“I told him how to warm the kitten up, and he’s going to take it to our vet.”
“Did it sound very bad?” Mom asked, her large gray-blue eyes, which Seth knew he’d inherited, wide and brimming with tears.
“No, like I told him, cats are resilient. If it was strong enough to meow and Grace heard it, then I think it’ll be okay.”
“Should we just grab the bags and get going?” Seth asked, suddenly even more eager to get home.
Leaf looked at him and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll go get them.”
They said goodbyes to Seth’s parents, got a promise from them that they’d visit Colorado soon, and left for the airport in their rental.
Just before they boarded, Leaf sent Dev a message that they’d be home in in less than three hours and to hang in there.
“It’s obvious he’s freaking out about the kitten,” Leaf spoke quietly when they sat on the plane. “He’s trying to stay strong, but if the kitten doesn’t make it for some reason….”
“He’ll be devastated,” Seth completed the thought.
“Yeah.”
“We’ll be home soon. Either way, we can give him support and comfort.”
AS SOONas they parked the SUV in the driveway, they left their bags behind and walked to the door as quickly as possible. Seth’s car was parked at the curb, so Dev was at home and not at the vet’s.
The dogs went nuts as expected, and after quick greetings, they put them outside for now.
“Dev?” Leaf called out, because he hadn’t appeared yet.
“In the bedroom!”
They kicked off their shoes and went upstairs together. Seth couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so damn eager to see someone.
They found Dev in the middle of their bed, with bundle of towels. A small kitten was drinking formula from the bottle Dev was holding in his hand.
“Hi,” Seth said, instantly charmed by the orange-and-white little thing.
“Hey.” Dev beamed at them.
“What did Alex say?” Leaf asked as he rounded the bed and went to lie down behind Dev, embracing him carefully.
“Three, almost four weeks old most likely. Boy. Wouldn’t have made it outside for much longer.” Dev’s voice wobbled at the end, but Leaf kissing him gently on the neck seemed to calm him down.
Seth went to sit on the bed nearby and leaned over to kiss the top of Dev’s head. “So you’re a daddy now.”
Dev grinned. “I guess I am.”
“I assume you’re keeping him?”
“Yeah. Alex said she could take him, but I just couldn’t leave him there.”
“Do you want to stay at our place until he’s stronger? I can help you out with the feedings. It won’t be easy—they need a lot of attention at first,” Leaf spoke quietly.
“Yeah. Alex said we can start giving him kitten food next week. Technically he’s old enough already, she said, but it’s better for him if we don’t shock his system yet since it’s not an emergency, and I can—we can—bottle feed him.”
The kitten seemed to get his fill suddenly, and Dev pulled the bottle away from his reach. Then he carefully picked the little thing up and—burped it?
Leaf and Dev laughed at Seth’s expression. “Yeah, you really should burp them just in case,” Leaf told him.
“How do the dogs handle her?” Seth reached to pet the kitten now that he was fed and free of his little nest.
