She rolled her eyes and smiled. “Touché Officer Hansen. Let’s see what we can do for her tonight.”
I followed her through the back door watching her hips sway as she carried the kitten to an exam room. The room was small and bright, with several corkboards covered with pet pictures hanging on the walls, along with children’s drawings and large posters of animals.
She sat the kitten in the middle of the exam table and wrapped it in the hoodie before turning and brushing past me. She smelled like something fruity, mixed with lavender and wet dog. Well, mostly like wet dog, but it wasn’t as off-putting as I thought it would be. It kind of suited her.
“What are you doing?” I asked, right on her heels as she flitted around the back room, opening drawers and whispering to herself. I turned around and crossed my arms, leaning up against a metal counter while she worked.
“I’m going to give her a de-wormer and see if I can entice her to eat. She looks about three weeks old and will need extra care when you get home. You’ll also need to pick up a litter box, more food, and formula.”
“All that for something so tiny? Can you make me a list or something?”
“Sure, I can do that. Where do you live?”
“Briarwood,” I said, rolling my shoulders, resigned this was going to be my responsibility until I could come up with a better option.
Dr. Crews stopped and tapped her chin before opening a small refrigerator and taking out a vial of yellow medicine. She shook it, then drew a small amount into a syringe.
“You’re close toPet World, and that’s on my way home. I think they’re open until nine. Look up the hours, and once I’m done checking her over, we can swing by.”
“Oh, um, sure. Thanks,” I said.
Was it weird she offered to go shopping with me? Did she do that often?
She looked at me again, and her eyes got wide. “Um. Making a list is just as easy. I didn’t mean to impose or assume you needed help.”
She looked at the floor, then the syringe, anywhere but me.
Sighing, I leaned back on the counter. “I’ll check the hours. Thanks for offering. I wouldn’t know where to begin.”
“No problem.”
The kitten was sleeping but opened her eyes and peered at Dr. Crews, hissing as she moved closer. She gave her the syringe with yellow medicine, then laid her back on the exam table with the food. The kitten stumbled forward and sniffed before hissing again and face planting into the bowl. Its face was covered with food as it ate, and after a minute, it started purring.
I hated to admit it, but that was pretty fucking cute. This little black nothing was scarfing down food like a boss and purring like a freight train.
Dr. Crews ignored the hissing and watched, whispering words of encouragement and praise. She stroked its fur, and when it finished, she wiped its mouth and put drops in its ears, earning another hiss.
“Alright, Officer Hansen,” she said, taking the food away and putting the kitten back in the hoodie.
“Mark, please call me Mark.”
“Okay, Mark, and you can call me Jenna. Your little girl looks pretty healthy. Let’s set her up for success.”
She turned to me and smiled, picking up the kitten and handing her over. The kitten turned to Jenna and hissed, then turned those blue eyes to me and slowly blinked. Once. Twice, before purring again.
Great.
3 - JENNA
You can’t keep this kitten at the clinic—Doctor Dumbass would freak out. Officer Handsome will be perfectly capable of finding her a home.Plus, nine out of ten cats hate you,I mumbled, shaking out my shoulder and wondering who the hell I ticked off in a past life. Maybe some sort of pet shaman, or a crazy cat lady, because Handsome was right. What kind of vet couldn’t calm a one-pound kitten?
Me.
I peaked in on Chick and Duck before I locked the clinic door and walked to my SUV, trying to squash the nervousness brewing in my belly. The ridiculously good-looking cop was right behind me. His heavy footfalls echoed on the gravel while he whispered to the kitten like a gentle giant. My ovaries did a little somersault listening to him.
Somersault or not, his comment irritated me. I could have turned him away, could have brushed him off, but I didn’t, regardless of how many times the black kitten hissed.
“They close at nine, right?” I said, pulling my hair back in a ponytail and unlocking the car door.
