Chapter 4 #2
She knew she was blushing, but she nodded. “Yeah, of course.”
“They’re in here. I know you’re a professional, but please don’t make any sudden movements.
Angel’s really scared, and I want her to like you.
I’m thinking we’ll go in, close the door, then you can sit against the door and I’ll sit with my back to the wall.
Last I saw them, they were huddled behind the toilet.
We’ll just talk and give them time to get used to us. Okay?”
Devyn’s heart melted even more. He sounded extremely worried and stressed. He wanted his new pets to feel safe, and it was obvious he’d do whatever it took to make sure that happened.
“Sounds good,” Devyn told him.
Then Lucky surprised her by grasping her free hand with his own, before he opened the door.
He quickly shut it after they entered. Devyn got a quick glimpse of the bathroom—one sink, a bathtub/shower combo and toilet—before her attention was focused on the two fluff balls cowering behind said toilet, just where Lucky had said they’d be.
“Hey, Angel. Hi, Whiskers. It’s just me. You’re okay. I know the drive home was stressful, but you’re safe here. I brought a friend. This is Devyn. She was the one I was talking about on our way home.” He paused and looked over at her.
Devyn quietly added, “Hey, you two. I hope you know how lucky you are to have snagged this guy here. You’re gonna be so spoiled. And I’m sure we’re gonna have to watch your weight. I have a feeling Lucky’s gonna give you way too many treats.”
The animals didn’t move from their hiding spot, but they didn’t seem to cower away from her either. She took that as a win.
“Change of plans,” Lucky told her. “Let’s both sit here,” he said, pulling her down onto the floor next to him. “Angel didn’t flinch from the sound of your voice,” he said. “I think maybe she recognizes it from when I talked to you in the car.”
Devyn wasn’t so sure of that, but she let Lucky take the lead.
They sat on the floor for twenty minutes while Lucky talked nonstop to his new pets. He told them about how Devyn worked with animals on a daily basis, and how she could be trusted.
He placed the dog bed on the floor in front of them and explained that it was much softer than the hard tiles they were sitting on.
Devyn couldn’t believe it when the cat actually crept her way out of the protective embrace of her doggy friend to try it out.
Of course, Angel couldn’t let Whiskers get more than a heartbeat away, so she followed.
It wasn’t long before both were curled up in the bed and Lucky was scratching their heads.
“That’s so mind-blowing,” Devyn said.
“What?”
“You’re a dog whisperer. Or cat whisperer. It’s amazing.”
“Naw, they just need some time to analyze new situations. Rushing them wouldn’t do anything to make them feel safer. Come here,” he said, keeping his voice low and calm.
Devyn slowly scooted closer to both him and the animals.
“Give me your hand.”
She did, shivering slightly when he intertwined his fingers with hers.
“If you smell like me, they’ll trust you more easily.” Then he reached out with both their hands and gently stroked Whiskers’ head.
“She’s more outgoing,” he told Devyn. “It wouldn’t seem like it since she hides in Angel’s fur a lot, but I have a feeling she hasn’t been as traumatized by humans. So she trusts more easily. I’m guessing Angel’s had a hard life and hasn’t been treated well. But she follows Whiskers’ lead.”
“How do you know so much about animals?” Devyn asked quietly.
“Grew up with them. Was in 4H, took in strays, that sort of thing,” he told her. “I’ve always been drawn to them. There were times I thought they understood me better than my family did.”
“Are you close with your parents?”
“Yeah. I don’t see them a lot, but I try to get up to New York to visit when I can. It’s getting harder and harder for them to keep the farm going, but they love it.”
“A farm, huh? I wouldn’t have pegged you for a farm boy,” Devyn teased.
“I know. I had a great childhood though. I’m the man I am because of my parents. They’re great. Sometimes I feel guilty that I had such an easy time growing up. So many people I know struggled.”
“Don’t feel bad,” Devyn said.
Lucky turned to her, and she felt pinned in place by his hazel eyes. In the light of the bathroom, she saw more brown than the blue she’d spotted there earlier in the sunlight. “I hate that you were sick,” he said.
For the first time in a long time, Devyn didn’t see pity in someone’s gaze when they talked about her leukemia.
“Thanks. Honestly, I didn’t know any different.
By the time I got old enough to understand that other kids didn’t spend most of their lives in a hospital being poked and prodded, I was used to the routine.
I feel worse for my siblings. In many ways, I think my being sick was harder on them than it was on me. They didn’t get a lot of attention.”
