Too late, but then, clearly the mess didn’t matter to Laylee.As the cat tried to get closer to her, she crooned to it.Accepting it, mess and all.Holding it.
Loving it.
Of course he fell in love with her.He’d never stood a chance, but the cat had just sealed the deal.
Laylee carried the now-clean cat as they entered the house and were immediately greeted by Maybelline, Tank, Marcus, and Lucy.
“This feels like déjà vu,” Knox remarked.
“Minus a few friends.Bray couldn’t stay.He and Karen had a previous commitment, so once I got here, he took off but he told me to let you know it wasn’t a problem at all.”Lucy spotted the cat then and came forward.“Aww.A calico.She’s beautiful.”
Laylee gave a tired smile.It was now well past dinnertime.The fried chicken, which they’d sent with Bray when he’d picked up the dogs, would be cold and she was more of a mess than ever.
Yet she didn’t mind because the outcome was so amazing.“Not a she but a he.This kitty, believe it or not, is a unicorn.”
Marcus laughed.“Looks like a cat to me.”
“Calicos are almost always female, or so the vet explained.It’sso rare to find a male that they’re considered unicorns.”Yet someone had thrown him away.She rubbed her cheek against the soft, furry head.“Isn’t he amazing?”
“What’s amazing,” Knox said, “is the patient way Maybelline and Tank are waiting.”
“Oh.”Laylee looked down at the dogs and smiled.She wasn’t used to their being so quiet.“You sweethearts.Let’s not scare him, okay?”
The dogs’ ears came forward in interest and their tails cautiously wagged.
“You want to see how he feels about you?”Very slowly, she took a seat on the edge of a chair.It was comical, considering that she was still wrapped in a tablecloth, which they had used to cover her wet, transparent clothes.The romper was dry now, but she hadn’t felt like unwrapping her makeshift toga.
While she got settled, Knox explained.“The cat was weak but not severely dehydrated, so we don’t think he was in that bag too long.”
“Poor baby,” Lucy whispered.
“The vet checked him over, gave him some fluids—which really perked him up—and she gave him a bath so she could check him for any cuts or wounds.”
“She didn’t find any?”Marcus asked.
“Nope.He’s such a sweetheart that I doubt he fought when he was put in the damned bag.”Lower still, Knox said, “I’d love to get my hands on the bastard responsible.”
Lucy said, “I’m sure we all feel the same about that.”
Once Laylee was settled, Tank jumped up to put his paws on the edge of the chair cushion and vigorously sniffed the cat.Maybelline rested her big head next to Laylee’s thigh and went completely immobile, only her eyes shifting.
Stifling a laugh, Knox took a seat on the floor near Laylee’s feet and stroked Maybelline.“Good girl.”
The cat wiggled free of Laylee’s hold and went first to Tank.When the feisty little dog barked, the cat gave him a disgruntled swat on the head.
Tank yelped as if mortally wounded, then dropped back to the floor, tail tucked, and ran to Maybelline’s side.
Maybelline’s eyes shifted again; then her ears twitched as the cat came toward her.Jiggling all over, the big dog could barely contain herself.
Marcus and Lucy sat on Maybelline’s other side, and Lucy picked up Tank to console him.He loved the attention, soaking up her gentle sympathy.
To everyone’s amazement, the cat rubbed himself all over Maybelline’s face and didn’t even seem to mind when Maybelline gave him a slobbery lick.He just jumped down to Marcus and rubbed against him, too.
Marcus said, “You sure are a friendly fellow.”
Curious about his new surroundings, the cat went off to the kitchen to explore, and the dogs cautiously followed.
Laylee started to worry, but Knox reassured her.“Maybelline won’t let anything happen to him.”
