“Kenzie?” Austin’s voice sounded hectic on the other end. “Hey, I’ve got some good news for you, and I just had to tell you as soon as I could.”
Kenzie looked at the clock and saw that it was only 9 in the morning. Stifling a yawn, she said, “What’s that?”
“I found a cure that worked!”
Kenzie nearly dropped the phone. Had she heard him right? Or was her still tired mind playing tricks on her?
“You did?”
“Yeah, all the animals’ minds are back in their bodies, and all the peoples’ minds are back in their bodies. There are a couple of side effects though – the people can’t remember what happened at all, but my boss, the chief, and I all think that’s for the best. I doubt they’d believe the truth anyway. The other side effect is that the animals retained some of the intelligence from their human counterparts. Now granted, they’re not geniuses really, but they’re a lot smarter than they were before. Chief Allington called all the owners who reported missing pets, and half of them are here now, picking their pets out of the bunch."
"That's great! Did you work on that all night?"
"Most of it, though I did get to go home to grab a few of my notes and change clothes, since I spilled something on that blue shirt I was wearing. Anyway, like I said, most of the owners are here picking up their pets. Whichever ones are left, well, I was thinking, they could really use a home after all they’ve been through. You said you were coming here to get a pet in the first place…”
“I’ll be right there.”
"I thought you'd say that."
Kenzie ended the call, threw on some clothes, and hustled out the door.
********************
The research center and hospital building had several cars parked in front of it. Some people were coming out the double doors, cradling their recovered pets in their arms. Others had their large dogs on leashes. Kenzie proceeded to go inside and followed the signs pointing her to where the animals were. She passed several other relieved pet owners on the way. Some recognized her and they thanked her. Kenzie said that she hadn’t been able to do it alone, that she’d had help.
When she entered the area with animals, she saw that scientists were holding most of them on leashes while others were holding them in their arms.
“There you are,” Austin said when he caught sight her. “You’re just in time. The rest of these animals are all strays. The owners came as soon as they could, after we told them their pets were safe.”
Kenzie gazed at the animals that were sitting across from her. They were dogs and cats of various shapes, sizes, colors, and breeds. They all looked adorable, and they all needed a home. Any that weren’t claimed or adopted would be put into a shelter. Kenzie wished she could take all of them with her, but she didn’t have that kind of room at her house in Riverview.
Scanning the prospective pets, her eyes settled on a husky. Its coat was a silky titian color with tints of white and gray, and its eyes reminded Kenzie of a clear blue sky. Its fluffy tail began to wag as Kenzie looked right at it.
“What’s the story with that one?” Kenzie asked Austin, pointing toward the husky. Austin followed her finger and said, “Somehow I knew you'd be drawn to that one. However, we don’t know for sure if that one should be adopted. She seems friendly enough, but while running tests on all the animals’ chromosomes, we found that she’s got some wolf blood in her.”
Kenzie’s head snapped to face Austin. “Wolf blood?”
“She’s most likely the offspring of a wolf and husky. She might be dangerous due to her wolf genes.”
Kenzie looked at the husky. Her tail moved back and forth even more rapidly and her ears twitched. Kenzie smiled and turned back to Austin.
“You know me. Do you really think I’m going to pass up the chance to own a husky, the type of dog that most closely resembles a wolf, my favorite animal? Especially one that has wolf blood in it?”
Austin chuckled. “I didn’t think so, but will you at least let us do some more tests? After what she’s been through, her aggression levels could have been spiked. Tests should determine if that's the case. But I promise we won't hurt her.”
Kenzie agreed, so Austin took the husky behind another door. She looked at the rest of the animals in the event that she couldn’t have the husky, but she needn’t have worried. Austin reappeared a few minutes later.
“This is surprising, but in a good way,” he declared as he looked at some paperwork that he held in his hand. The husky didn’t jerk at the leash that held her, but she did look at Kenzie and wag her tail again.
“What is it?” Kenzie asked, getting impatient and walking closer.
“She’s not aggressive, but she’s even more intelligent than the rest of the animals. Her brain processes things about five times faster than a normal dog, and three times faster than the dogs who ingested the cure. In short, this dog is basically a genius.”
The husky wagged her tail profusely, and Austin laughed before saying, “All right Kenzie. It’s determined that this dog is safe. If you want her, she’s yours.”
Austin barely got the words out before Kenzie clapped her hands at the husky, causing her to excitedly yank her leash out of Austin’s grasp (though it had only been tied around the dog's neck rather than attached to a collar, which was absent on the dog) and run toward her new owner. Kenzie stooped down and gave the dog a great big hug.
“I’ve even got the perfect name picked out,” she said to no one in particular. “I’m going to call her Sage.”
Sage barked in response and licked Kenzie’s face, as if to say, “Thank you.” Kenzie giggled and scratched her new friend behind her ears. She looked up to see Austin grinning at her.
“I’m glad you like her,” he said. “The rest of these animals will be taken to a kennel, but I promise they’ll be taken good care of.”
“I’ll hold you to that. If they’re mistreated in any way, I’ll come back and come down on everyone involved like a ton of bricks.”
“I know you will, which is why I give you my word.”
“Good.”
Kenzie then stood up and said, “Well, now that the case is solved, I should start making plans to go back home.”
“Back to Riverview?”
“Yeah. I should get Sage settled into her new home, and I should buy some stuff for her, too.”
Austin nodded. “All right. I’ll miss you.”
Kenzie looked around and then whispered in Austin’s ear, “Come see me at the hotel. I want to talk to you in private.”
“All right.”
