5. Chapter Five
Chapter Five
Sam
“Are you really okay?” Noah eyed me. “You seem super stressed. Is it because you’re here? In Soren’s house?”
“Uh—”
“Or the kittens? Because that’s a huge responsibility. The shelter asked Christian and me to take a litter, and we had to refuse. We just wouldn’t have been able to make the schedule work.”
I rubbed my forehead for the umpteenth time. “I should’ve refused. But she implied they’d die if I didn’t take them.”
Noah frowned. “That doesn’t sound right. But then I don’t know their situation. Possibly they just couldn’t handle any more kittens. It’s really bad this time of year.”
I blinked. “I have to do this.”
“Okay. I’m here to support you. Obviously, Soren’s here to support you. Now, let’s get the crate organized. Do you have enough blankets? You’re going to wind up doing lots of laundry.”
“Oh dear. I didn’t think about that. I—” I winced yet again. “There’s just so much I didn’t think about. I read the articles she sent me, but I don’t think I absorbed enough of it.”
“So let’s go through things one step at a time and figure out what you might’ve missed. Do you have a pen and paper?”
This, I could do. I dug through my knapsack and came up with my notepad and a pen.
“Great. Now, let’s go through this slowly, okay?” Noah grabbed the crate.
I managed a nod, and we spent the next fifteen minutes setting up the crate as well as creating lists of each thing I would need to do and in what order to do it.
Noah never lost patience as I asked what were probably really silly questions.
But I needed everything written down. This was how I succeeded at work—by having lists and following them.
That ensured everything got done and nothing ever got accidentally omitted.
I just hope Soren doesn’t mind following things precisely.
My nerves would stretch taut if things didn’t go exactly as they were supposed to.
I’d also struggle to keep my stress in check.
“You’re doing great.” Again, Noah pressed a hand to my biceps.
He’d once asked me if I was okay with touch—and that I was totally free to say I was uncomfortable.
His inherent gentleness had me agreeing to the touch.
In truth, I didn’t spend much time embracing people.
Well, Quinta being the exception. And Mandy after she had her baby.
But every day? Nope. No one wandering in off the street and offering hugs.
“I’ll be okay.” I took a deep breath.
“Are you assuring me or trying to convince yourself?” Noah smiled.
“You’ve got everything under control. Soren’s about to bring Tibby in.
She’ll sniff the blanket and, if she’s curious, make her way to the closed door of the crate.
The kittens are at the back and so she’s not going to frighten them. Okay?”
“Yeah, okay.” I scratched my jaw yet again. This goatee thing was new, and I wasn’t convinced it would last the week. Always so itchy. At least I’d washed my hands, and I didn’t smell like kitten urine. Yuck.
“All clear?” Soren’s voice rang through the great room.
“We’re good.” Noah called back, even as he bumped me with his arm.
I managed a weak smile.
Soren entered the room with Tibby by his side. On her leash. Not tugging at all.
Noah stepped forward. “Hello, Tibby.”
She plopped onto her butt.
I thought he’d give her a treat, but then I remembered he’d said that once the dogs made it to therapy-dog training, the treats were replaced by praise. Most dogs took to the change easily. That said, a few disgruntled dogs had to be coaxed.
“Good girl, Tibby.” Soren grinned. “Always such a good girl.”
She gazed at him. Then her nose twitched.
“Now would be a good time for her to sniff the blanket.” Noah grinned, even as he held it. “Sam, would you like to do the honors?”
I blinked.
“Oh, no pressure. I can do it—”
“No, Noah. I can do this.” I had to if I was going to live here for the next few weeks. I held out my hand.
He placed the blanket in it.
Tibby watched with rapt attention. She exuded calm—which I appreciated.
I’d never had a dog, but loved my job at the store.
I’d come close to being bitten a couple of times—and had met some truly terribly behaved animals—but I understood the reactions came from fear and bad training.
Most animals didn’t want to cause harm to humans or other animals.
Or so I told myself.
I stepped toward Tibby.
She cocked her head.
I lowered myself to my haunches and met her gaze. “I’ve brought kittens to stay for a while. Oh, and I’m staying for a while. And you don’t understand all of this. Would you like to sniff?” I gently held the blanket before her, and my breath caught when she leaned forward.
She sniffed, paused, and then sniffed again. The entire time, she held my gaze.
