I wondered why Nolan hadn’t removed the polish. And it sounded like maybe Dallas hadn’t either.
“Your brother is quite the talented young man,” Nolan said. “Multi-talented,” he added. “He’s the best manicurist I’ve ever been to by far,” he said with a grin as he waved his fingers around. “I’ve never seen anyone who could talk so well to the guys.” He motioned to the kittens, then his gaze shifted to me. “And he’s got a great ear for music. Truly.”
I could tell he was being serious about that last part.
“You taught him music?” I asked as the last of the anger from my encounter with Maddox faded away.
“I played his vlin,” Newt announced. “Wha’s a curist?” he asked Nolan.
“Manicurist. It’s someone who does people’s nails. And you didn’t just play my violin, you practically made it sing,” Nolan responded. He glanced at me and said, “I had to help him hold it because it’s too big for him, but he worked the bow and did the chords by himself. If it’s something you want him to pursue while you guys are here, I could probably find him a violin that would fit him and show him a few things.” Nolan said the last words so eagerly, I couldn’t help but get caught up in his excitement.
But then the reality of our situation crashed down on me. Not only could I not afford a violin, Newt and I weren’t staying here, damn it. These people had lied to me.
“Mr. Grainger,” I heard someone call, and I turned to see a woman motioning to Nolan.
“Be right there,” he said with a smile, but when he turned around again to face Newt, his expression fell.
“What?” I asked.
He blew out a breath and kept his voice low so the people around us wouldn’t hear. “Some of these people want to adopt animals, but I don’t know the first thing about how to make that happen. But it’s something Dallas really wants… he’s got so many that are ready for forever homes and have been waiting years, but no one ever even came to check them out, and now…” He paused and looked around the crowded room. “And now they won’t stop coming and part of me just wants to tell them to go so it can just be him and me again, you know?”
Despite his words, I knew he wasn’t including me and Newt in the statement. I’d gotten the sense that both Nolan and Dallas hadn’t been the most popular of guys in their small town. Since I’d always been known as a freak myself, I understood how easy and comfortable it was to live that role twenty-four seven. I couldn’t imagine what it was like for both men to suddenly be thrust into the spotlight like they’d been. If it hadn’t been for the animals, I suspected they would have just holed up in their house or something.
“Sawyer volunteered to show people around outside because otherwise they’d be wandering around on their own, but he doesn’t know enough about this stuff either, and I want Dallas to rest because he’s still recovering from the surgery…”
Nolan’s hushed voice began to crack, so I put my hand on his arm. “Okay, let’s start with the basics. Do you know if there’s an application the people need to fill out to be considered as a potential adopter?”
“That’s what I was trying to find,” he said as he looked over his shoulder at the filing cabinet. “But I keep getting interrupted…”
“How about this,” I said. “I’ll start writing down names and figuring out which people are here because they’re looking for pets versus which just want to connect with you and Dallas. I’ll see if I can’t get those people to agree to come back in a few days when Dallas is feeling better. That way we’ll just have the potential adopting families here and we can collect their information and find out what kinds of pets they’re looking for. I’m guessing you’ll want time to review applications to determine if people are good candidates before you start sending pets home with them, right?”
Nolan nodded. “Dallas knows the animals the best. He’d want to make sure each one is going to the right forever family.”
“Okay, if you can’t find an application form, I’ll just type something out real quick on your computer” –I motioned to the older model desktop on the desk behind me– “and we’ll get people to start filling them out. The fact is, if the people are really serious about wanting to give the animals good homes, they’ll be patient enough to return for scheduled appointments so they can have some one-on-one time with them. You know what I mean?”
“Right,” Nolan said softly. “You’re right. I should have thought of that.” He chewed on his lower lip for a moment before saying, “I don’t know the first thing about this sh-stuff.”