“As long as you want.”
TWELVE
LOGAN
A small, white rabbit withgray spots was standing between me and the dumpster Ashley had sent me to,washing behind its ears and wriggling its nose.
“Mr. Lumpkins?” I askedcautiously, as though rabbits tended to know their names.
It had to be, didn’t it? I wasn’tsure what a dwarf lop rabbit looked like, but this one was small and had floppyears. Logic told me that was what the name meant.
Silently, I put the trashbag I was carrying down and surveyed the area.
If the rabbit made a run forthe dumpster, I’d never get it out from under it.
Mrs. Seif was counting on meto catch this goddamn rabbit and I had no idea how to do that. It was small,and cartoons had taught me they were cunning little assholes.
I was big, slow incomparison, and probably scary for a tiny bunny.
“It’s okay, little guy,” Icooed as I approached, keeping my footsteps light. “Not gonna hurt you. Gonnabring you inside and get you… I dunno, a carrot? Do you eat carrots?”
I vaguely remembered hearingonce that they didn’t, or maybe weren’t supposed to, like ducks and bread. Not thatit mattered, since I didn’t have one to give it.
The rabbit looked at me, andtwitched its nose. Beady little eyes bored into my soul as it peered at me,watching, waiting.
It was going to bolt. It wasgoing to wait until I was a few inches short of grabbing it, and then it’d run away anddive under the dumpster or wriggle under the busted fence at the end of thealley and then I’d be wracked with guilt for weeks.
“You’re exactly the rightsize to be dinner for a stray cat,” I warned it. “Me, I hate rabbit. I wouldn’teat you unless you were the last edible thing on Earth, and there’s a frozenpizza inside with my name on it. You’re safer with me than you are out here.”
The rabbit didn’t understand,but it was still looking at me as I crept closer and closer. Maybe talkingwould distract it?
I didn’t know shitabout rabbits, and I’d never expected that to be a critical problem in my life.
My heart soared as Icrouched down next to it, victory within reach. I’d done it.
The rabbit leapt away themoment I reached out for it, just barely escaping my hand.Dammit.
Dangerously close to thedumpster, now. If it got under there… well, I’d be out here trying to coax it outfor hours. I wasn’t about to leave it to fend for itself.
“IpromiseI won’t hurt you,” Isaid, getting down on my knees to crawl closer. A shock of pain jolted up mythigh, tears pricking at the corner of my eyes. I wasn’t giving up.
“Ashley’s having a hard timetoday,” I explained. “It’d cheer him up if we found you. Please.Pleasework with me,here.”
The rabbit twitched its noseat me.
I crawled forward again,shuffling over the concrete, leg protesting with every inch.
Another nose-twitch, and therabbit hopped again.
Two hops,towardme.
My head spun as I reachedout and scooped it up, holding its tiny body close to my chest. A relieved sighechoed in the narrow alley, my fingers going to the soft, fluffy fur on the littlerabbit’sback as I took a moment to catch my breath.
“Thank you,” I said. “Youhave no idea how much this means to me.”
Watching Ashley pack wasalmost as depressing an experience as packing must have been for him. I couldsee he was heart-sore and in desperate need of a distraction, and I’d seen himlooking out for Mr. Lumpkins.
Unless there were a lot ofpeople keeping bunnies around here, this had to be him. Which meant Ashleywould feel better once he saw him.
