Page 9 of Nerdy or Nice
She looked so disgruntled that I almost smiled.She was cute in a crazy librarian sort of way.She wore a dull gray coat, nondescript jeans, and sensible brown boots – the kind with no heels but plenty of traction.
This girl was no fool even if her signals were decidedly mixed.
As far as the timetable, I hadn't been gone for more than a few minutes. But I knew what had made her wonder. As I stepped outside with the carrier, I said, "Sorry, I had to find it. And then I had to zap the heating pad."
She blinked through those godawful glasses. "What heating pad?"
I looked toward the stroller. "Your stroller's heated. Am I right?"
She nodded. "Yeah, my aunt had it specially made."
So, she was pet-sitting for her aunt?I filed this information away as I opened my pet-carrier's lid and pointed toward the interior. "I put in a heating pad under the blanket. It shouldn’t betoohot, but you can test it if you want."
Not being the trusting type, she removed her right glove and reached out toward the carrier. She stuck her hand through the opening and prodded at the pad several times before saying with obvious surprise, "I think you got it just right."
Judging from her tone, she'd been expecting the pad to be icy or sizzling.This girl was not an optimist.
With a wry smile, I said, "Happy to hear it." I moved the carrier closer to the stroller. "Now c'mon. I'll hold the carrier while you load them up."
With a nod, she reached toward the stroller's main zipper, the one that surrounded the front-facing mesh window. She was just starting to unzip it when a crash from inside the house made her pause.
She glanced toward the sound just as my grandpa's voice carried out onto the porch. "Hey! I just poured that!" And then, in a lower voice, he grumbled, "Do I knockyourcoffee over? Yeah, yeah, I know. You don't drink the stuff." A smile crept into his voice. "You little orange bastard."
I froze.What the hell?
I wasn't surprised by the coffee-spillingormy grandpa's reaction to it. That was just a normal Monday.And Tuesday. And Wednesday.Well, you get the idea.
But from out here, none of this should've been so easy to hear. I turned to scan the front of the house and gave a low curse when I spotted a narrow gap at the base of the nearest window.
On a day like today, the thing shouldn't have been open at all. But my grandpa liked to yank up the windows and yell at the squirrels whenever they got greedy at the bird-feeders. And every once in a while, he didn't fully shut the window after he'd yelled himself out.
I didn't care about the yelling – or the lost heat. But Iwaswondering how much the pet-sitter had overheard while I'd been inside in the house.
I turned back to the person in question. Judging from her newly guilty expression, she'd heard more than she should've. Our gazes locked as I tried to recall everything I'd said within eavesdropping distance.
I was still scanning my memory banks when she blurted out, "It's Gwen."
I shook my head. "Sorry, what?"
"That's um, my name. I mean, you told me yours, so I figure it's only fair that I tell you mine." She winced. "But I guess I should've told you that already, huh? I mean, since you're helping me and all."
Oh, yeah. She'd overheard, alright.
Andthiswas what I got for leaving the basement.
Chapter 6
Gwen
At the look on his face, I wanted to die of embarrassment.He knew that I'd been listening.And Iknewthat he knew.
Worst of all,heknew thatIknew, which meant that to pretend otherwise would only make everything more awkward.
I didn't want it to be awkward. I wanted it to be over, so with his help, I quickly loaded up the kittens and shut the carrier's lid to make sure the kittens didn't accidentally escape.
All of them were now wide awake, looking out through the gaps in the carrier as if this was the adventure they'd been wanting all morning. Ginger, in particular, looked positively thrilled to be doing something new.
Well, at least someone was having a jolly time.
