Raindrops pattered lazily on the roof of the old farmhouse, and with a little pang, I stared around the small packed-up room I’d started to think of as Kwan’s. He’d wiped the walls down, so they were dust free now, and he was handing the room back in a slightly better condition than he’d gotten it. He was such a good guy. I still couldn’t understand how his last owner could have treated him the way he did. I’d never met a person who deserved shitty treatment less, but that was the way the world worked sometimes. Fall was coming and I was starting to feel nostalgic and familial vibes with the shifting of the seasons. I almost hated to break up our little impromptu family, even though Kwan was onto better things.
“Well,” I said, as I slid the tape gun over the top of the last box of bedding. “That should do it.”
Harley cat had perched himself on the end of the bed, his feet planted on the footboard so that his knees almost brushed his chin, and Kwan was parked on his butt with his shoulder pressed against Harley’s toes, eyes closed as Harley petted the top of his shiny black hair. The cutest, most pensive expression flitted across Harley’s face and he gnawed on his lips while he stared at Kwan. The shiner from his first kickball game was finally fading, so that only a few spots of purplish-green remained across his left cheekbone.
“You’re not strictly required to leave if you don’t want to,” Harley said, scowling at me as if I’d suggested this move and he wasn’t the one who’d spent hours upon hours with Nicky and Kwan, forcing ahead the hunt for new jobs. Harley had been relentless in helping those two, and while he may not be that great on the field, he was taking to being the cheerleader pretty well. He was great for team spirit.
“This is my house,” I said with a laugh. “But Harley’s right. You don’t have to go anywhere. We enjoy having you here. You’re welcome to stay.”
Kwan blinked his eyes open and grinned. “I like the new place. Yeah, it’s little, I know that. Work, though? It’s less than a minute from there.” He gave an excited little wriggle. “I met the guys I’m going to be working for at Animus Tech, and I can’t wait. It’s so much fun. You wouldn’t even think it’s a conglomerate. It’s a holding company for seven different startups, and they’re all housed right there in one massive complex, competing with each other—I mean, Boyd, the big boss who hired me, said that it’s in a good way. Thing is, those people are supercharged. The energy on the work floor is off the charts. I’ve never seen anything like it. If I stick there, I’ll finally be able to use some of my comp sci degree.” He tapped his feet around happily, and I loved the gleeful sparkle in his eyes.
“That’s great. Sounds like a career and not a job. I took a job, so I think that’s why I get so invested in the kickball team.” I shrugged. “It’s special to be able to enjoy your work that way. You deserve it.”
“I love my work,” Harley piped up with a scowl. “The people there, on the other hand….” He trailed off, his dire frown growing dangerous.
“Not talking to the guy in your office again? What’s his name? Loogie?”
Harley smirked. “Logan.”
“Ah, right.” I hated that I couldn’t help him at work, and even knew it was unrealistic to think I could make his life easy everywhere, especially since he was so prickly sometimes. It was difficult to hear about someone blundering around every other day putting his foot in his mouth. Made me wonder how much of it was this guy just being oblivious, or if he was trying to upset my kitten. Harley’s face cleared and he smiled at me, so I held in the advice I wanted to dish out. I had to trust him, the way he was starting to trust me.
“I’m giving him the silent treatment, but he hasn’t really noticed yet.” Harley rolled his eyes and I had to chuckle.
“Such is life.”
“Indeed.”
“Hey, guys!” Nicky popped his head in the door, quickly followed by the rest of his body with a little hop. He wore the brightest purple shorty-shorts I’d ever seen in my life, and they were topped with a matching sequined shirt that said Mighty Unicorns across the front. That was new. I grasped my chest, pointing at him as my heart hit the back of my throat.
“Knock,” Harley said blandly. “One of these days that door is going to be locked, and then what will happen?”
Nicky shrugged. “I’ll come in the back. The lock on that one is busted.”
Harley blinked at him and his eyes rounded in horror as I snickered. Nicky held out a hand toward Kwan and he took it. Between the two of them, Nicky hauled Kwan to his feet, and then we all looked around the stripped-bare room.
“This is really happening,” Kwan said. Nicky tugged him into a hug, and I was shocked and delighted when Harley stood carefully from the bed and hugged him from the other side. Harley held out a hand to me, and as soon as I wrapped my arms around the guys, we started jabbing one another in the sides and poking and laughing until we had to break apart from the roughhousing.
My car was packed full, so Harley and Kwan rode into downtown New Gothenburg with Nicky. It took us about a half hour to get everything into Kwan’s tiny new apartment located in an upscale neighborhood that made my wallet hurt. Fake stone veneer gleamed like pyrite on the front of his building, and as I made one final trip inside carrying some of my towels—which were apparently being gifted to Kwan—I had to wonder what fool had forked over the gold for it. Once I was inside, I went to the kitchenette counter and set down the stack of towels.
“You’re certain you’ll be able to afford this place?” I asked Kwan as he turned to stare at his newest unasked-for acquisition, and Harley gave me a sly thanks for asking the uncomfortable question I really wanted answered look.
“He didn’t tell you?” Nicky asked, surprised, and Kwan shushed him, which really piqued my interest.
“The apartment belongs to Boyd,” Nicky said, and Kwan flushed.
“What?” Harley and I asked, almost at the same time.
“It’s a place Animus Tech usually keeps for people in from out of town, but apparently Boyd heard from someone—” Kwan shot Nicky a frustrated pout. “—that I’d had a bad time recently, so he said I could stay here. I’ll start paying rent after my first paycheck. He wouldn’t give me an amount, though.”
Nicky didn’t even look embarrassed about getting someone else on Kwan’s side, and I loved him for that.
“It’s all good,” Nicky said. “He just wants you at work on time, that’s all.” Not even I believed that airy tone of his. I’d have to grill him later to find out what Boyd’s angle could possibly be. He was a good guy, from what I knew of him.
Kwan’s shoulders slumped. “How will I repay him? Everyone’s been so nice to me.”
“Don’t worry about it. If Boyd wants you to move out of here later, he’ll tell you. That man is not shy,” Nicky said and cocked a hip before turning to push around yet another box. He must have decided it needed to go in the kitchenette area because he took it out there.
“And you’re still welcome to come to my house as much as you want,” Harley offered before I could, and it didn’t escape me that like a true cat, apparently everything that was mine was now his. I didn’t mind a bit.
