Chapter 31
THIRTY-ONE
JAX
With the immediate crisis handled, things had died down enough for Asher to spend some quality time with his little cat family. Blue looked dead on his feet, and none of the other staff looked much better.
Blue had swapped his clothes out with a spare set of scrubs that he kept at work, and I had to admit that the man looked good in anything.
I knew there was nothing I could do to help, that the rest of the work was better left to people who knew what they were doing, but I sidled up next to Blue and Rex anyway as they examined some kind of scruffy-looking dog.
The dog was filthy from head to toe, and like the other animals, it was on the skinny side. It needed a flea bath and maybe a shave. It definitely needed several shampoos. But then he looked up at me and I smiled.
“You know, we had a dog that looked kind of like this when I was a kid. I mean, I think we did. It’s hard to tell under all the grime.” I held my hand out for the dog to sniff and after a quick inspection, he deemed me suitable enough to lick. “What’s going to happen with all these animals?”
“Once they’re cleared health-wise, the adoptable ones will hopefully find homes.
There’s a few animals that will need to be fostered so they can fully recover before finding their forever homes, like that little cat family your friend is taken with.
They’ll need a foster home until they’re ready to leave mom,” Rex said, without looking away from his patient.
Rex was probably in his mid-forties. His hair had a sprinkle of gray.
The fine lines in his face were ones that happiness left behind like the crinkles at the corner of his eyes and his laugh lines.
“How do you become a foster parent? A foster pet parent? How do you choose who fosters the animals?”
“Blue, let’s do a blood draw on this little guy, and then we can tuck him away and get him fed. We’ll clean them up tomorrow. See if you can get some of the shelter volunteers over for bath day.”
“I can come back and help out. I’m sure Asher would love to also.
” Glancing back, I saw him sitting in the corner holding one of the kittens in his arms. He had it cradled close to his body, and he stroked its head as he whispered something to it.
“I think you’re going to have to get the jaws of life out to pry him away from those kittens. ”
“Well… I could foster them,” Blue offered. “The momma cat is pretty healthy, all things considered. What they need most is a flea bath, food, and rest. The clinic is jammed full. If I took them back to my place, we could clean them up and get them settled tonight.”
“And then you’d never be able to get rid of them,” I told him, motioning for him to look over at Asher.
Blue just shrugged. “I’m the only one here who has yet to bring home a pet from work. I figure it’s time I join the club.”
“Make a note of any supplies you take home for them, and I’ll write them off for you,” Rex said.
Picking up the dog, he cradled the stinky little beast in his arms before passing him off to one of the other vet techs.
“Speaking of which, you could probably head out after you get supplies for the cat family. We’re just wrapping things up for the night now.
” Rex pulled his gloves off and tossed them in an overflowing trash can.
“You boys were a real lifesaver tonight,” he said to me, clapping a hand on my shoulder. “Take good care of those kittens. Blue will bring them back in a couple weeks for shots and a check-up.”
He gave Blue’s shoulder a squeeze as he made his way to have a look at one of the last patients.
“Come with me.” Blue hooked our hands together and he towed me to a storage room in the back of the clinic. I thought maybe we were here to get supplies, but he yanked me into a kiss. Slanting our mouths together, he kissed me with a passion that made my toes curl.
“What was that for?”
“For being here. For being you. For never giving up on me.” He kissed me again, softer and sweeter this time, like he knew we couldn’t get too riled up in a storage room where he worked. Besides, we were covered in filth and that wasn’t exactly romantic. “I can’t believe you waited three years.”
“I’d have waited forever for you. But I have to admit, I’m really fucking glad I didn’t have to.” I brushed the hair off his face and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “We should get out there and get Asher home with those kittens before he adopts ten more.”
“He already loves them.” Blue smiled when he said that, like it was the sweetest thing he’d ever seen.
“You know he likes you. You didn’t have to buy his affection with kittens,” I teased.
“I don’t think he’d leave without them, to be honest.” Blue twisted away from me and then started pulling things off the shelf. He grabbed an empty litter box first and into it he dumped different types of cat food as well as some medicated shampoo.
“Could you grab one of those bags of litter from behind you? They’re on the bottom shelf. Then we can get all this stuff out to the car, and we can come back in and get them all tucked away in a carrier.”
“You’re kind of hot when you’re at work, by the way,” I confessed. “All competent and shit. You’re impressive.”
He rolled his eyes.
