Kelpie (Come Love a Fey) Read Online Free PDF Page B

well, I sort of took him home with me.  I meant to get
him cleaned up and bring him here, but he’s paranoid about talking to anyone
else.  I need to know what to, um, you know… do…. with him?”
    The
officer leveled a look at me that sent a warm blush rushing to my cheeks.  God,
I sounded like a ditz.  I wanted to defend myself- I swear officer I’m usually
an intelligent and levelheaded woman, honest.   There was no way I could
convey the sense of terror that I’d experienced when I heard that thing
screeching in the night.  A crazy homeless guy was nothing compared to that. 
Besides, I trusted him somehow.
    The
officer heaved a sigh, the single sound managing to convey just how fed up he
was with ignorant civilians.  “So there is a homeless guy that you picked up
off the street staying in your apartment?”  He scratched his chin and I thought
he was trying not to laugh.
    “I
understand you were just trying to be a good person, but honestly lady, how
stupid can you get?”
    I
clenched my teeth.  “Pretty stupid, I guess.  So should I bring him here?  Or
maybe to the drug rehab place?”
    The
officer shook his head and became serious.  “I hate to say this, ma’am, but
your best bet is to just put him in a cab to the nearest shelter.”
    I
started to reply angrily to his heartless answer, but he held up his thick hands
in self-defense.  “I don’t mean to be a hard-ass, but it’s just the way things
are.  If you bring him here, there’s really nothing we can do to help him.”  He
shook his graying head.  If he’d done something to you, we could lock him up
for a few days- at least then he’d get a few free meals.  But unless there is
some sort of crime, there really isn’t anything we can do.”  He shook his head. 
“You can take him to the drug rehab place, but if he’s homeless then he won’t
have health insurance or any way to pay for services.  The county mental health
system could help him, but their resources are nil.  Once he completes their
program- which will be a joke- he’ll just be out on the street again.”  He
shrugged helplessly.  “That’s why homeless people are homeless.”
    I
hiked my bag over my shoulder and turned to go.  I knew all of this already. 
I’m a social worker; it’s kind of what I do.  Somehow, I had just assumed my
problems would be different.  I was surprised at my own arrogance.  “Thanks for
your time, officer.”
    “Ma’am,”
he called after me.  I paused and he gave me a tired look.  “I’ll tell you what
I would tell my sister or my mother.  You’re damned lucky you haven’t been
robbed, raped, or killed.  Put his ass in a cab and replace all your locks. 
Maybe start carrying some pepper spray.”
    I
nodded, looking back.  He was completely right.  “Thanks.  I’ll do that.”  My
professional heels tapped a rapid tattoo across the tile floor.
    I
made it to work a few minutes later.  Our office was on the ground floor of one
of the old brick buildings in the small downtown area.  I made my way across
the entryway, and to my cubicle.  I had been bursting with pride the day I
started working here, five years ago.  I was so excited about my having my own
workspace and my shiny new career.  I felt like I’d finally made it.  I
wouldn’t be living hand to mouth like my parents always had.  My kids wouldn’t
grow up in second hand clothes like my brother and I had. 
    I
tucked my purse in my overhead cabinet and stooped to turn on the computer.  Christie
slunk out of the next cubicle and came to stand mine.  “You made it!”  She
sipped her coffee and patted her perfectly highlighted blonde hair, then gave
me a dramatic look.  “We thought you were lost in the woods somewhere.”  More
like you hoped I was lost in the woods, I thought.
    I
felt my “work face” slip into place as I gave her a warm smile.  “Aw, thank you
for worrying about me, but I’m okay.”  I sat down and swiveled my