What the hell waswrongwith this guy?
“You must be Ryan,” the man petting a tiger like it was just a big tabby cat said, barely reacting to his presence. “I’m Oscar.”
“That’s a fucking tiger,” Ryan said, all sense of politeness leaving his mind entirely to focus on the free-roaming jungle predator that was even closer to him than the alligator had been, and probably ten times as dangerous.
Oscar rolled his eyes. “Fantastic observation skills. I was worried that bringing a city-boy accountant in would mean you didn’t know the first thing about animals, but I’m impressed. What other animals can you identify on sight?”
Ryan blinked.
Was this guymockinghim?
Although. Considering he seemed to have befriended a tiger, maybe he could mock all he wanted.
Oscar laughed while Ryan was still busy trying to think up a response that wasn’t just pointing and sayingtigeragain.
“I’m sorry, that was mean. Her name’s Spot. She used to be a pet, so she’s fine with people. She doesn’t have any front claws and her teeth have been filed down, so short of sitting on you she’s kind of at a disadvantage.”
Ryan took a moment to absorb that information, the pounding in his ears easing off just a little.
“Isn’t that… cruel?” he asked.
“Absolutely,” Oscar said. “We didn’t do it. She’s been confiscated from her owner. She’s not exactly zoo material, so… we’re the only place that offered to take her. I think she’s happy.”
She definitely looked that way.
“Spot?” Ryan asked, the name just now filtering through the fading panic that had been taking up almost all of his brain capacity.
“It’s ironic,” Oscar said, like that wasn’t obvious. “Because she has stripes.”
“I know.” Ryan blushed. “I’m a city boy, not an idiot.”
Oscar laughed again, but it wasn’t a cruel sound. It was warm, and welcoming, and despite the fact that it was at his expense, Ryan smiled.
No one had laughed with him in a while. He’d been pretty much alone since divorce proceedings started.
Laura also got all the friends. Or at least, none of them had bothered to come check howhewas doing.
It’d been a long year.
“Yeah, okay, laugh it up, but May’s putting me in charge of payroll, so…”
Oscar chuckled, his warm brown eyes sparkling in the shadows under the porch. “You can’t legally pay me any less. I’m really not in this for the money.”
Ryan shrugged. “I guess empty threats are the best I can do, then.”
Slowly, he was getting the idea that this was Oscar’s idea of a warm welcome. It had distracted him from his anxiety over the divorce proceedings, so maybe he was evenrightabout that. Ryan’s social skills had gotten kind of rusty.
“You know,” Oscar said. “You’re okay.”
“See how you feel about me in a week,” Ryan said, unable to stop himself.
Self-confidence wasn’t his strongest quality right now. No one wanted him around anymore. Why should this guy? He was surprised that his aunt did, even, since he hadn’t had much to do with her since he was a kid.
Not because he didn’tlikeher. It’d just… never really come up.
He remembered a warm, kind woman, almost a decade older than his mom. She’d given him sips of whiskey and a pocket knife for Christmas, which his mom had immediately confiscated.
Still, May was okay in Ryan’s book. Or at least, she had been when he was a kid. Who knew what might have changed?
This was still better than nothing, though. Definitely better than having to sleep on his parents’ couch for a few weeks while things settled down. They hadn’t said anything, but he knew they were disappointed, too. They’d been expecting grandchildren.
They’dgottena son who couldn’t even keep his wife’s interest. Who wasn’t a good enough husband to make it that far. He’d only been married three and a half years before things went to shit.
“May’s inside,” Oscar said. “She’s been waiting for you all day. I’ve heard atonabout you.”
Ryan snorted. “Probably all true,” he said. “Thanks.”
He headed for the door, giving Spot a wide berth, and ducked into the house.
