A frown crossed his face.There was something in the tone of her voice that he would bring up again at a different time.
He followed her through another gray metal door into a much larger room with many cages.A chorus of meows started the second they saw Jennifer.
“What can I help with?”
Jennifer paused and looked at him over her shoulder.
“Have you ever had a pet?And do you know if you’re allergic to anything?”
He shook his head but kept his eyes locked on her.“But I could learn how to handle them if you teach me.”He wanted to learn as much about her as possible.Everything about her fascinated him.
She smiled widely, pleased.“Okay, come here.This is Fancy.If you hold her while I clean her dish and litter box, it will help.We like to handle the animals whenever possible.They become gentler and more used to humans that way.”She handed the cat off to Grant and walked away.
Shit.She just walked away.He lifted the cat until they were eye to eye.He released a breath when the cat just blinked at him.He pulled it into his chest and hesitantly petted its back.He ended up handling all the cats except a mean one that tried to scratch Jennifer.
“That one will probably become a farm cat.He doesn’t like people that much, but he’d be a great mouser.”
By the time she finished with the cats, he felt more confident.She walked them farther down the hall, into a huge room, three times the size of the cat room, with large kennels on both sides.Immediately, a chorus of barks quickly escalated when they saw Jennifer.She spoke to each one as she went.Seeing how quickly they settled when she was with each one amazed him.
Jennifer turned to Grant.“Okay, we’ll do the same thing here if you feel up for it?”
He nodded his head as he looked around at the different-sized dogs.“I’ll try it.”He sounded more confident than he felt.He wrinkled his nose.This was the first smell that hinted there were animals here, and he didn’t like it.He watched what Jennifer was about to do in the kennels and thought if he had to clean them, he would likely throw up.
She started with the first cage and opened the door enough to expertly slide a rope around the dog’s neck before she opened the kennel door all the way to release the animal.This dog was small, white, with brown splotches over its body.It was a cute little thing and seemed very friendly.
While he had the dog out in a small area at the front of the room, she cleaned the kennel, replenished the fresh water, and filled the dog bowl.This was the pattern they set, and everything went smoothly.Only one of the animals made him nervous, and Jennifer instantly saw his discomfort, so she kept the dog in the kennel with her.The very last enclosure was filled with five adorable little puppies.They were all reddish-brown with black spots mixed in.They were lively and climbed all over Jennifer when she slipped into the kennel.
She laughed, handed Grant two small puppies, and indicated a fenced area.After they had all five puppies in, Jennifer cleaned their kennel.Grant went into the fenced area with them and made the mistake of sitting down.He chuckled when the puppies were on him instantly, licking and nipping at everything they could.His chuckle turned into a belly laugh.
“Is everything okay over there?”Jennifer called from the kennel.
He answered between laughs.“Y-ye-s.”
Chapter Ten
She chuckled and continuedto clean.When she was finished with the kennel, she headed for Grant.A huge smile broke over her face at the sight of Grant on the floor while five energetic puppies attacked him.The smile was wiped from her face as the breath abruptly left her lungs.A feeling very close to love, an emotion she’d never felt before, pierced her heart and scared the shit out of her.
