“I hope they all get homes soon,” Hannah commented as a little brown puppy licked at her hand. “They deserve to be with a family that loves them.”
Harry laughed as he was simultaneously attacked by a legion of over-excited animals. They pushed him backwards until he was lying on the ground. From there, they could really start their licking and nipping campaign.
“I think they’ll do fine,” he said, trying to regain his breath. “They’ll all stay here until they’re adopted and they’ve got us for the rest of the summer.”
Hannah liked that word: us. He was no longer talking singular, but including her in his plans for the rest of the holidays. She couldn’t help but smile at the thought.
She started running around the grassed area, getting the dogs to chase her and use up their energy. She giggled the entire time as she tried to avoid getting captured. They all ran after her with such glee on their faces. It would be a crime if they weren’t all adopted soon.
“Harry, phone,” Cory called out from the door. She laughed at seeing the chaos that was ensuing. “Some woman says she saw your poster.”
Hannah and Harry exchanged a glance before he ran for the phone.
Chapter 8
Hannah paced, trying not to get her hopes up. She absentmindedly played with the dogs, wishing she could hear what Harry was saying through the window. He kept nodding, was that a good or bad sign? She didn’t know, it was making her nauseous.
Just because someone had seen their poster, it didn’t mean they knew who Basil was. Or who his family was either, for that matter. It just meant they had seen the poster. Heaps of people probably saw the posters, they had plastered them on every available space they could.
She knew the odds of finding Basil’s family were slim to none. He had been there for three months, probably long forgotten as having run away or perished. She shouldn’t get her hopes up.
The call seemed to last an interminable amount of time. Each second that passed by was like a dagger in her side, only serving to make her even more anxious. She wished and hoped and prayed it was the news they all wanted to hear.
Finally, Harry hung up and stepped back outside into the play area. Hannah stood, planted in place by her anxiety, and ignoring the puppies tugging at her skirt. She feared and needed the information he had. “Well?”
Harry stopped directly in front of her, his face betraying nothing of the news. “That call was about Basil.”
“I know, what did they say?”
The moments passed by, each one making her heart wrench tighter. She thought she just might have a heart attack.
Harry’s face twisted into an impossibly wide smile. “They said Basil belongs to them.”
“It was his family?” She didn’t believe she had heard right, it couldn’t be the news they were hoping for. Could it?
He nodded. In the elation of the news and without thinking, he swept Hannah into his arms and planted his lips on hers. Shock registered in her brain at the kiss before she let it go. His lips were so soft on hers, but so perfect too. She had never been kissed before and this was a wonderful first attempt.
She didn’t want to let go, she wanted to stay there in that moment forever – capture it like a photograph so she could remember it over and over again. The heat of his body so close was making her blush, but she didn’t want him to move away – not even an inch.
Finally, he let her go and wrapped his arms around to hug her instead. They stood there, amongst a dozen excited dogs, for longer than was polite.
When he eventually took his arms back, Hannah’s head was giddy with the whole thing. She didn’t know what she was supposed to say or do.
Using her tried and trusted method, she decided to ignore what just happened. She could analyze it later with Veronica. “Are they coming to get Basil?”
“They’re coming in this afternoon to pick him up.”
“We should get him ready then.” She waited until Harry nodded in agreement before herding the dogs back inside. They would get another run later on, right now they had a dog with a very important meeting.
Standing in front of Basil’s cage, they both looked at him like proud parents with a secret. Harry spoke first. “Basil, you’re going home.”
The dog looked unconvinced, he barely raised an eyelid to look at him. Undeterred, they took him from his cage and put him straight into the bathtub. He stood in the water like he was pretending he was elsewhere while they scrubbed, shampooed, and brushed him until he was dry again.
Completing the makeover, Hannah placed a red bow around his neck, determined he would look his best for the reunion.
“How’s he look?” She asked proudly. At the very least, he smelt a lot better than he did before. Now he smelt like cherries.
“Perfect,” Harry declared as he gave Basil the once over. He took his head between his hands. “It’s been a pleasure knowing you, boy. I hope you live a long and happy life with your family.”
“And don’t get out again,” Hannah added. “We don’t want to see you back here again. But I mean that in the nicest possible way.”
“He knows.” Harry grinned and released his head again.
As she hugged Basil for the last time, she was overcome with sadness. “I’m kind of sad to see him go.” She had spent countless hours trying to cheer him up, spending time with him so he would know he wasn’t alone in the world.
“I know, you get attached to them when they’re here for so long.”
She gave Basil a kiss and let him go, just as the bell rang from the front reception area. She looked at Harry and took a deep breath. “I guess this is it.”
“Hopefully.”
Cory appeared through the doorway. “Basil’s family is here.”
With one last pat, they guided Basil through to the front reception area of the shelter. He walked like he always did, with his head down and slowly. Even after his makeover he was still depressed.
