Page 132 of Safe and Sound

When Piper started to make a beeline for the shelter door, I grabbed her hand. “Hold on. Don’t go running off.”

“Okay, Dare.”

Niall fell in step behind us. When we got to the shelter door, I shook my head at him. “Just wait outside.”

“If you insist.”

Since I was momentarily distracted, Piper took it upon herself to go on inside the shelter. I quickly followed behind her. Two women at the front desk looked up at us. “Hello. We’re here to adopt a kitten,” I said.

An older woman with salt and pepper hair rose out of her chair. “I’ll be happy to help you.” As she came around the counter, she smiled at Piper. “Are you ready to take very good care of a kitten?”

“Uh, huh.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I corrected.

“Yes am,” Piper sort of replied.

“I think you’re going to make a very responsible kitty mom.”

“I pwomise,” Piper said solemnly.

The lady smiled. “Follow me.”

After tapping in a code on a keypad, she ushered her down a long hallway. High pitched whines and loud barking could be heard at the end of the hall. Piper must not have liked it because she tucked herself to my side.

The woman stepped into a large room on the left. It had row after row of cages. “These are all the kittens we have. Normally they would all be filled, but some of them are in foster homes. You’re more than welcome to look at pictures and then go and meet them.”

Chuckling, I replied, “Somehow I don’t think that is going to happen.”

As we started past the cages, a paw darted out followed by a plaintive meow. “Hiya, kitty!” Piper proclaimed as she waved to the orange and white kitten.

“That’s Creamcicle,” the woman pronounced.

It looked nothing like its name. As it continued trying to get a hold of her, I recoiled slightly. It was missing one of its ears, and the fur on its face was singed.

“What happened to that one?” I asked the woman.

Her eyes grew sad. “He and his littermates were being tortured by some teenagers when a good samaritan came upon them.

“Sick fucks,” I muttered, which caused the woman’s eyes to pop wide. “Sorry about that.”

She held up a hand. “It’s fine. I mean, I’m totally in agreement.”

As the kitten continued swatting at Piper, she giggled. “I want him,” Piper said.

“But you haven’t looked at the other kittens yet.”

“He wants me.”

Eyeing the disheveled kitten, I said, “I bet the others do too. Let’s take a look.”

When I eased her down the line of cages, the kitten wailed in protest. Piper took in the black ones and the calicos. She momentarily paused to giggle at a snoozing tiger striped. But regardless of how much she interacted, her gaze kept going back to the orange menace who continued screeching in her absence.

With a frown, she started back to his cage when I stopped her. “What about this one?” I questioned about a gorgeous white ball of fluff with ocean blue eyes.

She shook her head and headed back to the orange one. The moment she stood before him, he stopped wailing. “See. He needs me.”

“I’m afraid if you adopt him, you have to adopt his sister,” the woman remarked.

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