Rescue (Emily and Mason) (4 page)

“Hey Jesse,” I call out to her before she can turn the
corner, wondering if she knows about Emily’s relationship status. As she turns
around with a little grin on her lips, I wonder if I really should be asking
her. She’ll definitely go to Emily and tell her what I asked. “You should get
some sleep,” I tell her, pointing at her before I turn around on my heel and
walking off.

Gail texts me on my cellphone to tell me to find Melissa,
another veterinary assistant who works here on Thursdays. I text her back
asking her about the puppies just as I run into a tall, blonde man with broad
shoulders. I quickly give him a verbal apology and look at his nametag pinned
to a white coat. Mr. Warren, my boss, gives me a wrinkled brow look before he
moves on to whatever task he has at hand. He’s probably going to help Jesse
with that cat.

“Mr. Killinger,” he says before he moves along. I’ve never
meant the man, but I guess the nametag on my t-shirt would tell him who I am. I
watch the man in his late twenties shuffle down the hall in his lab coat with a
clipboard in hand, reading as he walks. I’m not sure if he thinks I ran into
him or vice versa, apparently we were both distracted.

Emily

I shouldn’t have worn that perfume to work today. Why did I
feel the need to put on the Victoria’s Secret spray that Laura got me for
Christmas? I remind myself that it was not for Mason’s benefit, but because I
wanted to smell different to Baby today. I want to test her. It’s not something
I’ve really read anywhere about dog training or seen on television, but I’m
hoping that introducing her to new scents will open up her curious side.

My cheeks flush again as I remember that Mason actually
realized I was late today. It wasn’t because of school; it was because I had an
appointment with the psychologist from the foster care system. I have one of
those once a month to determine that I’m not a danger to myself; I’m just
screwed up from losing my mother in a violent manner.

I should have told Mason the truth. He wouldn’t want to
speak to me then, and my jitters around him would be all over. As I walk out
the dog kennel room, I run right into Taylor Warren, the head veterinarian
around here. He’s a handsome man with his rugged blonde hair, five o’clock
shadow, and gray eyes.

“Taylor, I’m sorry! I wasn’t watching where I was going, and
I was just so lost in thought, you’re alright?” He holds me back by the
shoulders and smiles down at me with perfect teeth. If I weren’t still in my
senior year, I think he’d ask me on a date, but right now I seem to be off
limits.

“Am I alright? I’m fine. A little thing like you could plow
into me doing ninety, and I wouldn’t feel a thing. Are
you
okay?” I’m
struck silent by how much I’m blushing today. Taylor sounds genuinely concerned,
and I just nod, giving him a quick smile before I turn on my heel to head down
the hall towards the feline kennel.

“Mr. Warren!” I hear Jesse saying breathily, letting out an
unnecessary chuckle. If she would just give up on the sexy show, Taylor might
ask her on a date. Apparently he doesn’t like fluttery women though. The only
problem is Jesse isn’t really a fluttery woman, and I’m sure we’re going to
have words later.

As soon as I step into the cat room I’m assaulted with yowls
from end to end. I immediately grab the treat bag from the cupboard and put one
in each cage, mostly to keep myself sane and also because these poor guys
deserve as many treats as they can get. There’s a woman already on the other
side of the first row of cages, pulling Cream sickle out of his cage.

“Oh, you have such soft fur!” She exclaims, petting him
enthusiastically. It’s visiting hours, but people usually aren’t in to look at
the cats until after five, after work hours.

“He’s a love, but to keep that soft fur he needs brushed
daily. Are you home a lot?” I’m a volunteer; I shouldn’t be asking personal
questions like that. But if she doesn’t have the time to brush Cream sickle and
give him the attention he really deserves, I don’t want him going home with
this woman.

“I’m a columnist for an online newspaper, I’m home often.
Believe me; I know what it’s like having a long haired animal.” She smiles at
me warmly, and I feel comforted by the way she’s open about herself to me. “I
have two Shelties at home, they need brushed daily.”

Cream sickle rubs on her chin purring madly. If the cat
likes her, how can I argue? I wonder idly who put him out into the adoption
area, but I assume it’s because there are more cats in from last night in the
acclimation rooms. I leave the woman to walk around viewing the other cats
while she’s holding Cream sickle, her mind made up about him already. She ends
up choosing two more to take home with her, stating that she just can’t decide.

