Page 9 of Survive the Night
Although still tense, the cat stopped squirming, and Otto moved down a step, and then another. After the precarious climb up the dilapidated windmill, descending this—even with only one usable arm—was a delight in comparison. The cat sank its claws deeper into his shirt, pricking his chest. With a grimace, Otto resisted the urge to detach the claws digging into his skin, knowing that it was not the time for readjusting his hold. Once he managed to get both of them to solid ground, then he could get a better, more comfortable grip on the cat. Otto stepped down to the next rung, and the cat lunged to the side.
As the animal slipped from his grasp, Otto reached out, catching the cat mid-leap and hauling it back against his front. He was breathing hard, more from the scare than from exertion, and he took a second before starting down the ladder again. The cat gave a miserable yowl, and he made wordless soothing sounds. Ignoring Otto, the cat meowed again.
“Good catch,” Hugh called, sounding subdued—and reassuringly close. Otto glanced down and saw that he was just six or so rungs from the ground. He blew out a hard, relieved breath as he hurried to descend the last few feet. He’d done it. The cat was safe, and Otto didn’t have any broken bones. The rescue mission had been a success.
His foot touched the second-to-last rung, and he turned his head toward Dee, who was hovering right next to the ladder, her gaze locked on the cat.
“He’s fine,” Otto assured her. “A little scared, but that’s understandable. He’s had a hard day so far, but the bad part’s over now.” He smiled at her over his shoulder as he moved down to the final rung.
When his boot skidded off that bottom step and he stumbled off the ladder, Otto knew he’d spoken too soon. Dee was right next to him, and he would squash the tiny girl if he landed on her. Twisting away, he avoided crashing into her, but the dodge threw off his balance. There was no saving it—he was going down. He tumbled gracelessly to the ground, barely managing to turn in midair so as to land on his back and not flatten the cat.
The spectators gathered around to stare down at him.
“You okay?” Hugh asked, sounding suspiciously like he was about to laugh.
“Fine.” Otto wasn’t in any hurry to get up. Honestly, he was just relieved to be on solid ground, even if it was flat on his back.
“Thank you, Otto,” Dee said, reaching down to take the cat.
“Careful,” he warned, watching closely as he released it, ready to snatch it back if it tried to claw Dee to pieces in order to escape. The cat seemed only too happy to curl up in Dee’s arms, though, purring loudly. Otto shot the animal an exasperated look. Why hadn’t it been so well behaved when he was risking life and limb?
Laughing openly now, Hugh offered him a hand up. “Good work, Otto. You might want to work on sticking the landing next time, though.”
“Seems like an okay place to fall, if you ask me,” Steve said evenly, although the corners of his mouth twitched. “Better than up at the top.”
“True.” Otto brushed off the back of his pants, looking curiously at Steve’s T-shirt and worn BDUs. “Off duty?”
The fireman nodded. “Our property is right over there.” He pointed north. “Heard the commotion, saw you climbing, and figured you could use a ladder.” They all looked at the rickety metal rungs barely clinging to the windmill. “A better ladder.”
“Thank you,” Otto said sincerely.
“If this is the extent of the excitement around here, I’ll be happy,” Steve said, folding the ladder. “I moved the kids here from Simpson because Monroe seemed like a safer place, but then all that craziness happened with the shootings and explosions. I’m glad things calmed down; I was starting to think I’d have to move us somewhere else.”
Hugh snorted. “Yeah, they’ll be calm until Dee brings that cat home. What are the chances Jules will ever let us babysit again?”
After taking a few days to recover from this adventure, Otto knew he could convince Jules to let him watch the kids again. After all, she allowed Hugh to babysit. Surely she’d forgive Otto for one small cat.
Before he could say as much, Theo charged out of the trees, striding through the clearing toward their little group.
“Uh-oh,” Hugh muttered. “Theo must’ve sensed you were trying to throw yourself off a windmill.”
Except for a pointed look, Otto ignored him, his gaze on Theo. The other cop looked even more aggravated than usual as he neared.
“This is my new cat!” Dee announced. “Isn’t she beautiful? Or he, maybe. I don’t know which yet.”
Distracted, Theo eyed the cat curled in Dee’s arms. “New cat?”
“Yes! Otto rescued her. I thought he was going to fall, especially when the ladder broke, or when he had to walk on the narrow metal thingy, way up in the air, but he didn’t! Well, he didn’t until he reached the bottom, and then he fell over. Boom! It was like a tree getting cut down.”
Hugh started laughing again as Theo turned a narrowed gaze first toward the windmill and then at Otto. “You climbed that thing?”
Giving an affirmative shrug, Otto braced himself for the inevitable lecture.
“That was stupid. Why didn’t you call Fire? Isn’t getting cats out of high places pretty much the only thing they’re good for?”
Steve gave a soft, amused cough.
With an abrupt shake of his head, Theo said, “Never mind. That’s not why I tracked you down. This is an emergency.”
