Page 46 of Sit, Stay, Love
The woman looked shocked, her sculpted brows arching bizarrely high. ‘I’m not paying for that.’
Anger flashed through Sera. This was exactly why she fought so hard to keep Rose’s Rescue going. Who was going to speak up for these animals in the face of such cruel irresponsibility?
She blew out a frustrated breath. ‘What’s your ex-partner’s phone number?’ Sera asked. ‘I’ll discuss it with him.’
The woman tutted. ‘I don’t have time for this. I have a flight in a few hours.’ She waggled her hand in the air in a writing motion.
Sera openly rolled her eyes and got the woman a piece of paper and a pen.
‘Typical. He won’t have to be responsible for his own damn cat,’ the woman muttered as she scribbled down his number. ‘Just typical.’ She shoved the paper at Sera with a tight smile, turned, marched over to a silver Lexus and drove off without so much as a thankyou.
Sera slammed the door behind her, picked up the box and peeked inside. ‘Hey, little ones.’
She pulled out her phone and texted Carol, the volunteer due at eleven, and asked if she could come in early, then she picked up the box and walked back down the hall. ‘You guys better come with me while I have a quick shower, then I’m going to go get your mum.’
She arrived at the man’s house just after ten and found the cat in a crate on the doorstep with a note.
Had to leave. Cat in box.
‘Dickhead!’ she spat, then picked up the crate and peered inside. An anxious black-and-white moggy mewed at her.
‘Oh, momma. Your babies are safe. Let’s get you to them.’
She secured the cat crate in the back of her van and headed back to the shelter.
‘Siri, call Toby.’
‘Petside Vet Clinic,’ he said through her car speakers.
‘Hey,’ she said, an awkwardness washing over her. ‘You left early. I thought we might have breakfast.’
‘Oh. Uh,’ he stammered. ‘I had a delivery I needed to be here for.’
‘On a Sunday?’
He was silent for a beat. ‘Yeah. They couldn’t come tomorrow, so I said I’d be here this morning.’
‘Oh. How are you feeling?’
‘Bit of a headache. I drank more than I intended.’ He cleared his throat. ‘Sorry if I was an idiot.’
She cringed. She didn’t want to talk about last night. She wanted to push it all under the proverbial rug and pretend it hadn’t happened. ‘You were not an idiot,’ she said. ‘Obviously you would be upset about Mr Boggs. I’d be disappointed in you if you weren’t.’
‘Yeah, that’s not what I…’ He hesitated. ‘Anyway. What’s up?’
Sera relayed the story of the cat and the kittens and the terrible owners. ‘Honestly, Herriot. Why do people like that get pets?’
‘Beats me. Are you coming over?’
‘I’m going to settle them, then I’ll bring them by.’
‘Just text me when you’re on your way. I’ll be here.’
Silence fell between them.
She chewed her lip. What the hell was wrong with her?It’s Toby. Only Toby. And last night was just…
‘Do you want to get something to eat tonight?’ he eventually asked. ‘I still owe you that dinner.’
