by Parker, Ali
We drove down to the shelter on the other side of the city, and as soon as I saw Raina’s beat-up truck waiting outside, I grinned. She was really here. I wasn’t sure why, but I had been half-expecting her to back out and make me look like a fool for thinking she would turn up. But no, she was here. She was really, truly here, and I was really, truly going to get the chance to see her again.
“What are you waiting for?” Winnie demanded after a moment, and I realized I had just been sitting there staring at the truck like it held the secrets to the universe. I pulled myself together once more and climbed out of the car, giving Winnie a hand to do the same thing.
A voice I recognized drew my attention. “Well, hello there!”
I glanced up to see Raina waving us down from outside the shelter. She was wearing jeans and a hoodie, and her hair was pulled back. She had this big smile on her face, as though she couldn’t imagine being happier to see us.
Winnie gave me a quick hug and then barreled over toward Raina. She was probably excited to share the details of everything she had spent so much time and effort learning in the last few days.
“And hello to you too!” Raina greeted Winnie as my little niece approached her.
I closed up the car and grabbed my coat, tossing it over my shoulder. I actually had butterflies in my stomach. I couldn’t remember the last time that I’d had butterflies in my stomach. I had to admit, having a crush again felt pretty nice—pretty new, pretty exciting.
I couldn’t believe how long it had been since I had allowed myself to notice someone like that. I had just cut myself off from the very notion of attraction, and now all these muscles that I was flexing to get back to that place felt creaky and tired.
I held back for a moment before I went over to join them. I wanted confidence, not to be second-guessing myself.
Raina led Winnie into the shelter, and I caught up with the two of them again.
“I just wanted to say thank you,” I told her, lowering my voice once I was close to her. “Thank you for coming out here today. I’d have had no idea what I was looking for.”
“Hey, I’m just glad to see that you’re taking this whole thing seriously,” she replied. “And that you’re willing to go for a rescue dog. So many people just want these little puppies from breeders, and it’s no good for them really.”
“You really think that I was going to spend all that time training up a brand-new puppy?” I replied, shaking my head. “I’m having a hard enough time wrapping my head around this as it is, let alone with something I would have to actually get under control myself.”
“Well, then, if you’re looking for dogs who already know what they’re doing, I think I have a few great options for you,” she told me, and she smiled at me widely. The look on her face made something weak within me.
“Where do we start?” Winnie asked excitedly, and I remembered that I was here with her to look for a dog.
“Okay, let’s take a look at the first row we have up for adoption right now,” Raina replied. “I know most of them pretty well, so we can talk about the ones that suit you best, okay? Let’s get started.”
And with that, we were off, and I had to admit, this was a harder task than I had expected it to be. All these dogs had such personality, and all of them looked at us with such hope. Raina explained the breeds and the temperaments and the backstories to these little hounds, and Winnie interjected with what she had learned from all her studying recently.
It was nice to hear her so passionate about something. She had obviously dedicated so much time to this, time to prove that she was worthy and capable of handling the hard work of a dog all by herself. I knew that whatever animal we took in, I was going to end up covering for a lot of its care, but that was all right.
Maybe she just needed something to love once more. Something that she could take care of. Something that she could prove to herself she was capable of protecting and caring for. I knew how powerful that could be. Hell, I had tapped into versions of myself that I had never known existed since she had come into my life, and I knew there was still so much for me to uncover. I wanted her to have the chance to uncover that, too.
Raina was so good with her. I was surprised, since Winnie could be a little high energy for most people. When she was passionate about something, she really got involved with it, and she could reel off about a hundred fun facts off the top of her head at any given moment without so much as being asked.
But Raina listened to what she was saying and gently corrected her when she had taken in something a little wrong, and she bounced back to her with other interesting facts that she had picked up about the same topics.
She sounded like she genuinely knew what she was talking about and that she genuinely wanted to share that with Winnie. Her gentleness with my niece made my heart happy, and I knew how much it would mean to Winnie to have someone taking her seriously like that.
We made our way up and down the corridors of dogs who were in need of homes, and I had to do my best not to offer to take in every single one. I thought that I would have a little more self-control when it came to actually being there in front of them, but if I could have fit them all in the back of my car, I would have driven them back to my place and started a sanctuary of my own right then and there.
I couldn’t imagine the people who had abandoned these animals in the first place. How could you look at a creature like that, one who relied on you for everything, and just want to get rid of it more than you wanted to take care of it?
Maybe I was a little protective because of Winnie, because I knew how bad things could be if you were tossed out onto the street with nowhere to go, but I would have taken them all in if I could.
Winnie was meeting every dog with interest, but I could tell that the spark she was looking for hadn’t flickered into life yet. I was surprised. I had genuinely expected her to jump at the chance to take on any dog that she saw, but there was a discerning look to her as she listened to Raina talk and tell her all about the different animals that they had in here.
