Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 62620 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 313(@200wpm)___ 250(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62620 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 313(@200wpm)___ 250(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
“Aw, what a darling,” Starling says. “I wonder if Kyle and Bella would get along. It might be nice for him to have a friend who’s with us all the time. He loves Keanu, but Wren and Barrett are so busy, it’s hard to get them together for a playdate as often as we’d like.”
“You’re not taking this skunk home.” I stroke Bella’s coarse fur and she makes more happy smacking sounds. “One weird pet is the limit for any household.”
“Who said?” she counters. “And Bella’s not weird, she’s precious. Look how good she is. Skunk teeth are razor sharp and she didn’t try to bite me a single time earlier today, even when she was upset about being put in the kennel. And she’s already potty-trained. Her previous owner said she hasn’t had an accident since she was a baby and will always go in the litter box as long as you use unscented litter. The only reason the woman gave her up was because her job is moving her to a state that doesn’t allow skunks as pets, and she won’t be home as much.”
I frown. “Isn’t it illegal to keep skunks as pets in Minnesota, too?”
“Well, yes and no,” she says. “It’s kind of like fireworks. You can’t sell them or bring them into the state, but if you just happen to have one, it’s okay to shoot it off. And Bella’s previous owner had a zoo license here, so she was covered. She was hoping we could find a similar placement for Bella’s next living situation. Sheila’s looking into a few animal rescue places that fit the bill, but if one of them won’t take her…”
I look up from the skunk, whose snout is now resting on my thigh in a way that makes me feel lucky to be the kind of human animals instinctively seem to trust. “Then what happens?”
Starling shrugs. “Well, you know Furry Friends only uses euthanasia as a last resort or if the animal is too sick to have a decent quality of life. But if no one will take Bella and it’s illegal to allow her to be adopted, it may come down to that. After spending her entire life in captivity and having her scent glands removed, she wouldn’t survive in the wild.”
“Shit,” I mutter, digging my fingers into Bella’s fur, summoning another happy smacking, chirping sound from the sweet little beast.
“Yeah, it would be a shame,” Starling says, before continuing in a more pointed tone, “so, maybe it’s for the best that she escaped her cage on her own while the cameras were down. I mean…should she disappear tonight, heading off to a happy new home with someone who’s going to love and spoil her, no one would ever have to know.”
“No,” I say flatly.
“Why not?”
“I’m subletting an apartment in Minneapolis before I find a long-term living situation,” I say. “I can’t have a pet skunk in an apartment. Someone would see her, and it wouldn’t be fair to have her in a place where she couldn’t go outside to play.”
“Oh, come on,” Starling says. “You’re already in love with this darling baby, I can tell. I bet you could find a rental house in Minneapolis instead. They do have houses there, you know. Get a house with a fence too high for the neighbors to see over and you’re golden.”
I look up at Starling, meeting her gaze in the glow of the flashlight. “Are you trying to convince me to commit a felony?”
“It’s not a felony. It’s a misdemeanor that carries a one-thousand dollar fine.” She grins. “Or jail time, but I think you’d do fine in jail. You’re the kind of guy who makes friends easily and always lands on his feet.”
I match her crooked smile with one of my own. “I always knew you had a diabolical side.”
She laughs. “Yeah? I thought I did a good job of keeping it under wraps.”
“Says the woman who had a deviant turkey in her dorm room for weeks before the University staff found out.”
“And I would have gotten away with it, too, if hadn’t been for those meddling freshman wanting revenge on their RA,” she says. “But I don’t regret taking away their beer. Eighteen-year-olds are too young to drink, and the housekeeping staff was sick of cleaning up puke in the bathroom.”
She glances down at the now snoozing Bella and back up at me. “So, are you taking this sweet girl home or what? If so, I should grab a crate carrier from the storage room, and we should get out of here before the lights and security cameras come back on.”
I hesitate a beat, but in my heart the decision has already been made. Even a small chance that Bella might end up being put to sleep is too big a risk.