Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
RHODES
“There are puppies,” I hiss excitedly.
Sky and I are starting the rounds of our charity and publicity work with Koen today, and I’m a little nervous.
We’ve been going to practice, played a game last night, and things have been going well at home so far.
Koen even slept in our bed the past few nights, but I’m not sure if that’s out of resignation or not.
Skylar told him he’d probably wake up tied to the bed if he didn’t sleep with us, so that probably influenced Koen’s decision.
The animal shelter has all kinds of animals, but I’ve never been a cat person.
They seem to see me as a predator due to my size, and immediately attack as if they’re trying to assert dominance.
Come on, little dude! They weigh maybe fifteen pounds with all their fluff, and they’re trying to throw down.
No, thank you.
I’ll avoid cats at all costs.
“We’re not bringing any home,” Skylar warns as we walk up to the front desk.
Ha, we’ll see!
Koen smothers a smile, and I can feel a co-conspirator glow coming through our bond. It’s amazing to me how much he holds back. His emotions are very locked down, which is why it’s so difficult to figure out what he’s feeling.
Sometimes, he’ll project his thoughts, but that’s still very different from what I feel through the bond. I worry he’ll be able to figure out some of the shit we’ve been doing through it, but Skylar doesn’t seem to be concerned.
He told me Koen can’t pick up my thoughts, and since I don’t feel guilty about our bullshitery, it shouldn’t come through the bond. We did what we had to, and it’s true, I have absolutely no regrets.
Edna begins to explain to the front desk person why we're here. She made arrangements with the shelter already, but it doesn’t appear as if the manager is aware we’re here yet.
“Hi, I’m so sorry I wasn’t here to greet you. I’m Fritz,” a man says with curly blonde hair and glasses.
He’s coming out of the door which seems to house the rest of the shelter. His jeans have seen better days, and his long sleeved shirt looks like it’s more meant to protect him than anything fashionable. It makes sense with how much I was just griping to myself about cat scratches.
“It’s no problem at all, Fritz,” Edna says with a professional and carefree smile.
She’s in charge of hockey players that regularly fuck up. I have a feeling she’s completely fine handling a manager who wasn’t here the second she was.
“What’s the best way for us to see the shelter?” she asks. “We’d like a tour first so we can see how things are run, and then Skylar, Rhodes, and Koen would like to get some photos to help you raise some money for the shelter.”
“Photos how?” the man asks.
“I’d love to play with any animals that need some extra love,” Koen says. “If one of them needs a bath, I’m up for that too. I’m dressed comfortably for a reason.”
The three of us dressed in medium gray sweatsuits. It hides dirt well and it’s comfortable. Our tennis shoes also serve the same purpose.
“Exactly,” Edna says with a nod. “We have one camera man with us to take photos of the guys interacting with the animals in whatever manner they’re comfortable with.
This is as much an opportunity to volunteer our team as it is to get funds for your organization and highlight the work you’re doing. ”
“Oh. Well, we always need dogs walked, cats snuggled, and puppies socialized. It never feels as if there’s enough time for everything,” Fritz admits. “I wondered because we’ve had people use us for their own publicity purposes with little return.”
“I don’t work like that,” Edna says adamantly. “I want this to be an equal partnership. I apologize if I didn’t make that clear over the phone.”
Fritz appears exhausted as he pulls off his black rimmed glasses and shakes his head as he cleans them.
“You did. I’m sorry. I feel like I’m always running in circles,” he sighs.
“Let’s get to it, shall we? I’ll point out who needs a bath, who needs snuggles or a walk, and go from there.
It’ll be nice to have some extra hands. It snowed yesterday, which limits which animals can go outside.
However, we have a covered area for the smaller breeds so they can stretch their legs. ”
Fritz returns his glasses to their place on his nose, and I decide I feel bad for the guy. He obviously cares deeply for the animals at the shelter, there simply aren’t enough resources for them.
Unlocking the door, he ushers us through. We leave our camera guy in the waiting room for now, which allows us to get an idea of what the shelter is working with without having to school our features.
As we walk through the facility, I have to admit the kennels all look really clean, and the animals make me smile.
“Is that a potbellied pig?” I ask, peeking into one of the areas.
“That’s Harold,” Fritz says with a grin. He relaxed once he realized we really are invested in seeing and helping the animals. “He’s a turd. Sorry, but he’s so intelligent, it’s hard not to laugh when he does things like steal your keys out of your pocket.”