“Tell me about your brother and sisters?”
She figured he didn’t mean Grover, since he already knew him very well.
“Mila is the oldest. She’s seven years older than me.
She’s married to a great man and lives in Colorado.
They have three kids. I try to FaceTime with them as much as I can, but it’s never often enough.
Angela is next. She’s five years older than me.
I remember wanting to hang out with her when I wasn’t in the hospital, but I was too little, and fragile, to spend much time with her.
Then when she was a teenager, she was into boys, and a sickly sister was the last person she wanted to hang out with.
We’ve gotten closer over the years, but I don’t think we’ll ever be best friends.
She’s also married, and lives in Virginia with her husband and their two kids. ”
“So they both moved away from home,” Lucky said.
He’d removed his hand from hers, and she absently petted Whiskers on her own. “Yeah. Angela went to school at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, and Mila went to the University of Colorado in Boulder. They met their husbands in college and never left.”
“Where’d you go to school?” Lucky asked.
“University of Missouri. My parents really wanted me to stay close to home.”
“And what did you want?” Lucky asked.
Devyn shrugged. “I had no idea. I was just happy to have more freedom than I’d had living with my folks. They were always super protective of me, not that I can blame them. Anytime I got the sniffles, they’d panic, thinking the cancer was back.”
“And you moved back to your hometown after you graduated,” Lucky said.
“Yeah. I got a job with a local vet and was content.”
She was afraid Lucky would press for more details. Would want to know why, if she enjoyed her job so much, she’d left it and headed down to Texas.
“What about Spencer? He’s two years older than you and two years younger than Grover, right?”
Devyn nodded, grateful she didn’t have to talk about why she’d left Missouri…
but she wasn’t all that fired up to talk about her brother either.
She appreciated Lucky wasn’t demanding answers.
He already had to have guessed things between her and Spencer were strained.
He knew Spencer was the one who’d called her yesterday, and that was why she’d left the party.
For that alone, she kinda felt as if she owed him some sort of explanation.
“Spence went to college in Rolla, Missouri. A technical school. He didn’t graduate; came home instead and got a job at the local bottling factory. He lived with Mom and Dad for a while, but eventually moved out and got his own place.”
She paused, not knowing what else to say.
“Did he resent you?” Lucky asked.
Devyn winced. “Yeah, a little. I think he felt lost in the shuffle. My older sisters were always great students, and Grover headed off to join the military. Everyone was so proud of him. Then there was me, the sickly little sister getting all the attention. He partied a lot in high school and had some pretty nasty friends. My parents weren’t happy when he flunked out of college, but they were glad when he got the job at the factory and seemed to get his act together. ”
She wanted to say more. But couldn’t. She’d kept her secrets about Spencer for so long, it felt wrong to talk about them now.
“You can trust me,” Lucky said softly.
Devyn smiled as Angel headbutted her fingers, demanding more pets. She felt as if she were like this little stray. Kinda lost in what she wanted to do with her life, skittish and slow to trust…and she so very much wanted to feel safe.
“I know,” she said after a minute.
“I don’t think you do. But you will,” Lucky stated. Then he changed the subject by saying, “I think they like you.”
Whiskers was purring nonstop, and Angel had moved a little closer so Devyn could pet her with the hand that wasn’t caressing Whiskers.
Moving slowly, Lucky reached out and lifted Angel onto his lap. The dog trembled but didn’t fight Lucky. Devyn looked into the dog’s eyes as she palpated her abdomen, checking her uncovered spay incision. “She looks good,” Devyn told Lucky.
He sighed in relief. “Good.”
“I mean, I’m not a vet, but her incision is healing fine. It could probably use some more fresh air, but overall it’s fine. She doesn’t have goopy eyes, and she doesn’t flinch when I press on her anywhere. I think she just needs a good bath, food, and some time.”
“I think we’ll skip the bath for now. But the time, I can give her.”
They went through the same motions with Whiskers, and Devyn declared her in good shape as well. The pair settled back into their fuzzy bed and sighed in exhaustion, as if they’d just walked ten miles.
“Well, at least they’re not hyper,” Devyn said dryly.
Lucky chuckled. “True. You hungry?”
“I could eat,” Devyn said.
“Great. Come downstairs and I’ll make you the best grilled cheese sandwich you’ve ever eaten.”
“You’re awfully sure of yourself,” Devyn quipped.
“Yup,” Lucky agreed.