Cowboy Untamed

“It did. I offered to complete it in the middle of the night but the management thought it would be more dramatic if people could see the final construction phase. It was great PR but I’d still rather work in the privacy of my studio.”

“Is our evening event going to be a problem for you?”

He gazed at her. “It’s not my favorite way to create, but like I said last night, I wasn’t concerned about the how. Only the who.”

“I know.” Her quick swallow betrayed her uneasiness.

“Forget I said that.”

She gave him a rueful glance. “Not likely. But right now it’s feeding time. We’ve tried to keep a regular schedule they can count on. It’s part of building trust.”

“Makes sense.” He pondered that as he helped her carry out the bowls. Trust was an issue between them, too. Whether she didn’t trust him or herself wasn’t clear, but either way, she expected bad things to happen if they gave in to this attraction.

“You can put the bowls down now. They’re waiting.”

“Right.” While he’d been lost in thought, she’d stood waiting as the cats milled around at their feet. “Sorry.”

“It’s just good to put all the bowls down together so they each have one.”

“Makes sense. But Fred’s not here. Do we wait for him?”

“No. He’ll be along. Sometimes he hangs back.”

“Okay.” He lined up the ones he carried, dropped to his knees and sat back on his heels. “Sorry for holding up the show. I got distracted.”

“I’ve noticed that doesn’t happen when you’re working on a sculpture. You’re incredibly focused.”

He couldn’t resist the opening she’d given him. “That’s one of two activities that get my undivided attention.”

“And the other is football?”

Kidding around was a good sign they were making progress. “Guess again.”

Her breathing quickened. “You’re too sexy for your own good, Grady.”

“Too sexy for you?” He glanced over at her.

“I didn’t say that.” She kept her attention on the tree line as she watched for Fred, but her cheeks had turned a pretty shade of pink.

His pulse hammered. Maybe he’d built up a little trust, after all. “Any chance I can cash in that rain check so we can have dinner tonight?”

“I think— Oh, my goodness. Who’s that?”

A large gray cat left the shelter of the woods and bounded toward them.

“You don’t recognize it?”

“Nope. And he’s not acting like a feral.”

“How can you tell it’s a male?”

“I’m not positive but he looks like a tom to me.”

The cat marched right up to the food bowl at the end of the row, within arm’s reach of Grady, hunkered down and began to devour the food. When Fred showed up, the bowls were all occupied. He surveyed the line of cats before sitting down and fixing his green eyes on Grady as if he might be to blame for this fiasco.

“Stay here.” Sapphire slowly rose to her feet. “I’ll bring out another bowl for Fred.”

“Good idea. He’s giving me the stink eye.”

As she backed away carefully, Fred stood, arched his back and hissed. Then he retreated a few feet while the other cats continued to munch.

“She’s going to get you food, bozo,” Grady said. “Show some appreciation.”

Fred sat down again and glared at him, but the gray cat looked up at the sound of Grady’s voice.

Blinking, he studied Grady with eyes as blue as a midday sky. Then he went back to eating the last few nuggets in the bowl. Athena had taken the spot next to him and she still had food. He sidled over as if to grab some but she gave a warning growl and he retreated.

After searching his bowl for any crumbs, he gave up and stared at Grady some more. Then he made a noise low in his throat that was neither meow nor purr. Must have been a greeting of some kind, because he walked around the bowl and came over to rub against Grady’s thigh.

“Hey, there.” Grady gently scratched behind the cat’s ears and was rewarded with a soft purr. “You’re no feral, are you, buddy? You’re somebody’s pet.” He noticed burrs and matted hair in what was otherwise a luxurious-looking coat. “Or were somebody’s pet a while ago. What happened?”

In response, the cat tried to crawl into his lap. But Grady was kneeling, which meant the lap situation was never going to work out. Instead he scooped the cat into his arms. In midmotion he realized it could be a very dumb move. He didn’t know this animal and he could decide to bite or scratch him.

That didn’t happen. Purring even louder, the cat settled in and tucked his head under Grady’s chin. Although his appearance suggested he’d be heavy, he was extremely light. All that hair disguised the fact that he was skin and bones.

“Wow, that’s amazing.”

Sapphire’s murmured comment took Grady by surprise. He hadn’t heard her come back, probably because he’d been involved with his new friend and she’d been moving as quietly as possible to avoid disturbing the cats as they finished their meal. He gazed at her over the top of the gray cat’s head as he stroked its tangled fur. “What now?”

She set down the bowl for Fred, who came over with more enthusiasm than he’d shown the last two times. “We have to find out if someone’s missing a cat. He obviously used to have a home.”

“Yeah, but I don’t think he’s been there in a while. He’s pretty thin.”

“And his coat’s a mess.”

“But he’s friendly as all get-out.”

She smiled. “I noticed.” She petted the butterscotch mama cat, who’d come over with her look-alike family. The others lounged in the grass, either grooming their coats or watching the interaction between Grady and the cat in his arms.

Fred finished his meal and moved away from the dish, but instead of leaving, he sat down and stared at Grady.

Sapphire watched the tuxedo cat. “That’s a switch. He’s never hung around after the meal before.”

“Maybe he sees me loving up this one and thinks it looks like fun.”

“I hope so. It would be great if I could hold him the way you’re holding our newcomer.” She sighed. “Not that I could take him home. My sister’s allergic.”

“You both still live at home?”

“No. By home I meant the little house we rent together. She’s a perfect housemate except for the fact that I can’t have a cat. She’s offered to take meds so I can adopt one but I don’t want to put her through that. Eventually, we’ll each get a place and until then I can work with the shelter and the ferals. It’s fine.”

“How about having a barn cat?”

“We’ve all talked about it. Naturally, we’d want one of our ferals, but we can’t split up the mamas and their kittens, which leaves Fred, and he’s so not ready. Ah, there he goes.” She stood. “Guess it’s time to figure out a plan for this new guy.”

“What are the options?” Grady levered himself to his feet and felt little pinpricks on his chest as the cat dug his claws into his shirt and held on.

“I should probably drive him over to the shelter. They can keep him for the night while we check around and see if anybody’s reported losing a cat that fits his description.”

Sensible as that sounded, Grady didn’t want to do it. The cat seemed to have chosen him as a savior and he couldn’t picture handing this skinny creature over into someone else’s care, although the shelter staff was obviously capable.

“You’re frowning. What’s the matter?”

“I just... I want to keep him company until we find out what the story is.”

“Oh.” Her expression grew soft. “That’s sweet.”

“And impractical. I don’t want to haul him over to Ben and Molly’s. It’s an imposition. We don’t know anything about this cat, and besides, they have a dog who may or may not react well to cats.”

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