Chapter 10
Bentley
To say this is a side of Jax I never thought I’d see, let alone knew even existed is an understatement. After dragging the chair underneath the door handle, he still clutches whatever is in the… is that his shirt? Anyway, he’s still holding it tight to his chest.
“What?” he asks when neither of us says anything.
“You have a….” I look at the computer screen that shows the appointment schedule. “A cat?” I ask.
“Yeah? So?” he asks, still clutching the shirt/cat bundle to his chest.
“Figured you’d be more of a dog person,” I say, as I gather the instruments Lisa is going to need to examine Jax’s precious cargo.
“I nearly had no pet at all. That dog out there was about to eat my dude Buttons here, and no one gave a shit. If I were you, I’d take a look at your hiring policy. That girl behind the desk didn’t seem at all concerned a murder was about to go down right in front of her eyes. I bet she only works here so she gets to see animals in pain.”
“You and your dude Buttons were fine,” I say. “Brutus is a gentle giant, all bark, no bite.”
“Pfft, Brutus,” Jax grumbles.
“So are you going to let me take a look at the infamous Buttons, or just stand there all day?”
“You’re a vet?” he asks as he moves closer to the exam table.
“A vet nurse. The vet, Lisa, is finishing up with something, but I can get the pre-check done while we’re waiting,” I explain.
He eyes me suspiciously, not making any moves to put down the bundle in his arms. “I dunno,” he says. “I think we’ll wait for the doc.”
“Seriously?” I huff.
“I still remember the grip you had on my dude downstairs,” he says and looks down to his shorts. “I don’t know if I want to subject my dude Buttons to that kind of treatment.”
“For fuck’s sake,” I mutter under my breath. “That was a totally different situation.”
He eyes me again. “I dunno….”
“Come on, Jax. This is what I do, I won’t hurt him. I promise.”
“Hmm….”
“Look, just give him to me for a minute. I’ll take his temp, check his ears and eyes, and give him straight back.”
“Okay,” he says, reluctantly handing me the cat and his shirt.
I unwrap it and find the cutest kitten I’ve ever seen. “Hey, precious,” I coo, lifting the kitten and holding him, no, her, to my chest. “First things first,” I say to Jax, “your dude is a dudette.”
“He’s a she?” he asks.
I nod. “Yep, he’s a she.”
“Is she okay?” he asks, his eyes never leaving the kitten in my arms. I quickly check her over.
“She’s fine. She’s young, only about a month old I’m guessing.”
“I found her in the bushes. I’m pretty sure her mum was hit by a car.”
“So you’re her white knight,” I say as I hand her back to him.
“Nah, just a softy. So, um, what do I do now? Do I need to do anything special?” he asks, gently rocking side to side, stroking the cat absentmindedly.
“Make sure she has water. You can feed her a mixture of kitten food mixed with some cat milk. She needs that three or four times a day.”
“Okay.” He nods, a look of seriousness and intense concentration on his face.
“You’ll also need a litter tray. She’s old enough that she’ll begin scratching in the litter, so training her shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Right.”
“She’ll need vaccinations in two to three weeks. Then again when she’s ten weeks, and sixteen weeks. At that stage, she can also be desexed and microchipped.”
“You mean cut out her girly bits?” he asks, aghast, clutching her tighter to his chest.
“I mean help control the population and stop her from bringing home a litter of kittens for you to look after,” I say.
“Are you saying my cat, this precious ball of fluff, is going to sleep around like a hussy?” he asks.
I can’t help it; this whole afternoon has been completely random. I throw my head back and laugh so hard I cry. “Oh my God,” I say as I wipe my eyes once my laughter subsides.
Jax just glares at me. “You good?” he asks.
“Yeah, thanks for that. I can’t remember the last time I laughed that hard,” I say.
“Glad we amuse you,” he says as he cuddles Buttons tighter and starts talking gibberish to her.
Just then Lisa walks in. She surveys the room, me with a massive smile on my face, and Jax glaring at me. “How’s everything going in here?” she asks.
“Are you the vet?” Jax asks.
“I am,” Lisa replies. “Dr Lisa Middleton.” She offers her hand to him. He doesn’t take it.
“I don’t know what kind of operation you run here, doc,” Jax says, “but I’m not impressed.”
“Oh?” she asks.
“Yeah. First, my cat was almost eaten by some massive fucking monster of a dog in the waiting room while your staff sat around and did nothing. Then this one,” he motions to me, “called my girl here a hussy.”
Lisa looks at me and raises an eyebrow.
“I was giving Jax the vaccination and desexing schedule,” I explain.
“Yeah, saying that because my cat’s a hussy, she needs her bits removed.” He cuddles the now sleeping cat closer to his chest.
“I see,” Lisa says as she motions for Jax to hand over Buttons. He glances at her and half turns away while I muffle a giggle. Lisa turns to glare at me, and I sober up quickly. “Look….” She trails off, not remembering Jax’s name.
“Jax,” I supply. She turns and looks at me, raising an eyebrow again. I nod and shrug.
“Look, Jax, I know the topic of desexing can be a little uncomfortable, but it’s really for….”
“Buttons,” I say.
“It’s for Buttons’s own good. While it’s obvious she’s far from a hussy, we don’t want to take the chance there are male cats out there who are less than scrupulous with their morals. We wouldn’t want Buttons here to be taken advantage of, would we?” Lisa asks.
Jax thinks for a minute before replying. “I suppose not. Men can be pigs and I don’t want my girl here to fall victim to that.”
“That’s good,” Lisa says. “Now do you mind if I check her out? I’ll only be a minute.”
He hands over the cat and continues to glare at me. Being the mature twenty-four-year-old that I am, I glare back. There may even be some tongue poking, but I’ll deny it till I die.
“I’ve heard about your type,” he says to me.
“Oh yeah, and what type is that?”
“The type that likes to bring other women down so you feel better about yourself.”
Once again I have to bite back my laughter. Instead I nod solemnly. “Yep, you caught me, I’m a mean girl.”
He nods. “I thought so.”
Lisa finishes her exam and hands Buttons back to Jax. “She’s healthy.”
“Oh good,” he says, relieved.
“Has Bentley told you about how to care for her from here?” she asks.
“Yeah, kitten food with pet milk, water, kitty litter,” he says.
She nods. “Good. She’s about a month old so she’ll need to come in again in a few weeks for her first lot of vaccinations. Oh, and look out for ticks. It’s hot and humid, just the type of weather they like. She’s too young for kitten tick protection so maybe keep her inside for now.”
“All right, we can do that, can’t we, baby girl?” he asks the cat, bouncing her in his arms.
“You can make an appointment now for a couple of weeks’ time if you’d like,” Lisa says as he wraps Buttons in his shirt.
“Yeah thanks, I’ll do that.”
“You can also book her in for desexing as well,” I say. I’m sorry, I just couldn’t help myself.
Jax glares at me. “He-Man Woman Hater,” he says, and removes the chair before exiting the room.
“I think you just created a feminist,” Lisa says to me as we both dissolve into a fit of giggles.