Meeting Chance Read online

  Synopsis

  Scarred physically and emotionally from a dog attack at age nine, Aaron Cassidy has spent the last seven years breaking out in a cold sweat at the mere sound of a bark in the distance. Days after he receives his driver’s license, he decides to challenge his bone-deep fear once and for all.

  Volunteering at the Happy Endings Animal Foundation gives Aaron a new sense of purpose. Here he’ll face his fears and learn to love man’s best friend. When an abused pit bull with scars mirroring his own arrives at the shelter, Aaron cannot even be in the same room without lapsing into his familiar, paralyzing terror. But as he gets to know the wounded animal, and the two learn to trust again, Aaron finds that sometimes all you need is a little...Chance.

  Meeting Chance

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  Meeting Chance

  © 2013 By Jennifer Lavoie. All Rights Reserved.

  ISBN 13: 978-1-60282-994-7

  This Electronic Book is published by

  Bold Strokes Books, Inc.

  P.O. Box 249

  Valley Falls, New York 12185

  First Edition: October 2013

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

  Credits

  Editors: Lynda Sandoval and Ruth Sternglantz

  Production Design: Susan Ramundo

  Cover Design By Sheri ([email protected])

  By the Author

  Andy Squared

  Meeting Chance

  Acknowledgments

  There are many people who made this book possible, and without them, I wouldn’t be writing this page at all. My eternal gratitude to Len Barot and the entire Bold Strokes Books team. Thank you for believing in me!

  Thanks also to the World’s Greatest Editor, Lynda Sandoval, for her patience and belief in Chance. These thanks extend to Sheri, Cindy, and Ruth, who were all important to making this book 100%.

  To my students at MBMS, without whom this book may not have been written. And to my students at OCS, who helped me choose the final cover art for this book and learned a bit about the publishing world.

  For all that they do to encourage reading and education: Pam Sloss, Toni Whitaker, R.E. Bradshaw, Cheryl Orahood, Laurie Lavoie, Yvonne Heidt, Barbara Wright, Ruth Sternglantz, Aleida Gonzalez, Karen Wolfer, Beth Schomburg, and anyone else who either remained anonymous or who I have forgotten unintentionally.

  As always, to my family and friends, especially my parents and my siblings. I owe a huge debt to my coworker, Amy McCallum Bailey, who is the real life inspiration for the Amy in this book, and who answered whatever questions I had on fostering dogs. And a thank you to the real Megan and Brendan Corbin and their amazing Rottweilers.

  Finally, to Alicia Wright and Melissa Zaluski from the Connecticut Humane Society in Newington, I thank you for taking time out of your busy day to speak with me about pit bulls, shelter procedures, and for the insightful tour of your wonderful facility.

  If you or someone you know is looking to become a pet owner, please consider adopting from the Connecticut Humane Society. For more information visit www.cthumane.org

  Dedication

  For my students, who inspire me every day

  Chapter One

  The doors of the shelter in downtown Bristol loomed large before him. Despite the pouring rain, they were open beneath their maroon canopy. Aaron drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and stared at them through the rain-streaked window. He could wait a few more minutes. If he got out of his car now, he’d just get drenched, and then he’d be soaked for hours and smell worse than the dogs inside. What good would that do?

  A few people came and went in the time he sat there, listening to the soft strains of music filter over his radio. Some of them noticed him, and he wondered what they thought of the teenager sitting in his beat-up car staring intently at the building. They must think I’m a lunatic. Or a thief.

  The radio told him it was ten after four, and he knew he was late. His appointment with the director had been for four. Maybe he should just go home, call the woman—Maria, he remembered—and tell her he’d gotten caught up at school and couldn’t make it. Maybe he could reschedule for another day.

  Or never.

  The two words were like a shock to him, racing straight through his spine. No. He would do this. He’d been planning it for a year now, and his mother would be so disappointed with him. He would be disappointed with himself.

  He had just received his license two days ago, and his first major drive had been to the animal shelter, where he planned to change his life. For far too long he had lived in fear, but now everything would be different. He couldn’t change the scars on his face, or the pain of the memories, but he could change other things.

  If only he could get out of the car.

  A moment later, the rain eased up and Aaron forced himself from the ripped cloth of his car seat. He trotted to the front door, lingering a moment under the canopy as he pushed his hair back and stepped into the glowing interior of the shelter.

  The scent of bleach hit him first, followed by the softer and somehow sharper scent of dog. A large orange feline lounged on the desk in front of him, not even bothering to pick up its head when he placed one hand on the counter. He would have thought it was fake if the whiskers hadn’t twitched.

  The woman behind the desk looked up and smiled briefly. “Can I help you?”

  “My name is Aaron Cassidy. I have an appointment with the director.”

  The woman pushed a stack of papers off a large desk calendar and ran her finger down until it stopped on that date. “Ah, yes. You were scheduled to meet with her at four.”

