Not only was it in a bad part of town, but the building also looked like it was on the verge of being condemned, and the grounds weren’t in any better shape.
Raelyn had nothing but good things to say about the shelter and the people who worked there, so I tried to give it the benefit of the doubt as I got off my bike and headed inside. As soon as I walked through the front door, I heard Rae shout, “I'm back here!”
I followed the sound of her voice past the front desk and through the side door and was immediately hit with the potent scent of bleach and dog, but the foul smell was quickly forgotten when I spotted Rae. She was wearing a pair of ripped jeans with rubber boots and an oversized hoodie and holding a tiny white pup in her hands. “Hey, stranger.”
“Hey there, good lookin’.” I motioned my hand to the puppy. “Whatcha got there?”
“This is Charlie.” She cradled him close to her chest. “Isn’t he the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?”
“Hmm ... Yeah, he’s all right.”
“All right?” She held him up to my face as she pressed, “Look at that wittle face and that cute wittle nose. He’s precious.”
“If you say so.”
She rolled her eyes and smiled, then tucked the pup under her chin, hugging him. “I think our friend here has a screw loose.”
She gave him a peck on top of the head before carrying him back to his cage. Once she had him secured, she moved to the next cage and started filling the bowl with fresh water. “You need a hand?”
“You could go grab the bag of food from the storage closet for me.”
“You got it.”
As I walked over and picked up the dog food, I couldn’t help but notice the sad state of the shelter. Zip-ties were the only thing keeping some of the cages from falling completely apart. The concrete floor was crumbling apart, and the ceiling was covered in stains from all the fucking leaks. I found it hard to believe the place hadn’t been shut down.
I was carrying the food over to the cage when I realized I hadn’t seen any other workers, so I asked Rae, “Where is everybody?”
“It’s just me today.”
“You’re here alone?”
“For the most part.” She continued on with her work like it was no big deal as she said, “I rode here with Haleigh, and she helped me clean most of the cages, and then she had to go to some dinner thing for work and a date with Locke after that.”
“You do realize that you’re in the middle of the ’hood out here, right?”
“It’s not that bad.”
“It is,” I argued. “It’s not safe for you to be here alone.”
“I wasn’t alone. I had the dogs with me. Besides, I wasn’t planning on being here long.”
“It wouldn’t take long for someone to come in here and—”
“Okay, okay.” She huffed, interrupting my train of thought. “I get it. I’ll make sure Haleigh or one of the other girls is with me the next time I work.”
“And keep the door locked.”
“And we’ll keep the door locked.”
“Good.” I started into the next enclosure and almost tripped when a swarm of puppies surrounded my feet. I managed to scoot around them and eventually made my way over to their bowl.
As I filled it, the brown and white puffs raced over and started devouring their food. I hated to admit it, but they were pretty cute—which led me to ask, “How long does it usually take for these guys to get adopted?”
“It’s hard to tell. Some of the puppies that were here on my first day are already gone.” She motioned her hand over to an older German shepherd mix. “But dogs like this one have been here for months and months.”
“Just doesn’t seem right.”
“I know, but there’s not much we can do about it.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
Rae’s face lit up. “Does that mean you’re going to adopt one of them?”
“No, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do something.”
“Well, let me know if you come up with any ideas. Otherwise, I might end up with an apartment full of dogs, and everyone will call me the dog lady.”
“Yeah, nobody wants that.”
“No, they do not.”
Once we finished tending to all the animals, I helped Rae lock up everything, and then we headed outside. As we walked to my bike, she noticed Davies waiting in the parking lot and asked, “Who is that?”
“That’s Davies.”
“Why is he here?”
“He’s just keeping an eye on things. Nothing for you to be concerned about.”
“You sure about that?”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
She studied me for a moment, then nodded. “Okay, do you mind if we run by my place for a minute? I need to take a quick shower and change.”
“Sure. We can do that.”
After Rae put on her helmet, she climbed on behind me, and we were on our way. When we reached her apartment, I followed her inside, and it was just as I’d expected. All the furniture looked like it came right out of some designer catalogue, but the mix of dark and light made it feel cool and edgy—just like Rae.