Chapter Nine
Grant inspected the building as they pulled up to it. The thing was much larger than he’d thought it would be. Flowers were planted and potted around the entrance to add color and a sense of welcome to the drab, one-level gray building.
“How many animals can this place house?”
Jennifer got out of the car and found the right key before she looked at him.
“We can house one hundred dogs and about one hundred and twenty cats if we double them up in cages. We also have a few smaller rooms for the other domesticated animals we receive. Right now, I’m happy to say we’re only at twenty percent occupancy. ”
She relocked the first door before unlocking the next. After he was through the door, she locked that one too.
“Hey, sexy lady,” a disjointed voice said from off to the side.
Jennifer laughed at the look on Grant’s face. “Hey, handsome,” she replied before she turned back to Grant. “I should have warned you about Harry.”
“Who the hell is Harry?” Grant said in a controlled, cool voice, one eyebrow cocked.
She chuckled again. “Not who, what. Follow me, and I’ll introduce you.”
They moved around and behind the counter. A huge, colorful bird was in the corner on top of a large birdcage. Jesus. He’d never been this close to a bird this size.
Jennifer set her things down, walked up to it, then put out her hand and waited. “Hello, handsome Harry. Have you been a good boy?”
The bird delicately clutched onto the side of her hand to perch there and started to spread his feathers as if to show how beautiful he was. “Yes, sexy lady,” the voice said.
He couldn’t believe she was having a conversation with the bird, and it seemed to understand.
“What kind of bird is he?” he asked.
She stroked the bird’s chest with the back of her other hand and smiled when Harry bobbed his head up and down in a sort of dance and flapped his wings.
“Harry is an Scarlett Macaw.”
“How did an bird get here?” Grant watched the two of them together.
She amazed him with how she handled a bird a third her size.
Whenever he thought she couldn’t be more beautiful, she did something to increase his attraction.
Her hair hung in a thick braid down her back that he wanted to wrap around his hand.
Her red t-shirt and baggy jeans should have detracted from her beauty, but it drove him crazy to get his hands on her and see how they would fit around her waist or if she had enough meat on her to be able to cushion him when he finally got on top of her and fucked her senseless.
“Unfortunately, poachers will kill the parents and take the fledglings to sell here in the United States. They do this with a lot of different species, not just birds. And once in captivity, giving them their freedom back in the wild is next to impossible. We’re not sure if he was born free or in captivity. Now he’s stuck with us.”
“Can’t someone adopt him?”
She chuckled. “We’ve tried a few times, but they always bring him back because he won’t settle down and becomes mean. These types of birds tend to connect with one main person and tolerate others. It seems I’m the lucky one.” Jennifer smiled.
“Why is he still here and not at your place?” Grant smiled at the animation on her face and the sparkle in her eyes when she talked about animals. He prayed she would eventually light up like that when she saw or talked about him.
“A few reasons. One, he can get a little loud and the neighbors would complain, and two, I see him more if I keep him here. I’m very rarely home.”
“She’s my lover,” Harry said before he made a kissing sound.
A startled laugh burst from Grant. “You’re a lucky bird, Harry. How did he come to be here with you?”
Jennifer’s mouth turned down as she placed him back on top of his cage and then turned to fill his food bowl.
“His last owners had to give him up when they moved into a retirement home. The man had a small stroke, and his wife couldn’t care for him at home.
It was devastating for all three of them.
They’d had Harry for over twenty years. These types of birds can live to fifty.
So, I could keep him for twenty or more years. ”
“That’s like having a kid,” he remarked. “Except you can throw them out at eighteen.”
Or before, she thought. Jennifer turned away and headed down a long hallway before she stepped into a small room filled with cages. “I try to take him to see them a few times a month.”
“I bet they appreciate that.” Had he ever met a sweeter person? Did he deserve someone like her?
She nodded distractedly as she continued down the clean hallway and opened a gray metal door.
