Innocence (Tales of Olympus #1)(70)

“Maeve, this is the reporter I called you about, who wants to do a story on the shelter.”

Maeve looked briefly at the man but her eyes came back to Cora. “We’ll talk more later, okay?” Her eyes searched Cora’s and Cora nodded.

“Definitely,” Cora said.

Cora showed the reporter, Joe Garcia, around the shelter and explained how things worked as she went from cage to cage, feeding the dogs.

“We accept any and all strays and drop-offs, no matter what. Maeve has committed to this being a no kill shelter, which means that other than for dogs that are simply too old or too ill for us to care for, no animals are euthanized here. But that puts a huge burden on us to get these animals adopted and to continue caring and housing the ones that remain. We depend on donations and volunteers to stay afloat.”

Joe nodded and made a couple of notes on the small pad he had with him. “And how long have you been volunteering here?”

“For about two and a half months, ever since I came to the city.”

“Where did you live before that?”

Cora stopped in front of Puggles’ cage as she opened his door and scooped in his food. “Out West,” Cora said noncommittally. “We work hard to walk the dogs at least once a day, depending on how many volunteers come in. And when we can, we advertise our adoptive services. The more we’re able to get the word out about this place, the more dogs we can save.”

“Have you always had a love for animals?”

Cora saw what he was doing. He obviously wanted this to be an article more about her than the shelter, and no doubt any reporter worth his salt would try to dig to get what scoop he could.

Cora smiled sweetly at him. “This is Boris,” she introduced him to a large German Shepherd. She opened the cage and poured in his dog food, giving him a belly scratch before closing it again. “Now I have a soft spot for him. He’s big and intimidating looking, but once you get to know him, he’s really a sweetheart.” She leaned in. “A little like my husband.”

Joe’s eyebrows went up at that. “Oh really? Are you saying that Marcus Ubeli has a soft underbelly?”

Cora laughed. “Oh I wouldn’t go that far. Marcus is many, many things but I wouldn’t call him soft. Let’s say he can be a perfect gentleman when he’s of a mind to be.”

Joe scribbled furiously at his pad, no doubt trying to record the quote.

Cora moved on. “A lot of people think adopting a dog from an animal shelter means getting an older animal, but that’s a misconception. We have a lot of puppies, as you can see. It’s unfortunate, but too many people take on animals they simply aren’t ready for.”

“But we work hard here to match potential owners to pets that are compatible with exactly what they’re looking for. We don’t want to see a dog back here in several weeks any more than an owner wants to bring them back. So we talk to people and have them fill out questionnaires. We spent time with the dogs to learn their quirks and habits, all so that we can make the best and most long-lasting matches.”

Joe nodded and made a few notes, but not nearly with as much enthusiasm. “So how did you and Mr. Ubeli meet? Obviously you had a short engagement if you only came to the city two and a half months ago.”

Cora gave a slight, enigmatic smile. “Something like that.”

“Oh come on,” Joe said. “Give me something for my readers. Marcus Ubeli, consummate bachelor, suddenly ties the knot after knowing you only a few months? The news set New Olympus buzzing. Surely you can give our readers some insight into your whirlwind romance. Did your families know one another?”

Cora stopped at that and turned her back to him. Did he know something? Did he know she was a Titan?

She worked to suck in an even breath as she took another scoop of dog food from the plate and poured it into the bowl of a stray border collie Jack Russell mix. No, there was no way he could know about who her parents were, otherwise the news would’ve been splashed all over the headlines long before now. She’d seen unpleasant headlines about Marcus before, and news that big… Even Marcus with all his power and influence might not be able to suppress it.

But most likely, Joe Garcia was shooting into the dark, hoping something would land.

Cora dragged the bucket over to the next cage and felt Joe follow behind.

Still not looking at him, she said, “I don’t really know how to explain Marcus and me.” Ha. That was the understatement of the century. “It was raining one night and I ran into his club to get out of the storm.”

She finally looked back at Joe. “He dazzled me.” More truth, even though the pang in her chest was more like an ax blade.

“And I guess I made an impression on him too. Have you ever experienced a moment and known, with everything inside you, that it was going to change the rest of your life? That’s what meeting Marcus was like. There was my life before meeting him and my life after. And that’s the way it’ll be defined until the day I die. Before and after.”

Joe had stopped scribbling. He stared at Cora, absorbed, as she told him the simple truth.

“I’m starting to see why Mr. Ubeli might have been dazzled in return,” he said.

Cora tilted her head and smiled at him. “Flattery will get you everywhere, Mr. Garcia. Now come this way, I want to show you the puppies.”