Page 44 of Fall Hard

That made me pause. Where the hell was she taking me?

I reached slowly for my beat-up gym shoes and laced them on quickly as Bryn made for the door. She led us downstairs and along the edges of the park—the opposite direction of campus. Relief washed through me. I’d been half-worried that she'd signed us up for some on-campus sports or art class.

I let her lead the way as we walked past the long row of bars and restaurants, includingThe Box, before I realized we were walking toward the mall.

“I’m not really in the mood to shop.”

“Okay.”

I kept my eyes on her face as she continued walking and then rolled my eyes when she offered nothing more than that. “Great,” I muttered and saw her lips twitch.

The sidewalk curved away and I stepped automatically onto the side that would lead to the mall’s entrance and hesitated when Bryn walked past. Instead she headed in the direction of a small strip mall on the other side of the parking lot and I squinted to try and read the writing on the building, my eyebrows rising as we finally got close enough for my eyes to make it out.

Sun City Shelter.

I opened my mouth and shut it again as Bryn confidently strolled inside through the automatic door and smiled at the woman behind the counter. Her eyes crinkled at the corners when she smiled back and her gray hair was short and thick, with streaks of white running through it intermittently.

“May.” Bryn held out her hand and smiled as the older woman took it. “Thanks so much for having us. This is Olivia.”

I smiled and half-waved awkwardly. What on earth were we doing here?

“Of course, I’m always happy to have helpers—especially ones that give us such handsome donations.”

Bryn blushed a little and I could tell she was deliberately not meeting my eyes as May led us past a small barrier attached to the painted green-wood desk.

“I figured we’d start small for you before we got to the big boys.”

I shot Bryn an alarmed look, no idea what was happening until we walked through a heavy door and the sounds hit me.Shelter.As in,animal shelter.

My eyes flew wide and I forgot my earlier grouchiness as excitement built inside me. I’d never had a pet, but I’d always loved animals.

“This here is Marshmallow, she looks grouchy but she’s a sweetheart really—aren’t you?” May cooed as the orange and white striped cat bumped its head against her hand. The place looked nothing like I was expecting. When I thought of shelters, I imagined long corridors and cages. This was the opposite of that.

We’d walked into a warm room, cozy even, decorated in a sweet tangerine paint with pictures of kittens and cats with what I assumed was their new owners on the walls. The cats milled about, some stretching idly and others playing with toys or snoozing on cat beds or inside cardboard boxes. Several immediately twined themselves between my legs and I let them sniff my fingers before scratching beneath their chin.So soft.

I swallowed past the lump in my throat as May pointed out the different cats before leading us over to a cordoned off area with high walls where three kittens snoozed.

“We keep them separate until they get used to the others, otherwise it can get a little overwhelming for them.”

I nodded as May bent down and lifted an impossibly small bundle of gray fluff up and out of the pen before handing them to me.

“She doesn’t have a name yet,” she said as I blinked back tears, the kitten purring happily as she curled up in the crook of my arm. “Somebody dropped her in this morning, found her dumped in the park.”

My head snapped up and May nodded at the look on my face.

“Yeah, we get a lot of them just abandoned there. Thankfully the passerby found her quickly, so she hadn’t been out there long, and she seems fine.”

I passed the kitten back reluctantly after stroking the top of her soft, fuzzy nose.

“Onward then?” May looked to Bryn who gestured for her to lead the way.

I glanced back and felt my heart melt as I saw the tiny kitten with her paws up on the clear perspex of the pen, watching us leave. Ugh, why had Bryn brought me here? It was like she was daring me to bring a little kitten or puppy home.

The next door led to a small corridor that echoed as we walked, the walls a light gray that looked well-maintained. Clearly this place was doing well for itself when it came to donations, and I could see why—the animals were cared for like they were May’s own pets.

The sound of barking reached me even before we opened the next heavy door and I couldn’t help but be impressed by the system. Even if one of the animals did escape their room, it didn’t look like they would be able to leave the facility itself with any ease.

“Our last puppy actually went to its new home yesterday, so it’s actually just adult dogs in here right now.” We walked through the door and I couldn’t help my laugh when a huge golden retriever bounded towards us and placed its paws on my stomach, panting excitedly.

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