“If you’re serious about this,” Piper adds, “we can discuss what to do, and I can send you home with a supply kit. Because Ash is with you, I have a pamphlet of additional instructions. We’ll keep in touch for the next few weeks until we find homes for them. Is that something you want to do?”
The kitten buries her face into my chest, and I cradle the back of her head gently.
Travis is going to be pissed. Ryland will be excited.
And my buddy Ash will be a big brother to these kittens.
That’s how it works, right?
All I know is that as I look back to the other two kittens that Maeve holds, this just seems right.
“Tell me what I need to do,” I tell Piper, “so I can take these three home.”
It’slate afternoon when I return to the packhouse with three sleepy kittens, a carrier, and a kit full of supplies provided by the rescue.
I didn’t know cat rescues could be like this.
Blair knows what she’s doing, running Furs and Purrs.
They even have a pet food pantry for families in need, which is fucking awesome.
No wonder Ash is the best cat ever—he was under the care of the best person in the world.
Ryland is in the living room when I arrive, glued to his laptop on the couch.
“Um, Rowan?”
“Yeah?” I crouch down on the carpet with the carrier while Ash runs up to me, letting out a pleased yowl.
Answering mews come from inside the cardboard, and I open the top, allowing the kittens to poke their head out.
Ash lifts his head to go nose to nose with one of the kittens while Ryland’s eyes bug out of his head.
“What the hell are those?” he demands.
“They’re puppies, Rye, aren’t they cute?” I ask sarcastically. “What do you think they are?”
“Rowan, I swear to fucking god?—”
“Some piece of shit left them outside a dumpster behind Pets Express, and I had to go to the rescue. They’re three girls,” I mutter. I refuse to meet my brother’s eyes, even though I can feel him staring at me in shock.
“Wait—back up. Did you seeher?” Ryland closes his laptop and joins me on the floor, his tone no longer irritated.
“No,” I grumble. “I didn’t.”
A kitten tumbles out of the carrier, and Ryland holds out his hand, creating a gentle barrier between Ash and the kitten, just in case. “But now we have kittens.”
“Yeah. We do.” Cautiously, Ryland moves his hand, and Ash sniffs the top of the kitten’s head. “We’re fostering them for a few weeks.”
“And how the hell did that happen, exactly?” Ryland is just as enamored with them as I am now. The three girls have made their way out of the box, and they move to Ryland and pile into his lap.
“It felt right,” I murmur.
“This was impulsive,” Ryland adds fondly, petting the kittens.
“Yeah. But it still felt right.”
We sit in silence for a few moments, Ash cautiously observing while my brother and I entertain the kittens.
