“What?” He looked down and chuckled tiredly. “I didn’t think to, no.”
“Okay, and you were at the stable and all. We need to…” I looked around, then opened the shower’s glass door and gestured at it. “Step inside.”
“What?” Now he just looked plain confused.
“Do as you’re told, Jack.”
He was clearly taken aback, but he did step inside the cubicle and turned to look at me.
“Now what?”
“Try not to fall asleep on me.” I leaned down to push up his sweat pant legs and happened to glance up as I was doing so.
His gaze was fixed on me, and I couldn’t read him at all. Then it hit me how this could’ve possibly looked and I felt myself blush.
“You just lost another one,” he murmured.
“What?”
“The calico went into my room.”
“Oh.”
I grabbed the showerhead and turned on the water, carefully aiming it so it wouldn’t get me or most of Cook wet. I sprayed his feet, then told him to lift one at a time so I could get the bottoms of them.
“Okay, it’s mostly rinsing off. Do you want me to try to be more thorough?”
“Nah, it’s fine. Just grab my towel and put it on the floor. There goes the third one.” His tone was getting so sleepy I hoped he wouldn’t just collapse on me.
I made him dry his feet properly, the towel smudging just a little, but at least his bed wouldn’t be dirty now.
Then I walked after him into his room to see where my wayward foster children were.
“Of course.” The calico was on his pillow.
At least his window had a screen unlike mine, which meant that they couldn’t escape through it. My heart squeezed at the thought of losing them if they got out like that.
“Okay, in you go,” I told Jack as I grabbed the kitten.
He dropped his sweats and T-shirt and slid between the sheets.
I tried not to look. He wasn’t fit, just looked like a normal guy, but his frame did things to me I couldn’t explain.
“You can leave the doors cracked open,” he slurred.
“What?”
“The kittens. No need to catch them right now.” And just like that, he was out.
Smiling, I put the calico next to him and patted her head. Then I turned around and went into my own room.
I left the bathroom doors open on either side and turned off the lights. Then I climbed into bed and hoped I could get some actual sleep.
* * * *
I halfway woke up at one point when Cook placed the kittens on top of me, then quietly went back and closed the bathroom door. I cracked my eyes open enough to see that it was light outside, and then continued to sleep.
By the time I woke up and took care of morning business, it was past eleven, which was really late for me.
