Page 63 of Bargain with Fate
Accept the goodwill, Maya, I scolded myself.You won’t owe him anything.
True to his word, the druid arrived five minutes later.
“Thank you,” I said, ushering him inside. “I really appreciate this.”
“It’s no trouble, really.” He set his medical kit on the coffee table. “Jinx is still under the sofa, I presume?”
“You got it. I tried to move it, but she moved right along with it.”
“This is where we work with her, rather than against her.” He produced a can of tuna from his jacket pocket and peeled back the lid. “Where’s her bowl?”
I grabbed the bowl from the kitchen and brought it to him. He dumped in a few chunks of tuna and set the bowl on the floor.Jinx crawled straight out from underneath the sofa and began to eat.
“Why didn’t I think of that?”
He smiled. “Honestly, I expected it to be harder.”
“She does love tuna.”
“Is your scale in the bathroom? I’d like to weigh Jinx.”
“I don’t own a scale, but from the weight of her on my chest, I’d say she’s ten pounds.”
“Seems about right.” Dr. Adam crouched beside Jinx. “Once you finish eating, you and I are going to get better acquainted.”
“Not to burst your bubble, but I don’t think she’s in the market for a relationship.”
“Sounds familiar,” he murmured.
“Do you need me to hold her or anything?” I asked.
Dr. Adam stroked the cat’s back as she licked the tuna juice from the bottom of the bowl. “Jinx and I will take it from here, won’t we, Jinx?”
The cat looked at him and meowed. They seemed to have reached an understanding. I shouldn’t have been surprised. Dr. Adam handled every Neighbor on the island in whatever form they turned up—werewolf, meerkat, skunk, etc. The healer was a doctor, veterinarian, and psychologist rolled into one appealing package.
A pity he didn’t appeal to me.
“Late night at Meemaw’s last night?” the multitalented druid asked. “I answered an emergency call in Magnolia and noticed your golf cart outside when I left.”
My antennae shot up. “What was the emergency?”
“Nothing, thankfully. Turned out to be a bad case of indigestion.”
That was a relief. I was worried the shadow or oni had made another appearance.
“Was it poker night?” Dr. Adam asked, as he expertly administered the vaccinations. To Jinx’s credit, she didn’t flinch.
“No cards,” I replied. “We played another game. I was trying to help build a bond between Bernice and Louise. The roommate situation was becoming untenable.”
His face flickered with affection. “That’s very kind of you.”
“I consider it an act of public service. Louise’s constant complaining was starting to grate on Meemaw.”
Dr. Adam laughed. “A threat to the entire Neighborhood, then.”
“Hopefully it won’t get to that point.”
He held open Jinx’s mouth to check her teeth. “Which games did you play? Good old-fashioned Scrabble?”
