Molly: All I Want For Christmas Teen Romance, #1

By Mattie Fern Worrix

Star's Christmas is in serious trouble! Her mom has the holiday blues and her best friend, Levi, is moping around. Unless she can find a way to bring them some holiday cheer, and fast, a lot of mistletoe goes to waste—along with her chance for her first kiss.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mattie Fern Worrix
• Release date: Oct 3, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393151579

Book preview

Dedication

For Molly

who loves chasing those Tucson lizards

Chapter 1 - Star

I LEANED FORWARD, JUST a smidge, in my folding chair, and cocked my head slightly to the left, and saw Mom down the hall, at the front desk, talking on the phone. I sat in the Kitty Cabana room at the Polk County Dog Control office.

I heard a sharp yip and noticed Ralphie, my Jack Russell terrier mix, standing near Mom. Or I should stay part of Ralphie—specifically from his brown eyes up—because that’s all I can see of him from behind the office pet gate.

Woof! he barked again, and I shook my head at him. Pretty soon he’s gonna get us both in trouble if he doesn’t stop.

No, Ralphie, no, I mouthed to him and scowled.

He started whining now. And I saw Mom snap her fingers at him because she’s trying to hear on the phone.

I usually let him run around loose with me in the Kitty Cabana and dog kennel areas, but when a new pet arrives I leave him out front in the gated office area. Some of the cats like dogs, and some don’t.

Sandy, the receptionist, goes home at 5 pm, and Mom and Ralphie and I stay late most days and rarely beat the kennel tech out the door by 7 pm. Let’s just say, my mom and I eat a lot of veggie burgers and sweet potato fries from the Burger Barn. We always share our fries with Ralphie too.

Sometimes my neighbor and BFF, Levi, comes with me after school. We help out mainly by socializing the kitties—which means playing with them—and walking the dogs in the fenced play yard. We play with the dogs too, with rope toys and tennis balls.

My mom, Dog Control officer Dana Stephens, spends her days going out on calls in the animal control van and picking up strays and then she comes back to the office and spends more time trying to reunite those strays with their owners. It isn’t an easy job, but my mom loves it. She calls it a labor of love.

I sat next to a large bank of cages and put my fingers inside the cold stainless steel cage and wiggled them, trying to interest the shy Maine Coon cat. The pretty calico had arrived today and the information card on the outside of the cage said her name was Molly.

Here Molly, I said. Here kitty, kitty. She huddled on a pink fleece blanket, all the way in the back of the cage. Her face was in the corner and all I could see was her butt with a beautiful long tail of black, white and orange fur.

No response. I should’ve grabbed one of the toys from the basket at the front desk to try and entice her. A catnip mouse made by the local Bluebirds troop might do the trick.

Here kitty, kitty, I whispered softly at her again.

Poor thing, said Jenny, the kennel tech, as she walked in with her red cleaning tote. She’s a community college student who works late afternoons and evenings here at Dog Control.

Her blonde hair was pulled back into a long braid down her back and I saw her silver nose ring. She smells like a combination of a patchouli candle and Simple Green cleaner.

Yeah, I replied. She is not a happy kitty right now.

And all that barking in the kennels sure doesn’t help, she said, as she rinsed some cleaning cloths in the light blue utility sink against the wall.

I nodded. It’s funny because, for the most part, I’ve learned to tune out all that barking. And usually the dogs in the twelve runs are fairly quiet—except when one is taken out of the cage.

Then the whole gang goes crazy. It reminds me of the prison movies I’ve seen. When an inmate comes out of his cell, the rest of the prison population goes bonkers, yelling and running their tin cups against the metal bars.

"When I came in today Mom told me Molly’s owners moved—and just left her to fend for herself.

I don’t know how anybody could abandon a sweet baby like this, said Jenny, as she peeked in the cage. Molly hadn’t moved.

Me neither. It’s so wrong, I said.

Jenny grabbed another roll of paper towels and then pulled a mop and a big yellow bucket on wheels out of the custodian closet and rolled it down the hallway toward the dog kennel door.

I noticed Mom is still talking on the phone but in a soft voice. Probably to a very unhappy owner—most likely a hopping mad one. I can tell because when my mom gets stressed she gets quieter—not louder—which is probably one reason she makes such a good Dog Control officer. I didn't see Ralphie so he must be lying down on his bed underneath the desk. Good boy.

Okay, here’s the deal: Some pet owners really don’t like it when their pet is picked up by Dog Control. Which doesn’t make sense, especially when their pet gets lost, and isn’t microchipped or wearing a collar with an ID tag.

It kinda makes me mad and I get all snarly and nippy myself when people give Mom grief just because she’s doing her job. She’s just trying to help people reunite with their missing pets, and people call her the Dog Catcher and act like she hates dogs and just wants to lock them up.

Grrr.

My mom is doing a good thing because so many strays end up getting killed on the roads. I would think people would be happy when their beloved beagle or shih tzu gets picked up and is now finally safe.

These people don’t like having to pay a fine either, and I think most of the testy conversations my mom has with owners is probably over money.

I let