Page 40 of The Birchwood House

Audrey hurried along the sidewalk toward Coral Sands’ animal shelter. The small building was painted a clean white, with pink trimmings. Audrey thought that it looked like something out of a children’s book, or an amusement park playland.

I guess that makes sense,she thought.I’m sure a lot of animals get adopted by kids who have begged their parents for a pet. It makes sense to try to appeal to children—and to the child in all of us.

She smiled up at the charming little building just before tugging open the front door. She felt as though she’d come across a magical cottage in the woods and was about to meet the enchanted inhabitants.

She grinned as soon as she stepped inside the shelter. The place had enchanted inhabitants all right—lots of furry, wriggling, barking and meowing inhabitants. Audrey gazed around at the ring of clean, comfortable cages and wanted to wriggle herself when she saw how many darling little faces were blinking back at her curiously.

“Audrey!” Harper hurried over to her and gave her a big hug. “Sorry for getting held up—and thanks for agreeing to meet me here first.”

“No problem at all,” Audrey said earnestly. “I’m thrilled to be here.”

Audrey had invited Harper to get dinner with her at Brasserie Belle, Coral Sands’ gourmet, French-inspired restaurant. She’d gone there with Elaine and Michelle the week before and been blown away by the food, which was even better than she’d remembered. Since she’d been wanting to grow her friendship with Harper, she’d decided that asking the animal shelter owner to come out to dinner with her at the delicious restaurant made all the sense in the world.

I’m excited to get to know her better,Audrey thought as she watched Harper make an adoring and goofy face at a fluffy gray cat who was blinking at her.I don’t really know that much about her, but I have the strongest feeling that I’m going to like her so much.

“Who’s that?” Audrey asked, stepping toward the cat. She made sure to keep her voice quiet so she didn’t startle the animal.

“This is Mister Mittens,” Harper said, her tone as proud and loving as if the fluffy animal was her own child. “He’s an old guy but a sweet guy.”

Audrey’s gaze traveled to the cat next door to Mister Mittens. She was a black and white cat, a tuxedo, with one bad eye but the cutest little round face Audrey had ever seen. “Oh, I love her,” she gushed. “What’s her name?”

“Nabi,” Harper said. “It means ‘butterfly’ in Korean.”

“That’s adorable. What a sweet girl. Can I pet her?”

“Sure, please do. The more the animals get used to people, the better. If any of the animals don’t do well with petting, we put a special sign on their cages so potential owners know.”

Audrey opened Nabi’s cage and gingerly placed her hand inside. She held it close to Nabi’s face, and after a second, Nabibumped her forehead against Audrey’s hand as if she was giving her a split-second hug.

Next Audrey visited the dogs and became enchanted by a fat pug dog named Clarence before laughing out loud over the antics of a pitbull puppy who was turning in circles like a spinning top.

“None of the dogs are a cuddly breed,” Audrey noted. “I would have expected more golden retrievers or poodles, dogs like that.”

Harper shook her head. “Dogs like that don’t usually end up in here. It’s the dogs who aren’t considered as charming—or the dogs who have stronger protection instincts than most people are comfortable with—who often end up without a home. Or animals who are old or have an injury, like Mister Mittens or Nabi.” She looked sad for a second but then brightened. “And that’s why our job is so important. We get to educate people about all kinds of pets and unite these little darlings with people who will be a good fit for them. Would I have Dexter here—” she gestured to the pit bull—”go home with a family that has an elderly cat or a new baby? Probably not, although pit bulls are very trainable. But I would recommend Dexter to a young married couple or a teenager looking for a friend to go on adventures with. There’s a perfect match for every pet, just like there’s a perfect match for every human.”

Audrey smiled at her friend, wondering what kind of perfect match Harper was talking about. Did she mean a perfect match with a pet, or a romantic match between soulmates?

“I’ve got a surprise for you,” Harper said eagerly, gesturing toward her office. “This is the reason why I got held up. We have some unexpected new arrivals who need to stay isolated until they’re a little older.”

Audrey gasped in delight. “You mean babies? Puppies or kittens?”

“Puppies,” Harper gushed, gesturing for Audrey to follow her. “Come on and meet them, they’re just the cutest things.”

She pushed open the door to her office, and there on the floor in a gated area, five darling little puppies toddled and tumbled around on several old towels. They were making high-pitched yapping sounds that melted Audrey’s heart.

“Can I pet them?” she begged.

“Oh please do,” Harper said, kneeling down next to the wiggling little bodies. “They might play-bite you a little, but the more we can get them used to humans, the better.”

Audrey and Harper played with the puppies, petting them and dragging toys across their fenced-in area for them to scamper after.

“I haven’t had this much fun in ages,” Audrey said with a laugh. “You have such an amazing job, Harper.”

“I really do.” The animal shelter owner’s expression softened before she perked up and asked, “And what about your exciting new job? How’s the mansion turning into a historical site working out?”

“All approved.” Audrey grinned, feeling again the relief and excitement that she’d experienced when she’d first heard the news.

“Amazing.” Harper grinned back at her. “And how about our grumpy mayor? Has he been helping you with this process?” Her expression was playful, and Audrey could tell that she was hoping for some romantic updates.