“I guess I didn’t realize others could tell.”
Mike nodded with a grin. “Oh, we can tell. When people are in love, it’s noticeable. You’ve started to look at him differently over the past few months.”
I chewed on my cheek. “If you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine, but how did your wife die?”
I could see his face shift, the look that people got when they were thinking about the past. “Heart attack. She was out walking our dog. I was getting ready for work when she told me she was going to walk around the block. I went to leaveand found our dog, Marty, in the driveway. Melissa was on the ground. Doctors say she died instantly.”
I watched sorrow fill his eyes. “We were married for thirty years. We always talked about wanting to open a shelter at one point, but never got around to it.”
“I’m sorry, Mike. I imagine that was terrible.”
He nodded. “I miss her every day. She was the reason I started this. She had a passion for animals. You think I’m an animal lover? Oh, you would have loved Melissa. She had a way with animals. The entire layout was done by her; I just brought it to life.”
He softly smiled. “Well, I’m going to grab our coffee. I’ll be back in a few.”
I gave him a wave and looked around the space. There had always been a woman’s touch to parts of the shelter. The flowers in the front, the bright colored walls in the exam rooms, even the bathroom had nice soaps and dish towels that were a little worn. I always wondered why a man like Mike had a place like this. It made sense now.
The bell above the door went off, and I turned my gaze just as Gabriella and Hazel walked in. Gabriella looked around, nervous as always and her eyes dropped to me for a moment before dropping to the ground. Hazel was chewing a piece of gum and popped it as she turned around, looking at the fish tank. I offered a smile. “Hi, Gabriella. Hi, Hazel. Do you want to see the cats again?”
Gabriella shook her head. “No, I uhmmm..I actually wanted to start the adoption paperwork on one of the kittens.”
My eyebrows went up. “Really?” I was a little surprised because having a kitten was a lot of work, and for someone whowas on the fence about having an animal, might not understand that. “Are you sure?”
She nodded, a small smile forming on her lips. “Yeah, I just feel it’s right. The little black one with the left white foot. I saw him two days ago, and I already bought everything he needs. I have the cat tree and the food dishes. I got pads and set up an area in my apartment.”
“Our apartment,” Hazel added.
I chuckled. “You don’t sound on board, Hazel.”
Hazel shrugged. “She’s my older sister, and if she wants a cat, she can have a cat.”
I looked back at Gabrella, and I could see the eagerness in her eyes. Mike had likely given her the speech about how much care it would require, so I wasn’t going to.
I dug through my paper and slid her an adoption form. “Here, fill this out, and I’ll let Mike know. He’s out walking one of the dogs, and I know he has a few other things this morning. Do you want to come back with the deposit and the papers in a few hours?”
She nodded. “Yeah, thanks, Nora.” She grabbed the papers, sliding them against her chest before turning. But then she paused. “Do you want to join Hazel and I sometime for lunch?”
The question threw me off. I looked between them before nodding my head. “Sure.”
She beamed. “Great, I’ll drop these off later and we can chat.” She nodded towards the door and they both waved as they stepped outside.
I couldn’t help but smile, my stomach doing a little dance. A year ago, no one would invite me to lunch and now my world is so different.
I looked down at the desk and wrote the information for Mike when he got back. I knew he was going to be over the moon. He’d been helping Gabriella find an animal for months now.
I headed to the back, and I began sweeping out the kennels and filling their food bowls. I was mopping the floor when I heard the front door open. I glanced at my watch, knowing it had been about ten minutes. It was probably Mike back with the coffee.
“I’m cleaning the floors back here, Mike. You want to leave my coffee in the front. I’ll be out in a minute,” I yelled as I finished the floor.
I placed the mop into the bucket and turned around. I pushed the front door open, expecting Mike, but I found Kaleb standing near the fish tank. He was staring into the tank, watching the fish we had swim around.
I felt my heart skip a beat staring at him. I felt fuzzy thinking about Mike’s words. He looks at you like I used to look at my wife.
“Kaleb, what are you doing here?”
He turned around. “I was just stopping by since you didn’t answer any of my messages.”
I frowned and started patting my apron, looking for my phone. I scowled, realizing I didn’t have it. “Crap, I left it at Jade and Brandon’s. I thought I was forgetting something when I left, but I didn’t think too much about it. I was in a bit of a hurry this morning.”