“No, seriously, Blue. You’re good at what you do. You should be proud of yourself. Hell, I’m proud of you.”
He looked like he was about to protest so I pinned him with a steely look. “Don’t argue with me. Not about this. Take the compliment.”
Blue paused, then nodded and I let the subject drop.
It was clear that Blue didn’t get many compliments on things that weren’t related to his other work, but I was going to change that.
Blue was one of the brightest, most loving people I knew, and it was a shame that he didn’t see what an incredible job he’d done.
We found a clean cat carrier and then went back to where we left Asher. He now had two kittens in his arms. He looked up when he noticed us approach.
“It’s time to go home, Asher,” I said. As expected, his face fell and he looked away from me, focusing on the kittens again.
“I want it to be known that you are not allowed to volunteer here or at any other place with animals,” Blue said. “Because I can’t adopt every animal you fall in love with.”
Asher looked at him and furrowed his brow, visibly confused as Blue knelt on the floor next to him and gently plucked one of the kittens from Asher’s arms and placed it in the carrier.
“What?” Asher asked as Blue took the next one and put it in the carrier.
“I can’t reach past you, Ash, so can you be a help and put the last kitten in the carrier and then momma cat too.”
“I don’t understand.” Asher grabbed the last kitten and gently stroked the top of his head. Momma cat popped her head out of the kennel and let out a worried meow.
“The kittens mostly need a flea bath and for momma cat to have some proper nutrition. It’s noisy here and overwhelming and I think they’ll recover better if we bring them back to my place.
But I also think it would have to be a permanent move.
It would be a shame to make them move again after they get settled. ”
Asher gaped at Blue. “Are you for real?”
“Well, it’s not a prank, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Blue suddenly had an armful of Asher, who launched himself into Blue’s embrace.
“Oh, my God, I love you.”
The world stopped spinning and, for a second, none of us moved. Was he serious? Did he love Blue? I had to admit that it made me happy to hear but also unsure. Did he love him the way I hoped he did, or had it been a slip of the tongue brought on by the adoption of the kittens?
And if he loved Blue… did he love me too?
“I meant it, you know,” Asher said, extracting himself from Blue’s arms so he could usher momma cat into the carrier.
“And not just because you adopted kittens for me. And I know you might not believe me, because the last time I said I was in love with someone… I wasn’t.
Not in the way I thought I was. And it’s okay if you don’t believe me.
But it’s true. I love you.” Asher paused and flicked his gaze to meet mine.
Uncertainty swam in his expression. “Both of you.”
He looked away, like he was suddenly mortified at his confession. Blue and I probably weren’t helping much, the way we just stood there with our mouths hanging open, gaping at him as we tried to absorb the meaning of his words.
He started to turn away, likely because of the silence that fell over us, but I wasn’t about to let him get away that easily. With a single step, I closed the distance between us. I slid an arm around his waist and tugged him close, cupping his cheek in my hand. I made him look at me.
“I think I’ve been falling for you since that first kiss during the screen test. But I’d noticed you before then.”
“You did?” Asher squeaked, then cleared his throat. “You did?”
“You’ve been through a lot of shit, Asher.
Everyone knows how rough it was for you to lose Leo.
When you came to work for Lukas, you were this sad, scared kid who was just trying to keep his head above water.
You rallied, though, and you showed everyone what you’re made of.
You’re strong and brave. And after a while it became impossible not to notice you. ”
Asher gripped my waist. “I’m a mess.”
“Everyone’s a mess, Asher. You’re just more honest about yours, that’s all. I’m a mess. Blue’s a mess. Rex is a mess. I’m sure even Lukas is a mess.”
Asher nodded and Blue, having dealt with momma cat and the babies, slid in behind him. I met his gaze over Asher’s shoulder and watched him brush a kiss against the shell of Asher’s ear.
“You might be a mess, but you’re our mess.
” Blue’s eyes shone with affection. He’d say the words eventually.
Or not. But love was more than saying a string of eight letters and calling it a day.
Love was showing up. Love was lifting up the people you cared about.
Love was something you lived, not just something you said.
“We should get these little guys home and get them settled in.” Over Asher’s shoulder, I stole a kiss from Blue, then I stole one from Asher before pulling away.
Asher looked at Blue. “Are you really going to keep them? All of them?”
Blue linked hands with Asher and tugged him toward the exit. “Oh, sweetheart. I plan to keep each and every one of you.”