eighteen
I walked through the back door into Jade’s house and said, “You’re staying with me.”
Her voice wove over mine. “Can I stay with you?”
We both smiled, and I relaxed a bit. Then a strange woman stepped beside her. Her eyes went round and her jaw slack, but then she grinned and elbowed Jade.
“Please tell me you’re hitting that.”
“Nanna!” Jade’s blush spread to her chest.
“What? If you aren’t, I might throw my hat in the ring. You never know, he might have a granny kink.”
Jade’s head fell back and she stared at the ceiling. “Please stop talking.”
The older woman winked at me before she shuffled over and wrapped my waist in a hug. I patted her back. Even with Kendal’s daily hugs, I felt awkward.
She backed until she held me at arm’s length. “Sit down, boy, and let me get a good look at you.”
I fell to my haunches. Despite Jade’s reactions to the woman’s words, this was clearly someone she cared for. I grunted when she grabbed my horns and yanked my face close to hers. “If you hurt her, I will string your balls from the fence post at the Sunset Springs community center—with you still attached to them.”
I swallowed and nodded as much as I could. Her grip was strong and the promise shining in her eyes left little doubt she’d do it.
My eyes flicked to Jade, who was pinching the bridge of her nose, her glasses perched on her forehead.
“Nanna, we need to go.”
“Nonsense! You haven’t even properly introduced me.”
Jade flicked a hand from me to the woman and back. “Thurl, meet Nanna, my grandmother. Nanna, meet Thurl.”
I dipped my head. “A pleasure?” I didn’t mean to make it sound like a question. Instead of being offended, Nanna laughed.
“Nanna wants to come with me, but you don’t have to say yes.”
Jade was clearly trying to convey something with the look she gave me, but I couldn’t decipher whether it was to allow her grandmother to come or not.
“If you wish it.” I would risk my delicate bits being crucified while still attached if it meant Jade was happy.
“Of course she wishes it.” Nanna patted my arm. “Be a dear and get my bag.”
Somehow, I ended up with two small suitcases and a cat carrier. Jade insisted on carrying the bag of supplies she was bringing for the cats and the other cat, saying he would need time to warm up to me. I didn’t know what that meant, but the enormous orange cat seemed happy with me, judging by the loud purring that came from his carrier.
We were a strange, slow parade through the woods. Nanna had kept a steady stream of questions flowing in Jade’s direction, but as we stepped onto my porch, she went quiet.
I rubbed at my suddenly itchy arms and tried to see my house through fresh eyes. By the time she spoke, I was ready to tear it down and build whatever Jade wanted.
“What a lovely home.”
I went to rub the back of my neck but realized my hands were full of luggage and a cat. “Thank you.”
“Where is the kitchen?”
“Umm…” I looked at Jade, who seemed resigned to whatever was coming next. “It’s just through that door.” I twitched my muzzle to indicate the correct one. Nanna shuffled in that direction while I made my way to the bedrooms.
Jade stepped into the guest room behind me.
“Thank you for letting us stay. Especially Nanna. She can be overwhelming, but she means well.”
“She wants to protect you. I respect that.” I set her suitcase on the dresser. “Will this be okay?”
Jade nodded. "All I really need is a bed and a bathroom. I can be fancy, but it doesn’t happen often, if that makes sense.”
It didn’t, but I nodded anyway. “The bathroom is here.” I opened the door to show her. “There are towels and things in the cabinet. Kendal helped me furnish and stock my house, but if anything is missing let me know.”
She turned and looked up at me. “Does she do all the shopping for you?”
There was a note in her voice. Something I couldn’t pinpoint. I shook my head. “No, only the items that need to be purchased in person. Most of the time, I order what I need online and they deliver it to the common hall.”
“Common hall?”
“It is a shared structure where my brothers and I gather.”
“You have more than one?”
I nodded. “There are six of us.” I turned and made my way to the next bedroom down the hall. She hadn’t pushed me that first night we met, but I knew the questions were coming. Who was I? How was I made? What happened to my eye? All of which would lead to our escape from the laboratory that created us. It was not a tale I relished telling.
I didn’t want her curiosity to turn to horror.
“Is this room acceptable for you? It also has its own bathroom, just there.”
“Oh.”
My ears flattened against my head. I had disappointed her somehow. “I can rearrange the furniture. Change the wall color?”
“It’s not that. I’d just…” She sucked in a huge breath. “I’d hoped to stay with you. In your room.”
I wasn’t normally a chatty creature, but I rarely lacked for words. Until Jade. Every other minute, she rendered me speechless.
I picked up her suitcase and the large orange cat up and strode to my room. It was the largest of the four to accommodate my size, with a custom-built bed. I’d opted for soft sheets and colors, not wanting anything to remind me of the lab. Nothing was stark white. No sharp corners or harsh lights.
Jade gasped beside me. Before I could ask her what was wrong, she’d set down both the bags she carried and taken a flying leap onto the bed. She squealed with delight as she sank into the softness and my heart lit up like a bolt of lightning against a dark sky.
That joy was chased by a wonderful scent hitting my nose. “What is that?” I lifted my muzzle and tried to decipher what I smelled.
Jade sighed happily. “Snickerdoodles.”