Page 59 of Misbehaving With Minotaurs
Laughing, I pick it up and shake it at the timer. “Shutters, hmm?”
The cat meows her assent as Annabelle rapid-fire opens and shuts the kitchen windows.
“I got you, sweet girl.” This I can do to help Catherine. If I can take things off her to-do list, that’s a start.
Heading for the front entry, I use my multitool to remove the closest shutter. Annabelle, helpful girl that she is, swings the second-floor shutters down for me. Placing each shutter on the white railing, I sand diligently until the shutters are ready for painting. It’s awkward without a sawhorse to prop them on, but I do my best, and Annabelle creaks and groans the entire time.
It’s like she’s having an entire conversation with me, and somehow, I understand the vibes. She missed Catherine, and so she’s nattering away like an excited child after a parent returns from a trip.
I chatter back to her about nothing in particular until I’ve got all the shutters sanded and primed. Patting Annabelle’s siding, I laugh when she shimmies as if it tickles. The kitty cat timer sits on the railing and dings when I finish priming the last slat.
Exhaustion hits me as I drop my hand by my side. “I’m gonna hit the hay, Annabelle. You need anything else, pretty girl?”
She says nothing, but swings the front doors slowly open for me, inviting me back inside. The timer hops onto my open hand and rolls up my arm to my shoulder, tucking herself under my ear.
I head into the house and pause in the kitchen, setting the timer down on the countertop.
Making my way to my room, I read for hours, eventually falling into a fitful sleep in my chair. By the time I wake in the morning, I’m desperate to see my Sunshine. Glancing at my watch, I realize she’ll be up shortly. A quick shower and fresh outfit later, I’m in the kitchen, stirring her coffee as I wait for her to show up.
The timer’s busy trying to toss sugar cubes in my mug when Catherine appears by my side. She tsks as she grabs the cup of sugar cubes and shoves it to the far end of the counter.
“Annabelle, stop that, please. You already know how Nor like his coffee.”
Sweet girl tosses a final sugar cube at me, but it bounces off my muzzle and lands on the counter. Picking it up, I toss it in my mouth as I wink at Catherine.
“Didn’t say I hate sugar,” I say, “just don’t think the coffee needs it.”
Catherine smiles up at me. “We had originally planned breakfast at the diner. Are you still down for that?”
I nod. “You wanna talk there?”
She shrugs. “There’s a nice little booth to the back where we should have plenty of privacy, and I’m starving.”
I put my hand on her arm, rubbing her soft skin as I admire the frilly sleeves of her form-fitting shirt.
She sinks closer to me, pressing her body to mine as she gazes up into my eyes. Pulling her flush with my chest, I sink a hand into her hair and hold her, her heartbeat steadying me. I’ve got a busy day ahead, but she centers me. Around us, Annabelle creaks and groans, but it sounds happy to me. The kitty cat timer pops up onto my shoulder and tucks herself under my ear with a tinny purr against my fur.
The moment stretches into long minutes where I simply hold her, this woman who’s captured me so completely in mere days.
Eventually, the timer lets off a small ding next to my ear.
I reach up and grab her, setting her back down onto the counter. “Thank you, sweet thing. You’re right, we’ve got a breakfast date.”
Cath sighs as she pulls away from me and poofs her gray waves. I lean against the counter and stare, because I will never, ever get enough of looking at her.
“Mine,” I whisper, my voice ragged as I move to pull her back into my arms.
Catherine’s eyes flash golden for a moment, but she dances out of my reach. “Nor, you’ve got a jam-packed schedule today, and my stomach is rumbling.”
“You know how to get me moving,” I grouse. She knows her comfort is always top of mind for me. Can’t do a thing until she’s fed and full. Everything else comes after that.
I blow the kitty cat timer a kiss and tickle one of the cabinet doors on the way out. We pause by the front door and Catherine takes in the shutters, staring for a long moment before looking up at me.
“I can’t believe she actually let you tackle this project. I’ve been trying for ages and she just wouldn’t let me take the shutters down.”
I wink. “She needed a man’s touch, Sunshine. Like any good woman, sometimes she just wants that masculine energy. I’m sure you can empathize…”
Catherine loops her hand through my arm with a laugh as we head up Sycamore toward Main Street and the Galloping Green Bean.
