Page 44 of Shielding His Heart
What’s always been mine.
CHAPTER22
TANA
“This is Reduced Fat Sour Cream,” Penny says with a bright smile. “Don’t mind him. He’s very friendly, despite his appearance.” She indicates a cat of epic proportions perched on her guest bed like an ancient miniature lion. And it wouldn’t be wrong because, good God, that’s the biggest cat I’ve ever seen. He’s got a larger than average head and a massive bulky body with fur the color of toasted cream. “I call him Creamy. Dreamy Creamy. Mr. Cream Puff. He won’t bother you unless you don’t like snuggles. If that’s the case, I’ll put him in my room. Better yet, why don’t I do that now?” Penny rambles. She tugs at her wild brown waves and gives me a nervous but friendly smile.
“No, I don’t mind at all. I could use the company.” I take a seat on the bed next to the big cat, who immediately ambles over to me and purrs. Sifting my hands through his soft fur, I try not to think about the cat I left at Alec’s. I miss her already. “Thank you again for letting me stay here. I really appreciate it.”
“Don’t sweat it! No one uses this room except my mom when she visits a couple of times a year. It mostly belongs to Creamy and the occasional foster cat. Or raccoon. Or squirrel. You get the idea.”
“How long have you worked at the rescue?” I ask.
Her pixie-cute face screws up with concentration. “Oh, going on five years now, I guess. I started volunteering there during college. Then I guess I never left. Once I got my degree, I sort of just took over for Mrs. Bixby, the lady who ran it initially. I’ve always loved animals, and it drove my parents crazy that I would always bring home strays, but I could never turn down an animal in need. They wanted me to be apeopledoctor,” she adds with disgust.
“I can’t picture you as a people doctor,” I say.
She gestures wildly. “Right? But tell them that. Thankfully they moved to California a while ago, so I don’t have to listen to that constantly.” Penny is a ball of wild energy. I don’t think she’s stopped moving since I showed up on her front doorstep. She paces from bookshelf to dresser to desk, touching keepsakes, rearranging books, and picking at chipping paint.
Creamy settles onto my lap, a big overflowing cat loaf. I’m grateful for both him and the conversation to distract me from how utterly miserable I feel. “So you grew up here in Battleboro, too?”
Penny smiles a huge, friendly grin. “Uh-huh! I was a couple years behind you and Alec, though. And I was a year behind Jax—the guy who works with Alec. Anyway, we’ve been best friends for years, although I’ve had a schoolgirl crush on him for most of my life, not that he’s noticed.”
“He’s the younger one, right?” Keeping all the names and faces straight has been a challenge, but it’s starting to get easier with practice and time. That’s promising, at least. Maybe my memory—or lack thereof—won’t always be the obstacle that it is now.
“The rookie, yeah. Totally gorg, right? Alas, I don’t think he’ll ever see me as anything other than his kid sister.” She makes a face and shakes it off. “Story of my life. No one really takes me seriously. I’m pretty sure he still sees me as the knobby twelve-year-old with braces and a lisp.”
I give her a once-over while shaking my head. Penny is a knockout in a girl next door sort of way. Wavy brown hair the color of pine bark, soft, kind green eyes, and an energetic, friendly nature you can’t help but feel endeared to. “Is heblind?” I ask emphatically, causing Creamy to jump and stretch a little at the increase in volume.
Penny gives a warm, full laugh. “He’s a man. So naturally, he can’t see what’s right in front of him.”
“I don’t know him well, or you knowat all, but I think he’d have to be crazy not to be completely in love with you.”
“That’s what I’m screamin’!” she says. Then she does a little hop and claps her hands. “You know what we need to forget all our troubles?”
“Wine?” I think of how my last foray with alcohol went and feel dubious.
“Something even better!”
“Is there anything—”
“Kittens!” she exclaims.
Ten minutes later, we’re sitting on the floor of her spare bathroom with a pile of kittens in our laps. “Okay, yeah,” I say with a laugh. “This is so much better than wine.”
* * *
“Gemma has a game today. She’d like you to come.”
I close my eyes against the yearning that squeezes around my heart when I hear Alec’s voice. It’s been less than a week, and already I miss him and the girls so much it nearly hurts. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve grown to care for them in such a short time or because part of me already knows them, loves them, and feels their absence so intensely. Either way, I think about them pretty much constantly.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” I gnaw on my thumbnail. “I thought we’d decided after your conversation with Paisley that we should give them some space.”
“We did. I think it’s been space enough.”
Side-stepping the question, I say, “What did their therapist say?”
“Dr. Teatree said it’s natural for there to be an adjustment period. It’s going to be hard for the girls for a long time, but we need to be consistent for them. The last thing they need is more upheaval.”
