160|Trouble—Part 1

The outing to the SPCA was going so well that Marybeth almost forgot about the written warning she'd signed just before she and Scarlett left work for the day.

Orlando was in her element, fussing over the puppies. When she wasn't playing mother hen, she was chirping away with the volunteer workers, asking them all kinds of questions.

Scarlett, too, was a mushy mess, and once or twice she even hinted at Marybeth that she should seriously consider making a baby with Austin, explaining she was broody and would love nothing more than to hold a tiny bundle of joy in her arms.

"Well, you are holding one, aren't you?" Marybeth pointed at the pavement special in her friend's arms.

"It's not the same thing!" argued Scarlett as she set the puppy down, and they moved on to the next aisle on their itinerary.

"Why don't you have a baby then?" suggested Marybeth as she glanced at a sickly-looking mama cat hovering protectively around her litter in one of the numerous cages stacked on top of each oth