“And this one is Buttons,” Raina told her as she came to a halt in front of an old Labrador. “He’s very sweet, but he’s getting on in years a little. Maybe not the best choice for you if you want a dog you can take down to the park a lot.”
It was right then that Winnie laid eyes on him for the first time. I could tell as soon as I saw the look on her face that this was the dog for her.
He was in the cage next to the Labrador. He was small, but not so small as to look silly, with grey fur and these big brown eyes and ears that looked as though they were a little too big for his head. Just under his nose, there was this smudge of darker fur that looked as though it could have been a little mustache.
Winnie dropped to her knees in front of him at once, and he jumped to his feet as soon as he saw her. I smiled. I couldn’t help it. My niece had never looked happier, not in the time that I had been caring for her. The two of them looked at each other, and I could tell at once that it was love at first sight.
Raina looked over at me, raised her eyebrows, and smiled. She could see what I saw. It was pretty damn hard to miss. I knew, one way or another, that this little guy was going to be the newest member of our family.
And yet, all I could think about was the way that Raina was smiling at me.
Chapter 12
Raina
As soon as I saw the look on Winnie’s face, I knew that the deal was done. This was over. Everyone else could pack up and go home as far as this little girl was concerned because she was just about in love with the little guy in front of her.
“What’s his name?” Winnie asked me, not taking her eyes off the terrier mix in front of her as she spoke.
“Tink,” I replied. “He’s a really sweet guy actually. You want me to bring him out so you can say hello to him in person?”
Winnie nodded enthusiastically, and I smiled and went to unlock the door of his cage. Tink was already bounding back and forth on
the spot, running this way and that as he waited to get at the little girl. He could probably sense her energy, how excited she was to even be near him.
As soon as the door was open, Tink bounded toward her, and she held out her arms to cuddle him tightly. I looked over at Harry again, and he smiled back at me. He could see as well as I could that this was as perfect as it was going to get.
The dynamic between Harry and his niece was really cute actually. The first time I had seen them, it had been on that stressful day they’d brought the dog in to see me, so they hadn’t been at their best. But now, he seemed a lot more relaxed, chatting to her about the breeds she liked and prompting her to come out with all the research that she had done on the topic of what dog she was going to make her own by the end of the day.
I was pleased to see that she had obviously dedicated so much time to the decision. It was good to know that she was treating this as a long-term thing, not just a passing fancy. And while she had to be corrected on a few facts here and there, she knew what she was talking about for the most part. She was a smart little girl, and she would make a caring, kind owner for whatever dog she chose to take in.
“Well, hey there, little buddy,” Harry murmured as he got down on his haunches to say hello to Tink for the first time.
Tink sometimes had trouble around men, but as soon as Harry extended his hand for him to smell, Tink began panting happily and launched himself over to his new owner. Okay, so maybe I was getting a little ahead of myself, but the two of them couldn’t have looked happier. Not to mention how pleased Tink was to finally be getting some attention. I always got a little choked up at times like these, when I thought about all the love that was coming toward the dog in question. To end up here, something had to go wrong for them, and it always felt so earned when something wound up going right.
“Tell me a bit more about him,” Harry said, glancing up from where Tink was assaulting his hand with his tongue.
“He’s three, and he’s been with us for about four months,” I replied. “He’s usually quiet around the other dogs, but he loves people so much, you wouldn’t believe. He can be a little needy. He needs a lot of attention for sure, but other than that, he’s about the sweetest thing you could possibly imagine. No health problems, either. He’s in great shape. We’ve had him here long enough that we would have noticed any issues if there were any.”
Winnie snuck a look at Harry. I could see what was on her mind. It was what was on everyone’s mind when they came in here and they met that certain special someone, that dog who just clicked with them at once. She didn’t even have to say it. Harry looked up at me, and there was a sureness to his gaze that told me the choice was already made.
“I think we want to take him home,” he said.
“Yay!” Winnie exclaimed, clapping delightedly.
“How do we go about that?” Harry asked, straightening up to his feet once more, though I noticed that he still kept his hand out so that Tink could snuffle into it with interest.
“There are a few forms for you to fill out,” I explained. “And we’ll need to give him a once over health-wise, just to make sure that there’s nothing you need to know about before we go forward.”
“And how long will that take?” he asked.
I smiled at him. “We can have him to you by the end of the day, if you think you can wait that long?”
Harry glanced down at Winnie, who was lying on the floor next to the dog, running her fingers through his fur. Tink himself looked utterly thrilled, as though he couldn’t imagine anything better than this moment right here.
“I think we can wait as long as it takes,” he replied, and I nodded and led him through to the reception area.
The woman at the desk, Frankie, was on her phone. She was a college student and was mostly doing this for the credit, but she knew how to work with all of the technology better than I did, so she got to stick around. She tossed her phone aside as soon as she saw us approaching the desk. Well, as soon as she saw Harry approaching the desk, at least.
