Which, unlike the skin-and-bones cat, is about as heavy as any book I’ve ever held.My fingertips tell me it has a tooled leather cover and thick, deckled edges, and my biceps tell me I’m going to have a hard time holding the book and the cat.
The cat, however, squirms from my grip, landing on its feet, as graceful as a, well, a cat.
I roll my eyes at my terrible simile and file it under reasons I’m not a writer.
To my surprise, the cat rubs itself around my ankles, purring like a motor, and takes a few steps away, then looks back and mewls again.
“What is it, Lassie?”I ask it, then cringe at myself as the cat stares at me with those wide, unblinking fluorescent eyes.“Terrible joke.I’m sorry.”
At least now I have an excuse to talk to myself, and I brighten a little, clutching the huge, heavy book to my chest.
The cat’s tail curls like a question mark, and I find myself following the tiny black creature to a door marked “Private, no admittance.”
“You found my apartment,” I tell the cat, pleased.“Good job, kitty.”
The cat paws at the door, yowling frantically.
“It’s okay, buddy.”
The cat hisses and I startle, then frown at it.“That’s not nice.No hissing at me.”
Behind me, the floorboards creak, and the cat lets out a deep, no-nonsense growl, then rushes between my legs, tail fluffed up like a pipe cleaner.
“It’s just the house settling, kitty,” I tell it, ignoring the feeling that something is there, something I can’t see.
I’m not going to let my imagination give me nightmares, even if I didn’t take my meds.I have the cat, I have my melatonin, and I have some serious cleaning to wear myself out on.
I put my hand on the doorknob, which is annoyingly, impossibly cold.
I open the door to my new apartment, excited to see what I’m working with—and scream.
3
Aiden
My first impression of the newest woman in New Hopewell is that she’s loud.
Wincing, I cover my ears.
She’s terrified, I realize.
Terrified, pale-faced and looking like she’s just seen a ghost, but…
My second impression of her is that she’s beautiful.
Stunning, even.Golden blonde hair falls in loose waves down her shoulders, a cobweb clinging to her hair like she’s wearing it for fun.Lean, graceful legs stick out from denim shorts, and I can’t help noticing how smooth they are.How soft they look.
She’s still just staring at me, her blue eyes wide and frozen on me.
“I’m Aiden, I didn’t mean to scare you, shit.I came over here to drop off supplies, food, you know, from the town, to welcome you here, and the back door was wide open, so I just came on up.”I point to the brown bags lining her counters for proof.
“Oh.”She inhales, closing her eyes.
Which lets me drink in the sight of her.We get a good tourist business here in New Hopewell, one of the things that helps keep my brewery business alive and well, so it’s not like I don’t see new women.
But this one… there’s something about her.
She’s pale, a weird thing coming out of a Texas summer, but it works for her, makes her skin practically glow against the dark of the bookstore behind her.