I take her up front quickly to the receptionist so that she
can fill out the paperwork and make my way back to the rooms to get the other
cats cleaned up. Within fifteen minutes,  the woman is walking back with three
carriers she purchased from our little store at the front and a broad smile on
her face. Jesse comes in with her to help get everyone into their carriers.

After my goodbyes to the three lucky cats that get to find a
forever home today, I finally get to scooping out litter boxes. Jesse comes
back into the room after the woman has left with her three new friends and
leans against the doorframe with her arms crossed. The door is closed behind
her.

“Did Taylor ask you on a date yet?” I ask her, knowing
that’s exactly why she’s here.

“No, you?” She sounds peeved about the entire debacle this
morning and with a resigned sigh I turn around to look her in the eyes.

“Of course he hasn’t asked me on a date, I’m seventeen,
Jesse. Besides, I don’t think I’d like to date him.” I don’t give her a reason
why. The truth is, Taylor Warren is kind of my type. It’s just that I’m not in
the dating mood right now.

“Why not? He’s hot, funny, sexy, smart, and he works with
animals. Who wouldn’t want to date that?” She seems lost in her own reverie
about Taylor, and I roll my eyes as I continue to scoop out the boxes, idly
throwing the waste into a plastic bag. I get through two more cages before she
finally pumps me for an actual response. “Well?” She asks, her eyebrows raised.

“Well what?” I ask her innocently, wishing that she would go
away. She’s the closest person I have to a friend here and I don’t want to ruin
the comradery, but she’s starting to annoy me with personal questions.

“Why don’t you want to date Taylor? He’s obviously
interested, and I’m sure as soon as you turn eighteen he’s going to ask you on
a date. So what’s wrong with him?” She pushes off the doorframe and grabs some
cans of cat food, dumping them into dishes so she looks like she’s actually
doing something in here other than trying to pry into my personal life.

“It’s not him,” I mumble, shoving more cat waste into a
clean bag. Jesse stops popping open cans, and when I look at her she has a
little grin on her lips.

“Oh, so it’s the new eye candy walking around?” My mouth
goes dry, and I feel my face flush, but I square my shoulders and look her in
the eyes.

“No, it’s me.” As soon as the words are out I go back to my
business and she grows silent, as if in contemplation. I’m not going to
elaborate on that statement, and she seems to understand. Jesse finishes up
feeding the cats and just before she leaves the room she puts a hand on my
shoulder, as if in silent comfort. Then she’s gone.

I slam the bags into a larger waste bin a little too
harshly, pop the lid back on, and decide that getting the cats out in an angry
state is not going to do them any good. So I go to the small animal room and
clean up the two in there, getting Bandit out and playing with him for about an
hour. By the time I’m done playing with him, I feel a lot better about the fact
that I almost revealed to Jesse that my mother passed away and that I’m broken.

Bandit doesn’t want to go back into his cage, but he seems
to understand that it’s time anyway and grumps in his hammock as I wash up. I
spot a lint roller that must have been left out by one of the techs and almost
squeal in delight as I roll myself off, feeling much cleaner and nicer looking.
It won’t last when I get into the dog kennels, but for the short distance there
I’ll feel more human.

Taylor passes me in the hall and smiles at me, nodding. I
try to determine whether it’s a flirtatious smile or just being friendly, but I
was never good at that even before my mother died. This afternoon Baby is sitting
at the front of her pen rather than at the back. Her ears perk as I come in the
door. I make sure to clean up everyone else before I get to her pen, that way I
can give her as much attention as possible before I leave.

Mason

Jesse grabs the cat by the scruff and shoves a needle into
its hind end, injecting the sedative. Within minutes,  the poor thing is lying
on its side with its mouth hanging open, eyes glassy. I wince when I finally
get a hold of the leg and feel for the break. Two spots, one down by the paw
and another up by the shoulder.

“She needs pins, Jesse; it’s a clean break here and here.” I
point to the upper leg and lower leg, indicating where we’re going to need to
do surgery. Jesse blows out her breath slowly and flutters her raven hair with
it.

“We’re going to need Dr. Warren,” she seems rather happy
about that, which confuses me. And then I see it, the gleam in her eyes. Jesse
has a severe school girl crush on Dr. Warren and I have a feeling that it’s not
going her way.

“You’re right, I can’t do this, and we’re going to need
him.” I get on the intercom and page Dr. Warren to the medical examining room. The
man shows up and immediately I smell it on him, Emily’s perfume. So maybe something
is going on there that I don’t know about.

