Finally, she gets him in, but she has to hold him there. “Can I get a hand, please?”
I step in closer to her. “What do you need?”
“Can you shut the door as soon as I pull my arms out?”
“Sure.”
I get even closer, and a soft but sweet cloud surrounds me.
She gets impatient while I ponder the best way to do this without invading her personal space. “Just get in here. I can’t hold him much longer.”
There’s no way to avoid it. I press my front to her back, stretching my arms around her to get a hold of the cage.
“Okay. I’m letting him go.” As soon as her arms are free, I slam the door shut, throwing the latch.
She stumbles, tilting to the side, and I automatically close my hands around her waist to keep her steady. She gasps, tilting her head back to look up at me. We’re frozen in place, staring at each other. The surrounding air is electric. Her tongue darts out to swipe across her lower lip, and I lean in. So tempted. She pushes up on her heels, stretching closer. Time seems to stand still as we move closer to each other.
“Rowr!” An angry yowl breaks the tension, and we both jerk away.
She reaches back, rubbing a hand up her neck and taking a giant step back.
“Right. We should get you out to the lobby, guys.” She picks Philip’s carrier up by the handle. “Can you grab James?”
“Sure. Yeah. I got it.” I guess we’re going to pretend that never happened. Probably for the best.
The silence between us as we gather up the supplies for their foster home is difficult. We may not always get along, but we’ve never been at a loss for words around each other.
Thankfully, Damien steps in before things get too awkward. “Are these guys ready to go? The Dades are here to pick them up.” He looks a little more composed now. The buttons on his shirt are in their correct spots, and his hair is less chaotic.
“All good. Phillip put up a fight, but we handled it.”
“Excellent.” Damien ducks down to peer in at the feisty black cat. “Are you trouble, Phillip? Don’t worry. You’re going to love it at the Dade’s. Feline heaven.”
The pitiful mew he gets in response implies the cat doesn’t believe one word of his promise.
We carry the cats out to their foster family. Two middle-aged women greet us with matching kind smiles. One of them has brown wavy hair falling to her shoulders, and she’s wearing a long dress with sunflowers all over it. The other has a short crop of black hair, and she’s wearing baggy khakis paired with a Hawaiian shirt with a colorful pattern of cat faces.
We shake hands, then pass the carriers over.
“Call me if you need anything at all,” Damien tells them.
A sharp gust of icy air bursts in as the ladies are leaving, causing Damien to shiver. “I’m going to go see if Room C is all ready to go. Our new friends are due to arrive any minute. You two can go on home. I’m sure you’ve got things to do.”
Luna shrugs. “Are you sure there’s nothing else we can do for you?”
“No, we’re all set and eternally grateful for all your help. I’ll text you if anything comes up before your next shift here.”
He pumps my hand with a surprisingly aggressive grip and gives Luna air kisses before vanishing into the back room. He’s got a lot more spring in his step than he did when we first arrived.
She eyes the door as if she wants to follow him, then shifts her weight, wringing her hands together. Her hesitation is clear.
“Do you think we can maybe visit Bluebeard before we go? I’m worried about him.”
“Sure.” Now that I’ve moved on from panic mode, the exhaustion is trying to pull me back under, but she looks so distressed I can’t say no to the simple request.
He’s in his new cage with another cat, and he lets out a pitiful meow when Luna rushes over to peek in at him.
“Oh, Bluebeard. I’m so sorry.”