Standing in the room wasn’t just the woman Harry spoke with on the telephone, but her husband and three children too. The five of them stood there anxiously awaiting, hoping Basil was indeed their missing family member.
The moment the door was opened, Basil sprung to life. He lifted his head and ran for the family, his tail wagging so fast it was at risk of falling off.
“Charlie!” They all called out in unison as the dog reached them. He was instantly enthralled in a round of hugs and kisses.
Hannah could feel tears welling in her eyes. She tried to blink them away but it was impossible. Basil was a completely different dog, he was happy for the first time since she had met him. He had found his family, he was whole again. She knew he wasn’t just a moping dog, she knew he was missing people and now he was reunited with them. It was too much not to cry.
She looked over just as Harry wiped at his own eyes. He tried to cover it, but she still saw. She slipped her hand into his, offering him some silent comfort.
“Thank you so much for finding Charlie,” the woman said, her eyes filled with tears too. “I really can’t thank you enough. We never thought we’d see him again.”
“How did he get away?” Cory asked, all business. She had seen too many reunions to be affected anymore.
“We went away for the weekend and left someone to housesit,” the woman explained while her kids were all over the dog. “They accidently left the door open and he took off. We looked everywhere for him but it was like he just vanished. We thought perhaps he was stolen. Where did you find him?”
“He was found in Rochedale Street and brought here three months ago.”
“That’s at least ten miles from our house. I can’t believe it’s been so long. We thought for sure something bad had happened to him. When I saw the poster, I didn’t want to get my hopes up and believe it could be him but I knew in my heart it was.”
“He’s certainly happy to see you,” Hannah commented. “He really missed you all.”
“I’d like to make a donation to y
our shelter,” the man said as he pulled out his check book. “We want to make sure you have the funds to look after many other dogs just like Charlie.”
“Donations are always accepted,” Cory smiled.
They said their final goodbyes before the family left. As they stepped out the door, Basil turned and gave them one last look – they could swear it was a smile. He wagged his tail and followed his family to the car.
Harry led Hannah back into the shelter, never letting go of her hand. It was his now, there was no way he was going to give it back.
She sighed. “I’m so glad I came through on my promise to Basil. Or, uh, Charlie.”
“I still think he looked like a Basil,” Harry joked, trying to lighten the mood. “But I guess Charlie was a good name too.”
“I guess we’d better get back to work. We’ve got a lot more to do.”
“What do you mean? We’ve done all our chores here for the day.” Harry looked around, trying to see what she saw.
Hannah grinned. “There are still a lot of homeless animals here. Which one are we going to find a home for next?”
He returned her smile, finally seeing it, the long row of cages. They did have a lot more work to do. But they had all summer, and each other. They could do it.
The End
A Hairy
Tail 2
Dedication
For Tom.
Chapter 1
There were so many kittens surrounding Hannah she thought for sure they were going to overpower her. But they were so delicate and fluffy that they wouldn’t be able to do anything except kill her with cuteness. It wouldn’t be a bad way to go.
She giggled to herself as she stopped two of the little cats from being tangled in her shoelaces. All the kittens were less than a month old, they weighed practically nothing and were still trying to get used to walking. They were adorable in their clumsiness.
Hannah stood in the middle of them, unable to even comprehend being able to find homes for them all. They couldn’t stay at the animal shelter forever; they needed to be placed into homes so they could be part of a family. That was her mission, but she had no idea how she was going to do it.
She suddenly felt arms snake around her waist, locking together over her stomach. She leaned back into Harry, feeling right at home in his arms.
“I don’t know what’s cuter, you or these kittens,” he whispered in her ear, just loud enough for only the two of them to hear.
Hannah couldn’t stop the smile spreading across her face, nor could she remove it. Ever since she met Harry, she didn’t think she would ever be able to erase that smile. There was something about him that had such an effect on her, like she was struck with lightning every time he was near.
“You’re such a liar,” she teased back at him, holding onto his arms so he couldn’t take them away. “But I like you anyway.”
“I’m not lying, it’s a difficult decision.”
“I would vote for the kittens, nothing beats a kitten for cuteness.”
He leant his head on her shoulder in defeat, giving up. “Fine. But you are a very close runner up.”
He dropped his arms to crouch down and pick up two of the grey kittens. They pawed at him playfully, tiny in his hands. The mother watched on from the side, too tired to do anything about it. She was over her protectiveness, there were too many to mollycoddle.
Hannah sat on the ground and stroked the mom; she had done well looking after her babies. She deserved a rest. “How are we going to find them all homes?”
Harry shrugged. “I don’t know. We might have to put up a serious amount of posters to let people know we have more kittens than we know what to do with.”
“We could convince the radio to make an announcement. Or set up an information booth somewhere. We could fundraise at the same time.” Hannah was instantly excited by the idea. Spending her summer volunteering at the animal shelter was one thing, but she didn’t want to stop there. Not after all the good she had seen take place within the walls.
