Peyton Howe

“Not at all. Let’s see…” She murmured, moving forward from where she had been sat, moving to get their attention, stroking and talking to some of them calmly before looking up at the woman. “Do you want a hand walking them? I can take a few off you so you don’t have to try and walk so many alone. When they’re in a mood like this I know it can be difficult.”

Peyton grinned at the other before nodding her head. “I’d love nothing more.” she admitted as she handed some of the leashes off to the other. “So difficult.” her smile only widened. “Sometimes i spread myself too thin with the pooches.” 

“Oh my gosh, are you serious?” Raegan lit up at the offer. Helping to walk some dogs would be a great way to spend her free time. “I would absolutely love to! I spend time at the stables a lot but I’d also love to hang out with some other animals.”

Peyton smiled widely at the other after she gracefully accepted her offer. “Full serious!” she chuckled softly to herself. “Do you know how to ride?” she tilted her head to the side a look of curiosity planted straight onto it. “My parents never taught me they believed it was belittling or something.” she smiled sadly. 

Ginny grinned at the girl’s remarks, patting the spot beside her before it was occupied. “It’s the most fun, isn’t it? I seriously can do this for hours. Is that sad? I dunno. I love it,” she giggled with a shrug. “Okay what do you think about his? A little overdressed for a barbecue, don’t you think?” she asked, nodding towards someone new passing in front of them.

Peyton’s smile widened as her gaze fell upon there next victim. “She’s either trying to impress someone or didn’t get the memo.” she smirked as she twisted a strand of hair between her fingers. her eyes fell upon a male standing next to the grill. “He’s dressed nicely, but the way his standing?” she turned to look at the blonde. “I’m definitely gettings desperate vibes? either trying to impress a girl or a group of friends.”

“You caught me– I’m sitting because my feet are aching. But I will not leave my house without wearing heels on my feet and I’m willing to suffer the consequences,” Ginny admitted with a shrug. “I’m still having a great time. Currently I’m busy silently judging the outfits of the people passing by. You’re welcome to sit with me if you’d like.”

Peyton raised an eyebrow at the other a small smile creeping on her lips. “Love that, honestly.” she shook her head a laugh escaping her lips. “At least you’re honest about the shoe issue, some women have too much pride to admit that.” she turned her head to look at the others outfits her eyes darting across the street at certain outfits. “Love hers, hate his.” she looked down at the chair before nodding her head. “You know, i think you have a deal.” 

“Thank you– it’d be a dream!” she admitted, the smile still big on her features. “Peyton. I love your name,” Rae complimented. “You walk dogs? Dogs are the best, aren’t they? I wish I could have one of my own but I don’t have a lot of time to devote to one at the moment. Do you have any of your own?”

“Thanks!” she chuckled softly to herself. “I don’t know where it originates but it’s all mine!” she grinned widely at the other. “They’re pretty cute, have there own personality and all!” she ran a hand through her hair as she began discussing the qualities of four legged friends. “You’re more than welcome to tag along in my dog walking escapades, i could always use a set of extra hands?” 

“That’s too generous of you,” Raegan insisted, but soon the jacket was in her hands. “Thank you so much.” The blonde laughed at the comment about the children being terrible. “I guess it does, huh? I really do love my job so I’m glad it shows. I hope to be a proper art teacher myself some day. Have my own classroom, my own desk. I can’t wait to come up with projects and– sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself,” she laughed and extended her hand for a shake, “I’m Raegan and it’s a pleasure to meet you. What do you do?”

Peyton chuckled softly to herself as she listened to the other list the reasons she was looking forward to being a teacher. “You’ll get there eventually, you definitely sound passionate enough.”a small smile grew on her lips. “Peyton.” she nodded as she shook the others hand. “Parks and recreation officer, sometimes i walk dogs.”

“Oh no I know– I know. It’s fine though, I’ll figure something out. I always do,” she assured the other with a smile. “Thank you for your concern. I really appreciate it. I just need to learn to be a little less messy sometimes,” Rae admitted, chuckling to herself. “I assist an art teacher at the elementary school. I get a little too into the projects sometimes.”

Peyton grinned widely as she removed her jacket. “You can borrow this if you like.” she passed the other her jacket a small smile playing on her lips. “Hopefully it can save you from the terrible children making fun of you.” she joked lightly before lightly shrugging her shoulders. “A messy shirt just shows how much you love your job, you’re willing to get messy and interact with the kids. No shame in that.” 

“There doesn’t seem to be enough detergent on this planet to get acrylic paint out of clothing, huh?” Rae chuckled, mostly to herself as she looked down at what she was wearing before shrugging and smiling at the person looking at her. “I can always buy a new one. Thanks for pointing out the stains to me though. I appreciate it.”

Peyton chuckled softly as she glanced down at the blouse. “You might have better luck if you send it to the dry cleaners?” she raised an eyebrow at the blonde before nodding her head lightly. “I wasn’t trying to offend you rather save you from embarrassment later on in the day.” she shook her head as the smile on her face grew. “How do you think it happened anyways?” 

“Oh- what.. sorry, I wasn’t talking to you I was talking to… well- the dog.” Kristoff commented with a small embarrassed smile as he gestured to the dog that was sat beside him.

“I was just asking if you walk him yourself?” she smiled softly at the other before redirecting her attention to his four legged friend. “I walk dogs as a side business so if you ever need a hand let me know.” she extended her hand towards the other a placid smile on her face. “I’m Peyton by the way.”

Taran brought her into the back, taking out his keys and unlocking the cages of the dogs that he knew needed to be let out, to be walked. He hated to keep them locked up for long periods of time, but when he was short-staffed, it was hard to keep an eye on them. “We have a few that had to stay overnight, to be watched. Some others came in this morning,” he told her. 

Peyton grinned at the other before lightly nodding her head. “Do you need an extra set of hands?” she raised an eyebrow as she sympathised with the other. “I’m not trained in shit but if you need help holding animals down or even with the front counter i’m happy to lend you a few hours of my time.” she smiled softly at the other. 

Normally, his assistant would have told him about the dog walker. But Taran couldn’t seem to live without her and here he was, standing in front of her like a fool because he hadn’t been prepared. “Sorry. Short-staffed,” he explained, hoping she understood. “No, no, I have a few that you can take. They’re getting pretty antsy,” he told her, turning toward the back. “Come with me.” 

“It’s fine.” she let out a small sigh as she drummed her fingers along the base of the counter. “Lead the way boss.” she joked lightly as she picked up her leads and followed the other out the back. “How busy are you guys today anyways? there can’t be that many wounded pooches right?”