It was clear from the way she was gazing at him that she was thoroughly enjoying his presence there, especially since it wasn’t like we got a lot of hot guys hanging out around these parts. I felt a little swell of protectiveness. He was mine, wasn’t he? At least, that was what I thought. Even though I had turned him down for that second date, even though I was only seeing him again because he wanted a dog...
“Frankie, could you get all the adoption papers we need ready?” I asked, and she nodded, not taking her eyes off Harry for a single moment. It was like cartoon hearts were pumping in her eyes. She couldn’t have made it much more obvious if she tried. But then, I supposed I could hardly claim that I was the best at playing it super cool.
Frankie shuffled the papers together and then handed them off to Harry. She eyed him as he filled out the forms in front of him, and when she saw him write his name down, it looked like her eyes were going to bug right out of her head.
“Harry Porter?” she squeaked, her voice sounding a little choked in her throat.
Harry glanced up at her and nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
“The Harry Porter?” she asked, as though she must have made some horrible mistake.
He nodded again, but he was starting to look a little put off by what she was saying to him. I gave her a hard look. The last thing we needed was for her to manage to scare off one of the first people who’d actually wanted to adopt a dog in a hell of a long time. It wasn’t like we had a whole lot of space in here at the best of times, and we needed to take every chance that we got to shift a dog onto a willing owner.
Harry filled out the rest of the forms, and I found myself wondering what it was about that name that had gotten Frankie so excited. The way she said it was as though she was speaking some incantation into being, like that name had power that I didn’t know about.
He certainly hadn’t mentioned anything that would have indicated that there was more to him than met the eye. Sure, I knew he had a decent amount of cash—that much was obvious given the suits he wore and the car that he drove—but that didn’t mean he was anyone special, did it? Well, yes, he was special, but not for—oh, I was getting distracted. I had too much to do today to think about what exactly it was that made him so special.
I took Tink in for a quick checkup as Winnie and Harry waited outside. He seemed in perfectly good health, but I took my time anyway, not quite ready for all of this to be over. Because as soon as they had loaded this little guy up into the car, there would be no reason for me to be around Harry a moment longer. There would be no excuse to see him again. Maybe to check in on Tink, but even that would be pushing it. And the thought of just leaving it here, especially with the mystery of what had gotten Frankie so excited, didn’t exactly sit well with me.
But there came a point where I knew I couldn’t justify keeping the three of them here any longer. I had to finish up, had to let them get started on their new life together. I could tell that Winnie was practically on the point of implosion if she didn’t get to take Tink home soon, and I had no intention of making her wait.
We pulled out a crate for them to borrow and loaded Tink up inside it. Harry gave him a pet before they closed up the back door of the car to seal him in for the journey.
“You’re sure he’s going to be all right?” Winnie asked worriedly.
I patted her arm and nodded. “He’s going to be just fine,” I promised her. “He’s just excited to get back to the house and see where he’s going to be living, right?”
“Right,” she agreed.
Harry turned toward me. I could tell from the look on his face that there was something he wanted to say to me, and I stood there for a moment, giving him the chance to come out with it.
I tried to think of something to say to him, anything, something that would allow him to stay here a little longer. I looked at the car he was driving. It was seriously nice, the kind that a dog was going to ruin as soon as it got the ch
ance. I had the crazy thought to suggest that he get a worse one, but I didn’t think that was going to do much to help. I closed my mouth again before I came out with something silly.
“Thanks so much for your help today,” he told me.
I lowered my eyes and smiled. “Any time you need it,” I replied. “And you know that you guys and Tink have a spot at the practice whenever you want to bring him in for a checkup, all right?”
“Hopefully, we won’t have a reason to anytime soon,” he replied. “But I really appreciate the offer.”
With that, he climbed into his car, leaned over to strap Winnie in, and offered me a wave as he pulled out of the parking lot and out into the street. I waved back at him, managing to smile as he pulled away, and I hoped against hope, against every bone of good sense in my body, that this wasn’t going to be the last that I saw of him.
Even though I had turned down his second date, he had found a way to see me once more. And now, I just had to hope that he wasn’t going to give up on me so soon.
Because I knew that, one way or another, I had to get a chance to see him again.
Chapter 13
Harry
“All right, buddy, let’s see what everyone at work makes of you, shall we?” I murmured as I helped Tink out of the car and onto the sidewalk. I had no idea how people were going to react to me bringing a dog into the office, but hey, my place, my rules, right? I could do whatever I wanted. In theory.
Besides, when I had been heading out for work that morning and Winnie had been getting ready for school, I thought she was going to burst into tears when I told her that I would be leaving Tink home alone for a few hours.
“I’ll come back at my lunch hour and take him for a walk,” I’d assured her. “You don’t have anything to worry about, okay?”