My hand finds the base of my neck, where I tug on the long strands peeking out of my hat. Old habits die hard. “You know what I mean. Just for the meantime, you can live with me. There’s no other option here. It’s just a room for you to sleep in, okay?”
She huffs and gives in. “Okay, fine, but just until I can figure something else out.”
I’m smiling like the Cheshire cat now that I have her safety in my house secured. That was easier than I thought it would be. Fate must be on my side for once.
“You know, I’m genuinely impressed with the amount of stuff you managed to bring on a flight. Is that…is that a cactus?”
I look around at the cabin Maisie has managed to turn into ahome this past month. It’s fully packed to the brim with little pieces of her.
“Yes, and his name is Steve, thank you very much.” She snags the little cactus into her arms full of other knickknacks, and I rush to take them from her.
“I’ll put these in my truck while you pack up your clothes.” She hands over her stuff and disappears into her room.
I’m heading for her front door when something jumps out and trips me. I almost drop Steve in the process. “Fuck,” I hiss. I’m not trying to piss Maisie off on the first day she’s living under my roof. I could totally see her threatening me with a kitchen knife.
The little rascal weaves in and out of my legs as I try to walk towards the door to no avail. I almost forgot about the damn cat, but she sure as hell hasn’t forgotten about me. I probably should have thought this through a little more before inviting her to live with me—her fluffball would be joining too. This was always the plan, though. Moretti did say keep her close. There’s nothing closer than having her in the room next to me. I’ll just have to endure everything that comes with her.
“Go on, get,” I whisper-shout at the little fur devil. It continues to follow me, rubbing up against my jeans with each step I take. “Your mom is going to have my ass if I let you out the front door. Can you please just move…over there.” I gesture with my hands towards Maisie’s room, hoping it takes the hint.
It does the opposite. It starts climbing my pant leg like a tree, snagging my skin the whole way up.
“Shit,” I grunt in pain, trying to gently shake the thing off me. It only grips tighter, like a million little pin pricks.
I take a deep breath before I lose my shit and all hell breaks loose. I gently set Maisie’s stuff on the couch before awkwardly scooping the little rat off my pants. I have to tug a couple times before it releases. I hold it out in front of me like a bag of stinky garbage, all the way to Maisie’s room to hand it off. By the time I make it to her room, it’s somehow flipped around my hand,using my arm as a tree branch to run across. It sits perched on my shoulder when I finally enter Maisie’s room, purring like a machine.
Maisie brings her hand to her mouth. “Aww, I just knew you two would be best buds. Hang on.” She feels around the pile of mayhem on her bed, finding her phone. “Smile!” she shouts, whipping her phone up so fast to take a photo before I’ve registered what’s happened. She looks down at it with a huge smile on her face. “That is so going on the fridge,” she squeals.
I groan, rolling my shoulders out and secretly hoping my newfriendwill accidentally fall off in the process. No such luck. Instead, it digs its claws in even further, snagging my shirt.Great.
I gesture at my shoulder. “Can you take it?”
Maisie’s face scrunches. “It? She’s a cat, for one.” She walks up, scooping the thing from my shoulder, leaving behind a second snag and a ball of fur stuck to my mustache. “And two, she has a name, it’sEvie.”
“Like the Pokémon?” I huff, trying to blow the hairball from my lip.
“Wrong spelling, but that would be pretty cute. Maybe the next one, I can name after a different Pokémon. How fun!”
Oh God. Did I just create a monster?
“Another one? I think one of thosethingsis enough.”
She brings a hand to her chest. “Never. There can never be too many of these cute faces.” She squishes Evie’s cheeks, giving her back a rub, and the cat eats up every last drop of attention and praise Maisie sends her way. She’s in heaven.
Me too, girl. Me too.
We get all of Maisie’s things packed in my truck and make the short drive over to my cabin. Maisie cleaned everything before we left, so it’s ready for the new guests tomorrow. I’m just getting her last bag through the door when I spot her looking around aimlessly.
“Umm, where do you want me? I can take the couch no problem.”She makes to head towards the couch, but I halt her with my palm.
“I would rather give you my bed than let you sleep on the couch. But no, I have a spare room.”
“Isn’t that Nova’s room? I don’t want to impose on her space. The couch honestly looks comfier than the bed I’ve been sleeping on. I’m easy.”
I have to bite my lip to keep my inappropriate laugh back. Maisie is anything but easy, but that’s why I like her. I’ve always loved a good challenge.
I swipe the bag off her shoulder, flicking my chin down the hall. “I have more than two bedrooms in my house. There’s plenty of space for you.”
Maisie follows behind me. “Really? How many rooms are there? I didn’t realize your house was this big. I mean, I guess it makes sense, looking from the outside, but it just seems like a lot of space for one man.” She winces at her words.