“All excellent ideas,” Cory commented from the door. “Feel free to do it, we need all the help we can get. It’s been a bumper kitten season this year.”
“I can’t believe people can just dump their cats like this,” Hannah muttered, picking up a little tabby. “Who wouldn’t want these little guys?”
“Plenty of people, trust me,” Cory said before she retreated back into her office. She was the manager of the shelter, there nearly twenty-four hours a day to make sure everything ran smoothly.
The bell on the reception door rang, signaling an end to their kitten time. Hannah and Harry carefully placed their cats back onto the ground and hurried through to the public area, hoping it wasn’t another delivery of unwanted babies.
A woman stood there, not holding any animals but with her brow wrinkled in distress.
“Can I help you?” Hannah asked, fearing there must be something seriously wrong with their visitor. She was clearly in distress.
“My dog is missing, I can’t find her anywhere. Please, you have to help me find her.” The words came so fast they both had to concentrate to understand her.
Harry pulled out a missing animal report sheet. “We will need to fill in this report and then we can see if she’s here anywhere. What type of dog is it?”
“A Cocker Spaniel. Her name’s Lolly and she’s only a puppy. She can’t look after herself, she won’t last a night out in the cold.”
Hannah wanted to point out that it was summer and the nights were still balmy, there was no chance of the dog freezing to death, but she held her tongue. The poor woman was in enough distress.
“We haven’t had any Cocker Spaniels come into the shelter,” Harry replied. “But we can keep a lookout for Lolly and call you if someone turns her in.”
“I guess that’s something,” the woman sighed.
Harry ran through the rest of the form with her, covering everything from when she last saw Lolly to how she might have escaped. According to the woman, the dog was locked in her yard with absolutely no way of escaping – by herself anyway. She mentioned Lolly was being trained to compete in dog shows. If she didn’t get her back, then she would have to start all over again with a new dog. And she would probably be too heartbroken to do that.
“We’ll call you if Lolly comes in,” Hannah said, giving her a comforting smile. She didn’t have any pets herself but could imagine how awful it would be to have one missing. It wasn’t like they could call and let you know they were safe. It was unlikely the puppy would even be able to find her way home if she got lost.
“Please look out for her, I can’t live without my little Lolly,” the woman begged before casting one more heart wrenching look their way. She shuffled out, leaving them both feeling awful for her loss.
“You’re getting good at filling in those reports,” Hannah pointed out once they were alone again. “How many is that this week?”
“That’s the fifth one in less than a week.”
“That’s a lot of dogs to go missing, is that normal?”
Harry shook his head sadly. “I’ve never heard of that many being missing before.”
“A run of people being careless?” Hannah offered. It was summer and people did tend to be outdoors more. That could easily lead to more gates being accidently left open, more dogs escaping their leash in the parks, any number of things.
“Probably,” Harry agreed before taking a step closer to her. “I hope you remember our date tonight? Prepare to have your mind blown.”
“You talk it up enough, I hope you can live up to my expectation,” Hannah teased. Harry had been talking about their first official date for days. He wouldn’t reveal any of the details, just teased her with hints. So far, she knew it had something to do with water and there would be dinner involved. She was clueless about what he had arranged.
“I offer a money back guarantee if you’re not completely satisfied.” Hannah blushed as he took her hand. “Trust me,
it will be spectacular. I’ll pick you up at eight.”
She nodded and watched him disappear into the back of the shelter. Thinking about their date made her terrified and excited at the same time. Either she was going to spend the entire night freaking out, or she would be able to relax and enjoy it. It could still go either way.
She picked up the missing pet report and filed it with the others, hoping they would all get resolved soon.
Chapter 2
The minute Hannah stepped into her house, she felt like running right back out again. She had made a huge mistake telling both her mom and best friend about her big date. As she looked at both of them, grinning like fools in front of her, she vowed she wouldn’t make that mistake again.
“What are you doing here?” She asked Veronica, hoping for a good explanation and not the one she was expecting from her friend.
“I’ve come to get you ready for your date.” That was what she was afraid of.
“I’m just going to change into something comfortable and brush my hair. I don’t need a duo of stylists,” Hannah insisted.
“Don’t be silly,” Coco, her mother, said with a roll of the eyes. “You need to look your best for your little friend.”
“Please don’t call him my little friend. His name is Harry, you can call him Harry.”
“I call him the hottie,” Veronica grinned as she took her hand and pulled her up the stairs. Coco followed closely, carrying her hairdryer in one hand and curling iron in the other. It was Hannah’s worst nightmare come true.
Once in her bedroom, Veronica pushed Hannah into the seat in front of her dressing table. “You start on the hair and I’ll find something for her to wear.”
Coco nodded as she disappeared into Hannah’s closet. “Do you want your hair up or down, Honey?”
Hairy Tail Collection Page 4