Valentin peered down and saw a cardboard box. A cat sat primly inside it, grooming his paws. As the two men stared down, the animal hissed.
“Seems friendly,” Valentin muttered.
“I found him yesterday,” Zeller said. “On my walk. I wasn’t sure what else to do, so I brought him back with me.”
“You found him in the backyard?”
“Near the orchard fence. I’ve never seen him on the estate before.”
“So you just took him?”
Zeller glared, endearingly indignant. “He was yowling as if he was lost. And you know our nearest neighbor is miles away. I bet someone dropped him off like garbage.” Looking down at the box, he cooed, “You’re not garbage, are you, sweet thing?”
Valentin smiled. It was a plausible theory. Random trash often showed up on the grounds—neighbors taking advantage of the estate’s vastness to avoid proper disposal fees.
He let the cat sniff his fingers. After a brief narrowing of his eyes, the feline allowed gentle petting. Soon, he was purring.
“See!” Zeller said. “He’s a bit prickly at first but warms up super-fast. He slept with me all last night.”
Valentin ran a hand over the tabby’s spine. “Are you hiding him because you don’t think your family will let you keep him?” Keyes and Deveron didn’t strike Valentin as men who would appreciate cute, furry things in their home.
Zeller snorted. “Iknowthey won’t let me keep him. I was barely able to sneak out with him last night so he could do his business. Except I found out cats don’t hold it the way dogs do. He peed in my hamper this morning and I had to get up early to throw my clothes in the wash. It’s a little easier with my fathers out of town. But they won’t be gone forever.”
“Yeah. We had a cat for a while growing up,” Valentin mused. “If you’re going to keep him indoors, he needs a litter box.”
Zeller scoffed good-naturedly. “Can you imagine my parents allowing a litter box anywhere in this stack of bricks? They practically lost their minds one time when Jem ran into the house with muddy boots.”
“Then what are you planning to do?”
“I went online to see if there were any posts on local blogs about missing cats. None matched his description. I was hoping you could take him to the vet to check if he’s chipped? If he has owners, I’m curious how he ended up here.”
Inwardly, Valentin winced, envisioning the cost of a visit to the veterinarian. He’d also need to buy supplies to keep a cat at his apartment for even a few days. But it wasn’t like he could say no to Zeller.
“I’ll take him. There’s a packing box downstairs I can move him in.”
“Thank you! And I can give you money for the vet. Since I’m the one making this your problem.”
Valentin bristled, even though he’d been stressing about the expense ten seconds ago. He could handle this favor. He wanted to do things for Zeller. “I’ve got it.”
“Thank you,” Zeller said again. He lifted the cat to his face, nuzzling into its scruff.
“You know, Antoni probably would have helped you hide him in your room if you’d asked.”
“I considered it, and I do think he would have helped, but I didn’t want to put him in the position of having to choose between his loyalty to my parents and his fondness for me.”
“So you think I’m not a loyal employee?” Valentin teased.
“I think you’ve only worked here six months, and my fathers haven’t exactly made your workload a manageable delight.”
Valentin laughed. “They’d really be that mad about it? The cat?”
“Hard to say. They’ve been weird since Jem and Asher moved out. More…focused…on me. I don’t want them to worry that my being nice to this cat means I’m turning defiant.”
Valentin sensed something important behind Zeller’s words, but the omega didn’t elaborate.
Instead, he placed the cat gently down on the floor and walked over to Valentin with a determined expression. Without warning, he flung his arms around Valentin’s neck, murmuring into his collar, “I knew I could count on you.”
Gritting his teeth, Valentin forced himself to remain still. Zeller had never hugged him this way before. Tight and intentional, warm breath against his skin. He felt every curve of the omega’s chest as their torsos aligned.