Broken Souls Don't Cry

Chapter 22

Kai

Kai picked Sara up from school before they headed over to Dusty Paws for their meeting with Ashley. Sudo had been fine with Kai only working a half day. He had attended the weekly training then snuck off after lunch. Sure, it wasn't really sneaking away, Angela and Justin knew he had a school thing to do.

They pulled up to the rescue, which was located on a farm on the outskirts of town. Sara directed him to park over by the main house. Kai observed horses and cows out in the pasture to their left and empty pastures to their right. There were several buildings on the property adjacent to the main house, which was a typical two-story farmhouse. He could tell at least one of the adjacent buildings was a barn.

Sara walked up to the main house and knocked. A short, very thin woman opened the door. Her red hair was cut short in a bob. Kai figured she was in her 40s.

"Sara!" the woman greeted happily. "It's so good to see you." And she grabbed Sara in for a hug. Then she glanced at Kai. "And who's this?" She asked Sara before turning her eyes back to Kai, sizing him up.

"Ashley, this is Kai" Sara gestured over to him.

"Oh" Ashley's eyes went wide, "He's a handsome one isn't he?"

Sara giggled and nodded in agreement. Kai smiled at Ashley then winked at Sara. A blush crept up her face and Kai smiled wider. He loved making her blush.

"It's very nice to meet you Ashley. I'm looking forward to working with you"

"Why don't I give you a tour? Then we can get down to business and see exactly how you can both help us out" Ashley gestured for them to follow her.

She took them down to the barn. "Dusty Paws also rescues large animals such as horses, cows, llamas, sheep, we've even had a few deer come through." They walked through the large barn. "We're not able to take every large animal that needs rescuing. We try to find the ones who are most desperate, being sold at auctions and are meant for slaughter.

"Many of the animals heading that way still have many years left, but they have outlived their usefulness for whatever work they were doing. We help those animals live out their lives being free to roam. We work with a few farmers in the area, some agree to help host the animals on their property, others help with feed, and some bring their animals here instead of to auction."

They walked back out of the barn and headed over to another adjacent building which was close to the main house. It had a chain-link enclosure surrounding one side and a roof over the enclosure. Kai could see some cat trees and a few cats roaming around inside.

"This" Ashley continued "Is where we hold our cats while they are waiting for their foster home. She showed them around the interior where several cats sat on beds or roamed up by the ceiling on specifically placed shelves.

They then moved over to where Kai assumed was the dog kennels. He could hear barking as they got closer and saw several dogs running around.

Sara squealed and ran ahead to get to the puppies first. Kai gave a chuckle as he watched her run. He loved her enthusiasm with any dog. To her, any dog was just a friend.

Ashley didn't have to do much explaining at the kennels as Sara had grabbed his hand, once they caught up to her, and proceeded to give him a tour, telling him everything about each dog they came across.

Sara gave a few last pets to Rocky, a resident white husky, and then followed them up to the main house so they could go over more details.

They discussed some upcoming adoption events and website ideas while sitting at the kitchen table. Kai had asked to see her computer setup so he could take stock of what they had and what they may need upgrades on. Ashley definitely needed a new laptop and desktop. Luckily he had some available at work that Jack said he could use.

Ashley went over the adoption events and how they are usually run. Every other Saturday Dusty Paws would host an event at either a local pet store or at a park. This weekend would be Sara and Kai's first event to help with.

They said their goodbyes to Ashley. Ashley pulled Sara to the side while Kai headed out to the truck. Ashley whispered something to Sara who blushed and grinned. She made a quick glance at Kai then nodded as Ashley gave her a quick hug before letting her leave. He wondered what they were saying about him.

Kai took Sara out for a quick dinner after they got back into town.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Sara exclaimed through a bite of fry. "I mean, I've worked the events before, but now I get to do it with you too. I think this will be the last one they host outdoors. It's starting to get too cold outside"

"When I get to work tomorrow, I'm going to go through the spare laptops and desktops that we have and start getting that setup for Ashley."

Kai took another bite of his burger. "How about we change topics? While I love talking about our project, I would love to ask you my question now."

"Alright, let's hear it" Sara grinned and leaned forward.

"Why do you want to be a social worker?" He had always wondered what her motivation was.

"Oooh, that one is a bit tougher to explain." She said and then sat back and thought for a few moments. He could tell she was trying to form something coherent enough for him to understand. "I had to go to therapy for a few years after everything that happened in high school. I saw a licensed social worker who helped me through many tough times. Her name was Janet." Sara sighed, "I don't know, I just thought that I might be able to help others get through similar things. I want to help others."

Kai put his hand across the table to hold her hand. He gave a little squeeze, and she gave a sad smile. "If I want to be a licensed social worker, I need to get my masters, but I thought I would start with just being in social work first and see if I actually like it enough to get my masters. I thought I would see patients virtually on the side. I want my main focus to be the rescue, but I also need something to pay the bills and all and social work is something I'm interested in."

"I think that's amazing." He gave her a warm smile and Sara blushed. He would never grow tired of watching her blush.

Kai's phone vibrated and he pulled it out to see a message from Christi asking if he was going to pick her up from the airport tomorrow. He had almost forgot she was coming into town. He quickly confirmed her flight details and said he'd pick her up.

"My sister is going to be in town this weekend." Kai decided to ask her now rather than tomorrow or Saturday. "Would you like to meet her?"

"Really? Umm..." Sara fidgeted in her seat. "I don't know..." She trailed off.

"You don't have to, but she is anxious to meet you and Christi is pretty amazing, for a newly-turned-eighteen-year-old. We could eat dinner and play games Saturday after the event?"

"I'll think about it and let you know tomorrow in class?"

"Perfect."

Changing the subject, Sara piped "My turn for a question!" She sat up straight then looked him straight in the eyes as she asked, "Do you believe in second chances?"

"Definitely. If there were no second chances, then I wouldn't have you as my beautiful girlfriend." Sara blushed again and he grinned at her. "There are limitations I believe though. I don't think abusers or cheaters should get another chance, as well as some others. However, if someone were to make an honest mistake that hurt someone else, then I think they should be given a chance. Keep boundaries, but definitely let them have a second chance." He looked back at her, but she seemed lost in thought. "Does that answer your question?"

Sara brought her attention back to Kai. "Y-yes, I'm still caught on you calling me your beautiful girlfriend though."

He grabbed her hand and brought it up to his mouth for a gentle kiss. "My girlfriend is absolutely gorgeous. Inside and out. I am lucky to get to know her." She blushed again, "and I absolutely love when she blushes."

Sara gave a nervous chuckle and blushed some more.