“You implied them. Fine. It’s my fault. I was wrong and now Ramon won’t even look at me.” She slumped in her seat. “I was so wrong.”
“You made a mistake and you regret it. You won’t do it again. That’s all it was. And as I’ve said eighteen times, Ramon will come around.”
“Eventually. But he can hold a grudge for a long time.”
Her sister shook her head.
“I have to deal. But are you serious about taking Lucy?”
Ryleigh considered the question. She liked the cat and Lucy seemed to like her. Having another heartbeat in her place would be nice. There were times when she felt a little lonely. She was also a responsible person and knew she would be a good kitty parent.
“I want her,” she said firmly. “I’ll take her home right now.”
“Don’t you want to think about it?”
“No. I’m doing this for me. I’m a cat owner.”
Two hours later Ryleigh sat cross-legged on the living room floor in front of Lucy’s carrier. She’d collected all the cat supplies from her sister and brought them home, along with her new pet. Now the litter box was in the laundry room, a water dish sat on a mat in a corner of her kitchen and the bedroom door was closed so that Lucy had a little less space to explore as she adjusted.
“Hey, pretty girl,” she said, her voice soft. “This is your new home and I’m your new mom. I hope you’re happy here. It’s going to be scary at first, but you’ll get used to everything. We got along before, so maybe we can build on that.”
She opened the carrier door, prepared to wait while the cat gathered the courage to come out. But Lucy surprised her by stepping into the living room and looking around. Her blue eyes were huge, her nose quivered from her sniffing. She moved close to Ryleigh, as if confirming it was her, then she began to walk around the condo.
Ryleigh stayed where she was, letting the cat find her way. After checking out the living room, she moved into the kitchen, then the bathroom and laundry room. About ten minutes later, Lucy returned and rubbed against her.
“Hi.” Ryleigh petted her and was pleased to hear her start to purr. “So this is it. Any thoughts?”
Lucy climbed up on her thigh, then put her front paws on her shoulder before rubbing her face against Ryleigh’s chin. Immediately any last, lingering concern faded.
“So you like me. That’s a relief. I like you, too, sweet girl.”
She picked up the cat and carried her to the sofa, where she settled next to her. Lucy immediately climbed into her lap. Ryleigh laughed, then pulled her phone from her pocket and took a picture. She texted it to Alex with a quick,I have a cat!
Seconds later her phone rang.
“Lucy, I presume,” he said with a chuckle. “Does this mean the intro with Ramon didn’t go well?”
“Apparently it was a disaster.” She recounted what Jax had told her about the meeting. “Jax feels terrible.”
“I think it’s more interesting she thought it would go well. So you’re a pet mom, huh? Good for you.”
“I thought you’d tell me getting a cat is going to make it harder for me to move.”
“I don’t think so,” he told her. “She’ll want to be with you wherever you are. Noah’s going to go crazy when he finds out you have a pet.”
She smiled. “I apologize in advance for any pressure that puts on you.”
“He’s going to be relentless, but I’m a hard no on a dog. We’re not home enough. I’m not sure how I feel about cats. Hey, would you mind bringing her over from time to time? If you tell me what to have here, I’ll get everything in place.”
“Sure. I want to give her a few days to settle, but after that, let’s get her used to both places. That way if I’m going to be watching Noah or something, I can bring her with me.”
While Alex didn’t travel without his son very often, he did have occasional business trips to conferences. With Kim gone, Ryleigh was the one who stayed with Noah.
“She’s going to get cat hair on my work clothes, isn’t she?” he asked, his voice more teasing than grumbly.
Ryleigh stroked Lucy’s soft coat. “Absolutely. She’s a shedder for sure. Get used to it, old man.”
“I will. Congratulations.”
