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“You just watch me,” she said. “Set her down on the bench.” Once placed, the cat stayed on her haunches, at least for the moment. “Perfect. Now grab that hat to your left and set it lightly on her head—the goal being that she’ll hold still for a few seconds before she tosses her head to get rid of it—and step back. Keep holding her, arms outstretched, until I say go, then try to get your hands out of the picture. She probably won’t stay there long, so move fast.”
“Got it,” he said. “Are you serious about the hat? Is that a thing cats do?”
She laughed. “The hat is adorable.” It was a sparkly turquoise number with a matching feather that stood out brilliantly against the white background and the white cat. In fact, the cat’s eyes and the hat were the only pops of color in the whole shot, which made it pretty freaking amazing. Rue lifted her camera and checked the lighting. “Perfect. Take a step back, and when you let go, I’ll start shooting.”
Ethan did as she asked, and she managed a couple good shots before the cat excused herself with a dour backward glance, which Rue captured an instant before the hat hit the ground. “Grab her if you can,” she told Ethan as she scrolled back through the shots. “This is amazing. Look at this one.” As she spoke she walked over to Ethan, who had easily captured the cat, then held out the camera for his assessment.
“Wow.”
One little word, and it burrowed through to the heart of her. Well, that little word and the precious, precocious glare of her feline subject. “Is she not adorable?”
“I have to admit, this is an amazing thing you’re doing. I’m not surprised they’re all adopted after you take their pictures.” He looked down at the cat, who scowled petulantly back. A telltale purr suggested she wasn’t as mad about the situation as she let on, and Rue and Ethan shared a grin. “More people should do this.”
“I’m glad you agreed to tag along,” she said.
“I almost didn’t.”
“Why not?” She asked the question in the haze of easy companionship they had going on, completely forgetting his earlier expression over the topic of animal rescue. Great.
But his gaze was steady, at least enough so that she didn’t immediately feel like an ass. However, relief came too soon.
“Because of my wife.”
Chapter Six
Rue’s face fell, and Ethan immediately felt like a jerk. “It’s okay,” he said. “I mean, I wasn’t sure at first, but it’s okay. Doing something that meant something to her is…good.”
“I swear I had no idea,” she said. Was she actually rattled? He had begun to think the woman was impervious to, well, anything, but the emotion in her eyes suggested otherwise.
And damned if he didn’t hate it.
“I know,” he said softly. “You couldn’t have. She had a thing for animals. When we were in high school, she’s the one who got us all involved with the Von Adler Rainforest Initiative. Or she got my mom involved, rather, and it trickled down to the rest of us.”
“Trickled with the force of a sledgehammer,” Rue said with a small smile.
He laughed. “You figured that out about my mom, did you? She does everything full force. I don’t know where she finds the energy.”
“After raising you and your brothers, she’s got to be bulletproof.”
A twinge reminded him that wasn’t entirely true. “Almost,” he said. “I think I broke her heart. I think I’ve been breaking it every day for years. But maybe not now. Maybe it’s a little better for her now because of you.”
In the silence that followed, she swallowed. Hard. “And here I just thought we were rescuing you.”
“We are.” And somehow that lump landed in his throat. He forced a smile. “But we’re down to less than three weeks now.”
For some reason, he wasn’t as grateful for that today.
“About Amy. I wouldn’t have gotten you involved in this. You have no idea how sorry—”
“Nope.” He cut her off with a mock stern-face and softened it with a grin. “I’m glad. I wouldn’t have missed seeing you this way for anything. I feel like a better man for knowing you, and for having a very small part in this big thing you do.”
