“I don’t entirely believe you.”
“Because you are as wise as you are handsome.” I managed to maneuver close enough to grab his hand and brought his knuckles to my lips for a kiss. I couldn’t hold on though, because we both needed both our hands. “Let’s head back.”
Mal agreed and the ride back was peaceful. I pointed out a few interesting landmarks and shared a few stories, like the time Hawk decided he needed peace and quiet and built a lean-to to live in. He lasted three days out in the open before he returned to the comfort of the house and his own bed. The remnants were still there, though the plywood had warped. Sometimes we found raccoon nests in the wreckage, which is why we didn’t clear it entirely.
We got the yearlings settled into their stalls and then rode to the stock barn to take care of Jaina and Shooter. Mal was done first, since Shooter was really enjoying the curry comb. It was a step I never skipped or rushed, since my boy liked the scratches. He always had.
“Lookit that lip,” I teased my horse, playing with his loose bottom lip for a moment. Shooter snorted and shuffled sideways, putting his shoulder into me. I went back to brushing. “Okay, okay.”
After a few more minutes, I had to cut him off. I did have other things that needed to get done today and a date to get ready for. Shooter wasn’t happy about it, but I knew he’d forgive me. He always did.
When I stepped out of his stall, I caught sight of Mal crouched down near the barn doors. I took a moment just to admire the stretch of denim over his ass and then moseyed over. He was petting one of the barn cats, who was sprawled out on its back, belly exposed. At first I thought it was Delilah, because she was the only one who allowed belly rubs. But then I noticed the cat was only gray and white, no orange to be seen. This close, I could see the cat was definitely a boy.
Mal shot me a grin. “You guys have the friendliest barn cats.”
We did, that was true. Except this wasn’t one of ours. I grabbed the two-way off my belt.
“CH to base.”
Mom answered a few seconds later. “What’s up, love?”
I studied the cat for a second and then responded. “Is Bodhi coming home for a visit? Over.”
Mal’s brows crunched together, but he didn’t stop petting the cat.
“I haven’t heard from him today. Why? Over.”
“New cat. Over.”
Mom’s squeal was loud. “Oh that’s so exciting! Let me see if I can contact him. It’s been over a year since he’s been home.”
I had to laugh. “Let me know what you find out. CH out.”
I clipped the two-way back and when I looked at Mal, he was clearly confused. I grinned. “See if he’ll let you pick him up. We’ll need to get him checked out. And neutered.”
The cat had no problem with Mal scooping him up. In fact, he snuggled right in and I heard the loud purring.
“Wanna tell me what’s going on?” Poor Mal. He sounded so confused.
“The cat distribution system highly, maybe even discriminately, favors my brother. We don’t get a lot of strays out here. Especially after the county introduced a TNR program. But Bodhi is, as I said, favored. And if a cat shows up, it’s either because Bodhi just arrived or is about to. Never fails.”
“That’s…weird.”
I nodded because it was. But it was something we’d all grown used to. This time, it was especially strange because Bodhi hadn’t given us a heads up. Since getting leave was never, or hardly ever anyway, a last-minute thing with the military, we always had plenty of lead time before he made his way west.
“Let’s not worry about Bodhi right now,” I said, mostly for my own benefit. It was hard not to worry about Bodhi even though he was a drill instructor and had little chance of getting deployed. “I’ll call Matigan and see if I can run over with the cat. If he’s got a chip, maybe he just got loose and wandered over here. If not, we need testing to make sure he’s safe and healthy before interacting with our clowder.”
Mal shook his head but he was smirking. “Only you would use the proper name for a group of cats.”
I kissed the smirk right off his face. No one was around so I didn’t hold back. But honestly, I probably wouldn’t have anyway. When Mal was panting, eyes a little glazed, I gave him my own smirk.
“See? You’re getting to know me already.” I took the cat from him, and Mal gave the sweet boy a few extra pets. “Get back to work. I’ll see you tonight, right? Is seven good?”
It took Mal a second. “Can we make it six? Payton needs to eat earlier rather than later.”
“Six it is.”
One more kiss and then I pulled out of reach. The way Mal swayed toward me before he caught himself was very satisfying.
