CHAPTER 5

EMERY

Sometimes I was really fucking bad at this job.

The morning had been a disaster, and it wasn’t even 9 a.m. yet. Mike had gotten out when I held the front door open for too long, so Estelle and Janice were searching the halls for him now. Joel had technical difficulties with his camera, which was going to delay filming for at least two hours. And Steve was being a jackass, per usual.

“Son of a bitch,” he whined, glaring down at his phone.

“What?” I asked, concerned.

“I took a quiz. ‘Where will I be in five years based on my pizza topping preference?’” He violently tapped the screen. “Shearing llamas in Peru? The creators of these tests are way off. How can they sleep at night?” he asked incredulously.

“Steve, on top of everything else that’s happened today, I don’t have time for your drama llama.” I snickered at my own joke. He wasn’t amused.

On the plus side, the urine sample we’d collected from Cindy came back fine, so she was in the clear to be adopted. Also, we were one step closer to finding the pissing culprit.

A knock sounded at Estelle’s door and I opened it to find Nikki and Lizzie.

“Sorry we’re late,” she said, grappling with her oversized mom-bag. She leaned in for a hug. “Like, ten things went wrong before we even got out the door.”

“No worries,” I assured her. “Same here. We’re behind schedule, but that means you’ll have time to meet the cats without so many people around.” Looking down at my niece, I ruffled her strawberry-blond curls. “How’s it going, squirt?”

“Good.” She giggled down at her feet with her usual shyness, hiding behind her hair. “Where are the kitties?”

I’d already administered the sedative to Peter, leaving him calm and pleasant. Evan had given me a special mixture of liquid catnip drops that he’d concocted, and they were like magic. It’d been way easier than I thought—all I had to do was mix it with a little tuna and Peter ate it right up.

“Down that hallway, first door on the right,” I told her. “That’s where a lot of them like to hang out.”

“I found Mike,” Estelle announced, coming through the door with the gray bundle in her arms. “He was trying to eat the plastic leaves on that fake plant down the hall, so we might need to watch him for diarrhea—” Stopping short, she smiled at Nikki. “Oh, hi.”

I did a brief introduction. Not that I needed to, because within fifteen seconds, Estelle and Nikki were chatting about lipstick like old friends.

I backed away, because I had absolutely nothing to add to that conversation. Instead, I headed for the cat room to check on Lizzie.

I was just about to the door when I heard her little voice call out, “I think this one’s dead, Uncle E.”

What? Shit.

Quickening my pace, I made it to her side and my eyes followed her pointing finger. Peter was lying on the top level of the kitty castle on his back, upside down, with his head and front paws hanging all the way off.

“Peter?” I scratched the underside of his chin. “You okay, buddy?”

He laughed—I kid you not—he actually laughed like a person. That was some creepy shit. I picked him up and cradled his limp body. Resting my head on his chest, I heard his steady heartbeat and felt the rise and fall of his breathing.

Then I sent a text to Evan.

Me: What the hell is in that catnip?

Evan: It’s just concentrated catnip that’s been genetically modified.

Me: What does that mean exactly?

Evan: Why? What happened? How many drops did you give him?

Me: Only two. Peter is tripping the fuck out. He’s damn near comatose.

Evan: Can you send pictures and a documented time log of his activities?

Me: What the FUCK, man?

Evan: It’s still in the experimental stages.

Me: Experimental stages??

My mind raced as I tried to think of what to do. If we had a cat die on this show, we were going to be in deep shit. We might even get canceled by the network. Estelle would be devastated, and I’d never forgive myself.

As if Evan read my thoughts, he sent another text.

Evan: I’m totally kidding! Don’t panic. We’ve had this happen a couple times, but it’s not harmful. Some cats react strongly. Let me know if he doesn’t snap out of it within an hour.

Evan: And sorry he’s catatonic. Get it? Cat-atonic? Haha I love making that joke.

Me: Not funny.

A gasp drew my attention to the doorway.

“What’s wrong with Peter?” Estelle hurried over, concern etched on her face. Nikki wasn’t far behind.

“He’s having a strong reaction to the sedatives,” I told her. “The pharmacist said it’s not dangerous, though.”

“Oh, poor baby,” Estelle cooed, her sweet voice going straight to my cock. She hesitantly reached for Peter. “Can I hold him?”

Nodding, I placed him in her arms. “Yeah. He’s yours, after all.”

“This is the first time I’ve ever gotten to hold him like this. He never lets me cuddle.” She softly stroked his fur while rocking him like a baby. Her serious eyes shot up to mine. “How pissed do you think he’ll be later if I take advantage of the fact that he’s high?”

I laughed. “It’s probably best if we keep him in our sights, so, cuddle away.”

“Momma!” Lizzie’s screech caused panic to shoot through me.

What now? I really didn’t want anything else going wrong today.

All three of us approached where she sat in the corner, petting the peach-colored cat sleeping in one of the beds. My heart warmed. She’d found Cindy all on her own.

“Look. This one’s just like me.” Kneeling down next to Cindy, she positioned herself so their faces were side by side. She looked up at us, letting her hair fall away from her face. A rare, unguarded moment for her.

“Oh,” Estelle breathed out, barely managing to stifle her gasp of surprise when she saw Lizzie’s scar.

What I hadn’t told Estelle was, Lizzie had been born with a cleft lip too. A simple cosmetic surgery had fixed it, but a scar on the left side remained, becoming more prominent when she smiled. And she was smiling now. A big, exuberant smile.

I didn’t tell Estelle on purpose; I wanted an honest, unfiltered reaction. The way people responded to Lizzie’s birth defect said a lot about their character.

A test.

And she passed with flying colors, just like I suspected she would.

I don’t know why I cared. Why was her reaction so important to me? Knowing she was a good person only made it ten times more difficult to stay professional, made me want her more than I already did.

Swallowing hard, Estelle gave me a grateful grin as she mouthed, “Thank you.”

I returned a smile that said, ‘you’re welcome.’

Gently placing Peter in his bed, she kissed his head before turning back to Lizzie. “Look, your hair color matches. Cindy’s a strawberry-blond, too. Twinsies, for sure.”

“You hear that, Mom?” Lizzie beamed. “We’re twinsies.”

“Would you like to see her favorite toy?” Estelle sat on the floor next to them and grabbed a wicker basket full of feathers and strings. “She can fetch like a dog.”

Pulling out a spongy ball, she waved it in front of Cindy to get her attention, then threw it out into the hall. The cat sprang after it and returned less than ten seconds later with it in her mouth. Cindy dropped it by Lizzie’s feet. My happy niece clapped like it was the best trick she’d ever seen.

Nikki pinched my forearm and hissed, “You’re such an awful sneak.”

“What are you talking about?” I feigned innocence.

She made a rude noise. Glancing down at the pair becoming fast friends, she didn’t say anything else. She didn’t need to.

She was going to adopt that cat and both of us knew it.

Letting out a resigned sigh, she joined the girls on the floor in their game of fetch. Even though the day had started out shitty, it was times like this when I loved my job.