Page 94 of At the Heart of It
“Because Lucifer has a bit of a scratching issue,” Jossy said. “That’s why he’s been rehomed six times.”
Lucifer wriggled one paw free and took a swipe at Jonah’s cheek. Jonah ducked back, glad the military had left him with sharp reflexes. He’d never expected to use them for cat wrangling, but it was a small price to pay for helping his sister. And this asshole cat.
“You remembered to put glue in it this time?” Jonah pressed Lucifer’s squishy pink paw pad to reveal the claws on his right hand. Lucifer responded with a hiss that sounded like a malfunctioning espresso machine.
“Yes, I remembered.” Jossy held the cat still while Jonah wrestled the nail tip onto the cat’s first claw.
He drew back, admiring his handiwork. “Why the pink glitter?”
“Because the vet clinic was out of more manly colors.” Jossy stepped back to fill another claw tip with glue. “Sorry, Lucifer.”
The cat growled as Jonah slid the next claw tip into place. “You’re seriously compromising his manhood here.” He positioned another glittery pink object over the next claw. “And mine,” he added as Lucifer delivered another rabbit-kick to his nuts.
“Sorry, Sorry.” Jossy handed him another claw tip and grabbed the cat’s rear wheels again. “Seriously, Jonah—I owe you for this. Declawing is such an inhumane thing to do to a cat, so this is truly a kindness you’re doing for him.”
Lucifer growled again, unimpressed by Jonah’s kindness. Jonah grabbed another claw tip from Jossy and slipped it into place, getting more comfortable with the task even if Lucifer wasn’t.
Maybe this would be a good time to broach the subject of the computer-controlled knee. They’d discussed it before, but not recently. And never when it was a real possibility. Never when Jonah was in a position to make this kind of difference in Jossy’s life.
He was thinking about how to bring it up when Jossy interrupted his thoughts. “Have you seen the footage yet?” she asked. “The stuff they shot at the animal shelter the other day?”
“Not yet. Kate mentioned something during filming yesterday. Said post-production was putting together a promotional thing on YouTube.”
“Will you get to see it before it goes out?”
“She offered, if we wanted to see it. Apparently they can’t email it out, but she’s willing to pull it up on her laptop and show us when she gets the files tomorrow night. We could both meet up with her if you’d like.”
“No.” Jossy bit her lip and handed him another claw tip. “I think I’d be too nervous. Maybe you could watch it first and tell me what you think?”
“You’re so weird.” Jonah wiggled the glittery pink claw tip into place and held out his hand for another.
They lapsed into silence for a moment, each of them focused on the task of helping the uncooperative cat. When Jossy spoke, her voice was barely audible.
“Jonah?”
“Yeah?”
“I had a dream last night that I was riding a bike.”
He looked up sharply, and Lucifer saw his shot at escape. Jonah gripped the cat tighter, subduing him without taking his gaze off his sister.
“Wow, that’s—does that happen often?”
She shook her head, eyes glittering a little. “No, that’s why I told you. It kind of shook me up. I mean—I’ve barely even thought about bike racing for eighteen years.”
“Really?”
She shrugged and handed him another nail tip. “I mean, sure, I’ve thought of it. In that way you think something absurd like, ‘I wonder what it would be like to buy a two-thousand-dollar pair of stilettos and sashay through downtown Seattle.’”
Jonah frowned and slid the next claw tip into place. “You lost me there.”
“I just mean, it’s impossible,” she said.
“It’s not impossible, Joss.” Jonah kept his voice soft, both for Lucifer’s benefit and his sister’s. He couldn’t believe his luck at having her broach the subject. This had to mean something. “We’ve talked before about the computer-controlled knees.”
“Please.” Jossy rolled her eyes. “You think two-thousand-dollar shoes are insane. A prosthetic like that? You could buy a hundred pairs of those shoes for the cost of one of those.”
“Call me crazy, but only one of those options sounds practical.”
