Page 137 of 10 Rings I Hate About You
I walked up beside him, shoulder to shoulder, to look at the board. It had a diagram. “I know this is going to sound strange coming from me, but it’s not going to matter. The animals will go where they want to go. We can plan for it or work with it.”
Theo let out a laugh loud enough to startle Rutherford, who gave him what looked like a dirty look for disturbing him.
Theo’s shoulders let down the tiniest bit. Progress. “I want these guys to find their forever homes, you know?”
“That’s what we’ll focus on.” I exhaled slowly, scrubbing a hand over my jaw before answering. “I talked to Grace aboutthe marketing side. She has ideas about getting more visibility across the state. Budget’s the issue, but she said there are angles worth exploring.”
His smile stretched wide across his face. “She mentioned some of that the last time we talked. If we get the grant?—”
“When.”
He looked at me sideways.
“When,” I said again.
Theo was quiet for a moment. Then he reached over and pulled me into a bro hug. “Whatever happens tonight or any of the next… I want you to know you’ve done more for this shelter than you know.”
I didn’t have an answer that didn’t feel insufficient, so I clapped him on the shoulder and stepped away. I dragged a hand over the nape of my neck. “If you don’t get the grant, you know my family wouldn’t mind donating the money to help.”
Theo sighed. “Listen, if it gets bad enough, I’ll let you know. Your family has helped us out before, and I appreciate it, but we can’t lean on the Kingsley family money forever. I need to find ways that we can support ourselves better.”
“You’re a good guy, Theo Patterson.”
The words settled between us, no rush to fill the space. Rutherford snuffled somewhere at our feet, and Theo huffed out a quiet breath, his gaze dropping to the floor.
We let the silence stretch between us.
He took hold of Rutherford’s leash, and we headed out of the room. “Henderson got out last week.”
Henderson was the shelter’s boldest, friendliest cat, a shorthaired brown tabby. He was an official greeter and had seemingly taken the place of Ellie’s cat, Stormy, who’d been the resident Houdini. “He gets out every week. It’s why we have him in class tonight. He’s gentle and wants to be where the action is anyway.”
Back in the yoga room, Melanie, a shelter volunteer, was there with a few carriers and a dog on a leash. I crossed over to her and ran through the checklist—health clearances, behavioral flags, and anything that had come up in the last twenty-four hours.
“I’m really hoping someone adopts Marmalade. She’s been here so long,” she said, dropping her voice.
“Why are we whispering?” I asked.
“I don’t want to jinx things, I guess. I don’t know.” She shrugged and laughed.
I glanced down at the older dog at the end of Melanie’s leash. Gray muzzle, patient eyes, the particular stillness of an animal that had learned how to wait.
“She’s been here around fourteen months?” I asked.
Melanie nodded.
“Then I think instead of whispering we should say it out loud. She’s going home tonight.”
Melanie blinked. Then smiled. “Okay.”
I turned and found Delaney close by. Her arms were folded across her chest, and her stance was rigid. She watched me with a tightness around her eyes that didn’t belong there.
I ran the variables quickly as I wrapped up my chat with Melanie. “Let me check on a few things since participants should be arriving any minute. Don’t let anyone roam the room until people are settled on their mats,” I instructed.
Melanie gave me the thumbs up.
I rushed over to Delaney. “Everything all good?” I kept my voice neutral, giving her space in case I misinterpreted the situation.
“Yup.” The word came out clipped. Her gaze moved briefly to Melanie and back. “You two seemed cozy.”