  “Yes, I ran a little late,” he said, despite his car being clearly visible through the open doors. “If she’s busy, I can reschedule if that’s better.”

  The woman picked up the phone, hit a single button, and held up a “one moment” finger.

  Aaron reached out while she talked on the phone and ran a hand across the cat’s fur. She picked her head up and looked at Aaron, and he realized she was large because of a swollen, pregnant belly. She purred loudly and settled back into her nap just as the woman put down the handset.

  “Maria said to go on into her office. It’s around the corner to your right, first door.”

  “Thanks.” He followed her directions and found the door wide open. A woman sat behind a large desk, seeming to not even notice two kittens rolling around on a pile of papers, sending the stack all over the place. Aaron knocked timidly on the door frame.

  “Come in, Aaron,” Maria said, looking up with a smile. She glanced at the clock. “I expected you at four,” she added, picking up one kitten up and setting it on a small bed on the floor.

  “I’m sorry,” Aaron started, about to give her the same excuse he’d given the other woman, but he stopped short. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to lie to the woman he wanted to work for. “I was nervous,” he finally admitted.

  “Based on what you told me over the phone, it is understandable,” she said as her brown eyes flickered toward the scar that ran the length of Aaron’s face.

  He knew how he looked with the scar that ran in a jagged line from the corner of his lip to his chin. Not to mention t
he puncture wounds by his right eye that nearly connected with the one on his lip. When he offered her a smile, there was an uneven quirk that the doctors hadn’t been able to fully correct. He would live with those scars for the rest of his life, and he wasn’t yet an adult. Wait—Maria had been talking to him, and he hadn’t heard a word of it. “I’m sorry, what did you—?”

  “Aaron? Are you sure you want to do this?”

  He nodded after a moment. “I’m sure. I’ve wanted to since last year. I need to do this.”

  Maria smiled and stood, reaching across the desk to shake his hand. “You’re a brave young man. I’m sure you’ll do fine here. Happy Endings Animal Foundation has a wonderful staff of volunteers, and you’ll fit in just fine. We have quite a few animals running around, but they are separated. Why don’t I give you a tour of the facilities first, and then we can get you your first assignment.”

  “What would that be?”

  “We will definitely start you gradually. I know you’re eager to get over your fear, but I’m not going to throw you to the dogs, so to speak.”

  Aaron laughed awkwardly with her.

  “Based on your application, you’ll work with the cats first. Get acclimated to the environment. The dogs are in the next room, and believe me, you’ll hear them. They can be very energetic.”

  “What sorts of dogs do you take in?”

  “Oh, we get many different breeds. Some of them are strays or animals that were dropped off by owners who could no longer keep them. It’s sad, but it happens more often than you would think in this economy.”

  “Do you get abused animals?”

  Maria frowned. “Unfortunately, yes. Sometimes. But we only take animals that we believe we can adopt out. We are a limited euthanasia shelter. Any animal that comes here stays until they find a good home, if possible. We have made very few exceptions to this rule.”

  “What exceptions have there been?” Aaron asked, curious.

  “Well, sometimes we get an animal that appears fine but has severe health issues that impact the quality of their life. Most illnesses can be helped with medication, but there have been a few cases where the animal will not survive, and to prevent further suffering we do the humane thing.”

  The director led Aaron down the hall, back in front of the reception area, to a locked hallway and let them in. Cats lounged in large cages and on top of them. Two closed doors lined up on the right side, with large observation windows in the wall beside them. Another two doors on the left side of the hallway were labeled kennels, and one long, tall window looked into that room. Aaron could see more cats lazing in cages.

  “We’ve had to turn away dogs before, but if we catch wind they’re going to one of those shelters…well, we make room somehow. Anyway, this is the cattery as you can see. Cats everywhere! Many of them are free to roam if they want, for at least a few hours a day. Watch out for some of them, though. They’ll try to sneak out. Like this guy over here, Spitball.”

  Maria pointed to a gray cat with a large white circle on its forehead. It mewed loudly when it saw her. Aaron laughed. The name sounded horrible, but it really looked like a spitball had been launched at the center of its forehead and stuck to the fur.

  “Who named him that?”

  “My son,” Maria sighed. “He’s five. Where he learned what a spitball is, I have no idea. But once he named him, he cried whenever we called him something else. So it stuck.” Her lips quirked. “No pun intended.”

  “What are these rooms for?” he asked, pointing to two adjacent doors. Maria led him over and gestured through the window. Cages were placed in aisles, stacked three high to the ceiling and many deep. The room was a warm yellow orange with pictures of kittens and their mothers in frames on the wall.

