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She didn’t know how long she had lain there until Bryan, the Irish Wolfhound, came and curled up next to her, resting his head on her outstretched hand. Her palm twitched before shetangled her fingers in his fur, the bristles tickling her skin. She focused on the sensation, using it to calm herself. His dark eyes watched her, his little smudges of eyebrows twitching this way and that.
Her eyes locked on the white rose bush, swaying gently in the breeze and she hauled herself to her feet and went over to it. The moment she stroked her fingers over the soft petals, lost herself in the white swirls of color and inhaled the sweet, floral scent her breathing steadied, a peace flowing through her.
Finally, when she could put off her chores no longer, she headed back into the shelter. Bryan followed her dutifully, staying by her side for the rest of the day as she mucked out the kennels and administered medication to those who needed it. His soulful stare tracked her the entire time, like he was making sure she was okay.
When darkness settled over the shelter as day turned to night, she took Bryan to his kennel and ushered him in.
“Thank you for looking after me today,” she cooed at him when he was reluctant to go in. He waited a beat, but she must have managed to reassure him she was better. He trotted in, circled his bed a few times before collapsing into the cushion with a loud groan and a huff.
She visited each kennel to say goodnight, giving each dog a treat before she did the same to the cats in the kitchen who finally stopped pretending to hate her long enough to yowl for their treats. She gave them scratches and when they shrugged her off, she headed into the storeroom, lighting her candle and inhaling the soft rose scent deeply to calm the nerves which had remained fraught all day.
She tried not to think about Will. Tried to put him out of her mind and not focus on how many times she had looked over her shoulder today, making sure he didn’t come back and startle her. Tried to ignore how remarkable his eyes were. They had caughther attention, both bright, the unusual cool colors stark against his pale skin. Her heartbeat increased and her throat tightened.
“No, don’t think about it. Count out what’s good…” She closed her eyes and blew out the candle, waiting for the good to come but nothing did. Her brain was too exhausted. Her body and soulached.
“Sometimes the good is that tomorrow is a new day,” she mumbled before she fell asleep.
She woke the next morning to silence. Usually, the dogs woke her up howling and growling but this morning they were strangely quiet.
She rubbed the sleep from her eyes before she sat up, her back cracking and she grunted in pain. She rolled up her sleeping bag, moving awkwardly, her spine struggling to straighten after yet another night of lying on cool concrete.
She dressed in the same clothes from the day before and drew back the sheet that separated her little room from the shelter. Sunlight flooded in from the skylight and she was pleased it was another sunny day, she could already feel it was going to be a good day. Her stomach growled; she hadn’t eaten at all yesterday which meant she would need something soon. She went into the kitchen, hunting in the cupboards for anything but they were bare.
Betty, the longhaired black cat twined herself around Rebelle’s legs, purring frantically, obviously deciding that she needed to drop the aloof act in favor of getting fed this morning. Rebelle hefted Betty into her arms, struggling slightly with the chonky queen, her arms a little weak from the lack of food. She buried her face in Betty’s silky fur, the warmth emanating from her teasing Rebelle’s skin. She eventually put the cat down and filled her and her sister, Veronica’s food bowls. Betty inhaled it like she hadn’t eaten for days let alone last night. Rebelle lookedaround for Veronica and spotted her sitting on top of an empty bunny cage, enjoying her vantage point.
Rebelle returned to the dogs, grabbing the old cordless phone from its cradle to call the vet to get medicine top ups but she stalled in dialing when she noticed the dog’s behavior. Each one of them sat at the front of their kennel, staring through the plexiglass front towards the door of the shelter, alert but not barking.
“What’s the matter, guys? You see another mouse?” she asked. None of them replied, obviously. Just acted like she hadn’t spoken, their attention fixed. Rebelle headed over to the door, still cradling the cordless phone. “We don’t need any more mice here, let’s scare it away.”
She unlocked the door and leapt outside, smacking straight into the sweaty, hard bare chest of Will Crawford.
“Whoa!” he shouted.
She stumbled back from the impact and his arm shot out and snaked around her waist, stopping her from falling. She froze at his touch and he dragged her up against him, her palms flattening against his damp, inked chest.
“I got you,” he murmured, peering down at her with his eyes, one green, one blue, both cold. The proximity to him set her nerve endings on edge and she pushed herself away.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she demanded. Her feet were screaming at her to leave. Her flight impulse kicked in and she turned and ran back to the shelter, slamming and locking the door behind her. She leaned her forehead against it as she tried desperately to pull air into her lungs. There was silence in the shelter, save for her heavy breathing and she turned around, the dogs all sat there, peering at her through the plexiglass. She shook her head at the furry traitors for not barking and howling.
There was a tap on the door and she leapt back with a yelp, fear spiking her adrenaline.
“Uh, Rebelle?”
“Please leave!” she shouted, panic clawing at her throat.
“Leave? But I’ve only just started.” The rough timbre of his voice came through the door, like there was no barrier between them. It slithered down her spine and she rolled her shoulders in an effort to shake off the unfamiliar sensation.
“What are you even doing here? I don’t want your help!” she hissed.
“You said you didn’t want it, but you clearly need it. Are you gonna lift all these heavy concrete blocks on your own in this heat?”
It was unseasonably warm for the beginning of autumn, but she dreaded the cool weather that would inevitably approach, the shelter would be hard to keep warm. She rolled her lips together, hating that he was right and that was why the blocks had sat there so long. She didn’t have the energy or strength to do it.
“Besides, I didn’t want the dogs hurting their paws on all the brick shards.”
That was actually very thoughtful, but she was too far gone to care.
“Well, thanks for what you’ve done but I’d like you to leave now.”
