Page 9 of A Home for His Omega

“Okay.” Teague rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms over his head. “I’ll go feed the critters.”

A few minutes later, Henry smiled as he dialed the number Tomás had given him earlier in the day.

“Hello?” Tomás answered on the second ring. Henry could hear several people talking in the background, the clink of dishes, and the occasional bark or meow of a pet.

“This is Henry Powell. Is this a bad time?” Henry asked, chewing at his thumbnail. It was a bad habit of his, but he couldn’t make himself stop.

“Not at all. How are you, Henry?” Tomás’s warm voice sent shivers down Henry’s back.

“Okay, but there’s been a development.”

“What’s going on?”

“There’s this parrot named Columbo that we just took in. He needs a nice, peaceful home and lots of love. I can give him that, right? I’m going to introduce him to Journey tomorrow and see how it goes, but there’s room at my house, isn’t there? I can give him lots of space and attention. He has arthritis and cataracts and an infection, but we’re going to treat the infection.”

“Hey, remember to breathe,” Tomás said, chuckling. “You can absolutely be there for Columbo. If he gets along with Journey, we can make him an area in your living room, right next to the windows. If not, you have a lot of space upstairs. We’ll figure it out. Plus, I’m sure there are cage designs out there for older parrots. I’ll look some up tonight. Do you want to meet for lunch tomorrow? We can talk it over.”

“Are you sure you have time? I don’t want to be a bother.”

“I have plenty of time, and you’d never be a bother, Henry.” Tomás’s voice was full of smiles and sunshine, warming Henry. “This just gives me an excuse to talk with you more.”

Henry flushed, then looked around, making sure no one saw that. “Thank you. Columbo isn’t pretty or nice and that’s what people want. You know? Just because he’s not perfect doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve a home.”

“You’re right. The old fella deserves love.”

Henry sighed. “You get it. That’s why I like you so much. Okay, so I’ll see you tomorrow. Just text me the time and place.”

“Will do. Now, tell me more about Columbo.”

Henry grinned. “He talks big, but I can tell he’s a sweetheart.”

“I know a few of those. Remind me to introduce you to my friend Juan.”

Tomás

“Should we help him?” Juan asked, sledgehammer slung over his shoulder. “He did come in two hours early.”

“Hmm, I’m not sure.” Carter grabbed Tomás’s thermos of coffee from where it sat on the hood of his truck. “He’s the one that promised to build a chicken coop during mud season.”

Tomás ignored them and slowly trudged through the mud to bring another load of rough lumber to the old woodshed behind Henry’s farmhouse. It was the closest outbuilding to the house and Tomás figured Henry would want Sophie’s coop as close as possible. The walls were rotted in areas and there wasn’t a floor, but Henry had some good ideas on how to make it look good.

“He won’t even walk through the grass because he doesn’t want it to turn into a mud pit.”

Carter drank Tomás’s coffee. “We can’t interfere. We wouldn’t want to upset his mating dance.”

“Huh?” Juan tilted his head.

“You haven’t met Henry yet,” Carter said. “He’s young and handsome.”

“Tomás wouldn’t just fall for a nice face.” Juan huffed. “Give the kid some credit.”

“You’re right.” Carter took another drink. “Well, Henry also loves animals.”

“That’s better, but still,” Juan shook his head, “I’m not convinced.”

“Why else would he do this?” Carter waved toward him. “Look at him. He’s gonna lose a boot in that shit.”

Tomás trudged back to the truck for another load. “Will you two shut up? Either come help me or get back to knocking down walls. And leave my coffee alone, Carter. Zoe makes that special for me.”

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