has actually seen him. Maybe you will be the first one. You have to call me the moment you see him, okay? Promise?" Amanda said and she jumped in her seat. I laughed out loud at her eagerness and said, "I promise."
We stayed in the park till it began to get dark. We exchanged news and she gave me a old charm bracelet she made me when we were kids. We talked some more, then I dropped Amanda to her doorstep and walked the boys home. My parents were making dinner, seeing the light in the kitchen. I was about to go inside, when I noticed that the house opposite mine had lights on. "Stay." I told Marley and Jonas and I crossed the road. I held the fence and peeked inside the window.
I was looking into the kitchen, the only fully furnished part of the house I could see. The room was flooded in yellow light emitted by an elegant chandelier. A man who looked around forty was sitting at the table. He had a tired posture, like he had been forced through circumstances beyond his age. His his hair was black, combed back so that his face was revealed. He had a strong jawline and strong arms.
Next to him stood a lady with auburn hair, pulled into a high bun. She seemed to be in her late thirties. Her face was sharp yet kind and she stood with an elegant grace, as she spoke to a boy of my age. And he was beautiful.
He was tall. Very tall. His brown hair was messy, like he had tried very hard to pull it out. His head was held high, as if in defiance, but his shoulders sagged. From where I stood, he looked like a mirror image of his father. Beautiful, with a dark history.
Suddenly the lady stopped talking and all three of them turned to the window. I panicked. I ducked my head and ran across the street as fast as I could. I slammed the front door shut behind me and ran to my room. Had they seen me? "Kira? Darling are you alright?" Mom called from the other side of my bedroom door. I waited a while before answering. I crept to my window that faced the street and peeked through a gap in the curtains. Everything was quiet. "Yeah mom! I'm fine." I said to my mom after opening the door. "Okay then. Come downstairs. Your dad and I want to talk to you." Mom said and she climbed down the stairs.
I beckoned to Jonas who had followed me upto my room and said, "C'mon down boy. I'm okay." Jonas stared at me for a moment, then jumped off my bed and went downstairs. I shut my bedroom door and followed him. Our kitchen was recently renovated. We had a dining table in the centre. A counter along the wall held the stove. Below that we had drawers for the cutlery and the China and our oven. Overhead, we had cabinets for the storable food. Typical kitchen. The French windows opened into our 'outside area' where we had bean bags and a swing for one. You know, the one with a frame of cane and a large comfortable cushion as a seat? That one. That was my reading chair. That lead into our garden, which had a large collection of rose plants and other seasonal flowers that mom grew. Also, the kennels for the boys was out there, although we had baskets for them indoors as well.
Dad was chopping vegetables when I entered the kitchen. He wore an apron which read 'Kiss the Cook' which I had gifted it to him on Father's Day. He wore it every single time he helped mom cook. "Hey Kira. Want some mashed potatoes?" Dad asked me after he kissed my head. "Yeah. I'd love it." I answered. I sat on the table and asked, "What did you want to talk to me about?" "We have new neighbours." Dad began. "Yeah. I saw them moving stuff inside." I said. "Yeah. So to make them feel welcome, your dad and I decided to invite them to dinner." Mom said, glancing at dad. "That's great! Why are you guys so jittery?" I asked. "The dinners tonight. At eight." Mom said.
I glanced at the clock. It read half past seven. "Oh my god. I need to get ready!" I said and ran up to my room and shut the door after me. I rummaged through my closet, looking for something to wear. Nothing. I had two dresses. One I had outgrown and the second had a large stain on it. This was an emergency. I called Amanda and when she picked up I said, "911 emergency. Neighbours are coming over for dinner in thirty minutes and I have nothing to wear. Help!" I wailed. Amanda listed off some clothes and I pulled them out from my closet in a hurry.
I couldn't believe it. I was meeting Mr. Beautiful in less than half an hour.

A/N: Hi everyone! I'm back with more stories! The response to my previous stories- 'Bright Eyes' and 'Falling For The Nerd' was beyond my expectations, and that has resulted in this new story.

However, I have just started college and it's so frickin' hectic- I'm out of the house for ten hours a day, six days a week. So all updates will be on Sundays (by Indian Standard Time). Also, I have experimented with different point of views in my stories (female lead's POV in 'Bright Eyes' and male leads POV in FFTN). So this story has been written in a dual perspective!!! New things, new things.

Anyway, I'm done with my rant. I will upload the next chapter once I start to get responses.

As usual,

Lots of love (and a large basket of cookies)- D.