Chapter Ten
Finn
Hearts and Paws Animal Shelter was both my favorite place in the world and the one that brought the most heartache.
Selah greeted me with a huge smile, though. “Finn! A rare Saturday off. So glad you could make it.”
The adoption area of the shelter gleamed bright white while the concrete floors shone. The wood accents around the windows matched the counter and gave the place a homier feel. “I thought I’d walk the dogs today.” I shrugged. “And then maybe spend an hour in the cat enclosure.”
“Sure. The animals will love that. We got a surrender this week. A pittie mix. She’s adorable.”
“And might be harder to find a home for.” Plenty of landlords and condo associations didn’t allow bully breeds.
“True. But I’m certain she’ll charm someone’s socks off. Her name is Thelma. Want to come and meet her?”
“Sure.”
When I’d first come here, I’d worried that I wouldn’t be able to part with the animals at the end of my visit.
Knowing I couldn’t have a dog helped, though.
My shifts at the station were too damn long, and I couldn’t afford to either kennel the dog while I worked or pay to have someone come out and walk them.
An alternative might’ve been building a doggie door and an enclosure for a dog, but I didn’t like the idea of the animal being alone—even if protected by a strong fence.
Selah handed me the key to the kennels. “You know the routine. We haven’t had any warnings, and there haven’t been any issues, but you know—”
“I know. I’ll be careful.” Not just because I didn’t want a dog bite—I didn’t, of course—but because I wouldn’t want to be the cause of a dog having to be put down.
I waved goodbye and headed to the dog area.
As I passed each kennel, I said the dog’s name.
Some woofed. Some clawed at the glass. Some stayed at the far wall and didn’t approach.
Since I had the entire day free, I planned to walk everyone and then, of course, hang out with the cats.
Generally, they appreciated my efforts less—but a couple of them liked scritches.
Thelma sat on her bed and, when she caught sight of me, made a beeline for her door.
The exact moment she realized I wasn’t whoever she was expecting broke my heart as her smile literally vanished.
“Oh, baby girl.” I swallowed. “We’re going to find a good home for you.
I promise.” I hadn’t asked for the details of the surrender.
Those stories often hit me in the gut as well.
Especially when the issue was money. I had some.
Not a ton, but Mom gifted me the cabin without a mortgage, and I made a good salary as a career firefighter.
I donated both time and money—but I couldn’t save everyone. Much as I wanted to—I just couldn’t.
I took Thelma through the process of becoming acclimated to me so I could take her for a walk along the fence line of the shelter.
She was a bright dog who immediately settled beside me and walked without pulling.
She kept glancing up at me as if to make certain I was still here.
For fun, I took her through a series of tricks, each time giving her a piece of her kibble as a reward.
She knew enough to show someone had worked with her in the past. When we’d made our way around twice, I guided her back to her kennel.
“I’m so sorry, baby girl. I don’t know why you’re here—and I’m sure you think you’ve done something wrong.
Well, you haven’t. And we’ll find you a new home.
As soon as we can.” I wanted to promise something better, but—judging by her behavior—she’d had a really good home.
Over the next two hours, I walked all the dogs.
Some were older, and we took it slow. Some were energetic, and we ran to get the zoomies out.
Old Walter was happy for me to carry him to his favorite spot in the grass.
He needed a home sooner rather than later—although it would likely only be for a short time.
Guy had a lot of years on him and, according to Dr. Zephyra, not that many more to go.
But he wasn’t suffering, so she didn’t want to put him down.
“Buddy, I would so love to take you home with me.” I scratched him under his grizzled gray chin.
He closed his eyes in bliss.
“And that’s Walter.” Selah’s voice carried to me.
I turned to face her and the person she was with. Holy fuck. What are the odds? Pretty good, apparently, because Ulysses walked next to the shelter employee.
“Walter’s been here the longest?” Ulysses caught my gaze.
“Oh, not the longest. Sorry, I thought you meant the oldest. No, Poppin has been here the longest. She’s being treated for a thyroid condition.
She needs specialized care, and we’re struggling to find a foster who can tend to her.
Walter’s owner died a couple of months ago, and so he’s keeping us company.
Both are available for either foster or adoption.
” She beamed. Many animals got adopted on her shifts—she could convince just about anyone to leave with a furry companion.
“I can certainly write about both dogs.” Ulysses shifted his gaze from Saleh back to me. “Hello, Finn. Are you adopting?”
“Finn’s one of our best volunteers. He spends time with all the dogs and then hangs out in the cat enclosure. He’s sure a favorite with our fur babies. I keep hoping he’ll rescue—”
“Day job.” I offered a smile. “But happy to visit.”
