DELILAH
Wish I knew that before dumpster diving…
She attaches a picture of her standing in a massive dumpster with a wrinkled nose, wearing bright yellow gloves up to her elbows.
Hale’s beat-up old truck wheezing down the road has me stashing my phone away. I know Hale’s a delivery driver, so I assume he doesn’t have much spare cash, but he’d better take on more shifts, because that thing looks like it’s on its last leg. It’s a miracle the truck still moves, judging by how it creaks over every slight bump on the road.
When they come to a halt, Calder climbs out of the car, holding Larry. He’s swaddled in Calder’s coat like a baby, looking right at home.
“Larry!” I rush over and scoop him into my arms, rubbing my face against his light whiskers. “You scared me so much.” Larry blinks lazily, clearly oblivious to all the fuss he’s caused. I look at his little paw. “You’re hurt, baby.”
“We can get him fixed up,” Calder promises.
“Thank you so much for finding him.” I look up from Larry, meeting Calder’s gaze. “There’s an animal hospital in Forestville. I can take him there.” I groan, remembering what happened the last time we went. “But the vet is famously unreliable. He’s always fishing on the weekends, and the only other surgery is so busy we’ll be waiting hours!”
“Hale can treat him,” Calder says, turning back to the truck. “Right, Hale?”
Hale smiles, his arm dangling casually out the window. “Sure. It’s only a superficial wound. I should have all the supplies. I can patch him up.”
I hold Larry tighter. “What do you know about patching up a wound?”
“Hale went to veterinary school for a few years before…” Calder rotates his wrist. “Trust me, he’s more than qualified.”
I ponder this, regarding Hale with some degree of skepticism. “You really can do this?”
“I can.” He nods. “He really just needs cleaning up. I’m not sure if it’s deep enough to even need stitches.”
“I’d appreciate you looking at it.” I smooth down the messy fur on Larry’s head. “I don’t want him to have to be in pain for any longer than he needs to be.”
Calder opens the door to the rear cab of the truck. “Climb on in.”
“Where are Ezra and Riven?” I ask. “I thought they were with you?”
“They’ve got a few things to sort out here,” Calder replies cryptically.
I slide into the backseat with Larry, Calder hopping in after me. As soon as he sees Calder, Larry purrs to demand his attention.
“He…” Shock momentarily steals my ability to speak. “Likes you.”
The only other person that Larry has taken a real liking to is Faye. She’s sweet by nature, and I think he can feel her energy. Aside from that, everyone else needs to keep their distance.
“Is that so hard to believe?” Calder chuckles. “I can be likable, you know.”
Hale snorts from the front seat as we set off.
“Larry doesn’t really like people very much. He’s not very social.”
“He seems fine to me.” Calder strokes Larry’s back. “You’re just misunderstood, aren’t you, buddy?”
“I never thought I’d see you speak to a cat,” Hale teases.
Calder huffs. “Just because I’m not Dr. Dolittle like you doesn’t mean I’m not good with animals.”
“Maybe he has Stockholm syndrome.” I snicker. “That would make more sense.”
“Hey, I didn’t kidnap him.” Calder’s hand flies to his chest, gasping like he’s seriously offended . “He’s just a good judge of character.”
“Thank you for finding him.” I shudder to think of the alternative. “Where was he?”
