Luckily, the pens were raised high enough that I could easily reach in and stroke him, despite my stomach and the utter inability to bend down.
Underneath the pens, I could see obvious storage. Melody had really thought everything out when she built the new shelter.
“Oh, I love him.” Wilder scooped up the kitten and held him to his chest. Instead of being startled, the cat nearly melted into his embrace. I could hear the purring from here.
“He is a snuggle buddy and loves everyone,” Melody said. “He’s even best friends with the vets who had to give him his shots.”
“Sounds like a trooper.” Preston nodded approvingly. “I like that.”
Nolan reached forward to stroke the cat, smiling. Wilder, taking that as a cue, handed the small animal to his pack mate. Nolan looked startled at first, gripping the cat awkwardly, but quickly relaxed and let him sink into the hold.
The cat rubbed himself against Nolan’s chest, burying his head in Nolan’s neck.
“Oh, I like him too,” he admitted.
Then, as soon as the words left his mouth, a gigantic sneeze erupted from him. Wilder swooped in and scooped the cat out of his arms as another massive sneeze followed.
“Nolan, are you allergic to cats?” I asked, fighting a smile because Nolan’s nose was already red.
“I don’t think so,” he said, but his voice was all nasally and his eyes were bloodshot and watering.
“Oh dear, maybe a cat isn’t for you guys.” Melody retrieved the adorable kitten and placed him back in his pen.
The entire walk to the kennels, Nolan was sneezing and sniffing. Melody, being the saint she was, had some allergy medication in her office and darted off to get it.
“How can you not know you’re allergic to cats?” Merrick chuckled, patting Nolan on the back.
“Honestly, I’ve never been around them,” Nolan said in a stuffy voice. “Growing up, I had a dog.”
“So we know dogs are okay. And definitely no ferrets.” I laughed, unable to help myself.
Instead of answering, Nolan sneezed several times in quick succession.
The rest of us looked at one another, biting back our laughter, but as soon as Nolan let out an inhumanly loud sneeze, we all burst into fits of giggles.
“I mean, it’s sad we’re not getting a cat. They’re so fun to name,” Wilder said as we walked through the kennels.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Oh God, don’t get him started.” Preston sighed.
“No, I think this is a fair point!” Wilder declared adamantly. “Dogs have normal names. In fact, dogs with old-people names are the best. Gary, Steve, and Roger—those are some excellent dog names. But cats? They get the really fun and unique names, like Toaster, Bartholomew the Book Muncher, Harold the Wizard of Heckled, or Velociraptor.”
“Andthoseare names you think are good?” I raised my brows at him, blanching slightly.
“They areamazingnames,” he insisted, brows up just like mine as he stared at me.
If he thought those names were amazing, what was he going to consider naming our child?
“That is somewhat concerning, considering we haven’t come up with a name for Baby Boy yet.”
“Oh, we won’t let him haveanyinput.” Nolan shook his head with a sniffle. “Don’t worry.”
“Yeah, he’s the last person to get naming advice from,” Preston agreed.
“Hey, I amamazingat naming things,” Wilder defended himself, pointing at his chest.
“What names would you suggest for a baby boy, then?” I asked, the search for pets suddenly forgotten with this new, concerning development.
