Chapter 8
“Cat,” she said breathlessly, struggling to get out of the creek without losing her grip on the bag. “Oh, God, Knox. I think there’s a cat in here.”
His mind was slow to understand. “Cat?” He took the bag from her, grabbed her hand, and hauled her out of the creek. Her top, held above her breasts by a band of elastic, gave way.
“Ack!” Laylee made a grab for it, tucking herself away. “Maybelline, such a good girl. Knox is here now.”
He still couldn’t take it in. That flash of Laylee’s breasts only further muddled him. The problem was that Laylee was crying, shaking, and babbling all at the same time.
“She spotted it, Knox. I don’t know how long the poor thing was there, but Maybelline spotted it and went a little nuts. She broke her leash. I knew the cat was still alive because it’s moving so I had to get it.”
Yes, the bag was moving, and it all finally clicked into place for him. He drew a bracing breath. “Shh, baby, calm down.” He searched the area, trying to decide what to do. “We can’t open the bag here. The cat might bolt, and I don’t want that.”
“It can’t breathe!”
Her near hysteria was understandable. “I’ll make a few holes in the plastic, and then we’re going to get the cat in my truck before we open the bag. Okay?”
“Please, please check on it.” She could barely catch her breath, she was so distraught. “Who would do such an evil, wretched thing? My heart is literally breaking into little pieces. I wouldn’t treat an insect that way, much less an animal.”
“I know. I wouldn’t either.” He carefully set the bag on the picnic table. Laylee was right. Getting fresh air to the animal was a priority.
Anxiously, she hung near Knox’s shoulder while he poked a small hole in the bag, then another, and another.
A yellow eye appeared, peering out at them while the cat panted.
Laylee slumped against him. “Oh, honey, it’s okay now. We’re here. We’ll have you safe in no time.”
The cat was so limp, Knox changed his mind about waiting and peeled away the plastic. The cat had defecated in the bag, and barfed, and the pitiful thing smelled awful.
He lifted it, messy bag and all, into his arms anyway. “Laylee, can you get the broken leash and tie it through Maybelline’s collar? We’ll need to secure her while we head back to my truck.”
Galvanized by his request, she moved quickly.
He spoke as calmly as he could while he carefully moved the cat. “I’m going to step to the creek to cool this baby down, let it get a drink, and clean it off a little.” Laylee seemed so scattered that he asked, “Do you understand me?”
“I understand.” Going to her knees, she started working the leash through the dog’s collar. Seeing Laylee’s trembling hands, he gave thanks that Maybelline was cooperating. The dog’s attention stayed on the cat and her worried whines were heartbreaking.
“I won’t be long. We’ll need to get to a vet.
” The sooner the better if the cat was going to make it.
At the edge of the creek, he slowly went to his knees, saying, “Shh, shh, sweetie. It’s okay.
” He laid the cat on the bank in soft clover.
It shakily got to its feet, spotted the water, and stumbled forward to drink thirstily.
“Good kitty. Drink up.” While he spoke, Knox cupped his hands in the water and tried to rinse the worst of the filth out of the cat’s matted fur, while at the same time hopefully cooling it down.
He wasn’t making much progress, so he peeled off his shirt, dunked it in the creek, and used it like a sponge.
The cat wasn’t going anywhere. It could barely stand on its own, but to his surprise, it appeared to appreciate the attention. No way was this a feral cat, which meant someone had done this to a pet.
Animal cruelty of any kind sickened him, but this was the worst instance he’d witnessed.
Laylee knelt down beside him. Very softly, she said, “Maybelline is secure and content to watch now that the cat is safe. Tank is being incredibly well behaved.”
He heard the tears in her voice but didn’t comment.
Instead, he said, “Honey, I can see right through your clothes.” He kept his gaze on the cat as he explained.
“The water … I guess it made the material mostly transparent. At least the white parts.” He felt like an ass mentioning it, but it was definitely a problem.
She looked at herself, huffed, and said, “You’ve seen me before.”
“Not in a park, and not when we have to walk back to my truck—where there are other people who have not seen you.” He’d just as soon keep it that way.
“I’ll worry about that later.” She heaved a sigh. “The cat is responding.”
Knox glanced at her, but she was watching the animal. “Yeah, it is.”
“What can I do?”
He knew she wasn’t talking about her transparent clothes. “You’ve done it.” And damn, he was proud of her. “At first, I didn’t know if the cat would make it, but I honestly think it’s going to be okay.”
“How long do you think it was in that bag?”
Shaking his head, Knox said, “No idea, but it couldn’t have been all day.” With their recent heat wave, the cat wouldn’t be alive now if it had been in the plastic bag much longer.
