Meet Cute Chihuahua: Purse Dog Rescue

By Erin L. Jungdahl

Cupid has a wet nose.

 

Tiffany climbed out of a church window in Texas to avoid getting married. She wasn't looking for love when she came to California. Her life was complete with an adorable rescue dog, a job helping animals, and amazing friends. Then a renegade Chihuahua led her to the sweetest man she'd ever met.

 

Victor stopped a rampaging Chihuahua at his cousin's wedding but he didn't mind getting muddy paw prints all over his tux. He liked the dog and the woman chasing her. When Tiffany asked him to help with a fundraiser for a dog rescue, he agrees, even if it means posing in a "hot guys with dogs" calendar.

 

Meet Cute Chihuahua is a low-conflict romantic comedy novel perfect for people who love to laugh and fawn over cute dogs. Happily ever after is guaranteed for these characters and the Chihuahua who gets a forever homes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Erin L. Jungdahl
• Release date: Feb 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9780998787756

Erin L. Jungdahl

Erin L Jungdahl (yeah, you read that right “Young-dahl”) wrote a story about cats and dogs the moment she figured out how to write. She went on to write about princesses, mermaids, robots, and spies. Erin lives in San Antonio with her husband and three cats. She is back to writing about cats and dogs and loving every minute of it.

Book preview

Chapter One

Tiffany

There’s something about escaping out of a church window and onto a tree that makes a person take stock of their life. I didn’t set out to hurt anyone, but I knew the sight of my specially ordered plus-size wedding dress crumpled in a heap on the bathroom floor was going to give my mother a stroke. I wasn’t sure what my father would do, but I knew he wouldn’t be happy. He paid for a fairytale wedding and all he got was the embarrassment of a daughter gone rogue. My fiancé...

Tiffany?

At the sound of Bertram’s low voice, I nearly lost my grip on the tree limb I dangled from.

I hugged the branch. Pay no attention to the strange woman in the tree.

That made him laugh. He had a good sense of humor; that was one of my favorite things about him. I loved him but not enough to marry him. We were twenty-two; what business did we have getting married?

I shook my head at the thought. I didn’t mean to let things get this far. We had just graduated from college a month ago. I hadn’t even gotten the chance to use my degree before my parents tried to march me down the aisle.

Do you want a hand down?

I saw Bertram reaching for me and I shrunk back, ignoring the scratchy bark digging into my arms. I was the bad guy here; I didn’t deserve help from him.

I almost started crying as I tried to find the words that needed to be said. Bertram, I’m sorry. I can’t marry you. You should go in there and tell them the wedding’s off.

His broad shoulders slumped. Why?

It’s too soon. You’re going to vet school and we’re both so young. We’ll be miserable if we get married.

What if we were older?

What are you saying?

What if we postpone the wedding? Let’s take a year to think things over. I’ll be in school, you can put your degree to work, and we can get back together next summer.

One year is hardly older.

His stare pinned me to the tree. Maybe we don’t get married next year, but I would like to see you. You’re my best friend, Tiffany. I’m going to miss you. The past four years at different schools were hard but at least I knew we would see each other during the summer.

Bertram’s earnest words tore me up inside. He was my best friend and had been for forever. I felt awful. I wished we had never dated. Would it have been better just to say no upfront or to agree just for the sake of not hurting him?

I guess that’s a ‘no’ then.

Bertram took off his tuxedo jacket and slung it over one shoulder as he walked away.

The words were out of my mouth before I could think better of it. No promises. I’ll try to come visit next summer, but that’s it.

Bertram stopped. That’s good enough for me. I’ll go tell them not to expect us then.

Thank you.

Did you drive here?

Nope, hitched a ride with my parents.

I’m going to leave my keys at the bottom of the tree. If you could leave them on your kitchen counter, that’d be much appreciated.

I don’t deserve you.

Don’t sell yourself short, Tiffany. I wouldn’t wait for you if you weren’t amazing.

He dropped the keys to his truck on the ground and walked off. I could have used help getting the rest of the way down the trunk but I wasn’t about to ask. I made it to the ground, skinned my knee in the process, and dashed to Bertram’s truck. There was no telling how long he was going to keep my family occupied.

I sped home, grabbed the suitcase I’d packed for the honeymoon, and threw some things for my dog in a bag. Wink was a good girl. I didn’t know where I was headed but she was coming with me.

Wink had been following me around as I loaded my car and was full on whimpering until I clipped the leash on her collar. I threw the keys on the counter and scribbled a note to Bertram.

B—Sorry for today. Best of luck in school. See you next summer.—T.

P.S. Took Wink.

Chapter Two

Tiffany

I don’t know why I gravitated to California. I didn’t have dreams of show business, I just imagined the weather would be nice. And it was, when the smog was minimal in Los Angeles. Wink was what kept me going when we were trying to find work and housing. There were more than a few nights spent in dingy motels but those came to an end when I met Shereen.

