Page 16 of October (New Orleans #10)

M olly walked through the door of the shop and was instantly happier, and she was already pretty happy because Finley Storm had asked her out on a date.

They were on that date right now. She still couldn’t believe that.

Finley had opened the door for her and was now smiling at Molly, probably because Molly was smiling at the dozen or so puppies that were running around the room that was clearly built for them.

“I can’t believe you found this place,” she said.

She heard several little puppy barks and growls and had to cover her mouth because they were just so damn cute.

“Hi. Name?” a woman asked as she approached them.

“Finley. I made a call a few hours ago for me and my–” She cleared her throat. “Date.”

Molly’s smile widened at that, looking over at her and not even caring if Finley saw that smile because they were on a date, so she could smile at Finley all she wanted tonight.

“Great. Well, welcome. Every animal is up for adoption or fostering, if you’re interested.

We have names and histories on all of them, and they’re having fun running around right now, but feel free to join in wherever and whenever you want.

We’ve got four golden retrievers, two corgis, and some mutts that are eight weeks old.

We believe the mom is part beagle and boxer.

Not sure about the dad, but they’re all cute, and this is their first time around new people, so they’re enjoying their newfound freedom. ”

“This is amazing. Thank you!” Molly replied.

“No problem. Have fun and let me know if you have any questions.”

The woman turned when someone else walked inside.

“How did you find it?” Molly asked.

“I googled,” Finley said, shrugging. “This place is great, though. They partner with a shelter and are a non-profit, so the money you pay to come and play with the puppies goes to their care, which I thought you’d like.”

“Really?” Molly’s voice was slightly higher than she had planned. “That’s so good. Can I play with them now?”

Finley laughed a little and said, “That’s why we’re here.”

The room Molly walked farther into was filled with puppies and their toys, bowls of food and water for them, and their beds where they could relax and sleep.

In fact, one of them was currently doing just that, despite all the pandemonium going on.

Molly wanted to pick the sleeping puppy up and hold it to her chest, but she didn’t want to wake it up, so instead, she sat on the floor where a few more people were playing with puppies, and one ran up to her, jumping around when he got closer.

“Well, hello, little one. What’s your name?”

“That’s Giles,” the woman from before replied.

“Giles?”

“Yeah, we name each litter after characters from TV and movies. This one had the perfect mix for Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters, so we went with that. That one is Giles because he thinks he’s smarter than everyone.

There’s Willow.” The woman pointed to another mutt.

“Who is actually smarter than everyone. There’s Xander, the goofball, and Cordy.

” She pointed to a puppy with a green collar, followed by the one with a pink one.

“And that’s Buffy. She’s the badass, older sibling.

” She pointed to the one in the red collar.

“If someone adopts them, they can obviously change their names.”

“Why would they want to do that?” Finley asked as she sat down next to Molly.

“I agree,” Molly said, looking at the puppy in front of her, who was panting and staring at her expectantly. “Hi, Giles. How are you?”

The dog didn’t move at first, but she held out her hand, and he sniffed it.

Figuring out that Molly was safe with his doggy superpowers, he moved into her hand, and she began to pet him.

This was just what she needed, and she had no idea how Finley had known that.

Even her mentioning Carly wouldn’t have been enough to make any of Molly’s exes do this for her.

“Lie down,” Finley said then.

“What?”

“Lie back,” Finley encouraged and moved to lie on the floor herself.

This wasn’t something Molly intended to do in a room full of puppies on her first date with Finley Storm. She’d done her hair for the night, and while it wasn’t perfect, she wasn’t going to ruin it by pressing it to this probably very dirty floor.

“Here,” Finley added, holding out her arm.

Molly realized what she was doing and couldn’t believe it.

She lay down and moved into Finley’s side, resting her head on her shoulder.

Before she even had a moment to revel in it, though, several puppies were around them.

One had jumped on Finley’s stomach. One was sniffing Molly’s hair.

One was licking Finley’s face. Another was trying to get Molly to pet it by rubbing against her arm.

Molly laughed. Finley laughed as well and began to pet another puppy who had joined the group.

“You’ve got a good idea there,” a man, who had been there before them, said and promptly lay back.

A few of their puppies moved on to him immediately, but that was okay with Molly because the one who had been asleep was now heading her way, looking inquisitive and hesitant.

