Page 11 of Gideon

“How the hell are we going to get this cat to Walmart to buy something to contain her? Gideon asked, exasperated. My heart fluttered momentarily, but I quickly dismissed it.

“Come here, cat,” I said, taking the cat from Gideon, who watched me closely. “I’ll put them in the back seat. They should be fine, but they all need a bath.”

He shook his head and disposed of our trash. “Are you getting in the truck, or planning to run alongside?” he teased.

“No need to be a smartass. I won't get in until you do. I can’t let this crazy cat go until all the doors are closed.” I noticed his grin and heard his chuckle, then looked down and smiled myself.

I was holding the cat’s four legs in my hands, andher head was tucked under my arm. “She’ll bite me if I let her go. Look what she did to my arms.” I released her front legs to show him, and before I could react, she scratched my neck. I screamed.

Gideon swiftly took the cat from me, but she turned on him, jumping onto his back as he reached for the kittens. I sat on the ground, laughing so hard I nearly cried. He placed the kittens by a tree, and the mother rushed to them.

“Are you getting into the truck, or should I carry you to your seat?” he asked.

“I laughed so hard I needed to pee.”

“There’s In-N-Out Burger. Can you make it there without an accident?”

I chuckled as I walked across the street and smiled when I entered. After using the restroom and freshening up, I found him waiting with a soda and a chocolate bar.

I smiled as I took them. “How are your scratches?”

“They sting; maybe when we stop and get the carrier, we’ll get something to put on our scratches.”

“We aren’t getting any carrier; the cat’s owner came to get them. Their neighbor tried killing them because the cat had her babies in the neighbor’s yard. That’s them over there. As you can see, the cat is damn happy to see them,” He put his arm around me, “Let’s get you to Haley.”

I felt a pang of sadness about not caring for the kittens, but I brushed it off. We stopped to get ointment for our scratches before continuing our journey.

6

Gideon

I pulledinto the hotel parking lot, and we both walked into the office, smiling because Laney bet me a dollar that the staff would stare at our scratches. She was standing right in front of the receptionist, and she pushed her hair behind her ears, exposing the marks on her neck. I couldn’t stop the chuckle.

“What happened to your neck and arms?” The receptionist asked.

“We tried rescuing a cat and her kittens from a bag in the river,” Laney explained. “But she attacked us when we tried holding her.”

“Wow, that’s why I don’t like cats,” the receptionist replied. “They don’t respect you. You give them everything, and they expect it. Then they ignore you. You’re better off without them.”

I could tell Laney didn’t like what she was hearing, so I stepped up and took over. “We called ahead for a reservation.”

“Name, please.”

“Gideon Archer.” I handed over my ID.

“You’re lucky we had one room left,” she said, handing me the key card. “There’s a convention in town, and all the hotels are full.

Laney showered first while I walked Bear. When we returned, she was in her pajamas and applying ointment to her scratches. I called River so that Laney could talk to Haley. “Hey, is Haley available to talk to Laney?”

“I’ll get her. When will you get here?”

“Tomorrow night. They'll stay with me until I get everything settled.” I turned to Laney as she walked from the bathroom. “I’ll see you tomorrow, River. I thought you would want to talk to Haley,” I said, handing the phone to her,

“Thank you. Hi sweet pea, I love you. I miss you so much.”

“I miss you too, Mommy. When will you get here?”

“I’ll see you tomorrow night. Tell me what you’ve been doing?”

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