Page 46 of Tangled
“They have weird greeting rituals,” Sabina said, taking a seat behind Scarlett on a chair.
Eleanor looked up as he noticed Scarlett for the first time, then proceeded to stare at her with his dark, round eyes.
“Um, should I look away?” Scarlett asked no one in particular. She didn’t know if this was a dominance thing and if it was, whether looking away or holding his gaze was the safest option.
“He’s curious,” Mitch said, taking a seat opposite her. “He likes most people, and your hair probably reminds him of Ava’s. Which he likes. So don’t freak out if he tries to crawl on you.”
She flashed him a wary smile, then another to Ava, who joined him, perching on the arm of the chair.
“If you don’t want him on you, just lift him off. He doesn’t like the N-O word. If weshowhim what he can’t do, he seems to respond better,” Ava said.
Sure enough, Eleanor rolled onto his feet and ambled over. Still lying on the ground, her head resting on her propped-up fist, Scarlett felt disadvantaged as he looked her straight in theeye. Then with one paw, he reached out and caught his claw in one of her curls, drawing it gently back toward him. Okay, she had to admit, he was pretty cute.
A strangled “oh” from Ava was all the warning she got, though, before Eleanor dived through the triangle gap created by her head, shoulder, and arm. Then, throwing himself onto his back, he started rolling around in her hair.
Scarlett startled, then froze.
“Sorry, he likes our curls,” Ava said with a wince. Eleanor continued to roll around on his back, catching her hair with his claws and drawing it to him in a combing sort of motion. She hadn’t known what to expect, but now that the surprise and alarm had faded, she noted how gentle he was. And how nice his ministrations felt.
“Not going to lie, this is a little weird,” Scarlett said. “The only animals that people had where I grew up were fighting dogs. And the animals in the camps and makeshift hospitals where we worked weren’t ones you wanted to get close to. It’s kind of nice, though. Like having someone running their fingers through your hair. Although, if he keeps it up, I’m going to have to oil it again.” Like a lot of Black women with long, natural hair, she had a plethora of hair care products that helped her style her curls.
“Or wrestle it into submission,” Ava agreed with a knowing nod. “How are you feeling?”
Scarlett wagged her head, to the delight of Eleanor, who made a sort of clicking noise and buried himself even further into her hair. “The medicine Kara gave me is helping with the sickness. I’ve even been able to eat most days.”
“But?” she pressed as Mitch wrapped an arm around her and pulled her from the arm of the chair onto his lap.
“Still tired,” Scarlett answered. In fact, she’d been up for six hours. The longest time she’d been without a nap since she’dstopped working. “How are Cody and Tia and the babies?” she asked.
They chatted about the new family, then caught up on Asher and Ellie and their new babies. Tia and Cody were already home, but the doctors had wanted to keep Ellie and the twins for another day. It was unclear if that suggestion had been an actual medical decision, or one pushed by Asher. Apparently, not being in control of any of his wife’s health care hadn’t sat well with the physician, and his usual solid and steady personality was nowhere to be seen. Mitch’s obvious glee as he described his cousin falling apart made Scarlett laugh.
She was still chuckling when, growing bored of her hair, Eleanor rolled over and ambled out from under the thick curtain. His fur brushed her cheek as he stepped over her arm, and she lifted her head to give him more space. She thought he might wander over to Jasper, and he did, but not before turning, putting his claws on either side of her face, and bumping his nose against hers.
Mitch chuckled and Ava “aaawwwed.”
“That’s his way of kissing you,” Ava said. “He sees enough kissing that he recognizes it as a way to show affection, even if he doesn’t quite get the mechanics. For which, quite honestly, we’re grateful,” she added. “The nose boop is just fine, thank you.”
“What’s going on with you two today?” Brad asked as everyone joined them in the living room.
“We’re headed over to see Maya and Ruby this afternoon, but…” Ava hesitated.
“Tell them,” Mitch said, rubbing a hand down her thigh.
“You found something?” Scarlett asked, sitting up. Brad sat on the couch, and he held out a hand to help her up. A few seconds later, she situated herself beside him.
“It’s Saturday, Ava. You were supposed to have the day off,” Sabina said.
“There’s no overtime, you know,” Chad added with a grin.
Ava waved them off. “I caught up with Leo yesterday, and he gave me a rundown of what he was encountering with Gracie’s device. An idea came to me this morning, and I wanted to try it. It wasn’t a big deal. Mitch took Eleanor sledding for a couple of hours, and I worked my magic. And now we have recovered most, but not all, of the files.”
“I get the sense you’re not entirely pleased,” Scarlett said, watching the younger woman.
Ava curled her lips in. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad we’ve recovered what we’ve recovered. And that we know how to get to the rest even if it might take another day.” She hesitated again.
“But she doesn’t like what she found,” Mitch said.
Scarlett studied the woman again and discovered she did look a bit ill.
