Page 13 of The Other Room

“Well, when I found her, she’d been an outside cat her whole life. I didn’t want a cat, you know, because I’m a dog person.” I shrugged, and he nodded, knowing full well I wasn’t a cat lover. “But I didn’t want to leave her alone, so I got her friendly enough with me I could get her into a kennel, and I took her to the humane society. They gave her an exam, and they said her ears had frozen off from frost bite. Most of her tail, too.” I pointed to the odd stub she flicked while she enjoyed her morsels. “And the patches of missing hair are some kind of kitty alopecia. She doesn’t have mites or fungus or anything, they checked, so you don’t need to worry about that. Nothing contagious.”

“Wow. I see.” He chuckled. “Good to know. Because it certainly looks like it could bring on the start of the plague or something. So, if you took it to the humane society, how the hell did it end up back here?”

“She,” I corrected, “turned out she’s not exactly adoptable. They tried for a few days, but she scared everyone with the way she looks. And she’s not exactly an affectionate cat with most people. In fact, she attacked several of the workers.”

“Jesus,” he whispered.

“So, they called and told me they would have to put her down or release her as a barn cat since no one would ever adopt her. I couldn’t have that, and she seemed to get on with me okay, so I drove back down and picked her up. She’s been with me ever since.”

“I... I just... wow.” Shaking his head, he exhaled a deep breath. “That is the ugliest cat I have ever seen in my life.”

“You’ll get used to it.” I shrugged. “I think she’s cute now.”

Petunia looked up at us, and another low growl forced Matt to take a step back.

“Just don’t make eye contact with her. Or touch her. Or get too close when she’s sleeping. Actually, just don’t get too close at all.”

“Is that all?” He laughed with a touch of fear. “There isn’t a lot of room in this cabin to avoid her.”

“Just stay out of her way and you’ll get on just fine. She and I are buds now. She’s even started sleeping in my bed.”

“I’m scared for you, Jo. It might try to kill you in your sleep.”

“She won’t hurt me. We’re kind of the same. A little rough around the edges, picky about who we let near us, and absolutely lethal if you piss us off.” Waggling my eyebrows, I gave Petunia an appreciative smile. Not many people got her, but then again, not many people got me either. “We’re both an acquired taste. She loves me now.”

As if on cue, Petunia hissed at Matt and he crossed his arms.

“Not so much you, but who can blame her,” I jibed.

“Ouch.”

“Just stay out of her way. And mine, too.” I pointed a finger at him. “Cabin rules. Don’t wake me up. Don’t leave your shit laying around. Don’t invite anyone over. Don’t leave dishes in the sink. Don’t eat my food.”

“Anything I can do.”

I put a hand on my hip. “Yep. You can try not to piss me off.”

“But you’re already pissed off. So, you mean try not to piss you off more than you already are? Because I can’t unpiss you off it seems, so that rule is pretty much already permanently broken.”

Pursing my lips, I fought the smile that tugged at the corners of my mouth. Instead, I stared at him, blinking.

“Don’t piss you off more. Got it.” Lifting his hand to his head, he gave me a salute. “Aye, aye, Captain.”

“Oh. And don’t leave the toilet seat up. I don’t want to go ass diving in the middle of the night.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it. Grew up with three sisters, remember? They’d burn me alive for that transgression.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

We stood in a silent stand-off. So many emotions swirled inside of me while I tried to process this turn of events, and the fact that Matt would no longer be a person I avoided at all costs, but instead would be a fixture in my home and my life. This set-up, us living together, was once something I would have considered a dream come true, but now I just hoped I hadn’t turned my happy life into a living nightmare.

CHAPTER FOUR

MATT

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