Battle Harbour was designed as a square, with the sometimes angry and always beautiful Atlantic Ocean on one side, and residential homes surrounding the downtown as the square increases in size.
The farther you get from the downtown, the more run-down the houses are.
Catch a Pet, the animal shelter that Stella runs, is on the first street behind the downtown core, and my apartment is one more street back, and on the other side of town.
It’s a bit of a walk, but I don’t mind it.
I left the party soon after the happy birthdays were sung. Kate gave me a ride to the shelter so I could do the last of the night check, and I told her not to wait. Considering four out of five of the royal siblings were celebrating, Kate was in full babysitting mode.
My friend works a lot.
I do a quick check on the animals—the litter of puppies Stella rescued from the woods behind the castle, the two strays looking for homes, and Bear, the hundred-and sixty-pound Great Pyrenees who has made it clear that the shelter is his forever home—and the cats upstairs in the cattery. It’s also loud in the shelter, with the music constantly on and the cacophony of animals.
But now that I’m outside in the cold air, walking home, it’s blessedly quiet.
I like music, and the animals. I like noise and being social, but I’ve worked straight through the holidays since no one seems to cook, and other than Al’s Pizza and Deli, fish and chips is the easiest offering for takeout, and I’m tired.
I just realized how tired I am.
That could be because of the few drinks I’ve had.
All I’m thinking about is getting home to my bed. But that’s before Stella calls.
“I’m furious with Kate,” she begins when I answer her call.
“What did Kate do?” I demand, ready to defend my friend. Stella’s always been a little uneasy with Kate since Kate was Gunnar’s first official love. As much as I keep telling her that she is Gunnar’s now and forever love, Stella is still a little insecure that Kate keeps such close contact with the family.
“She hired Ajax to deal with the Castle Cats. Ajax works forme! Kate stole them.”
“Ajax works part-time and wanted more hours, which you couldn’t give them. The plan is for them to do both.” Imagine living in a home that employs a person to look after the cats? From what I heard from Kate, Ajax will be responsible for feeding and litter changing, as well as being the official photographer and maker of the TikToks and reels for the cat’s social media account.
The six share one account, and it’s become very popular.
“They’re good with cats,” I point out. “And they’ll have time to work for you as well. They would have done the last of the night check in but you gave them the night off for the party,” I can’t help reminding my sister. Ajax is still at the party while here I am walking the streets after doing their job. And I don’t get paid for it.
Stella doesn’t pick up on it. “Is everything okay at the shelter?”
I love the rescue dogs and I’m happy to look after them, but Stella also hires people to look after them. They just happened to be invited to Silas’s birthday.
“Everything’s fine. Ajax and Lenny got them all fed and watered before they left, so I just cleaned up the puppy papers and let the dogs out for a pee.”
“Why did you leave the bar so early?”
“To check on the dogs,” I say louder than I mean to.
I can practically see the suspicious look in my sister’s eyes. “What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“Something must have happened.”
“Nothing has to happen for me to leave early,” I say impatiently. “And how do you know it’s early? You’re on the other side of the world.”
“I know what time it is at home. And—really? You’re always the last one to leave any party because you make sure everyone gets home all right, and it’s all cleaned up.”
Stella does have a point. She also thinks I’m too nice for my own good. My sister is cynical and often grumpy, and she worries that I do too much for others.
I’m not arguing with her tonight, because right now, I do feel like I’ve done too much for her. I could be at home, curled up in bed with a book—
