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Shrugging, she motioned for Kaden to follow and entered the room behind Leanne, praying there might be a chair devoid of cat.
Not a chance.
She took a seat on the sofa with Kaden next to her—perched so only an inch of his butt rested on the edge of the couch, peering around at the cat behind him which hissed and swiped a paw at the back of his head.
Abby chuckled while Leanne waved the cat away. “Oh, don’t worry about him. He doesn’t like visitors much,” she said, then bent down to pick up a black cat with shining green eyes. “We don’t get too many since Dad died.”
Beside her, Kaden coughed, pounding his chest with his fist.
“Oh, dear. You all right?” Leanne asked.
He nodded, wincing as he wheezed, then leaned into Abby. “Pet dander.”
Abby rolled her eyes. With a cleansing breath, she focused on the task at hand rather than the boy beside her.
“So, y’all wanna tell her why we’re here?” Cammie asked, staring at them.
Kaden nudged her in the side, prodding her to talk, but she forgot everything they had rehearsed in the car. Searching for something to say, she mumbled, “Um... So, you like cats?”
The couch shook beside her, and she could make out Kaden in her peripheral, trembling with suppressed laughter. As if to punctuate her statement, a gray cat with thick fur and copper-colored eyes stalked across the living room.
“Hey, isn’t that a British Shorthair?” Cammie piped in, pointing at the cat.
“Why, yes. It is.” Leanne beamed. “I got her a couple years ago.”
“They’re beautiful. My mom used to have one. It was always my favorite. Now we just have our orange tabby.”
Abby could practically see Leanne relax, and she said a silent prayer of thanks for Cammie’s presence.
“Is the tabby a boy or girl?”
“A girl.” Cammie smiled.
“Ah, so she’s rare. The orange ones are almost always boys.”
“How many do you have?”
“I have sixteen now.”
Kaden turned ashen as he glanced to Abby in horror, but Cammie listened with rapt interest.
“I know. They’re a lot, but after my dad died, I just...they helped me. We had already had two, and then I rescued two more from an alley in the city. Animals are very therapeutic. And once you get one, well, it’s hard to stop. I like to think of myself as a rescue home. I give them shelter and food, and they keep me company in return.”
“That’s lovely,” Cammie said. “Actually, that’s sort of why we’re here. Not the cats, but my friend here can relate.” She motioned to Abby. “She just lost someone she loved, too. And now she’s trying to finish something she started while she was alive. Isn’t that right?”
Cammie raised her brows at Abby, prodding her to say something, but Abby’s thoughts had halted on Leanne and the cats.
If all Abby had were her parents, is this what would happen to her if she lost one of them? Turn into a cat lady? She shuddered at the thought.
“Abby?” Kaden nudged her.
She snapped from her thoughts. “Oh! Sorry. Right.” Abby nodded her head.
With love shining in her eyes, Leanne stroked the cat’s fur, and Abby felt an instant stab of sympathy for the woman.
“Cammie’s right. I know how hard it is to lose someone you love. Actually, we both do.” She gestured between her and Kaden.
Leaning forward, Kaden clasped his hands between his long legs. “Yep. That’s why we’re here,” he said, finally joining the conversation.
