Rena wished she could just enjoy being single. To love her friends and family and not want what they had. But with all her family coupled up, she constantly felt on the outside looking in. She missed the happily ever after she read about in her books. Despite knowing it was all scripted, she wanted to write her own ending, one in which a man found her desirable and worthy of being loved.
God, “worthy.” Iammy mother’s daughter, needing a man to feel fulfilled.Ashamed for being so weak yet honest enough to admit she’d been built that way, she struggled to find that balance she’d sought so hard.
Her mother opened up her arms, and Rena went into them, wondering why she’d said anything in the first place. If there was one thing she knew, it was that her mother would do what she wanted and the consequences be damned.
All Rena had accomplished tonight was to make herself feel worse.
She stood in her mother’s arms, some small part of her comparing the comfort from Axel’s hug to the warm homecoming of her mother’s.
And found she preferred her Viking’s arms after all.
Seven
On Friday morning, Axel found himself behind his shop, peering into the bushes around the corner. He’d come out to throw some trash in the dumpster and been distracted by an old friend. He looked around for the gentle meowing he’d heard on and off the last year, hoping the little one would show herself this time.
“Come here, little kitty,” he crooned in German. The cat seemed to prefer German to English. “Come and I will give you your favorite—tuna.”
Though he’d been overseas as much as home the past few months, he’d instructed the guys to set out cat food near the small house he’d built for her. He could never get her to trust him enough to let him take her inside, but she’d enjoyed the small house he’d made.
And there, inside it on the ratty blanket, he saw her and smiled. “Ah, kitty. How are you feeling?”
To his shock, she waddled out of the house and rubbed her face against his hand, as if they were old friends.
“Well, now. You’ve got yourself a boyfriend, eh?” He saw her distended belly and too-skinny frame and couldn’t in good conscience leave her to fend for herself any longer. “Time to see the vet.” He took her in his arms slowly, but she did nothing more than purr and settle against him.
“Wish all my lady friends were this easy.” He snorted at the thought of Rena snuggled up in his arms. She had fallen asleep against him. Then again, he hoped for a little more than sleep from the woman.
Axel sighed and walked back inside. The familiar smell of paint and clearcoat, the sounds of ribald teasing, rock music, the power sander, and the paint gun. Business as usual. Except for the purring and occasional meow from his little friend.
He took her into his office, worried the noise and smells might scare her. But the cat didn’t appear bothered in the slightest. So odd. He set her on his desk, and she walked around the clear surface before settling into a sphinxlike pose next to his laptop, curling her paws and tail around her while she watched him.
Dirty, a bit scrawny for being pregnant, and rather small in size, the calico stray looked right at home in his office. Had Axel been an animal person he might have kept her. But he was always working, never at home long enough to give a pet the attention it deserved.
A knock on the doorframe turned his attention.
“Yo, Boss, what do… Is that a cat?” Rylan stared at the feline blinking back at him.
“No, it’s a bear.” Stupid question.
Rylan shot him a look before leaving. The equipment turned off. Smitty and Mateo returned with him, gathered at the doorway.
“Oh wow, she’s pregnant,” Mateo whispered.
“I think she knows,” Smitty said. “No need to whisper.”
Mateo glared at him. “I don’t want to scare her.”
“If she can handle being that close to Heller, I’m sure you won’t bother her,” Rylan said, his voice as hushed.
Axel sighed and in a normal voice said, “You three have never seen a cat before?”
“This is the one we’ve been putting the food out for.” Smitty entered and held his hand out for the cat to sniff before petting her. When she let him, he smiled. “Aw, she’s a cutie, aren’t you?”
Mateo soon joined him, not crowding the cat but letting her adjust to a new scent before stroking her between the ears. “She looks just like my mom’s cat. Except smaller. She’s pretty tiny.” He smiled at her. “You poor thing. Knocked up and deserted by that pitiful man of yours. We’ll take care of you.”
Everyone looked at Axel, who felt put on the spot. “Nein.I’m going to take her to a shelter. She can’t hang around here. The paint would not be good for her health.”
Smitty and Mateo no longer looked so pleased. Smitty cleared his throat. “Good point.”
