Walking up the stairs now, I’m drained and I know the cycle is just going to repeat again next week. With me planning my sister’s wedding dinner now, I need to go to Sterling Springs again soon to see her and still squeeze in time with Sly at the garage.
After trudging up the stairs, I unlock the door and drop my bag. The apartment is dark except for the dim light under the shelves above the kitchen counter. All I want to do is kick off my boots, pour a glass of wine and sit in the chair by the window before going to bed. I walk through the dark living room, not even bothering to turn on the overhead lights, and to the kitchen counter with the goal of doing just that.
When I grab the bottle of wine, I notice my normal glass is missing. A subtle grin spreads over my face. Maybe Kelsey did take me up on my offer and make herself at home. A grab another glass from the shelves and pour a generous glass of my favorite French red. Judging by what’s left in the bottle, Kelsey was definitely here.
I take my glass and the bottle over to the chair in the bay window and sink into it. As my eyes adjust to the darkness, that’s when I see Felix stretching and yawning. He takes a couple steps until he’s at my side.
I lean down and give him some scritches behind his pointy ears. He must love it because he leans against my knee, soaking up my touch.
“Hey, buddy. It’s good to see you.”
I’ve always liked dogs, but never enough to get my own, especially with my hectic work and personal life. But ever since Felix tackled me and then started greeting me at the coffee shop whenever I’d come in, I’ve sort of fallen in love with him. I could get used to being greeted by him. If only hismom would warm up to me the way he always has. That thought triggers alarm bells in my head.
“Wait. What—what are you doing in here?” I look over to see the door to the other apartment cracked open. I guess that answers that question, but raises another. Where are Kelsey and Oscar?
I set the wine bottle down on the window sill and look around the dark room, but don’t see anything out of place.
“Help me,” a muffled voice says, causing me to nearly jump out of my skin.
I flip on the floor lamp for some light and see my throw blanket spread across the couch with a conspicuous lump under it. Perched on top of the head shaped part of the lump is Oscar, curled into a perfect little cat ball.
“Help me,” the voice—that I now know is Kelsey’s—says again. “I’m trapped.”
I chuckle and fold my arms over my chest. This is too fucking good. It’s exactly the laugh I needed after the last two days of traveling.
“You’re trapped?”
She must be nodding under the blanket judging by the way Oscar wobbles on top of her.
“It’s an eight-pound cat. Just move and she’ll get off you.”
“I can’t. I’m trapped, and she was punching me.”
“Punching you?”
I lean down and pluck Oscar up, setting her farther down on the couch. She arches her back before climbing back onto what I assume are Kelsey’s hips.
“Yes, she was punching me.” That’s when Oscar starts to slowly kneed the blanket and Kelsey underneath it. “She’s doing it again.”
“You mean making biscuits?”
“I don’t know, you tell me. Is that a cat thing or a chef thing? I don’t understand cats. I thought she was doing witchyshit or something, and I was afraid to move and then I just fell back asleep.”
“You’re afraid of a tiny black cat doing witchy shit?”
I pull back the blanket just enough to see Kelsey glaring up at me with mussed hair. I keep grinning at her until she rolls her eyes and that scowl fades.
Seeing her look at me like that, with tousled hair and kind eyes, instantly reminds me of the morning I woke up in her bed and makes my mouth go dry in a flash. It reminds me of how I just want to be near her and look into those eyes and get lost in her storm.
A moment passes where neither of us say a word, but not because I don’t want to. I want to tell her that I spent the last thirty-six hours thinking about how badly I wanted to get back here. All I could think about in Seattle was that since the air has been cleared between us, I feel there’s a chance to start fresh.
“Hi, Shadow.”
“You have a good trip, Pretty Boy?” Her lips tug up into a little smirk. I take that as an invite to sit down on the edge of the couch. She wriggles her hips and scoots back, making enough room for me to sit by her waist. When she moves, Oscar hops into my lap and curls back into a little ball. Within seconds, she’s purring and fading back into a cat nap.
“It was mostly good.” My words are more clipped than I intended. It was a good trip until Slade asked me to uproot myself again. I block that out though because I don’t want anything to ruin this moment where she’s asking me about my day.
My brain and body can barely process what’s happening right now. She fell asleep on my couch, with my cat, and now she’s making room for me to sit with her. It feels like it’s going to take all my remaining brain cells, with enough blood going to them, to form even partial sentences.