5. Chapter Five #2
“I’m twenty-nine. Not nine.” Even as I said the words, though, a pain shot through my chest. An image.
Of Quinta—at nine. Completely helpless and alone in the world.
Reliant on her young uncle to care for her.
I’d spent every one of the days since then worrying that I’d somehow fucked it up.
She made it to college on a scholarship.
She’s got friends and has good grades. I need to remember to breathe.
I cleared my throat. “Sorry. That was rude. I would love eggs and toast. Is there something I can do?”
“How about slicing a tomato?” He offered an easy grin while gesturing to the cutting board with both a sharp knife and a juicy tomato.
Tibby lay beneath the table. She gave me the once-over, snuffed, and laid her chin on her paws.
“Is she okay?”
“She’s a little miffed she doesn’t get to see the kittens and has to spend so much time in my bedroom. I convinced her that chew toy I bought for her yesterday was just as good as licking kittens.”
“Did she buy it?” I sat at the table and started cutting tomato slices.
“Jury’s out. That said, she’s certainly chewing the thing when she’s in my room alone. Better that than my shoes.”
“Oh. Does she chew your shoes?” I glanced under the table where she was either asleep or playing possum with her eyes closed.
“Nope. There was the great umbrella caper, but that was when she was a puppy. Before Noah trained her.” Soren put a plate next to me with scrambled eggs and dark toast—exactly my favorite.
“Thank you.”
“No problem. Peanut butter? Jam? Ketchup?”
“Ew.” I wrinkled my nose. “Ketchup on eggs is blasphemy.”
He laughed. “On that, we’re in total agreement. Gross. Oh, bacon.” He snagged the plate back.
Oh God—how did I miss the smell of bacon?
He returned the plate. “Sorry, I assumed. You said you didn’t have any food preferences or allergies.”
I cupped my arm around my plate protectively. “No one’s taking my bacon.”
“Oh. Good to know.” He grinned. “I don’t do bacon often, but today felt like a special occasion, you know?”
“Uh, why?” I put a couple of slices of tomato on my plate and added a couple to his when he sat across from me.
He smiled again and popped up and went to the fridge. A moment later he was back with a jug of orange juice and a jar of peanut butter.
I took the offered jar and smiled at the juice. “This is perfect. So, what’s the special occasion?”
“Celebrating making it through the night. The kittens are sleeping peacefully and we’re having a quiet meal before you go to work. If that’s not a cause for celebration, then I’m not certain what might be.”
“Oh.” I scratched my chin. “Well, when you put it like that…” I opened the jar of peanut butter and slathered some on my toast.
“I choose to put it like that. One night down and, what, thirty to go?”
I blinked. “When you put it like that…” All enthusiasm, though, was gone.
Soren waved off my obvious concern. “The time will go by in a blink of an eye. Before you know it, you’ll be looking for permanent homes for the little ones. Unless you plan to keep them for yourself? Three cats might be a lot, but they’d certainly keep each other company.”
Again, I blinked. “Keep them?” I eyed my toast. I need sustenance. I need energy. I need to survive the next four weeks.
He cocked his head. “Too soon? I guess you’ve barely had them.
I just…if they were mine, I know I’d want to keep them.
But that’s me. Fostering comes with a different mindset, I think.
I bought Tibby knowing I was going to keep her.
I considered fostering—or even rescuing a dog—but I saw the ad for her and something settled in me.
I knew she needed to come home with me. And does that encourage breeding?
Yep. But at least she came from a reputable breeder.
In the future, though, I think I might look at rescuing.
” He rubbed his nose. “I knew I wanted to start from the beginning—so we’d be learning together.
And Noah was so amazing with that. Now? I think I’d be more confident in the future. ”
“Okay.” I hadn’t made a single comment about the fact he’d chosen to buy Tibby.
Tibby—and all her littermates—were amazing dogs.
Sure, rescuing was important. Fostering was important.
But regardless of how the pet came to one, the most important thing was how they were treated.
“You obviously love Tibby, and you’ve taken a lot of care in training and raising her. She’s a testament to that work.”
“Noah helped. I couldn’t have done this without him.” Soren chuckled. “I had a boxer while I was married. That dog was dumb as shit, and training was useless. I wasn’t as responsible as I’ve been with Tibby. Noah’s been a big part of that.”
I forked up some eggs. “Well, sure. He’s a great guy.
But you did the work. I—” I swallowed. “I honestly haven’t given any thought to what I’ll do with the kittens.
I just want to keep them alive, you know?
They won’t be ready for permanent homes for another six or seven weeks.
Would it be nice for them to go together?
I guess so. Although I think Peaches would be just fine on her own.
Carlos and Jack probably need to support each other when she’s around. ”
Soren laughed. “She is a firecracker. And eats so much more. Did Dr. Genner say anything about that?”
“Just that as long as they’re not sick or anything, to let them have as much as they want.
He said Peaches might grow up to be a bigger cat in the end.
He also thinks there might’ve been more than one father—but he couldn’t be certain.
” I bit into the toast and enjoyed the taste of the creamy peanut butter.
“Without a cat DNA test?” His eyes sparkled.
I swallowed, then took a quick sip of juice. “Which I’m never going to do.” I offered a smile. “Their parentage doesn’t matter. What matters is how well I can take care of them.” I glanced at my phone. “Just a couple of minutes.”
“Sure. I really don’t mind. You might need the time to get other things done?”
“No, but thank you. They’re my responsibility and I’ve already relied on you more heavily than we agreed. You should head to bed. I can clean up the kitchen after I feed the kittens.” I ate the last of the eggs.
“Now I’ll say no thanks. I have the entire day off. Relaxation is top second only to kitten feedings. Well, and taking care of Tibby.”
She snuffed.
“Doing a few dishes is nothing.”
Even as he said the words, my alarm went off.
Tibby leapt up from under the table and poked her head up.
Soon her body followed with that massive swinging tail that might be a lethal weapon.
Lucky she’s not getting near the little ones for now.
Part of me was disappointed—the kitten and huge dog videos were super cute.
The rest of me trusted Noah to know what was best.
“Thank you, Soren. I know I’m going to say that multiple times a day for now to eternity—but I’m incredibly grateful.” I wondered if he might wave me off, but he held my gaze.
“Truly my pleasure, Sam. Whatever you need—I’m here for you.”
I wanted to say more, but the words stuck in my throat. Instead, I rose, prepared the bottle, and headed into the great room where the crate sat atop the dining room table. I removed toasty kittens, fed and cared for them, then headed to work.
Even after resolving to not think about Soren all day—that’s exactly what I did.