“We’ll be by around six,” he said.
“Thanks. See you then.”
She hung up and immediately called her sister. Ryleigh picked up on the first ring.
“I heard,” her sister said, sounding happy. “He’s home. I know you’re relieved.”
“I am. I thought I’d lost him. I’m so happy he’s back.” Shepaused when she heard the sound of a honking horn. “Are you in the car?”
“I am. You know. It’s Saturday. I’m, um, running errands. Busy, busy.”
There was something in her sister’s tone. Jax was about to ask what was wrong when she saw Marcus entering the store, a cardboard pet carrier in one hand.
“Marcus is back with the cat,” she said. “I gotta go. Talk later?”
“Absolutely. Bye.”
Jax pocketed her phone then went to meet Marcus. Ramon flew close, landed and stared at the carrier.
“Yes, I brought back your cat,” Marcus said, as the cat yowled.
“Let’s go into my office,” she said. “It’ll be quieter.”
They went toward the back of the store. Once they were all inside, she shut the door and Marcus let out the cat. Ramon immediately flew down to the floor and walked up to him. The cat sniffed his nose, then lowered his head and rubbed against him. Ramon used his beak to scratch behind his ear.
“Damn,” Marcus said in a low voice. “That’s the strangest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“I told you Ramon had a cat.” Although privately Jax was kind of amazed as well. “How did they find each other? I don’t want to think about my parrot flying up to strange cats, looking for a friend.”
She sank onto the floor nearby. “Hey there, ah, cat.” She looked up. “Do we have a gender?”
“He’s male.”
She held out her fingers. The cat sniffed, then walked over and rubbed against her.
“He seems friendly enough.”
Marcus joined her on the floor. Ramon hopped over and jumped onto his knee.
“The vet suspects he was abandoned by his family or dumped somewhere. He’s maybe two or three, underweight but otherwise healthy. No microchip. They drew blood to check if there are any underlying problems. We’ll get the results early next week. He says to feed him small meals multiple times a day for about a week, then get him on a regular schedule. He gave me some suggestions for high quality kibble and dry food.”
“You’ll give me the info?” Jax asked. “I guess I need to get to the pet store right away. Cheryl gave him tuna that I had up in the apartment, but he’s going to need more than that before tonight.”
“While I was waiting for the vet, I placed an order online with the local pet store. It should be delivered anytime now.”
She stared at him. “What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “Just the basics. Wet and dry food. A cat box and litter. A scooper.” He averted his gaze. “A couple of cat toys.”
“Marcus!” She felt her eyes start to burn, but blinked away tears. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I knew you wouldn’t want to leave Ramon anytime soon. It took five minutes, Jax.”
Still, it was the fact that he’d taken care of what needed doing without being asked.
“Please put the cost of everything on my bill,” she told him. “Especially the vet.”
“No.”
