The cat strutted to her opened fingers, tail held high, and sniffed. She massaged its chin and turned the tags on the collar over to read them.
She glanced at William. “Her name is Mitzy. It lists your apartment number.”
The dead former-occupant-lady had a feline?
He hurried to grab the basket and snapped it down over the cat. Lucy barely moved her hand away in time. It was dark, but he was close enough to Lucy to catch her reaction. If gemstones caught fire, they would look exactly like her green eyes in that moment.
“You. Did. Not. Just. Do. That.”
“I caught the cat.” He pointed to the aforementioned feline.
She threw the basket aside to move the beast onto her lap. Her nightgown rose higher on her thigh as she comforted the thing.
William stifled a groan. She killed him without even touching him. The nightgown wasn’t even that short or sexy. Except on her, it was beyond hot. Cotton, not silk, with a picture of a panda bear eating a cupcake with the cherry right at her… No, he was not going to examine the cherry and the position it held right over her breast.
“Hey there.” She rubbed her hand over the tufts of fur. “It’s okay. I’m here.”
A deep purr vibrated through the dark night, and Lucy beamed. “She likes me.”
“Don’t get attached. She’s going to the shelter,” William grumbled.
Lucy ignored him. “I like you, too, Mitzy.”
The distinctive click of the hammer being pulled back on a gun sounded through the darkness. Then a shot rang through the night.
William dove at where Lucy and the cat sat on the ground, knocking them backward with a thud.
“Who’s there?” Dixie shouted.
He glanced behind where the gunshot had come from, ready to grab Lucy and run.
Dixie held the rifle in question.
“It’s us. William and Lucy,” he shouted back, still covering Lucy with his body, the cat wedged against her side.
The hissing, pissed-off cat apparently didn’t appreciate being squished against Lucy’s armpit since the pissed-off hissing continued with new vigor. He glanced to Lucy. The whites of her round eyes were huge in the darkness.
Her pulse tap-danced under his hand that rested against her side.
“Are you okay?” He moved his hand away.
“You should get up now,” Lucy whispered.
“Right.” He disentangled himself and helped Lucy stand. She held the cat by the scruff of the neck tight against her chest.
“It’s the middle of the night.” Dixie’s tone was firm. “What the devil are you doin’ out here?”
“Cat hunting.” William gestured with his head to Lucy and Mitzy.
“Well, I’ll be a monkey’s unc—” Dixie started.
“Mom?” Jeff hollered from across the road.
“Oh, good, the gang’s all here.” William dropped his hands to his waist.
“She’s over here, Jeff,” Lucy said, her voice sharp.
Jeff trudged around the corner in a pair of plaid pajamas. His eyes grew wide when he saw his mother pointing the rifle at William. His gaze followed the barrel of the gun, landing on William’s crotch. Jeff coughed into his hand and glanced away. William adjusted his hands to cover the bulge. Jeff whispered something in Dixie’s ear before he patted her on the shoulder and moved her gun into his hand.
