Page 8 of Packed for the Holidays

“They’re rodents,” Nils corrects.

“Like rats?” I grimace.

“No. They’re cute and cuddly.” Ellis pulls up a picture on his phone and passes it around the car. “Meggie said her neighbor had one, and she always wanted one too.”

The furry thing on Ellis’s image search looks like a mouse with enormous ears. I guess it’s cute, in a weird gerbil-looking kind of way.

“Chinchilla it is then,” Harrison parks the car in front of the mall. “Looks like we’re going to the pet store, gentlemen.”

We’re all of the same mind. If Meggie wants a rodent in the house, she’ll get a rodent.

6

Dante

I’ve never been much of a pet person, but seeing how excited Ellis is as we walk into the pet store makes me wish we’d done it sooner.

“Calm down, babr.” I chuckle as he bounces into the store. He’s like a puppy let loose in a field, his eyes wide as he takes in the store. It’s not one of those big-box pet stores that seem to have taken over, but a little place that’s held its own in the corner of the mall for decades.

There are brightly colored parrots on perches that squawk as we enter and angel fish shimmering in their crystal clear tanks. There’s a kid crouched down staring at the exotic fish, and I totally get the appeal of watching their scales gleam in the blue lights. Thisplace is so bright with life and there’s so much to look at. Cat towers. Hamsters running on their wheels. Sunken ships made of rock for massive fish tanks.

“Hey, Mr. Hart!” Tanner, a nice kid from the high school water polo team, waves as we walk in. He’s behind the counter, wearing a blue apron. “Whatyadoin’here?”

He speaks fast and mumbles the way all high school boys seem to.

“Enunciate,” I say, but with a smile. Teaching was never something on my radar, but when McQuinn and I started coaching water polo part time at the high school, I found a new purpose. Being with these kids is about more than just sports and speed strokes. It’s about teaching them to be confident in their own skin and modeling that for them.

McQuinn, Ellis, and I walk over to the counter, while Harrison looks at the hamsters with a frown and Nils wanders down an aisle lined with aquariums. Oz’s gaze lingers on Nils before a deep red paints his cheeks. He takes off in the opposite direction.

“We’re looking for a chinchilla,” Ellis says. “Do you have any?”

“Nah,” Tanner grunts. I cut him a glance, and he swallows before standing up a little straighter. “We haven’t had any since the summer.”

When I reward him with a smile for speaking in a full sentence, he beams back at me.

“Have you been practicing over the winter break?” McQuinn asks.

“Yes, sir, coach,” Tanner answers. “Whenever I’m not working. Or,” his cheeks turn the same red as his shirt, “with Ashleigh and Teke.”

Tanner and Teke are both alphas and they’ve been chasing Meggie’s little omega protégé all semester. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re all packed up before graduation this spring.

“When will you get more chinchillas?” Ellis asks, still hopeful, though it’s unlikely the store will get in more animals today. It’s already past noon the day before Christmas Eve. I’m honestly surprised this place is even open.

Tanner shrugs and frowns. “They’re kinda rare.”

Ellis looks like a kicked puppy. I take his hand and pull him into my side.

“Did you know they can jump up to six feet?” Tanner asks, a little excited. “And they’re really smart! We had this pair once and the bigger one would actually lift up the corner of the cage lid so the smaller one could get out. We found him the next morning in a bird cage gorged on carrots. They did it every night until we put a brick on the lid to hold it down.”

“Are there any other pet stores in the area that might have them?” Harrison asks, bringing us back on track. He joined our little huddle at the counter while Tanner was telling his story.

Tanner shakes his head. “We’re the only store that ever carries them.”

Ellis sighs disappointedly. Nils and Oz return from their search of the store and both look worried.

“Hey.” Oz jerks his head toward the aisles on the left. “Something is totally dead in that cage over there by the ferrets.”

“What the heck is that thing?” Nils points to a cage on the end cap of the aisle Oz was indicating.

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