I was interviewing for a barista job when a woman who looked like she walked out of a fashion magazine swept into the cafe. She interrupted the interview to introduce herself when I mentioned that I had run the animal shelter back in Reyna, Texas. The manager wasn’t bothered; apparently Shereen was a longtime customer and a staff favorite. He handed us each a large iced coffee and she peppered me with questions.

As it so happened, she was looking for a roommate and she was pretty sure she could hook me up with a job at the dog rescue she worked at. I asked about her feelings on roommates with dogs and she immediately asked for a picture of Wink. One glance won her over and she insisted on packing me out of my motel and directly into her spare bedroom.

Why would you do this for me? Not that I’m unappreciative, I am truly grateful, but I don’t have any way to pay rent right now.

But you will, I just know that from listening to you speak. And besides, I’m tired of living alone. It’s too quiet.

You will never want for silence with Wink around. I made the mistake of teaching her to be conversational and that made her un-adoptable.

Not part of your plan at all, I’m sure. So what brought you out to California?

I may or may not have run out on a wedding.

Shereen blinked at that. Okay, didn’t see that coming, but it’s okay. As long as you’re not wanted for something actually criminal, we’re okay.

Just as long as we’re okay. I do have a clean rap sheet. My escape out the church window was my first and only deviation from the straight and narrow.

Shereen had just taken a sip of her coffee and her shoulders shook as if she was trying not to laugh and spit coffee everywhere.

You’re making that up.

It’s the honest truth. My then-fiancé caught me hanging from a tree branch in a knee-length slip.

Was he mad?

I don’t think he was exactly pleased to be abandoned moments before we were supposed to stand in front of the altar but he was very kind about the whole thing. He lent me his car keys and everything.

So you’re here to stay?

I told him I’d go back to visit in the summer but if I don’t find something to do for money soon, I’m going to have to go back a lot sooner.

Do you want to?

If I wanted to stay, would I have climbed out a second storey window and risked breaking my neck?

Point taken. Well, send me your resume and I’ll see what I can do with my boss. It helps that you obviously know what you’re doing with rescue work.

And that was how I met my new best friend.

Eight months later

I don’t know how I beat Shereen to the office. I stopped for breakfast burritos, but she wasn’t at her desk when I got there.

I was dropping off a couple of burritos at Shereen’s desk when Odie, the founder of Purse Dog Rescue and my fantastic boss, popped out of her office. Tiffany, can I ask you a favor?

Sure, Odie, what’s up?

It’s not anything to do with the Rescue so please know that you can say ‘no’ if you’re not into it.

You’re not going to ask me for a kidney, are you? I would consider it but the tone of all of this is making me wonder if you’re about to ask for two, I said, handing her a few burritos.

Odie snorted. Thank you, but no kidneys are required. The wedding coordinator is sick and won’t be able to work the wedding. I know you’re trying to pull some money together for Wink’s operation, so I thought I’d offer you the gig. If it’s not something you’d be interested in, please don’t feel obligated to accept. I just thought it’d be nice to help someone who I know is really reliable.

Damn, Odie’s a great boss. I was trying to play it cool about my worries over how I would pay for Wink’s tumor removal, but she must have overheard me talking to Shereen. It was going to be expensive, but Wink was worth it and if it came down to selling a kidney, I would probably do it.

That’s so kind of you to offer. Before I agree to anything, I need to ask you a few questions.

I wouldn’t expect anything less from the most organized person in the office.

That’s high praise for someone who has sticky notes in every color of the rainbow alphabetized and labeled. What was your wedding coordinator hired to do? Would I be doing any catchup work?

No, everything is on track. My granny and Josh’s stepmother are planning this wedding like it’s going to be the event of the century. They hired a wedding coordinator to keep things running smoothly on the day of the event. You’d do most of the work at the beginning of the party, but I don’t think you need to do anything beyond getting acquainted with the schedule beforehand.

Well, that sounds doable. Now what were you going to pay the wedding coordinator? That was a tactful way to see how much money I could expect from the job. Even though she’s my boss and she offered me this gig as a favor, I couldn’t agree without hearing a number.

We budgeted five grand for the wedding coordinator. We paid her ten percent up front and are allowing her to keep it because it’s not like she chose to get sick. We’re prepared to offer you the same amount.

Ten percent of five grand…? I said, trying not to get excited if the answer to my question was what I hoped it would be.

No, five grand for you. I can talk to my step-mother about throwing in some extra money for agreeing to do it last minute.

That’s incredibly generous of you.

You’ve been a stellar employee and I’m so happy you’re going to be at my wedding. The only thing I was worried about was whether or not you would feel taken advantage of. You know you don’t have to agree just because I’m your boss, right?

