Page 13 of Jilted Jock
It wasn’t so much Finn, but the way his presence in my house reminded me I lived alone. You never noticed the smell of your house until it changed.
I dropped my purse on the kitchen counter and found a note scribbled on a loose piece of paper.Be back tonight for my stuff.
I took off toward the spare room. When I opened the door kitty took off, a blur of white fur. Poor thing had been shut up in there all day probably. The litter box was set up in the corner, a fancy electronic thing that looked like a spaceship. Her pink mat with matching water and food bowl with bling that matched the rhinestone collar on her neck. I was glad to see he was taking care of her, but man he’d really spent some money on the accessories for this kitten that he was so adamant to get rid of.
I changed into leggings and a tank and put on my sneakers for a run. The kitten batted at the frayed edges of a throw blanket lying over the arm of the couch.
“Back in a little bit,” I told her as I opened the front door and stepped out. Either my words or the sound of the door opening caught her attention and she zipped in front of my legs before I could catch her.
“Oh no!”
She took off in a run, pumping her little legs fast. She passed my neighbor’s house and disappeared. I ran after her looking left and right and calling for her. The neighborhood was an older one with lots of trees and shrubs, basically the perfect places for a small kitten to hide.
I went around the block twice before admitting defeat. I couldn’t go home without the kitten, so I went to Chance’s.
“Hey.” My brother held the door open and gave me a curious stare. “You okay?”
“I lost the cat.”
“What cat?
“Finn’s cat.” I trudged inside and threw myself down on the couch. “I was going for a run and she darted out the front door. I’ve looked everywhere.”
“Uh, did I miss something?” Chance sat down beside me. “Why do you have Finn’s cat?”
“It’s not a big deal,” I started, worried after the way Richard had overreacted. “We went to a bunch of hotels and no one would take the cat, so I offered to let him stay at my place last night. When I got back from work, he’d left a note that he’d be by later to grab his things.”
Chance’s blue eyes, a darker shade than my own, studied me carefully. “You let Finn stay at your place? What the hell did Dick think of that?”
“Not you too. I don’t see the big deal. You let him stay here.”
“Not alone with my wife.”
“He slept in a room on the opposite side of the house.”
CJ came running into the living room and grabbed a small truck off the floor shouting, “Mine!” before he took off in the opposite direction.
Chance chuckled. “See, we don’t share well – at any age.”
I rolled my eyes. “I should go.”
“What are you going to do about the cat?”
“Knock on doors, put up flyers, post on the neighborhood page.” I shrugged. “Hope he doesn’t notice.”
“Good luck with that. Did you at least take the diamonds off from around her neck first?”
“It’s real?!” I squeaked.
Chance laughed and gave me a little apologetic shrug.
I walked slowly, calling for the cat and asking the neighbors that were outside if they’d seen her. No one had. Defeated and feeling a little sick over it, I approached my house. A large black SUV was parked out front and Finn sat on the front steps with kitty in his lap.
“Oh my God, you found her.”
“Found her?” He stood.
“She got out when I was leaving for a run and disappeared. I’ve been around the block looking for her. Where was she?”