“Friend.” Whether she understood that word was completely beyond me, but I wanted her to get what I was trying to say. I willed her to comprehend.
To my surprise, she gently licked my hand where it gripped the blanket. Involuntarily, I laughed. “You are a good girl.”
Her dark-brown eyes shone. As if saying, of course I am. How did you not know that before now?
Slowly, I rose. “Now, what?” I gazed between Noah and Soren.
“Now, we let Tibby decide.” Noah sat next to the crate.
She cocked her head. Then she gazed up at Soren who looked down at her.
“You can—if you want.”
As if understanding her handler’s words, she rose and moved toward the crate.
Again, I held my breath.
She approached the crate—clearly with her nose leading her. When she reached the door, she continued to sniff. Then she gazed at Noah.
Wonder. Happiness.
At least those were the emotions I read in her eyes. Curiosity as well.
“Kittens. Friends.” Noah enunciated the word.
Tibby rested her chin on his thigh and gazed up at him.
“Yes, you’re a very good girl.” He scratched her ears. “Maybe in the future you can meet them when they’re outside of the crate. For now, you just get to watch.”
She blinked.
I yawned.
Tibby turned her gaze to me. To her, I could manage a smile. “I’m done in, girl.” I met Soren’s gaze. “You’re really okay?”
“Absolutely. I see there are extensive notes on what to do. I’ll set my alarm for every three hours. If I don’t wake for some reason—and there’s really no reason for me not to—Tibby will nudge me. Go to bed, Sam. I hate to say you look dreadful—but you sort of do.”
I didn’t even try to put a label on how that made me feel. I yawned again. “Okay. Thank you. Both of you.” I turned my attention to Noah. “Can you let me know how much I owe?”
Noah blinked. “Owe? Oh. No charge. Tonight, I’m here as a friend.”
I squinted. Then I turned my gaze to Soren.
Who blushed.
Okay. So Soren’s arranged to pay. Or something. I can make a fuss or I can be gracious. Graciousness won because otherwise I was liable to say something appalling. “Thank you both. Soren, sleep in. I’ll take care of the kittens in the morning.” With that, I headed upstairs.
Tempted as I was to leave the door open a fraction so I might hear the conversation between the two men, that felt wrong.
So I shut the door. I opened my suitcase and pulled out my pajamas.
Then I went to the bathroom and did everything I needed to do—even as I almost fell asleep while brushing my teeth.
I plugged in my phone, double-checked the alarm, crawled into bed, and was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
So the alarm blaring eleven hours later was a shock. I’d been in the middle of a very weird dream about talking cats and, after I silenced my alarm, I lay in bed trying to remember the dream. Trying to piece together the fragments into something coherent.
Nope. Nothing.
I’d forgotten to close the blinds last night and the weak morning light filtered through the slats. Beyond that, the lake lay calm. For just a moment longer, I let that stillness resonate through me.
Then I remembered the kittens, the store, and Quinta.
In other words, I had a shit ton to get done today, and lazing about in bed wasn’t one of those things. As I stretched, though, a sense of well-being permeated me. I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept a full eight hours—let alone eleven.
Obviously, I needed it. Now I need to get moving.
I rolled out of bed and stripped on my way to the bathroom.
After a very invigorating shower, I dried my hair, applied some gel, and then headed back to the bedroom.
I pulled a uniform out of the suitcase and smacked myself up the head for not hanging it in the bathroom while I’d showered so at least a little bit of steam might’ve helped with the creases.
Oh well. I worked in a pet store. Wrinkles were just part of the job.
On went the khakis and my uniform shirt.
I checked myself in the mirror one more time before unhooking my phone from the charger and heading out of the bedroom.
I tiptoed down the stairs, only to find Soren in the kitchen.
At the stove. Cooking. “Uh, hey.” I gave a little ineffectual wave. “Aren’t you supposed to be asleep?”
He shrugged. “Actually, I got three really good sleeps between feedings. Turns out I can wake up, feed kittens, and go right back to sleep. Anyway, I had a brilliant idea for my work and so hopped on the computer to type it out. Then I realized I was hungry and so came in here to make eggs and toast. Can I interest you in some?” He met my gaze with light-brown luminous eyes.
I pursed my lips.
A slow blush crept across his cheeks. Finally, he sighed. “I really did have a good idea and I really will go back to sleep after the kittens are fed. Is it really so bad that I want you to eat properly?”