“It can’t get, well, in between there, can it?” All I needed was it getting under the cabinet boxes and then we’d never get it out.
Shaun shook his head. “They’re flexible. But not that flexible.”
He came closer to me, his hand out.
What the hell does he want? I don’t need to see it closer up.
He sort of waved and pointed his hand at me.
“What?” And then I realized he was gesturing for the broom.
Good, because I didn’t want to get any closer to that animal than I absolutely had to.
I held out the broom and after he accepted it, he took a couple more steps toward the other side and grabbed his little trap.
He sat it down, aiming it in front of the rat, and was about to use the broom to, I guess, scoot it toward the trap.
And then he stopped and glanced at me.
The little critter must have thought this was his chance because he started to dart.
“It’s getting away!”
“You know, we never did discuss what I’m getting out of this,” Shaun said.
I blinked. “Whatever you want.”
“Are you sure about that?” His eyebrow raised.
What the fuck was wrong with this guy? Of course. Anything he wanted. I had to get this creature out of the shop before State Board came back here and shut me down.
“Whatever you want. Now catch it.”
I stepped a little closer to the door and I could feel the handle behind me.
His gaze ran over me, and I was not crazy about the way he was looking at me. Because his mind did not seem on the job.
Of course, when someone looked at me like that, I wasn’t sure my mind was on the task at hand either.
Not that I had a lot of experience in that department. My ex stopped looking at me like that a long time before we got divorced.
And after, well, I don’t swipe left or right. Ever.
“Catch the damn rat,” I said, my voice raspy. What the hell? How did it get so hot in here?
He glanced at the animal, a smile on his face, and with a swish and a twist, scooted it out of the corner, and scooped up the critter.
All the while talking to the thing like it was his pet, and not a little carrier of disease and generally not pleasant things.
I was stunned by how fast he managed to trap it.
“You did that well,” I said.
He shrugged. “Got lucky this time.”
The animal did not like its new surroundings and it hissed at Shaun. He sat the cage on the floor and covered it with his jacket.
“Wow, that’s a horrible sound,” I said as I picked up the chair and crossed to the trash can. Because I had to move. The more I stood there, the more I’d be looking at Shaun, and frankly, I didn’t want to be looking at him at all.