Of course; I’ve never known you to lean on anyone for favors.

Except Josh.

What now? I said, suddenly wishing I’d paid more attention to Shereen’s stories.

It’s a story for a different time.

Oh, okay.

The front door squeaked open and Shereen’s sandals slapped across the tile floor.

Did somebody say ‘coffee?’ She trilled the last word, causing the dogs in the back to bark.

Odie and I shared a smile. Is a person really late if they bring coffee?

Chapter Three

Victor

My friend beat me to the mall. I hadn’t expected that morning’s meeting for my food delivery drone startup to go long. Anna was leaning against a wall in the department store with her phone out when I walked up to her. When she noticed me, she tossed her phone into her purse. Her eyes were a little red, like she’d been crying recently.

I hugged her as I had a million times before. Hey, Anna, how are you?

I’m doing better. She smiled. Are you ready to hunt down a wedding gift?

Thanks for helping me. I was kind of intimidated by the whole wedding registry thing.

Pssh, you’re smart enough to figure it out on your own. But I’m happy for the opportunity to shop, you know I get a kick out of picking a good gift.

I knew that and I was hoping I might ask her a question while we were together. She had finally broken up with her on-and-off boyfriend and it seemed permanent this time. I’d wanted to ask her out since we met in college but never got the right opportunity. But if she was still crying over him, she probably wasn’t over him yet. It was nerve-wracking, I wasn’t sure if I was ready to ask her out and hear her answer. But my chances had to be pretty good: she wouldn’t have agreed to hang out if she didn’t want me around. But if I asked and she said no, that would make things awkward between us.

She waved an arm around the displays in the housewares department. So, what do you think: kitchen stuff or general household items?

Err…kitchen stuff. Food goes a long way to a good relationship.

Damn. I could’ve kicked myself for bringing up relationships. It was clear that she wasn’t over her ex-boyfriend. Or maybe it wasn’t a terrible misstep: maybe she missed having someone around and doing domestic things like shopping for kitchen equipment might make her consider getting back into the dating game.

Anna nodded sagely. Too true. Who knows how many couples’ fights could be solved with well-timed and adequate snacks. Do you have the registry app on your phone?

There’s an app for that? I said, feeling extra out of my depth in this whole shopping endeavor.

Yes, Mr. Nacho-Copter, there is an app for that. You can look it up in your phone browser but be prepared for it to take ten thousand years.

Cool, cool. Is there anything you want to look at while I pull the registry up?

A saleswoman wheeled over to us. I couldn’t help but overhear the word registry. Are you two looking to start a wedding registry?

It took me a minute to understand what she was asking but Anna caught on right away.

Nope, we’re looking up a friend’s registry. Should be under Ferguson-Bowen.

The saleswoman’s smile grew wide. Ahh, Lana’s boy. Are you related, sir? You look like you could be cousins with the groom.

No lie there, Josh and I took after our grandfather. Yes, his cousin. I need to pick out a present from their registry. I brought my friend here to help me decide what to get. We were thinking of starting in the kitchen section.

Anna’s phone rang and she silenced it without a glance. The woman looked at her in askance.

Did you bring up the site yet, Victor, or should we try one of the registry kiosks?

Try one of the kiosks; it’s taking a while to download.

Once Anna walked away, the saleswoman whispered, Are you sure you aren’t interested in starting a registry?

For what?

Your friend there. You’re devoted to her, I can tell. Have you asked her yet?

I bent my head to type Josh’s name into the app, but shook my head.

What are you waiting for? You’re gorgeous; she’d be crazy to turn you down. I think you would be cute together.

Tell her that. Or don’t. I haven’t asked her out yet.

The woman blinked. Oh, well, keep us in mind for down the road.

I thanked her and found Anna by the blenders. She was looking at one that was at all the smoothie restaurants in town. What she wanted with an industrial blender, I had no idea.

See anything cool? I said.

Mack wanted one of these for the gym. I told him everyone who wanted a smoothie would go to a place that actually specializes in them or they’d just bring their own shakes from home.

That makes sense, I said, not sure what to say. I knew why Anna and Mack broke up, but I wasn’t sure if she wanted to talk about it.

And he jumped on that as an excuse to harp on me getting my yoga instructor certificate. He said a yoga class would make sense at a gym; people are already there to exercise. I told him that I’m a photographer. I need to be available for gigs and yoga wasn’t part of my plans.

What to say, oh, what to say? Good for you, staying focused on your goals. You’re a great photographer, you just need to get your foot in the door with a few clients.

Right. Yoga’s not going to get me photography clients. But then he made it about me not contributing to the gym and not supporting his business and it’s always about him. When was he going to support my business?

Relationships are a two-way street. He could have asked you to shoot the pictures for the gym’s website instead of hiring the job out.

That last line was a bit of a gamble, but