“She’s been after me to come over here since she saw your cat in the window the other day. I told her we had to wait until the weekend because you work, and I guess she decided to hold me to that.” Micah grins and looks to Hailey. “Well? Go ahead and ask her.”
Hailey blushes and sticks her thumb in her mouth. Micah gives her a nudge, and she giggles again. She pops her thumb out and says, “Miss Iris, can I pet your kitty cat?”
Oh, is that all? I smile at her and step back, gesturing for Micah to bring her in. “You want to meet Cleo? Sure! Come on in, and I’ll go get her. Miss Iris almost stepped on her just now, so she might be hiding. She gets mad when I step on her.”
Micah steps through the door, and I get a whiff of a subtle musky cologne as he walks past me. He sets Hailey down, and before either of us can stop her, she wanders off in search of Cleo.
“Hailey! Sorry, Iris. She’s super excited about the cat.”
I get the weird feeling I should have kid-proofed the house before letting her in. Shouldn’t I have covers on all the outlets or something? “It’s okay. She’s cute.”
He sighs. “That’s because she takes after her mom. All sunshine and gold, that kid.”
He’s not wrong. Where he’s dark, tanned, and deliciously tattooed, she’s fair-skinned and light-haired. Her twin braids almost shimmer in the light from the windows. Her mom must have been beautiful, and I say as much.
“Yeah. She was.” His voice is soft and a little sad, and I could kick myself for being such an idiot. I cover my face with my hand and groan.
“That was really insensitive of me.”
Micah pats me on the back, leaving a tingly spot where he touches me. “Don’t worry about it. It’s … a little raw still, sometimes. Just the other day I caught myself trying to dial her phone to see when she’d be home from the store. It’s a trip how the brain will forget something tragic happened.”
I watch Hailey chase Cleo in silence for a few minutes, unsure how to answer that. She giggles and stumbles around the coffee table, and I suck in a worried breath as she almost trips on a cat toy. The last thing I need is her beaning herself on a corner.
“Hailey, calm down. If you’re nice and still, the kitty might come up to you.” Micah shakes his head and walks over to hold her still, rescuing Cleo.
“Here, Hailey,” I say, bending to pick Cleo up. “How about I hold her so she can’t run away, and then you can pet her.”
I’m a little nervous about Hailey petting Cleo, but I don’t want to be mean to the little girl. It’s just—Cleo’s never met a kid before. I have no idea how she’s going to react to this miniature human touching her. I make sure to hold her paws tight before squatting down so Hailey can reach her.
To my relief, Hailey’s super gentle with Cleo. She’s even smart enough to let her sniff her hand before she reaches between her ears. Her little face lights up when Cleo deigns to allow the contact and even starts to purr. “Daddy, she’s really soft! Like a stuffie!”
“Huh?”
Micah grins. “Stuffed animal.”
Oh. Duh, Iris.
“This is abigkitty!”
It’s my turn to grin. “Well, Hailey, Cleo is what’s called a Maine coon. They grow really, really big, but they’re really nice and friendly. And look!” I hold up one of Cleo’s paws, showing Hailey the long tufts of fur between the toes. “She has snow fur, so she can walk on snow.”
Hailey giggles again. “Silly kitty, there’s no snow in California.” She cocks her head and looks up at her dad. “Is Cleo gonna have baby kitties?”
“Nope. She’s just a chubby kitty. I think maybe I give her too many treats.” I wink at Micah over Hailey’s shoulder.
After a few minutes of gentle pets, Hailey stops and gives me a hug. “Thank you, Miss Iris.”
I freeze, unsure what to do. Do I hug her back? Is that, like, okay? I stare wide-eyed at Micah, who nods in reassurance. I put my free arm around Hailey and give her a little squeeze. It feels weird to be hugging someone so tiny. I’m half afraid I’ll break something if I’m not careful.
“Thanks for this. I really appreciate it, especially so early on a Saturday.” Micah picks Hailey back up. “Have you eaten yet?”
Eaten? I haven’t even had a chance to go pee! “Nope. I’ll grab a bagel in a few, though.”
He raises a brow and glances towards my kitchen. “That’s it?”
“Daddy, what’s a bagel?”
“It’s like a donut but made with bread.” His description cracks me up, and I snort-laugh. “But I bet if we ask nicely, Miss Iris will come over and have one of Daddy’s famous omelets instead. What do you think about that?”
