In my defense, Tilikum squirrels weren’t normal. He could have been leading me somewhere.

A tiny noise caught my attention, so faint I wasn’t sure I’d actually heard anything. I held my breath. There it was again.

I moved closer to the trees. Whatever it was, it was low to the ground. I shined the light around, looking. Because it almost sounded like—

A pair of eyes glowed bright when my light moved past. Cat eyes.

Kitten eyes, to be exact.

It was curled up in a small hollow at the base of a tree, but it wasn’t much of a shelter. It mewed at me—a tiny sound that tugged at something in my chest.

I swept the light around, looking for any sign of the mother cat or the rest of the litter. But the kitten was alone.

“Hey, little one.” I leaned my crutches against the tree and crouched down. “Are you all by yourself out here?”

The kitten crept out of the hole to sniff my outstretched fingers. Its fur was dirty. I didn’t know a lot about cats, but I knew if this kitten had a mom, it would be cleaner than this.

I scooped it up and peeked under the tail. Pretty sure it was a girl.

Jesus, she weighed nothing. Just a scrap of fur in my hand.

Her little mews sounded like she was crying now, so I tucked her against my chest and gently rubbed the top of her head with my thumb.

“Shh. You’re okay.”

Obviously I was taking her with me.

I couldn’t carry her and walk with my crutches, so I slipped her into my front coat pocket. It was high on my chest and just big enough that her skinny little body fit inside with her head poking out. Hoping she wouldn’t jump out, I grabbed my crutches and started back toward my truck.

Maybe the squirrel had been leading me somewhere after all.

“You need a mommy, don’t you little snuggle nugget? Well, now you have one.”

The kitten settled into my pocket, her tiny mews quieting. Did Skylar like cats? Not that she needed to like cats for me to have one, but it made me wonder. I kind of wanted to go straight to her house to show her.

Okay, I really wanted to go straight to her house to show her.

Mostly because now that I was thinking about her again, I wanted to see her. And that strange preoccupation made me hesitate. Besides, it was late. We’d hang out again sometime—hopefully soon—and I could introduce her to my new baby.

For now, I’d get this little squeaker home.

13

Gavin

The kitten’s tiny claws pinched my skin as she climbed up my shirt. I gave her a hand, helping her settle on my shoulder. She liked it up there, and she was so small I barely noticed her, except for the slight tickle of fur against my neck.

She’d spent the night curled up in bed with me, happily purring. I’d taken her to the vet first thing this morning. Dr. Lennox had said she was lucky I’d found her. She was barely old enough to be away from her mom. They’d cleaned her up—turned out she was black and white—and given me special food for her. Other than being tiny and hungry, she seemed to be in good health. She just needed to put a little weight on and she should be okay.

Levi walked in and stopped in his tracks. “What’s that?”

“What’s what?” I asked around a bite of cereal.

“Is that an animal?”

“She’s a kitten. I found her by the train tracks.”

“You brought a stray cat home?”

“What was I supposed to do? Leave her out there?”

He eyed her, his brow furrowing. “No. But you don’t think you’re keeping her, do you?”

“Of course I’m keeping her. She needs a mommy.”

“A mommy?”

I just took another bite of cereal.

“I don’t think we’re supposed to have pets in this house.”

“Who has a pet?” Logan came out of his room looking rumpled, like he’d just woken up.

“Gavin brought home a stray cat.”

Logan stopped and looked around. “Seriously? Where?”

“She’s sleeping,” I said. “Don’t wake her up, you guys, she’s been through a lot.”

“What are you going to do with it?” Logan asked, peering at the kitten on my shoulder.

“That’s a weird question,” I said. “I’m going to take care of her. I’m her cat mom.”

“I think you mean cat dad.”

I rolled my eyes. “No, I mean cat mom. According to Google, it’s primarily the female cat who cares for her kittens. The cat dad might help her out, but it’s just as likely that he won’t. My little squeaker here doesn’t need a cat dad, she needs a cat mom.”

“Dude, having a pet is a big responsibility,” Levi said. “She needs a litter box and veterinary care and—”

“Way ahead of you. Took her to the vet this morning and picked up a litter box on the way home. But thanks for the tip.”

“I’m just saying—”

“You’re just saying you don’t think I can handle taking care of a kitten.”

“That is what it sounded like,” Logan said.

“Do you think he can take care of a kitten?” Levi asked, gesturing to me.

Logan shrugged. “Probably not.”

“See?”

I glared at them both. “You guys realize I’m no longer ten, right?”

“You’ve just never had to take care of anything besides yourself,” Levi said.

“And let’s be real, your track record there is questionable,” Logan added, gesturing to my leg.

“Whatever, Chip and Dale. I’ve got this.”

Levi glanced at Logan. “Apparently we have a cat now.”

“Are we allergic to cats?” Logan asked.

“I’m not,” Levi said.

“Well if you’re not, I’m not.”

I shook my head and shoveled more cereal into my mouth. The kitten rubbed her head against my neck and I reached up to give her a little pet with my index finger.

“Gram said her furnace was making a weird noise, so I’m heading over there to check it out,” Levi said.

Logan dropped into a chair and raked his fingers through his messy hair. “Need help?”

“No, I’ve got it.”

“Cool. I told Chief I’d come in and help with a training exercise,” Logan said.

I grunted, mildly jealous. Chief usually had me come in to help with training exercises. Stupid broken leg.

“What are you doing today?” Logan asked. “Other than being a cat mom?”

“I don’t know. I have an appointment with Sven, but that’s it.”

“Who’s Sven?”

“Cara’s massage therapist.”

“Wait, what?”

I poked at my cereal with my spoon. “I’m getting a massage by a guy with magic hands. Cara set it up for me.”

“Who said he has magic hands? Cara?”

“Yeah. I guess he does Grace, too. He’s supposed to be really good.”

“What the fuck? Does Asher know about this?”

“That his wife got a massage?”

“No, that a fucking guy named Sven was touching her.”