“Cold!” The woman laughs. “But it was a good visit. I was surprised to see that you volunteered the day after your wedding. No honeymoon?”
Brielle smiles sheepishly at the woman, and I curse myself for not considering she might’ve wanted to go on a honeymoon. She barely wanted anything to do with the wedding, so I figured a honeymoon was out of the question.
Jesus, my mom was right. We really do need to talk.
And then the woman’s words hit me.
“You volunteer here?”
Brielle glances at me and nods.
“Is this your husband?” the woman asks, extending her hand. “I’m Jude, the manager here. Brielle has been volunteering here for a long time now. And her donations have saved so many animals.”
“I’m Kane.”
“It’s wonderful to meet you. Brielle, why don’t you show him around? I know a certain someone will be excited to see you.”
The woman winks, and Brielle forces a smile.
I get a visitor badge, and Brielle takes me into the back, where all the animals are, saying hello to several of them along the way.
“I love animals, especially cats,” she says after a few minutes. “I found one once when I was little.” She opens the door to a decent-sized room, and the cats lift their heads to acknowledge us. “I snuck him into our house and named him Pebbles because I loved Fruity Pebbles.”
She laughs softly and kneels in front of a cat toy. A brown andblack striped cat pokes its head out and starts to meow, climbing into her lap like they’ve been friends for years.
“I used my money to get him a litter box and food, and since I was only thirteen at the time, I carried it all back myself. My dad had said no pets, and when he found out that I had one hiding in my room, he threw it out, and it got hit by a car and died.”
She snuggles her face into the crook of the cat’s neck, and it purrs loudly.
“I always said that when I finally got out from under Andrey’s thumb, I would have a house full of cats.” She laughs, and it’s the first real laugh I’ve heard from her since we got married.
“But I moved in with Dominick, and since Peyton is allergic to cats, I started volunteering here.” She smiles down at the cat. “I get to give them all the love they deserve. Don’t I?” she says to the cat she’s still holding. “This is Molly. She was found on the streets, and she had gotten into a fight of some sort, so her ear had to be stitched. When we called the owner, they said they didn’t have time for a pet and we could keep her. She’s a bit older at three years old, so she hasn’t been adopted yet. Everyone wants the cute kittens, not the older, damaged cats.” She rubs the tip of her ear lovingly.
She introduces me to several of the cats, but it’s clear Molly is her favorite, and once I head out, leaving her to volunteer, I know what I need to do.
Just like the cat, Brielle wants to be loved. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do—I’m going to love the hell out of her.
26
Brielle
“Molly, where are you?”
It’s the end of my shift, and I always come back to say bye to Molly, but I can’t find her. I check in the cat house she loves to lie in, but she’s not in there.
“Hey, Bri,” Sandra, one of the other volunteers, says, stepping inside and giving me a sympathetic smile. “Molly was adopted.”
I freeze in place. “What? When?”
I was only gone for a couple of hours, feeding and cleaning all the other cat rooms and cages. How the hell did she get adopted without me knowing?
“A little bit ago. They were pre-approved, so it was a quick process.”
“Oh, okay.” My nose stings, and tears prick my eyes. “I wish I had gotten to say goodbye, but I’m glad she got to go to a good home.”
“She did.” Sandra grins. “You heading out?”
“Yeah, all the rooms and cages are clean. I’ll see you in a few days.”
