“It’s got three.”
“Okay, so it’s half a cat. What the hell is it doing in here?”
Jodi rolled his eyes. “Like you don’t know.”
“I want to hear you say it.”
“Why?”
“So I can tell you you’re a dickhead without any fucking loopholes.”
“Aw, come on now.” Jodi slid off his stool and came to Rupert’s side. “You’re not really cross.”
“Aren’t I?” Rupert fought to maintain his glare as Jodi slipped his arms around Rupert’s waist and brushed a feather-light kiss to his cheek. “’Cause I’m pretty sure I told you—and Indie—that if you brought a cat back here, I was off to live at the station.”
“Didn’t mean it, though, did you?”
Of course he hadn’t. He’d known full well how Indie and Jodi’s trip to the animal shelter a week ago would end. “When did it get here? Don’t tell me it’s been here all week and I haven’t noticed?”
Jodi chuckled. “No. The woman from Apple Wood came by yesterday to inspect the flat, and I picked the cat up this morning. It took you ten seconds to spot Forrest when you came home.”
“Forrest?”
“Forrest Stump.”
“Forrest Stump?” Dear God. Rupert had craved Jodi’s ridiculous sense of humour while it had been missing in action, and somehow he’d forgotten how terrible it could be. “You called half a cat Forrest Stump?”
“It’s not half a cat.”
“It ain’t a whole one.”
“Would you say that if she had half a brain?”
“What? No, of course I wouldn’t ...” The penny dropped even as Jodi’s arms slackened from their loose embrace. “Jodi—”
“Don’t,” Jodi said. “It’s okay, honest. I know you didn’t mean anything by it, but that’s the point, isn’t it? Forrest had been at Apple Wood for six months. Her time was up next week, and you know what would’ve happened, don’t you?”
Rupert knew. “Jodi, that doesn’t happen to humans.”
“Not anymore. If I’d had that accident a hundred—Christ, even fifty—years ago, I wouldn’t have made it this far.”
The jump from stray cat to grown man was vast, but Rupert heard Jodi loud and clear, and the thought of him being cast aside for the sake of a disability most people would never notice hurt his heart.
Rupert caught Jodi as he turned away, and pulled him back into his arms, laying his hand over the steady beat of Jodi’s heart. “Boyo, you’ve got everything you’ll ever need right here.”
* * *
A little while later, Rupert found Jodi in his office, working on whatever he was working on, like he did around this time every day now that his business was cautiously up and running again. After many false starts, they’d figured out that routine was one of the best ways to keep Jodi on track. It didn’t pan out every day, mainly because what remained of the old Jodi objected so fiercely to such a structured life, but today was a good day. At least, it had been until Rupert stuck his foot in his mouth.
Rupert dropped Forrest on Jodi’s desk, grinning as she sashayed straight across the keyboard, blocking Jodi’s view of the screen. “We made friends.”
Jodi smiled too and nuzzled Forrest’s face. “Yeah? Hello, girl. Told you he was all right really.”
“‘All right,’ really?”
“Yeah,” Jodi said. “You’re all right, you know. I’d shag ya.”
“I’ll bear that in mind.” Rupert did his best to look miffed, and failed, because it was hard to be truly annoyed when Jodi was smiling. “We can fuck later, though. We’ve got shit to do first.”