Ulysses pulled out his phone. “May I take a photograph?”
“Of me and the dog?” I blinked.
“Oh, that’s a great idea!” Selah flapped her hands.
“I suggested we do a calendar with all the hunky guys in town, but with how long printing takes, most of the rescues would be, well, rescued, before the thing ever reached the public. But if you could put the photo in this week’s paper, maybe Walter can find his forever home. ” She was all grins.
I eyed Ulysses.
He was all grins. More of the lascivious kind, though. “For Walter,” he crooned.
I managed not to roll my eyes. Barely. What I did do, though, was sit cross-legged and pull Walter into my lap. “This is your moment, Buddy. All smiles.”
He licked my chin.
Selah laughed.
Even Ulysses chuckled. “Got that.”
“Thank you.” Selah gestured toward the kennels. “There are plenty more. Oh, maybe you could feature an animal a week?”
“That would be a lot of work for him, Selah.” I rose, all the while holding Walter in my arms. “I’m certain he’s got better things to do with his time.”
“Than ensuring animals find forever homes?” Ulysses held my gaze. “If so, I can’t think what.”
Damn.
Selah gestured toward the kennels. “I can show you Poppin. She’s a sweetheart.”
“I can certainly take a picture of her as well.”
Ulysses offered what I thought was a genuine smile. With him, though, sometimes differentiating between sincerity and nicety was a challenge. His demeanor could flip from grumpy to happy so quickly.
Unlike me. What one saw was what one got. I was happy with my life and wanted other people to be as well. With the exception of—
“Finn’s not the only regular volunteer. We have a bunch of them.
We rely on donations as well, obviously.
We have four staff members, including me.
Charging an adoption fee helps keep the place running, but we do have a benefactor who will cover the fee in cases of hardship.
” Selah opened the door back to the administrative area.
“But if a person can’t afford the fee, how can they afford all the things that come with pet ownership? Food, vet bills, vaccinations…” Ulysses followed her while I veered off so I could return Walter to his kennel.
I sat with the little guy and let him lick my face repeatedly.
Being here hadn’t dulled his spirits and, if it were in my power, I’d bring him home and give him the perfect life.
Alas, life didn’t work like that. I gave him final scritches and secured the gate.
Rubbing my concrete-numbed ass, I eyed the cat building and decided I’d see them next weekend.
Rescuing a cat was a possibility—but I really liked my freedom.
To go wherever I wanted whenever I wanted.
To be able to just lock the cabin and go without worrying about a pet.
You do good work here. No one can ask for more. Maybe…but I did.
In the office, I handed the keys back to Selah. “I might come in tomorrow as well. I didn’t get to see the cats.”
“You know you’re always welcome. Meyer’s working tomorrow, and he’ll be happy to see you.” She beamed.
“How did it go with the, uh, reporter?”
“He’s going to come back another day to take a picture of Poppin. I’ll try to sneak Thelma in as well.” Her shrug caught me off guard.
“What?”
“I’m just thinking Thelma will probably be gone by the time he comes back.”
“Oh, you have a lead?”
She nodded. “I think I know someone. We’ll see.”
“Thelma is truly wonderful. She deserves the best.” They all did, of course, but I felt a special kinship with our new arrival. She really needed tons of love. “All right, have a good evening.”
“Thanks for coming, Finn. Take care.”
With that, I headed out. As I made my way across the parking lot, a familiar figure stood leaning against my pickup. “Okay, what now?”
“How did the phone call go last night?”
“Fine.” No way was I going to share what happened. I knew better. Or at least I thought I did. “Why are you waiting for me?”
“How long have you volunteered here?”
“Since I started working in the department. So about five years. Why?”
“Just—” He looked around. Clearly to verify we were alone.
Since the animal shelter was on five acres of land, there wasn’t another building in sight, and the parking lot was empty save three vehicles for three people, I figured he was being a little paranoid.
He pursed his lips. “I heard a rumor, and I wanted to ask you if you know anything about it.”
“You know the price of questions.”
He cocked his head.
“Take me to dinner. I know this great Mexican place. Hell, I’ll even pay. Follow me.” Without waiting for him to respond—or even to ask if he liked Mexican—I got into my truck. I waited until he was in his SUV before I headed out of the parking lot.
Is this really a good idea? You didn’t answer his questions yesterday and now he’s got more today…can you keep everything straight?
I probably could. More importantly, though—did I want to?
For that question, I didn’t have an answer.