Page 49 of Coerced
Paxton scooped Brutus up in his arms and hushed himwith a few scratches behind his ears. Tiny was patient, clearly having learned the pecking order in the house, but once it was his turn for some love, he happily gobbled it up.
“Ready to go out, guys?” Paxton asked as he set Brutus back on his paws.
The three of them tore off in the opposite direction, a clear response to his question. Once he opened the door and they dashed off into the backyard, I smiled at him and said, “What a welcome home.”
The corners of Paxton’s eyes crinkled with his amusement, a smile spreading across his face. “Yeah, they make it worth it. And while they’re outside handling business, I’ve got the rest of the gang here to hang with me.”
“That’s right. Where are they?”
Paxton jerked his head to the side and said, “This way.”
A moment later, I was in the presence of two pretty kitties and a parrot. Though the bird was beautiful, I just couldn’t help myself when it came to the cats. I crouched low and offered my hand. As both felines strutted over and sniffed me, I asked, “What are their names?”
Pointing to each, Paxton replied, “That’s Flash, and that’s Bell.”
“Those are unique,” I said.
“Flash already had his name when I rescued him from the shelter, so he didn’t get that from me.”
“And Bell? Where does her name come from?”
“That’s how she got my attention. I have a couple of chairs on my front porch, and one of them was close to the door at the time. One day, the doorbell rang and rang, and when I opened the door, there she was. And even onceshe saw me standing there, she didn’t stop with the bell. That’s where she got her name.”
“Aw. She just showed up here?”
He nodded. “Yeah. And she was injured, had no collar, and wasn’t reported missing by anyone. So, I took her in.”
After giving both Flash and Bell some pets, I stood, focused on the bird, and asked, “And who’s this fine gentleman? Or wait, is it a boy?”
“I named him Franklin, so I think so.”
“Hi, Franklin. Do you talk?”
“Sadly, despite all the noise in this house, Franklin does not talk yet. I try practicing with him regularly, but we haven’t found a word that sticks yet. I’m still holding out hope he’ll talk one of these days.”
“Can I hold him, or does he not like it?”
Paxton reached for my hand, folded three of my fingers into a fist and kept the other out. I was doing my best to focus on where he was directing my hand and what we were doing, but I was slightly distracted by the feel of his fingers on me.
“Put your finger right up to his feet, and he’ll happily climb on,” Paxton explained while urging my hand toward Franklin’s feet.
The next thing I knew, I was holding a bird for the first time. “This is so exciting,” I bubbled. “I’ve never done this before.”
“No?”
I shook my head.
“Give it some time, and he’ll get comfortable enough to leave your finger, walk up your arm, and hang out on your shoulder. He likes to hide his beak behind my earsometimes. And he’s stood on top of my head once or twice before, too.”
“And I thought the dogs were crazy,” I murmured.
Paxton laughed. “Oh, don’t worry. They are.”
As I gently stroked my opposite finger along the top of Franklin’s head, I asked, “Where did your love for animals come from? I mean, I get having a dog or a cat, but this is… this is a lot.”
He shrugged, a smile playing at his lips. “I didn’t wake up one day with the intention of having three dogs, two cats, and a bird. It just sort of happened. I’ve always loved animals. I had a dog as a kid, too. But my parents heard me begging constantly to have more animals of all kinds of varieties. I guess, now that I’m on my own, I get to say what’s here and what’s not. And in each of these situations, I just couldn’t walk away from them. So, they’re mine now.”
If only these animals knew just how lucky they were. Maybe they did.