Kenzie then gave one last nod to Austin before grabbing Sage’s leash and wrapping it back around her neck, then leading her outside.
********************
Kenzie hadn’t had an easy time convincing the hotel receptionist to let Sage into her room with her, but she finally let some money do the talking – she wasn’t going to leave Sage in the car while she packed all her belongings. And then when Austin showed up, who knows how long it would take to explain to him how she felt.
As if on cue, there was a knock at the door. Sage barked to alert Kenzie of the sound. Kenzie opened the door, and Sage recognized Austin by sight alone. Since she knew he wasn’t going to cause any problems, she jumped onto the bed and watched her master and her guest.
“Almost packed?” Austin asked by way of greeting.
“Almost. Thanks for coming.”
“No problem. My boss said I can come back to work in a few days, after he gets the rest of this mess cleaned up. Oh, and Chief Allington got the information on the three behind this, so they’re going to be picked up very soon.”
“That’s a relief.”
“So, what did you want to talk about?”
Kenzie took a deep breath and exhaled before she began.
"First of all, about Logan...I'm sorry about that. He assaulted you, so you can legally press charges. Do you want to file?"
"I should, but no. It was my own fault. If I'd been in his position, I would have done the same thing."
"It's my turn to start apologizing like crazy now. It was my fault, not yours."
"We could spend all day trying to ascertain whose fault it was, but I don't think that's the main issue that you want to discuss."
“You're right. Second of all, I never thanked you for saving my life last night. So thank you very much."
"You're welcome, although the unicorn did most of the work. I'm just glad you were all right when I got there."
"Any later and I might have been turned into a little pug."
"That would have been cute, and I would have taken you in so you had a home, but the concept is very immoral. I'm glad that didn't happen."
"So am I. But now for the main reason I asked you to come here. I’ve been thinking about the other night. About what you told me, and then what happened. Look, I’m really flattered that after all this time, you still love me. And I’ll be honest, I was feeling the same way. But then I realized, well, face it Austin, all we have is our past. This is the first we’ve seen of each other in six years and a lot has happened to both of us between now and then. We may not be completely different, but there have been some major changes in our lives. The bottom line is, I don’t think we should be rushing into anything based on memories. I still want to be friends, and I’d like us to get to know each other better, but I don’t think a relationship is what either of us needs right now. At least, not with each other. I don’t want to be your ‘only’. There are other girls out there that will see the same things I do. I know there are. You just have to look for them.”
Austin was quiet while Kenzie recited her speech. His face fell a little bit and his eyes began to lose their sparkle, but he did eventually crack a smile before he said, “You’re right. I won’t lie and say I’m not disappointed, but I understand exactly what you’re saying. I think I was so caught up in the moment that I acted without thinking. I put us into quite the predicament. And again, I’m sorry. It just seems like all I’ve been doing lately is apologizing to you.”
“Everyone makes mistakes. The other night was great, don’t get me wrong, but…we shouldn’t have been so spontaneous.”
“No, we shouldn’t have. I wish I could turn back time. I cost you Logan. If I hadn’t been so stupidly persistent, you’d still be with him.”
“Maybe, maybe not. I realized things about him before that night. He wasn’t the guy for me. If anything, you helped me realize that sooner so it was easier to break it off with him. But the worst part is that Mom won’t be having a son-in-law or any grandkids anytime soon.”
The two got a little chuckle out of that. At last, Austin said, “Well, for what it’s worth, the past few days have been some of the best in my life. I’d ask you stay for a few more days so we can continue getting to know each other, but I know you need to get home.”
“We’ll always have instant messengers. I’ll send you a message as soon as I get home and get everything settled.”
“I look forward to it.”
Kenzie smiled at Austin, who smiled back with a broad grin. The two gave each other a hug (though it was slightly awkward considering what had happened between them during Kenzie's visit to Appaloosa Plains, particularly the other night) and Austin helped Kenzie finish packing. Even Sage pitched in by bringing a few items over to the suitcases with her mouth.
When the packing was finished and her car was loaded, Kenzie let Sage hop into the front seat. She closed the door and faced Austin one final time.
“Thanks for everything,” she said with sincerity. “I really couldn’t have solved this case without you. And thank you for finding the cure for the animals. It means a lot to me, and I know it means a lot to the owners too.”
“It was my pleasure. We’re friends Kenzie, so if you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“I promise.”
The two embraced one last time before Kenzie climbed into her car and headed back to Riverview. She opened the passenger side window so Sage could look out while she rode.
Kenzie spotted an ice cream truck not too far away from the direction she was headed, so she stopped and bought herself a colored popsicle. It was a little chilly for ice cream yet, but she figured a little indulgence couldn’t hurt. She’d been through a lot the past few days.
When Kenzie got back into her car, Sage barked eagerly, wanting a taste of the popsicle. Kenzie couldn’t resist those adorable icy blue eyes. She pinched off a piece of the popsicle and held it out to Sage, who slurped it up eagerly. Austin had said she might be dangerous since she had wolf blood in her. But Sage was very gentle by contrast, just as the tests had shown.
As Kenzie drove back toward Riverview, she felt that a new chapter in her life was beginning. She now had a loyal, and very smart and beautiful, pet. She’d seen Logan’s true colors and had realized her feelings for Austin. She knew what she was very passionate about and what she wanted out of life. She thought of her past with Austin, and realized that life was a winding road, and it had many twists and turns, and a few bumps. Kenzie had overcome several of those bumps and had taken various paths thus far. That had all happened in the past, sometimes with help from others. However, only she could determine where her future would lead.
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