Chapter 39
She sighed happily and stretched luxuriously in her warm, soft bed.
He was so… attentive. That was the best word she could come up with.
As if he really liked being with her. She wasn’t just something in the shadows for when he was bored, or a trinket that he found pleasing.
And oh, that kiss, that kiss, that kiss!
And unbelievable as it still was to her, watching TV together with Audra had been nice, too.
She’d been on her best behavior, not warm exactly, but not knife-blade cutting either.
She’d even seemed happy that she, Vic, and Cal were all watching together, like it was a little event. Or maybe it was just Christmas.
Seriously, why and how did having a cute, furry animal, streaking across the room and shamelessly playing favorites in the attempt to garner treats have so much power to lift the energy in a room?
For half of an episode, Christmas sat on Audra’s lap, and Audra was so transparently pleased and proud of this turn of events that it had made Vic a little weepy or tender-feeling or something.
If only Audra could be like this, a bit softer than shoe leather, more often.
Okay, okay . . . there was no way she was falling back to sleep. And that was okay. Was great, in fact. She’d paint!
Christmas, who’d deserted the blankets as soon as Vic stirred, probably in search of a first breakfast, popped back into the room and bounded onto the bed in one graceful pounce, interrupting Vic’s painting plans.
She would paint while she daydreamed about Cal (Ha!
But also, her heart really did do a little flippy thing even thinking his name again), but first she’d stick to her resolve to post about Christmas on various online Community boards.
She was already in danger of losing her heart to the tiny-in-size, big-in-personality cat, if she hadn’t already, and she was worried about Audra too, who had taken to Christmas with a ferociousness that surprised her.
Well, the “taken to” part surprised her.
The ferociousness, not so much. Yeah, she’d better post. Now, not later.
Fortunately (or, unfortunately), Vic’s photo library was filled with incredibly cute Christmas pictures.
She—briefly hating this new, scrupulous side of herself—selected three utterly irresistible pics that clearly showed Christmas’s distinguishing features.
Then she wrote up a brief description of the events leading to Vic taking her in, along with her health and gender.
She finished with, “She’s beautiful, friendly, trusting, and playful. She must have a family who loves her.”
For some reason, that last line, benign as it was, choked Vic up a little.
“Please private message me if she’s yours or if you know who she belongs to.”
Knowing in her gut of guts that it was the right thing to do, yet feeling deeply sad about the separation her posts would no doubt bring about, Vic texted Cal.
“I did it.”
“I’m sorry. That’s hard. How are you?”
Her stupid heart squee’d a little. Cal knew without her saying a word about what “it” was. Her phone pinged again.
“And hopefully you get responses sooner rather than later, so you’re not stuck in limbo.”
Limbo. Such a tiny detail, but one that revealed how much Cal had started to know her. The not knowing if she could let herself fully love her—the—little cat, or if she should hold back, was the hardest part.
One more ping.
“Do you want me to come over?”
Did. She. Ever. But . . .
“I would love that. I’m about to paint, though. Does this afternoon, 3:00-ish work for you?”
“Yes! Maybe we can go for a walk or something, and can I take you for dinner later?”
The heart squee thing again. Or maybe it was a hormone-related A-fib?
You need to stay off the Internet, Angel said kindly. Wow, it had been a while since those voices had piped up. Devil remained quiet. Double wow.
“Sounds perfect,” Vic typed, then added several rosy-cheeked, beaming-eyed, smile emojis.
Multiple rows of smiling faces with tiny hearts coming from their cheeks flashed back to her, followed by “It’s a date!!!!”
Oh, how she loved this guy—
Wait, what? She shook her head, apprehension literally making her shiver.
Yep, there’s the old Vic we know and cringe about. Always in love, always so fast—
Ah, so Devil was still alive, after all. Of course.
No, she wasn’t going to let herself—any part of herself ruin this.
Cal was lovely and fun and kind and sweet and a hard worker and wonderful to be around.
It was normal to feel squishy and lovey.
She’d take her time, enjoy the feelings—and the roller coaster.
If it was real, time would tell. And even if they didn’t end up being a forever thing, it was nice to know there were men like him in the world.
Gag, said Devil.
Hear, hear, said Angel.
Vic rolled her eyes.
A notification sounded on her phone, different from a text alert. The first line in a message from the Community board scrolled across her screen. “Thank goodness you found her!”
Vic closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them and clicked the blue lightning bolt app to see the message.