He turns from the window. “She’s been unusually active today.”
My heart thumps, turns over. “Yeah?”
I join him at the window. Theo is inside, his back resting against the wall as he faces off with her. “You sure, Doc? Has she gone near him?”
He gives me a wry look. “No. But her behavioural patterns have shifted back to normal. As if she’s becoming used to you being in there.”
I frown, studying Kenny in her usual spot. “Is that a good thing? Shouldn’t we be… pushing her boundaries or something?”
“Yes and no.” Abrams glances down at his clipboard, pushing his glasses back up so he can see properly. “You need her to feel comfortable around you. This is a good sign. Once she reaches that point, we can try new things.”
My sigh is almost inaudible. “Slow and steady.”
“Exactly.”
I check my watch again. “Is there any sign of us being able to stay overnight in there with her?”
This is better than it was, but it never feels like enough. Any separation from her is too much.
He coughs into his closed palm. “You know, I ran into Julia Holland earlier.”
“Who?”
“She’s a member of the board here.” That phantom fucking board that has full control over Kenny’s activities. I hate the lot of them. “She was telling me how delighted she was with Kennedy’s progress. I may have mentioned some of the issues we’ve been experiencing with accessing board meetings to get sign off. How the schedule is always full.”
“Right.” My forehead dips further. “And what did she say?”
Abrams has a frown on his own face. “She said they haven’t had a full agenda board meeting in months. She’s going to add Kennedy as a standing item for discussion regardless. So we won’t need to go through the main office anymore. I’ve already had an email from her to confirm.”
Turning to him fully, I try to work it through. “What does that mean?”
“It means someone messed up in the office. Or… someone’s been delaying things. But in terms of what happens now, it means that we get a weekly spot with the board to push things through. It’s good, Max. Really good.”
Movement in the room draws my eye. Theo gets to his feet, murmuring something to Kenny as she watches him silently. He waits a few moments before he turns, and I pick up my bag. “That’s my cue, Doc. See you later.”
“Hey.” Theo meets me at the doorway. He looks rumpled. “She’s not in the mood for me today. Maybe you’ll have better luck.”
“We’ll see.” I hesitate. “Did Abrams tell you about the board stuff? What does it mean?”
He runs a hand over his face. “Yeah. Oscar is looking into who’s on the board. Maybe they messed up.”
Or someone messed things up for us.“Anything I need to know before I go in?”
He sighs. “Not really. I think something about the nest is bothering her, but I can’t work out what it is.”
“Maybe because it’s not a proper nest.” Just a pile of shirts that makes my chest ache every time I look at them. “I’ll see you later.”
Kenny stiffens when I walk in. Red eyes examine me closely, assessing my movements as I push the door shut. “Hey, sweetheart.”
She doesn’t growl at me today. I take it as a sign to move a little closer to where she’s curled up on her side. My eyes sweep her shirts before they drop to my bag. “I brought some things. Want to see?”
Kenny doesn’t move, but I can feel her eyes on me, pricking at my skin as I stroll over to the bed and unzip my duffel bag. Slowly, so she can see what I’m doing, I lift out half a dozen sweatshirts one by one, laying them out. Two new blankets. A pillow. A sleeping bag.
That’s not on the list.
I glance up at her, but her eyes flick away from me. The corner of my lip lifts as I run my hand over the clothes. “You don’t want them?”
Her eyes narrow.
