AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Outlaw’s muscles bunch, his nose now pointed toward the coffee shop.
Toward Nick.
He wags not just his tail, but his whole body. Then, with the momentum of a freight train, he starts pulling.
When we collide with Nick and Hana’s table, it’s mostly Outlaw’s nose leading the charge. He smashes it into Nick’s pant leg and swipes it up and down.
Nick laughs and rubs Outlaw’s head between the ears. “Heya, big guy.”
Then Nick’s gaze lands on my toes. He sweeps his attention up to my face. “Hey…”
“Hi! Oh my gosh, I may be the worst dog walker on record. I just got dragged across the street, and all I can say is thank goodness traffic is slow on weekends.”
Hot.
I’mhot, and it’s not even hot out.
The air is still morning-brisk, with the perfect dash of warmth from the sun. Yet here I am, boiling.
Maybe it’s because Hana is staring at me like I have exactly two heads. “Maddison… what are you doing here?”
“Getting walked by this dog, apparently.” I force a laugh at my own joke.
Nick laughs with sincerity. “He’s all muscle, right? And man, is he getting big.” He ruffles Outlaw’s fur between the ears again, while Outlaw continues inhaling denim. “Bet he smells Mittens.”
“Wait—how can he smell Mittens?” I ask.
I’ve seen Nick every night this week, and so far, I’ve yet to meet his cat. “I thought she was at the vet for that dental procedure?”
“I picked her up this morning. Poor girl is toothless. But in a way, it’s good because she won’t be sore. Her teeth were getting really bad.”
“How old is she again?” I ask.
Hana gives an audible sigh.
I ignore it—because I want to know just how old an old cat has to be, to need such a drastic procedure.
“She’s seventeen,” Nick says. “When I adopted her three years ago, I didn’t realize how bad her teeth were. I mean, not like that would’ve changed things. I still would’ve wanted her. But I’d have addressed the issue earlier. As it was, it took a while to figure out. I thought she was withdrawn because she was timid, but really it was because she was hurting.”
I squat down and rest my hand on Outlaw’s back. When I tilt my face up to Nick’s, I feel rays of sunlight hit my cheeks.
Thankfully, my hot-flash of embarrassment is gone.
Like always, talking with Nick is putting me in a different zone.
“I can’t believe you adopted a fourteen-year-old cat.” I feel Outlaw’s back rise and fall as he inhales more of the scent of Nick’s pants. “This guy seems to be a fan.”
“He’s Mittens’ number one fan. They’ve been tight ever since Pansy brought Outlaw home from the shelter. I guess Outlaw comes from a farm up north, and he had some barn-kitty friends around when he was really young. Pansy thinks he feels comfortable about Mittens because of those barn cats.”
“That’s really cute,” I say, while stroking my charge’s fur. “Maybe he even thinks of cats as, like, mother figures.”
“It’s possible,” Nick says. “I bet he can’t wait for the reunion. You should bring him by later today. You’ll see for yourselfhow attached they are. Sort of funny, big floppy puppy and old Mittens. I sometimes think they should be photographed for a calendar or something.”
In my periphery, I see Hana’s torso puff up as she draws in a deep breath. She picks up her coffee and takes a sip.
Nick seems to clue into her movements, too, and realize we’ve been excluding her at the same time that I do.
He gestures to her, then down at me. “Hana, you know Maddie.”