“What’s her name?” Molly asked the woman.

“Oh, that’s Wells.”

“Wells?”

“As in H.G. She’s one of our corgis. We have Bering around here somewhere.”

“Bering and Wells,” Finley said softly to Molly. “Are you the one who names them?” she asked the woman.

“Someone at the shelter does usually, but I do sometimes. I named this bunch.”

Finley turned her head toward Molly’s and whispered, “Lesbian.”

Molly laughed as Wells approached her cautiously and sniffed her hand.

“Hey, buddy,” she said softly so as not to spook the tiny animal. “I’m a friend. Want to hang out with us?”

With the other puppies moving on, Wells was now the only one interested in them, and when she climbed onto Finley’s stomach and lay her head all the way down, Molly fell a little in love.

“I think she’s claiming you,” she said.

The dog’s eyes closed, and Molly ruffled her hair a little.

“Sorry, Wells. I’ve already got a date tonight,” Finley replied softly as well.

“She’s adorable,” Molly noted.

“Yes, she is,” Finley said, but she wasn’t talking about Wells, apparently, because then she added, “So’s the dog.”

Finley’s arm moved Molly a little closer to her, and she squeezed.

“This was a bad idea because now I want to take her home.”

“She’s available to adopt,” Finley reminded.

Molly pressed her face into Finley’s neck, breathing her in, and she still couldn’t believe that they were just lying on the floor in this strange place where a puppy was asleep on Finley’s stomach.

“I can’t,” she said.

“Why not? Does your building not allow dogs?”

“No, they do. Small breeds, at least. There’s a fee, but that’s not it.”

“Then, why?”

“Because I don’t know,” she admitted. “I like to make excuses for things I’m scared of. Look at her. She’s so tiny. She’d need me to keep her alive. How can I make sure to do that?”

“I think you’ll be okay.”

“She’s on your stomach. She clearly prefers you.”

“I have dog treats in my pockets,” Finley revealed.

“What?”

Molly shifted to look at her, and Finley laughed.

“I’m kidding. Lay back down, or you’ll wake her up, and she’s so cute.”

Molly shifted again and snuggled into Finley’s side.

“How long can we stay here?” she asked.

“For about an hour. I have a dinner reservation at the place down the street. We can walk there, though, so we have time.”

“Are we just going to lie here and let her sleep on you?”

“I think that’s a solid plan,” Finley replied.

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Wells woke up, did a big stretch for such a tiny dog, and climbed off Finley. Then, she walked away without another glance as if she’d just been using Finley’s stomach for a dog bed and was done with her now. They both chuckled as they watched the puppy go to a water bowl and drink.

“We should get going,” Finley said.

“But she’s… she’s just…”

“I know,” Finley said and sat up, bringing Molly with her and then rubbing Molly’s back over her shirt. “But we have dinner, and you said you couldn’t adopt her.”

“Yeah,” she replied, sounding disappointed even to herself. “And I can’t foster because I would want to keep every animal. I’m a lost cause.”

Finley pulled her against herself again and wrapped her arm around Molly’s shoulders.

“I hardly think you’re a lost cause, but if you seriously want a dog, I don’t think you should let anything get in your way.”

Wells looked at them for a second before turning away, and it felt to Molly as if the puppy, who was only eight weeks old, knew that these humans weren’t staying.

They were here to play and hang out, but none of them would be taking her home, and that made Molly sad. She rose and walked over to the woman.

“I don’t know yet, but if I’m interested in adopting, do you have any information I can take with me?”

“Of course. Is there a particular dog you might be interested in? I can write your name down and give you a call if someone else expresses interest or if they’re adopted.”

“Someone else might adopt her?”

“They’re puppies. Much easier than older dogs, fortunately and unfortunately.” The woman shrugged a shoulder.

“That makes me sad,” Molly said.

“Can I get some info, too?” Finley asked. “I don’t know that I want a puppy, though. I might be interested in adopting an older dog.”

Molly looked over at her and asked, “Since when?”

“It’s a recent development. India didn’t want one, and I’d love a dog. Someone to come home to every day that I can love on and they’ll love on me. Could be fun. I don’t know for sure yet, and I want to be sure before I do anything.”

“What about all those computer parts?”

“I’d have a reason to pick them up.”

“India wasn’t reason enough?” Molly asked.

Finley just shook her head.

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