“No sh—, ah, shoot,” I say, wincing.
Fritz waves away my apology as he watches Harold with amusement.
“He needs a bath, but you’d need a raincoat to do it. He’ll soak you completely, which is also why he’s a turd,” Fritz says with a laugh. “Let me show you some of the other animals.”
He walks us by parrots, puppies, older dogs, and cats. I have a mental list of animals I want to play with, and I think that Koen wants to bathe the big German shepherd we just passed. His heart flip flopped in happiness when we saw him.
I think Skylar is going to end up playing with the kittens, which is fine as long as the cat distribution system doesn’t choose us to take one home. With my luck, it would stalk me around the house and jump on my head while I’m sleeping.
Shuddering in disgust, I shake my head.
“What was that about?” Koen asks under his breath.
“I don’t like cats,” I say unrepentantly. “I always feel like they’re waiting to pounce on me.”
Fritz hides his smile when he hears me, saying, “Definitely not a cat person then. What would you like to do?”
“Can I play with the puppies?” I ask, unable to contain my excitement.
“Of course,” he says. “Let me pick up a few that need cuddles, and I’ll set you up in one of the rooms. There’s balls there you can toss to them, dog toys to wrestle with them, but they’ll happily fall asleep in your arms too.”
“Best day ever,” I declare.
Skylar raises his brow at me to remind me not to bring home a new pet, while I refuse to look in his direction. He’s the one who brought up kids to Koen. How do we know we can handle children if we haven’t had a pet together yet?
I think it makes complete sense.
Now, to choose a puppy. My ass can happily take the pain of being punished. It’s been awhile since I’ve been spanked anyway. I’m due.
The three of us split up, with the promise that the photographer would check in on each of us later. A volunteer leads me to a room, explaining that when the weather is warmer, there’s a large, grassy area with shade for the dogs to play in.
“The snow messes all of that up, huh?” I ask, stepping into a rectangular room.
“It can,” she agrees. The girl appears to be in her mid-twenties, her eyes bright with happiness. It’s nice to see people who are so excited about volunteering with animals. “Fritz will be right back. There’s a basket full of toys for you there too.”
“I’m very capable of entertaining myself with toys,” I grin. “You’ll find me playing with whatever is in there until he’s back.”
The girl grins back at me before closing the door, while I stake out a place on the floor to sit. The shelter is definitely trying their best to take care of their animals, and I take a photo of myself on the ground with my bucket full of toys to share to social media later.
I’ll make sure to tag my location and suggest people support their local animal shelters. It’s not a smart decision for me to broadcast my location while I’m still at it, which is why I’m waiting.
I could adopt a pet in any manner of ways, but I am in love with the work Fritz is doing.
I begin going through the toys in front of me after I put my phone away. I test the bounce of each ball, and get lost in playing with things until the door reopens. Glancing up, I grin as Fritz walks with another volunteer. There are three puppies in their arms and one is a golden retriever.
“If you could name one thing you needed for the shelter that costs money, what would it be?” I ask.
“One thing? Ah, to fix the plumbing in the back rooms,” he says. “The pipes are threatening to freeze on me from how cold it is.”
“Get me a quote, please. I’d like to fix them.”
Fritz turns pale and I get up quickly to take the puppies from his arms. Shit, I thought he was going to drop them.
“You’re not serious,” he rasps.
“Of course I am,” I reply. “Hi, sweet babies. Do you have names? You’re both so pretty. Ooh. And there’s another too. Let’s get comfortable so we can play, huh? I know, I’m excited too.”
The volunteer beside Fritz is amused as she waits for me to sit back down and then places the gorgeous golden retriever in my lap.
“People usually rename when they adopt, but this is Daisy, Trudy, and Magic Nugget,” she explains.
At my horrified face that the cute little golden puppy is named Magic Nugget, she giggles.
“She didn’t have a name when we got here,” she explains. “Magic Nugget kind of stuck.”
“Oh that’s terrible,” l gasp. “She’s so pretty.”
“She’s also trouble,” Fritz says, shrugging.
“The best things in life are,” I shrug. “I’m trouble, so maybe that’s what I’ll call her.”
“I have a feeling I should not be encouraging this,” Fritz murmurs. “I also will take you up on your kind offer to fix our plumbing. I’ll be back with what they quoted me. It’s in one of the piles in my office.”