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I can feel my eyebrows inching up my face. “You want to take him to a vet in my truck? What if he pees?”
“He's not going to pee.” She rolls her eyes. “And if he does, he'll pee on me. Because I'm going to hold him the whole time.”
For a moment, I just stand there and stare at her. I'm not sure I’d win even if I argued, and that's a first because I always win. But there's something in her eyes that tells me she's not walking away from this cat. She's not leaving him here in the snow.
And if I'm being honest with myself now that I'm standing here looking at the poor thing, I wouldn't either. “All right. There's a vet in town. Let's go.”
She smiles and it lights my world. Then she reaches her hands around the cat and brings him close to her chest. He relaxes against her even though I know by the wide green eyes that he's scared.
She's not wrong. The poor thing has been out in the blizzard. He's probably a dump, but I don't tell her that. We get them up here from time to time. Shitty people doing shitty things. People that should never have had animals in the first place dump them when they get too old, or start dating someone who doesn’t ‘like’ them, or sign a lease for a place that doesn’t accept animals. It's all shit. It's all an excuse. It's fucked up, but it’s reality.
My closest neighbor, Bonny and Jim—they feed the strays and the dumps—housing them in old barns and sheds. They've got a few cats, so I wonder if maybe he roamed from there. But I don't think so. He's got a wild look in his eyes.
A look that says he had a home, and he was dumped by someone he trusted. Poor sucker.
Sadie climbs into the passenger seat, holding on tight to the cat.
Her thumb is stroking his head, and she's cooing softly to him. He isn't purring, but he isn't fighting her either. So, I figure that's a good thing as I put the truck in drive and head to town. I figure we're not going to the mall today.
We drive for a good five minutes before she turns to me, her eyes bright with emotion. “Do you think he just got turned around in the storm? Lost in the blizzard?” There’s so much hope in her eyes—too much. “Do you think someone's looking for him?”
I hate that she's asked me this. Because, no, I don't think someone's looking for him. I think he came from a shit place. I think some asshole dumped him. I don't even think they looked back when they did it. They probably thought the storm would eat him up just like it eats up so many others.
“I don't know,” I say. It's an evasion, and she sees right through it. So I add, “I guess we'll see when we get to the vet.”
“Yeah,” she agrees. Then she murmurs to the cat again, “If you have a home, we'll get you back there.” She nibbles her lip, thinking. “And if you don't have a home, or if they left you there—then I'll be your home.”
Wait, what?She'd be his home? She was going to take him back to Arizona with her?
“What do you mean you'll be his home?”
“Well, we can't just leave him, can we?”
She’s talking crazy, so it’s on me to be the voice of reason. “I'm sure there's a shelter that'll take him.”
She shakes her head, unconvinced. “They're always full.”
Well, shit. “So, what if he doesn't have a home? You want him to come home with us?”
I can’t believe I’m asking this. I can’t believe I’m having this conversation.
I’m going to murder my mother. Painfully.
“I don't want to leave him.”
“Sadie,” I try again to reason, but I'm already pulling into the vet parking lot. I cast my gaze to the building and hope they can do something for the poor guy, because I've never had a cat. I'm not sure if I want one. They are a lot of work.
There's litter, and food—and what if he's an asshole who scratches at things?
No. I don't want a cat.
Sadie is already out the door, already walking for the building. She's on a mission, and I'm hot on her tail.
Inside, the receptionist greets us with a smile. “Do you have an appointment?
Sadie shake shakes her head with a cute little wince. “No. We just found this little guy on the highway. He was freezing. We couldn’t leave him.”
Why the fuck do I think she’s cute right now?
