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Movement dragged my focus back to him. My jaw popped open as he ripped off his long-sleeve shirt, leaving him bare-chested. He held the shirt out between us. I stared at it like it was the most complex line of code I’d ever seen.
“Take it before you freeze to death.” At his curse, I looked up through my lashes. “No shoes too?” he grumbled.
“You’re the one keeping me out here. Which, by the way, what was that all about? Why did you tell me not to move?”
“Can we talk about this inside?” He looked over his shoulder toward his house. “And take the shirt. There was a coyote watching from the Stanleys’ yard.” I followed where he pointed over my shoulder across the street. “He or she is gone now. Like I said, they normally don’t come in this far. Wonder what—”
A tiny cry cut him off.
Twisting back toward the Blazer, I squinted at it, like that would help me see better in the dimly lit street. Another quiet cry had me inching toward the vehicle and lowering until my knees hit the sidewalk.
“Is that…?” My neighbor’s voice was close. Too close, distracting me for a second from my search. When he appeared beside me, I shot him a look before lowering farther to look under the SUV. I winced, cursing under my breath, when a bright light cut through the dark from the flashlight on his phone. “Sorry.” Before I could respond, he huffed a laugh. “Hey there, kitty.”
Following his gaze, I sucked in a breath at the tiny ball of fuzz curled against the far tire, its bright eyes reflecting in the light and teeth flashing as it opened its mouth, hissing at us both.
“Here, you hold this.” He held the phone in my direction, which I took. “I’ll go around on the other side. Now I know what the coyote wanted—a little kitty snack.”
I gasped. “Really?”
He nodded before slinking back. I monitored his steps as I continued to stare beneath the SUV. Seconds later, his face appeared on the other side. Slowly he reached out a wide hand, bare arm scraping along the asphalt.
“Just a little more,” I encouraged. The kitten hissed and backed away from his hand. “It’s okay, sweetie. We’re here to help.” Wide yellow eyes met mine, almost like it could understand me, or maybe it was my soft tone. The same tone I would use on Gracie when she was inconsolable as a baby. “That’s right,” I cooed. “Just sit right there and we’ll take care of you.”
Distracted by me, it didn’t have time to run when my neighbor’s large hand snatched it up. The kitten hissed and meowed, clearly not enjoying being manhandled.
Dumb kitten.
With it gone, I pushed off the ground, stepping around the hood of the SUV and meeting my neighbor halfway. The little ball of black fur was wrapped up in the shirt he’d removed for me, though I was glad it had found a better use than keeping me warm.
“Good thing I didn’t put it on,” I said, nodding to the shirt. “It needs it more than me.”
“Debatable. Speaking of….” He tilted his head toward my house. “Want to take it inside to make sure it doesn’t become a coyote treat?”
I chewed on the corner of my lip. Gracie was asleep inside. It would be completely irresponsible of me to let a strange man into the house. Nothing about him gave me the creeps—the opposite, in fact. But still, her safety was priority.
Almost as if he could read my thoughts, he corrected himself.
“Or my place. Shade is still asleep, but we won’t wake him up. He sleeps like the dead.”
“Lucky.” I sighed. Everything in me told me to pick up my cigarettes and lighter and go back to my house, alone. But this was the first normal conversation, odd as it might be, I’d had in too long. I wasn’t ready to end it. “If you’re sure he won’t mind me coming inside.”
Something passed over his face that I couldn’t read. “I’m sure,” he said with a grin.
After grabbing my discarded things and keys, I hurried to catch up to him, my now-numb feet hurting with every step. He must have caught me wincing, because he shot a glare at my bare feet as I passed by him, stepping into the warm house.
“Here.” He basically forced the bundled kitten into my chest and started down the hall.
“Where are you going?” I whisper-yelled. I glanced around nervously, panic at being in a strange man’s house slamming into me.
“To get you some clothes. Give me a second.” He paused and winced. “I’m Trap, by the way.”
“Georgia.” I cringed. “Shit, not sure if I should’ve told you—”
He held up a hand, stopping me. “Your secrets are safe with me. Be right back.”
My heart still raced at the name slip, but his words eased some of the panic.
Standing awkwardly in the foyer, I flicked my gaze around, finding their house almost a replica of my own. Moving into the living room, I perched on the arm of the couch and waited. Bowls littered the glass coffee table, sports and car magazines piled high on a single corner.