“I saw Paul on the way here. If I hadn’t stopped to talk to him …”
“Don’t do that. You got here, you saved the cat, and we’re going to figure this out.”
For the first time since he’d arrived, the panic left her tone. “Like we figured out my pregnancy test?”
He gave a firm nod. “Together.”
In the quietest of whispers, she said, “I’m so glad you’re here, Knox. I was scared to death, and then I saw you and I knew it’d be okay.”
“It’s not the day I had planned, but I’m with you, so I’m glad, too.” He’d rather go from one chaotic adventure to another with Laylee than have a perfectly peaceful day without her.
He drew his phone from his pocket, swiped the screen to open it, and pulled up Marcus’s number before handing the phone to her.
“Do me a favor and give him a call. Let him know what we found. Could be whoever put the cat there is still around. Doubtful,” he said when he saw her stiffen in alarm. “But we should report it anyway.”
Laylee nodded and put in the call.
Knox only half listened to her conversation with Marcus. To his amazement, the cat started to groom itself. The poor thing was weak, but the wild fear had faded from its eyes.
“Such a brave kitty,” he said as he gently stroked one finger over its head.
“Okay, just a sec.” Laylee lowered the phone. “Marcus said he can get us an emergency appointment with the same vet he uses, but it might be expensive.”
“Tell him to go for it.”
After she relayed the message, she said to Knox, “He’s on his way here to look around.
He wants pictures of the bag, where I found the cat, and whatever other evidence we might have.
Then he said ‘one of the guys’ will meet us at the vet’s office to take Maybelline and Tank while we go in for the appointment. ”
She sounded awed, but the offer didn’t surprise Knox at all. Louder, so Marcus would hear, he said, “Thanks, man. Appreciate it.”
After she’d disconnected, Laylee handed the phone to Knox and reached out, oh-so-slowly, to touch the cat’s head.
Amazingly, it pressed up to her hand, stumbled, and turned to fully greet her.
Knox warned, “It’s covered with—”
Too late, but then, clearly the mess didn’t matter to Laylee. As the cat tried to get closer to her, she crooned to it. Accepting it, mess and all. Holding it.
Loving it.
Of course he fell in love with her. He’d never stood a chance, but the cat had just sealed the deal.
Laylee carried the now-clean cat as they entered the house and were immediately greeted by Maybelline, Tank, Marcus, and Lucy.
“This feels like déjà vu,” Knox remarked.
“Minus a few friends. Bray couldn’t stay. He and Karen had a previous commitment, so once I got here, he took off but he told me to let you know it wasn’t a problem at all.” Lucy spotted the cat then and came forward. “Aww. A calico. She’s beautiful.”
Laylee gave a tired smile. It was now well past dinnertime. The fried chicken, which they’d sent with Bray when he’d picked up the dogs, would be cold and she was more of a mess than ever.
Yet she didn’t mind because the outcome was so amazing. “Not a she but a he. This kitty, believe it or not, is a unicorn.”
Marcus laughed. “Looks like a cat to me.”
“Calicos are almost always female, or so the vet explained. It’s so rare to find a male that they’re considered unicorns.” Yet someone had thrown him away. She rubbed her cheek against the soft, furry head. “Isn’t he amazing?”
“What’s amazing,” Knox said, “is the patient way Maybelline and Tank are waiting.”
“Oh.” Laylee looked down at the dogs and smiled. She wasn’t used to their being so quiet. “You sweethearts. Let’s not scare him, okay?”
The dogs’ ears came forward in interest and their tails cautiously wagged.
“You want to see how he feels about you?” Very slowly, she took a seat on the edge of a chair.
It was comical, considering that she was still wrapped in a tablecloth, which they had used to cover her wet, transparent clothes.
The romper was dry now, but she hadn’t felt like unwrapping her makeshift toga.
While she got settled, Knox explained. “The cat was weak but not severely dehydrated, so we don’t think he was in that bag too long.”
“Poor baby,” Lucy whispered.
“The vet checked him over, gave him some fluids—which really perked him up—and she gave him a bath so she could check him for any cuts or wounds.”
“She didn’t find any?” Marcus asked.
“Nope. He’s such a sweetheart that I doubt he fought when he was put in the damned bag.” Lower still, Knox said, “I’d love to get my hands on the bastard responsible.”
Lucy said, “I’m sure we all feel the same about that.”
Once Laylee was settled, Tank jumped up to put his paws on the edge of the chair cushion and vigorously sniffed the cat. Maybelline rested her big head next to Laylee’s thigh and went completely immobile, only her eyes shifting.