  “This room is our maternity ward, for the expectant mothers and their kittens. You won’t be working in here, though. Not for a while. We reserve this room for the senior staff. It’s a lot of work to handle the newborns, and we like to make sure they’re in the best hands possible. After the first few days, we usually have a foster family come and pick them up to give them more attention in a home setting.” She brought him over to the next window. Inside, more aisles of cages lined the wall and the lights were dim. “This is quarantine for the sick cats. Usually it’s an upper respiratory infection, which is highly contagious. We keep them separated until they’re healthy so they won’t infect the others, especially the pregnant cats. If you have to go in here at any point always wash up after and before touching any other animal. However, if you’re assigned duty to this room, it’s likely that you won’t work anywhere else on your shift.” She gestured to the hand sanitizer on the wall and the bucket on the floor. In it sat a towel, soaked with bleach. A sign next to it read, “Please wash your shoes after leaving.”

  “Makes sense,” Aaron agreed. A door at the end of the hall opened, and the din of dogs barking filled the air. Only one of the cats seemed affected and dove for cover. Aaron felt like joining it under the cage, but he knew it wouldn’t make the best impression. There isn’t any room for me under there, anyway.

  “And that would lead to our dog kennels,” Maria said as she started toward it. A guy about Aaron’s age stood in the doorway, holding a clipboard. “It’s set up more or less like this room. There’s a maternity ward for pregnant dogs, but we never have as many as we do cats, and the quarantine room is larger, obviously. All of the dogs are crated or kenneled as well, unless they’re being supervised. The last door to your left in this hallway leads to our storage area. It also opens up into the dog kennels.”

  “Maria, I need your help with the shepherd. He needs a bath and he’s being stubborn. Do you have a few minutes?”

  “Sure. Aaron, this is Finn. He volunteers after school on Fridays and the weekends, just like you’ll be doing.”

  “Hey,” Finn said, grinning at him. His brown hair fell over his forehead, almost—but not quite—hiding eyes that were an even darker brown. He was taller than Aaron by a few inches.

  “Hey,” Aaron returned, reaching up self-consciously and brushing his red hair forward. The tips covered the scars by his eyes.

  “You want to help out with Prince? He’s a pain to get in the bath, but he’s a lot of fun. Then I can take over tour duties and show you the clinic and groom room.”

  Aaron’s heart skipped a beat and his muscles locked, preventing him from moving. He stared at Finn, who looked at him expectantly. At his hairline, tiny beads of sweat formed and worked their way down the side of his face. The din of the barking dogs had nothing on the beat of his heart, slamming against his ribcage.

  After tense moments of silence, Maria stepped in for him. “He’s going to get used to handling the cats first. We don’t want Prince getting slobber all over him the first day he’s here.” She turned to Aaron. “Prince is a handful. Would you like to see the dogs?” she asked quietly.

  “No, that’s okay,” he said, reaching out to pet a black ball of fur. “I’ll just stay and get to know some of the cats.” One step at a time, he thought, concentrating on slowing his racing heart. Just coming here today was a big first step.

  “Okay. I’ll be back in a few minutes and see how you’re doing. If you want to, just play with them for a while. I’ll send Finn over to show you the ropes when we’re finished.”

  “Nice meeting you, Aaron. I’m sure we’ll have a blast together.” Finn waved over his head as he walked back into the dog room. Maria shut the door behind her and the sounds of the dogs faded into the background.

  Aaron was left alone with the cats. Most of them dozed in cages while some older kittens tumbled with each other on the floor in a large pen, and one ancient-looking cat watched him lazily from a perch up in the corner.

  “Hello,” he said, walking over to it. He reached up, stretching to the cat’s perch and barely touching the top. The cat sniffed him then squeaked. He wasn’t sure if it was a good sound or not, so he backed off and sat on the floor. One of the kittens amble
d over to him and poked his paw through the pen. Aaron lifted him out and set him down. He batted at the laces on his shoes. Aaron laughed and played with him, picking him up and rolling him onto his back. His body was gray, but the tip of his tail looked like it had been dunked in black ink. “You’re adorable,” he said when it crawled into his lap and curled up. Before he realized what was happening, the kitten had fallen asleep.

  There were so many adorable cats around. If it were up to him, he would take them all home, but he knew his mother wouldn’t be too thrilled. They already had one cat, and according to her, one was enough. But this ball of fluff in his lap looked too cute. He didn’t know what it had been named, but Inky looked like it would fit.

  The door to the dog kennels opened and Finn stepped through. His eyes fell on Aaron sitting on the floor and he grinned. “Isn’t he the sweetest? People have been looking at him all week. He just went up for adoption. He’ll find a great home really soon, I’m sure.”

  “Oh,” Aaron said, feeling disappointed. He had wanted to sneak him home. “Does he have anyone asking for him yet?”

  “Well, all potential families go through a screening process. The two that put in for him were turned down. They already had multiple-cat homes. Maria doesn’t mind adopting out to homes like that, but when there are too many cats in one home, she gets anxious. She worries that they won’t get the attention they deserve.”

  “Oh, well that’s good. I mean, I hope he gets a home and all.”

  Finn flopped down next to him, lounging on his side as he reached out and played with the kitten’s tail. “Why, are you interested?”

  “Maybe, but we already have a cat and my mom would say no.”