Page 52 of Deking at Love
She gave the ties another yank, freeing one of them.“Never mind.I’ll do it myself.”
“Okay, okay,” he laughed and made a twirling motion with his forefinger.“Turn around.I got you.”
He tied a sloppy bow and, unable to resist, squeezed her hips and drew her against him.He wanted her to feel how being close to her affected him.
“Sam!”she squeaked.
“What?”he said in his most innocent voice.“I just wanted to be sure I got it on right.”If he’d had his way, not only would she still be smashed against him, but other parts would be grinding together right now.“Besides, I want you to know that you’re making thishardon me.”
“You’re making ithardon yourself.”After tying on his apron—minus the extracurricular fun, damn it—she led him into a room where cages lined one wall.Several cats meowed, their noses pressed against the metal grids.Angie stuck her fingers in the mesh and wiggled them, and the friendlier cats rubbed against them.
“We have some shy ones over here.”She pointed to several cages where the animals hunkered at the back.“I like to take them out and try to make them comfortable.The more we can socialize them, the easier they are to adopt out.”
She coaxed a small white one with green eyes from the back of its cage, cuddling it close.A tiny but insistent noise came from a different cage, and Sam turned to see a gray tabby kitten with its pink mouth yawning open as it emitted a high-pitched cry.
“That guy doesn’t look like he needs socializing.He’s screaming, ‘Pay attention to me, damn it!’”
“Go ahead and pull him out,” Angie encouraged.
When Sam opened the cage door, the ball of fuzz bolted, climbing his arm to his shoulder.“Ouch!Shit!His claws are like tiny razors.”
Angie laughed.
“Yeah, go ahead and laugh, you sadist.You set me up because you enjoy seeing me torn to shreds,” he groused.The little guy tried to climb Sam’s head, and he dislodged him, losing a piece of scalp in the process.He lifted the kitten in front of him, limbs dangling and fuzzy white belly sticking out like an old guy’s paunch.The thing mewed again, all pink tongue and tiny white barbs for teeth.
“How about I pass this tiny terror to you?”
She pointed to the bundle in her arms.“Can’t.You’ll have to manage.Anyway, I think he’s already attached to you.”
“He’s attached all right.”Sam placed the kitten on the floor, and Mr.Claws executed somersaults while he bit his own tail.Suppressing a laugh of his own, Sam pulled his camera from the back pocket of his jeans and took a quick video as the kitten hopped to its feet and trotted toward him.Soon only pale pink nose and whiskers filled the frame while the cat investigated the camera.
When Angie giggled, Sam pointed the camera in her direction and filmed, then switched to still photos, catching her gorgeous smile in frame after frame.Mr.Claws found the perfect perch on Sam’s shoulder and purred loudly in his ear before settling in to sleep.
Sam craned his head.“Seriously, dude?”
“See?He’s comfortable with you.He likes you.”Angie straightened the white cat’s cage and refreshed its water before placing it back inside.She moved to another cage and went through the same steps with a scrawny black cat.Sam shot more pictures, capturing the animal’s bright amber eyes.
Thirty minutes later, with Mr.Claws still sawing logs on his shoulder, Sam had an entire collection of mug shots of every single feline in the cat house.Angie sat beside him on the floor, head resting against his unoccupied shoulder in an intimate way that warmed him all over, oohing and aahing as he scrolled through the images.He stopped swiping when he got to the many shots he’d taken of her.He was already acting like a doofus around her.The pictures of her nearly outnumbered the others combined.He didn’t need to reveal this new and sudden obsession blooming inside of him.He’d never acted like this with any other woman in his life.Then again, the word “obsession” had never popped into his head before either unless it was about hockey.
When time came to start the next chore, Sam reluctantly lifted Mr.Claws off his shoulder.Not only did he miss the warmth of Angie settled against him, but he missed the goofy kitten that had literally attached itself to him.The little gray tabby protested when Angie placed him back in his cage.He gave Sam pitiful eyes through the wire squares.
Damn!
Sam held the door for Angie as they exited the cat house.“Cats are pretty maintenance-free, right?”
“They need less hands-on than dogs, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“What’s it take to adopt one?”
Angie stopped in the sterile hallway and peered up at him.“There are some forms to fill out, and you pay an adoption fee.But there are supplies you’ll need, and you’ll want to do some animal-proofing before you bring an animal home.”She paused, wrinkling her nose.“You’re not considering adopting that kitten, are you?”
For reasons unclear to Sam, the question stung.Did she think he’d be a bad pet parent?“Well, no.Hockey always comes first.Pets, like relationships, are distractions.But why not?”
“Well, for one, it’s a kitten, so it’s going to need more attention than a full-grown cat.And for another, you’re on the road a lot, which means even if you have someone come in and feed it, water it, and clean its litter box, the kitty will be alone most of the time, which isn’t fair.You just said it yourself: Hockey comes first.”
“I’m not on the road now, and I’ll be around all summer,” he reasoned.And did hockey always have to come first?
“Yes, but will you be living here or in Loveland?And for how long?And what if you have to move to Canada?”What she meant, of course, was,“What if you’re traded?”