I eye the man up and look at him as competition. Both of us
nod at one another as if we both know that we’re after the same thing, and
Jesse gives up both weird looks before we turn our attention to the cat. Dr.
Warren harrumphs and mms here and there as he’s examining the cat, and then he
states the obvious.

“It’s going to need pins,” he says, motioning for Jesse to
come over. She looks exuberant. “I won’t need you on this one, Mason. Perhaps
you can go home early today considering Gail isn’t here.” I narrow my eyes at
him and then give up on the pithy statement I have for him.

As I’m walking down the hall, I think I’m beginning to see
how this is going to play out. Dr. Warren has Jesse for an assistant, and he’s
going to ignore me because he doesn’t like competition around women. So
whenever Gail is at home sick or off on an appointment, I’m going to be left
here twiddling my thumbs. Well, I can twiddle my thumbs wherever Emily is at.

I hunt around the cat kennel room first, and then I hunt
around the small animal room. I find Bandit happily peeing in his water dish
and roll my eyes. After I’ve cleaned him up and straightened up my mess from
doing so, I make my way to the dog kennel. Sure enough, I find her sitting at
the opening of the pen that holds Baby, the rowdy German shepherd.

“She seems more relaxed today,” I say from the doorway. As
soon as the dog spots me she takes a few hesitant steps back and her ears
flatten on her head. I wonder if it’s her that’s nervous or if she’s reacting
that way because Emily’s shoulders suddenly stiffened. She must not have heard
me come in.

“She was.” Ouch, that stings. I make sure to close the door
behind me gently and stay where I’m at. I don’t want to provoke the dog into
leaping out and ripping out my throat.

“Look, I was wondering if you might teach me some of your
tricks. It might come in handy,” I look at Emily hopefully and see a flash of
concern on her face. She thinks I’m doing this just so that I can talk to her,
and she doesn’t want to lead me on. I can see it written all over her face. I
know she’s attracted to me. I’ve seen the look she gets on her face
occasionally on other women’s faces too, and they’ve slept with me.

“I guess it couldn’t hurt. Well, I mean, it
might
.
She bites, and they’re not nips.” I’m not sure if she’s trying to deter me or
just trying to be honest, maybe both. My hands come out of my pockets as I push
off the wall and stand a few feet off to her left, behind her. Baby starts to
drool again, her lips arching.

“The drooling is an indication that she’s nervous,” I repeat
what I’ve learned from school and Emily nods once, standing up slowly. Her
entire body goes rigid as she takes a few steps towards Baby, and the dog lies
down.

“Do you see what I just did there?” I shake my head and
Emily turns her body partially away from the dog, making me nervous. “Baby was
trying to take control of the situation, and I didn’t let her. It’s something I
learned from watching dog training videos. Right now she needs to know that I’m
trustworthy and that I know what’s best for her in this moment. She doesn’t really
want to be in control. Baby’s not really a dominant dog.”

My eyes widen. I know they do because she chuckles at me,
and then her expression entirely changes when she looks at Baby. Her face
softens, and I can see the adoration she has for just one dog, does all her
love fixate on one thing?

“So you just stiffen your body and walk towards her?” I know
I sound disbelieving. I’ve heard of this before, but never really put it into
practice. When I went to school, it was mostly textbook learning, not a lot of
hands on.

“No, it’s not just about your body language. You have to
feel
it. I’m doing it because I care about her. You can’t do it because you’re
afraid. Don’t be afraid of her, she’s just a lonely dog who’s afraid of people
because she was abandoned.” Something tells me she knows a lot about being
abandoned. The way she says it has me wondering just how much, who dared to
abandon someone as sweet as her.

“Okay, I’m feeling it.” I clear my throat and Emily steps
aside. As soon as my foot touches the concrete of the pen, Baby darts without
warning towards my leg and Emily steps in front of me. She doesn’t have to say
a word, just backs Baby into the corner and waits for the German shepherd that
probably weighs as much as she does to lie down.

“Maybe we should practice with a calmer, relaxed dog before
you try this out on Baby.” I hear mirth in her voice; did she know that was
going to happen? Of course she did, that’s why she was ready to step in front
of me at any second. I admit as I was stepping into that cage I was afraid. I
could feel my heart rate increase and my breathing had completely stopped. I
was waiting for an attack, which must have set the dog off.

Emily closes the door of the cage, but not before she gives
Baby a pat on the head. I follow her down the row of cages past the larger
breeds and past the middle sized breeds. We end up at a cage with three little
Chihuahuas in it, and I cross my arms over my chest. Emily turns to me with a
serious face, no humor there anymore.