“Right now, we have only two rabbits and one guinea pig.” She very efficiently opened each silver cage to remove the water bowls before she filled their food dishes.
Each animal had a specific type of food in a container on top of its cage.
After she cleaned the bowls in a small sink in the corner, she filled them and put them back in the cages.
She took the animals out one by one and carefully inspected them.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“I always check them over. If you find an injury or problem early, it’s easier to take care of.”
Grant silently stood, leaned against the door, and watched, amazed at how easily she made it look and how relaxed she was here.
He never had a pet growing up. It was hard enough to feed him and his sister.
He couldn’t ever remember holding a cat, dog, or hamster.
His gaze roamed the room and noted how clean it was with a hint of pine-scented cleaner.
In fact, he hadn’t yet caught a hint of animals in the building.
Although the walls were gray concrete blocks, she’d put up colorful posters to add interest and color to otherwise drab walls.
“Okay. Let’s get to the cats. We have a little more than ten percent in the feline section, but we always have more cats than dogs.” She started at one end and did the same thing she did in the other room.
“Have you always had pets?”
“No, never my own, but I found strays and made sure they went to a place that would take care of them,” she said softly as she kept walking.
A frown crossed his face. There was something in the tone of her voice that he would bring up again at a different time.
He followed her through another gray metal door into a much larger room with many cages. A chorus of meows started the second they saw Jennifer.
“What can I help with?”
Jennifer paused and looked at him over her shoulder.
“Have you ever had a pet? And do you know if you’re allergic to anything?”
He shook his head but kept his eyes locked on her. “But I could learn how to handle them if you teach me.” He wanted to learn as much about her as possible. Everything about her fascinated him.
She smiled widely, pleased. “Okay, come here. This is Fancy. If you hold her while I clean her dish and litter box, it will help. We like to handle the animals whenever possible. They become gentler and more used to humans that way.” She handed the cat off to Grant and walked away.
Shit. She just walked away. He lifted the cat until they were eye to eye. He released a breath when the cat just blinked at him. He pulled it into his chest and hesitantly petted its back. He ended up handling all the cats except a mean one that tried to scratch Jennifer.
“That one will probably become a farm cat. He doesn’t like people that much, but he’d be a great mouser.”
By the time she finished with the cats, he felt more confident.
She walked them farther down the hall, into a huge room, three times the size of the cat room, with large kennels on both sides.
Immediately, a chorus of barks quickly escalated when they saw Jennifer.
She spoke to each one as she went. Seeing how quickly they settled when she was with each one amazed him.
Jennifer turned to Grant. “Okay, we’ll do the same thing here if you feel up for it?”
He nodded his head as he looked around at the different-sized dogs.
“I’ll try it.” He sounded more confident than he felt.
He wrinkled his nose. This was the first smell that hinted there were animals here, and he didn’t like it.
He watched what Jennifer was about to do in the kennels and thought if he had to clean them, he would likely throw up.
She started with the first cage and opened the door enough to expertly slide a rope around the dog’s neck before she opened the kennel door all the way to release the animal. This dog was small, white, with brown splotches over its body. It was a cute little thing and seemed very friendly.
While he had the dog out in a small area at the front of the room, she cleaned the kennel, replenished the fresh water, and filled the dog bowl.
This was the pattern they set, and everything went smoothly.
Only one of the animals made him nervous, and Jennifer instantly saw his discomfort, so she kept the dog in the kennel with her.
The very last enclosure was filled with five adorable little puppies.
They were all reddish-brown with black spots mixed in.
They were lively and climbed all over Jennifer when she slipped into the kennel.
She laughed, handed Grant two small puppies, and indicated a fenced area.
After they had all five puppies in, Jennifer cleaned their kennel.
Grant went into the fenced area with them and made the mistake of sitting down.
He chuckled when the puppies were on him instantly, licking and nipping at everything they could. His chuckle turned into a belly laugh.
“Is everything okay over there?” Jennifer called from the kennel.
He answered between laughs. “Y-ye-s.”