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He set me on the patio and shackled my wrists so I couldn’t run away. “And I’ll help you, but you need to put something on your feet.”
“I don’t need shoes. I need my cat.”
“You’re not going back out there until you listen to me, Paris. Shoes and for the love of God, please put something on that doesn’t show off that beautiful body of yours.”
Shit. I forgot I was in my nightie and a pair of boy shorts. He just saw more of me than he did when he was inside me. “Fine.” He released me, and I yanked the slider open, shoving on a pair of plastic sandals, and then I plucked a dirty oversized sweatshirt from my hamper and tugged it over my head. It went down to my thighs so it looked like I wasn’t wearing anything under… which I guess technically I wasn’t. Whatever. I didn’t have time to find something else. I sprinted back outside and screamed, “Henry!”
“So wait…” Scotty followed me into the field. “Your back door was open?”
“Yes!” I ran my fingers through my damp hair. “I swear I thought I shut it when I came in this morning. I didn’t go back out since then. Henry!”
Scotty grabbed my hand and pulled me closer to slow my urgent steps. “I know you’re freaked out, but you have to stay calm. Settle down a little and be quiet so we can listen, okay?”
“Yeah, fine. Whatever.” I made a show of slowing down.
“All right. Good. What color is he?”
“Orange.” I sucked in a shaky breath. “He’s the handsomest boy ever.”
His thumb softly glided back and forth over the top of my hand, each brush causing the panic to cease a little bit. “Call his name but don’t move. I want to listen in case he’s stuck somewhere. Running around screaming isn’t going to help, sugar. Try to be calm.”
He was right. I needed to relax. Being frantic wasn’t helpful. I took a deep breath, then yelled for Henry. We didn’t hear anything, so after a minute, we walked farther and did it again, then went to the left. Nothing. To the right. Nothing. Farther. Again. And again until hours passed and the light from my apartment faded away to nothing along with my hope. Scotty was at my side the whole time, keeping me strong, encouraging me, acting like he genuinely cared.
“Let’s head back,” he suggested softly.
I looked down, my attention finally breaking from the search, and I realized he’d been holding my hand this entire time. I didn’t let go. “A little longer.”
“It’s almost one in the morning. Let’s take a break tonight, and hope that when we wake up, he’ll be home. If he’s not, we’ll have a better chance of finding him in the daylight.”
“You can go back. I’m going to keep looking.” I felt pressure when I tried to pull away. “Thanks for your help, but you can go now.”
He tugged me, and I had no choice but to turn, our chests nearly brushing almost the exact way they did on the wedding night. Even after being with him for several hours, this sudden closeness made my insides all gooey. “You need to rest, sugar. Let’s go get a litter box and some food to put on the patio. He’s probably just out having fun chasing mice, and when he gets a whiff of home, he’ll come running back.”
I was exhausted. Completely. “Yeah, okay.” Somehow when we turned to walk back, he maneuvered us so our fingers were entwined. I didn’t even try to pull away because his strength was comforting. I owed him an apology. “Sorry I’m so bitchy. I’m just worried.”
“You don’t need to apologize. I understand.”
“Do you have any pets?” He didn’t answer, and I glanced over to see tension in his profile. “Sorry, you don’t have to answer.”
“No, it’s fine. I just…” His throat got scratchy, and he coughed to clear it. “I did. Once. A rat.”
I couldn’t help the shocked noise that bubbled out of my throat and hung my head in shame at my thoughtless reaction. “Sorry.”
When I braved a peek up, his head was tilted down, and his lips curved up. “It’s all right. I know they’ve got a bad rep, but they’re highly intelligent and have the funniest personalities. I wish more kids got them for pets instead of hamsters or guinea pigs that don’t do much. They’d have so much fun with a rat and more than likely wouldn’t want to get rid of it after a few months.”
“I’ve never had any of those, but I’m sure you’re right.”
“Ratunzel, that was her name, she had this unique light tan hair and there was always a piece or two that was longer than the rest. She was loving, funny, and smart. She’d dance, give high fives, and jump into my hand. I taught her to untie my shoe, and she even played hide-and-seek.”
“That’s impressive.”
His smile faded. “Yeah… I came home one day when I was nine and found a huge snake in my room and Ratunzel’s cage open.” I gasped as he powered through the painful memory. “My brother borrowed one of his friend’s snakes and… well, yeah. I thought he was playing a joke on me, but when I saw the blood in her cage, I knew he killed her.”
“What an asshole.”
“Asshole is an understatement. That was just the tip of the iceberg with Shane. He lived to torment me. My house was… not a pleasant place to grow up, to say the least, so Ratunzel meant more to me than just a pet. She was my best friend, and after he killed her, I fought with him and—” His words cut off abruptly. “It doesn’t matter. So yes, I had a pet a long time ago who meant the world to me, so I understand why you’re so upset.”
Hurting animals is the lowest a human can go. “I didn’t think I could hate your brother any more, but I somehow do.” I realized I didn’t know anything about Scotty, but I wanted to know more. I wanted him to tell me everything.
