Kelsey curled forward into a ball, pressing her forehead against the top of Katrina’s head. The curious cat twisted in her lap and started to lick Kelsey’s temple.
“I really like him, Megan,” she said, sitting upright again. “He’s so good with the dogs. And he’s sweet. He’s got the worst ADHD I’ve ever seen. Unless he’s focused on the dogs, which he’s incredible with, he pops around the house doing chores like a Ping-Pong ball. And he’s a really good person. He was raised by his grandparents. His mom was only sixteen when he was born, and he never even met his dad. And he’s seriously a dog whisperer, if I didn’t mention that already.”
Megan nodded slowly. “I can see why you’d be attracted to those qualities. The only thing you forgot was that he’s so hot, he’s smoking.”
Kelsey dragged her hands through her hair. “I’d like to say you get used to it, but I haven’t yet. I swear, it’s like my pulse is racing all day, and half the time I’m salivating. I’m not even kidding.”
“So, have you told him how you feel, or are you keeping all this to yourself?”
“What would I tell him?”
“A few of those things you just told me might be a good way to break the ice.”
“I think it’s already broken. I took him on a walking tour of South City last night. We got stuck out in a thunderstorm, and we ended up making out in a bus stop shelter.”
Megan pressed the flat of her hand against the floor. “Stop! You’re kidding! Why didn’t you break down the door starting with that?”
Kelsey shook her head, exasperated. “I was working up to it. Megan, what am I supposed to do? We work together. It’s going to be weird.”
“Weird? It’s going to be sexy as hell for you; that’s what it’s going to be.”
“I don’t know that though. Something could go wrong. A lot could go wrong. And then I’d still be stuck in the middle of a rehab with him.”
Megan lifted Chance off her lap and got up to join Kelsey. She sank beside her on the floor against the adoption desk, more awkwardly than normal because of her belly. “Kels, listen to me. You’re the best person I’ve ever seen when it comes to working with people. You have an easy confidence and kindness that pours off you. There’s no reason in the world that confidence shouldn’t extend into your relationships.”
“That’s different though.”
“Does it have to be?”
Kelsey chewed her lip, which was chapped from all of last night’s kissing. “What if everything goes wrong?”
“Are you hearing yourself, Kels? You’re the queen of positivity. Do yourself a favor, and let that positivity extend into your love life. You deserve it. What if everything goes right?”
Closing her eyes, Kelsey let her friend’s words sink in. Megan was right. Kelsey had worked hard to always see things in a positive light. She’d simply have to find a way to put aside her fear and doubt. “It’d be easier if he wasn’t so cute,” she said, voicing her fears. “If he was just average.”
“It might be easier, but would it be as fun? And give a pregnant lady a break, will you? The suspense is wearing on me. Details, please. Lots of them. Including how you guys left things.”
“You don’t even want to know,” Kelsey said, rolling her eyes. “It was like a dream at first. Better than a dream. It was like a fantasy. It was just us and the night and a storm and a bus stop shelter. It went on, like, forever. My lips are actually raw. But kissing him was the best thing I’ve ever experienced. Absolutely, hands down, the best. He’s an amazing kisser, and he was knee-bucklingly seductive without being too handsy for a first kiss. Or at least a first series of kisses. But then this loud honking brought us back to reality. Awkwardly back to reality.”
“How so?”
“It was the MetroBus driver. It had practically stopped raining and the bus had pulled up, and all of a sudden we were being honked at. The driver wanted to know if we were ‘getting on or getting off,’ and it was so embarrassing. There weren’t that many people riding, but the ones who saw us applauded.”
Megan covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. “That’s not so bad, Kels. Look at the bright side. You’ve got one hell of a first-kiss story.”
“Maybe so, but wait till you hear what happened next. That was enough to stop the kissing, but we held hands the rest of the way back, and we laughed about how the driver had looked at us like we belonged in jail. But as we got closer to the house, all these thoughts kept racing through my head like ‘Do I sleep with him?’ and ‘If I do, will the same thing happen that happened with Steve?’ and stuff like that. It was so stressful. I didn’t know what to do.”
Megan nodded slowly. “And? What’d you decide?”
“Nothing. Everything fell apart from there. When we got back, the house had been vandalized. I know it was one of the protesters. It had to be. A brick had been thrown through the lower-right front window. There was a message tied to it, and the wording was too close to what they’d said that day we talked for it not to be them.”
“Those wicked people. What’d it say?”
“‘Creatures of the devil won’t find their heaven on earth. Euthanize now before it’s too late.’”
Megan gasped. “That’s horrible. That’s worse than horrible. There’s an implied threat.”
“I know. We called the police. Thankfully, Kurt had written down all the protesters’ license plates and the makes and models of their cars. Since it was only one window, I’m not sure how actively the police will pursue it. Yesterday, when the protesters didn’t show up, we thought maybe they were giving
