Page 28 of Savior
“My favorite kind of customer.” She smiles at me and reaches a hand across the cluttered countertop for me to shake. “I’m Jillian.”
I take her hand in mine. “Sienna, nice to meet you.”
“Why don’t you follow me on back, and we’ll go meet your new best friend.”
She pushes through a door to a room behind the counter, and we are immediately assaulted by the excited barks and yips from its inhabitants.
Jillian moves to the closest kennel and puts her fingers to the wire mesh. “Yes, hi, precious boy. I know you missed me.” The large terrier mix jumps up and bathes her fingers in slobbery kisses. “Feel free to look around and meet them. If you spot one in particular you’d like to get acquainted with, just let me know. They’re all fixed and house trained.”
Nodding, I take another step inside and turn toward the closest kennel. Inside is a sweet-looking long-haired dachshund with warm chocolate eyes. Even though every cell inside me is screaming to drop to my knees and give it a cuddle, I have to move on. If I’m going to get a dog, I need something big enough to train and protect me. The next few kennels prove to be an excitable Chihuahua, a smash-nosed Boston Terrier, and a Pomeranian, all of which are incredibly adorable, but I keep moving.
Then my eyes fall to the last of the kennels on the row. It’s inhabitant, unlike the rest of the animals, doesn’t make a peep. Curious, I draw near with careful footsteps so I don’t spook it. When I peer through the front of the crate, a pair of soft, honey-colored eyes meet mine, and I fall ass over tea-kettle in love with the mangiest, most pungent ball of fur I’ve ever met.
Without thought, I straighten and turn back to Jillian, who is already crossing the room to join me. “We have some others out back in the exercise kennels—”
“I want this one.” I jerk my thumb back at the matted mass of brown fur.
The look on her face can only be described as abject horror. “O-oh,” she stutters, “I don’t know. Rocky there hasn’t been fully treated. His owner beat him up pretty bad, and he was found wandering the highway just yesterday.” Noting the determined look I send her, Jillian rocks back on her heels. “Since he’s new, he’ll still need to come back in a week or so for a checkup and to receive another round of shots and schedule an appointment to get him fixed.”
As she speaks, I crouch down again and scoot closer to his cage. “Hey, there,” I say in a soft voice. “Hey there, Rocky.”
He whimpers and beneath the tangled mess of his fur, and his whole frame shakes as he shrinks against the back wall of the crate.
“Are you sure you’re up for this? He’s going to be a lot of work. He’ll need to be supervised for a couple days at least, and he howls something terrible when he’s left alone.”
I nod. “I understand. I work right next to my house, and I have a very understanding employer. I’ll take good care of him.”
“Why don’t you two get acquainted while I round up the paperwork?”
I hunker back down next to his cage as she pushes back through the door to the receptionist area. Even though there are dozens of other dogs, I only have eyes for this one. I won’t know what breed he is for sure until I can give him a proper bath and probably a good cut as well, but he looks to be some sort of Lab / Shephard mix.
“Hey, Rocky,” I say again, cooing at him in the gentlest voice I can muster. “Hey, boy. Do you wanna come home with me?” His ears twitch at my voice, but he doesn’t move. “We’ll get you a bath and some treats. I’ll even let you sleep on the bed with me. I bet you’re a good cuddler, huh?”
Jillian enters, her hands full of papers. “I’ll just need you to fill out the adoption information and there’s a thirty-dollar application fee. Since he’s still looking a little rough, I can throw in a bath before you leave and a quick grooming. He’s not injured as far as the vet can tell, but he is a little skittish and malnourished, so you’ll need to be very patient with him.”
“Thank you, I appreciate your help.” I take the offered clipboard and application and settle on a nearby table to fill out the paperwork. After a year of signing my new name to things, I don’t even bat a lash anymore. I fill in the bungalow address, my place of work, and the landlord information. Since I don’t have any other pets, I hand the clipboard back to Jillian.
She beams at me. “Let’s get you some treats and let the big guy out so you two can officially meet. Then we’ll give him that bath.” She heads to a line of cabinets and pulls out a handful of treats, which she then hands to me.
While she unlocks his cage, I get down to my knees so I’m on his level and hold out a hand. “Hey, Rocky,” I say again, but this time he lifts his head and sniffs. “C’mon, boy, do you want a treat?”
I place a treat near the entrance to his kennel, and he inches closer. Not wanting to spook him, I slowly ease back to give him some room. With a careful, guarded look at me, he lifts onto his haunches and delicately takes the treat between his teeth.
When he is done munching, he scoots a bit forward, and I hold out another treat on my palm. His body trembles, but he takes a step out of the cage in my direction, scenting the air for the treat I hold in my open palm.
“It’s okay. I’m not gonna hurt you, baby.” As much as I want to inch closer, I hold the same position until Rocky takes a tentative step forward. Then another and another until his wet nose sniffs at the treat in my hand. He glances up at me, then nips the treat with a swipe of his tongue. He doesn’t retreat back into his cage, so I offer him another. “Good boy, Rocky. Good boy.”
“That’s the closest he’s gotten to another person aside from me.” I grin up at Jillian and she crouches down to pet him. “Looks like you made a friend.”
When I offer him another treat, he abandons all traces of restraint and launches himself at me. I bury my face in his fur, ignoring the dirt and grime because he’s not the only one who needs a friend.
Logan
Sofie meetsme at the department to interview the assault victim, Faith Gallagher, the next day. She’d been put through the humiliating misery of the evidence collection and documentation and now she’d have to relive the worst night of her life in front of an audience. Sometimes my job sucked, and now is admittedly one of those times, but not as much as it sucks to see the vacant expression in Ms. Gallagher’s face as she walks in the station.
“Has she said anything yet?” I ask Sofie.
“She’s responsive. Seems a little steadier today.”