by A. M. Arthur
“I admire you, George. Not everyone would be brave enough to step this far outside their comfort zone. Especially to help a near-stranger.”
“I don’t think of you as a stranger anymore, Levi. Maybe it’s only been a day but you are my friend. I hope.”
Levi grinned. “We’re friends.” He opened his mouth to say something else, but a loud yowl preceded Orry walking into the small room with Ginger in her carrier.
“She’s tired of me, I guess,” Orry said. He handed the carrier to George. “Here. She’s your guest.” Then he strode out of the room.
George chuckled. “For all my issues, Orry can be a drama queen, too. Do you think Miss Ginger is tired of her box?”
“Most definitely,” Levi replied. “Come on, baby girl, let’s give you more light, at least.”
George gave Levi the carrier, and he gently eased Ginger from the cardboard prison to the more open crate. Ginger blinked dumbly at them, then sniffed at her new litter box. It only took up about a third of the crate, giving her room to move around. But not enough room to hurt her newly set hip. Levi sat cross-legged by the crate and petted her through the bars, whispering things George couldn’t hear. His reluctance to leave his cat was almost painful to see, and George flailed for the right thing to say.
“Does she, uh, have any medication to take?” George asked.
“Yes, it’s in one of the bags. I bought a bag of those pill pocket treat things because she hates taking pills. That way you don’t get all scratched up trying to pry her mouth open, and she won’t traumatize her hip from struggling.”
“Smart plan. Um, it’s getting late. Do you want to stay for dinner?”
“That’s very kind of you, but I should probably go soon. I’ve disrupted your day enough already.”
It isn’t a disruption anymore.
George genuinely liked being around Levi. “Well, I’ll let you sit with Ginger alone, then.”
“You don’t have to leave.” Levi looked up with that familiar, warm smile, and he seemed to mean it.
“It’s okay, I need to ask Orry something.” He didn’t really but it was a good excuse to leave the room, and it wasn’t until he’d tracked Orry to his own bedroom that George realized what he’d done: he’d left someone alone in his room near all his personal things. His stomach rolled with acid but Levi was safe. He wouldn’t go snooping.
Orry lay stretched out on his stomach across his bed, playing a game on his phone, and he didn’t acknowledge George’s arrival.
“Are you sure you aren’t mad at me?” George asked.
“Why would I be mad at you?”
“For bringing a cat into the apartment without asking you first? I don’t know, you just seem weird.”
“It’s been a long day.” Orry paused the game and sat up. “I’m just tired, I promise. Actually, I need to take a power nap because I have a bartending shift tonight.”
George frowned. “I didn’t know that. You said you took the whole day off.”
“My boss just texted that they have an opening while you were playing with your cat.”
“Oh. Okay.”
He left his brother alone and wandered into the kitchen, not really hungry but unsure what to do with himself while Levi was in his bedroom. Pacing a bit helped, and he hated the sad expression on Levi’s face when he came out. He collected his reusable bags and then stood by the door, uncertain. They talked briefly about how much food to give Ginger and when she got her pain pills.
“I’ll take good care of her, I promise,” George said. “And I’ll text you pictures and updates.”
“Thank you.” Levi tried to smile but it didn’t reach his eyes. The man was truly attached to those cats and it showed. “I mean it, George, thank you for doing this. I’ll come by tomorrow around noon, is that okay? I can bring lunch with me.”
“Okay.”
“Cool. Pizza?”
His stomach pitted. “Um, I’ll eat it when it’s all there is but it’s not a favorite food.”
“What is a favorite?”
“I’m actually very basic with food. You can just pick up some subs or something, and I’ll be cool with that. Honestly, I usually just have a sandwich for lunch.”
“Okay.” Levi opened up a note app on his phone. “Give me your order. I’ll look online for a recommended place nearby.”
“Whole wheat roll, turkey, lettuce, tomato, sweet peppers, salt and oregano, and mustard.”
“Sounds interesting. Turkey’s your favorite?”
“Turkey or chicken, but not every sandwich shop has chicken as an option.”
“If they do, would you rather chicken?”
The care Levi was taking with a sandwich order made George’s heart trill in that bizarre way again. As if Levi really cared about making lunch perfect for George.
It’s because you’re caring for one of his furbabies. He’s grateful.
“Yes, okay,” George replied. “And we’ve got chips and pretzels here, so don’t worry about those. Drinks, too.”
“Got it.” Levi flashed him a brilliant smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then. Give Ginger extra pets for me before bed.”
“I will. Bye, Levi.”
“Later.”
George stood on the landing and watched Levi descend the stairs, sad to see him go even though they’d spent hours together. Something in George’s life had shifted profoundly today, and he had no idea what would happen next.
But for the first time in years, he was excited to find out.
Chapter Five
Levi’s nervous anticipation was his constant companion on the drive into San Francisco to both visit Ginger and bring lunch for him and George. The anticipation made sense because he missed his kitty. Baby and Sporty had seemed to sense the absence of their sister last night, because they both snuggled close in bed until dawn. After feeding them, he went on his usual run, then spent some time drafting a blog post about yesterday’s adventures.
He only ever used first names, sometimes nicknames, when writing about real people, and he mostly stuck to his feelings over yesterday’s fright with Ginger and the kind new friend who’d taken her in. Since his followers loved seeing kitty pictures, he uploaded the one of Ginger that George had sent last night at bedtime, along with the adorable caption “Good night, Dad.” He’d sent back a heart emoji.
Once he’d edited and uploaded the post, he called and chatted briefly with Robin about the house he and Shawn had made an offer on. Levi was thrilled for his best friend, and also amazed that someone who had thrived in the mobile lifestyle of a traveling rodeo was actually settling down. But Robin was a man in love, and Levi wished the couple all the best.
He’d found a highly reviewed deli in George’s neighborhood, and he left early enough to order their food in person rather than using an app to order ahead. Then he knew it would be freshly made, instead of sitting on the counter waiting for him. They did have sliced chicken, which delighted Levi, and he ordered a loaded veggie sub for himself. The staff was quick and kind. Levi put cash in the tip jar and thanked them for serving him today.
The nervous part of his anticipation hadn’t amped up until he left the store with their food. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been nervous to visit a friend’s house with lunch. But something about his friendship with George was different. Bigger in a way he couldn’t explain. The guy volunteered to take care of Levi’s cat, for goodness’ sake, with no prompting and no real reward. It had been incredibly selfless of George.
George. A humble name for an exceptionally complex human being. And he was impressed with George for stepping out of his comfort zones and testing his own limitations, rather than continuing to hide behind old habits and familiar things. George was charming and sweet, adorable in his own way, and Levi genuinely liked him.
Maybe more than he should,
given their age difference. Eleven years was kind of a lot and George had been sheltered for so long. Not that he had any reason to think George was interested in him...beyond those glances at Levi’s lips.
Not going there.
Levi rang the buzzer for the Thompson apartment.
“Levi?” George asked, his voice a bit dull today, and that worried Levi.
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“Cool.”
The door unlocked, and Levi went inside the spacious lobby. He loved the layout of the house, with its shared living room and separate apartments. He was a touch surprised to find Slater and his neighbor Dez sharing the love seat, each working on a craft project of some sort. Slater had taken up needlepoint during his convalescence from a broken ankle this past summer, and most of his patterns were of the adult variety. He was sewing fabric stretched out on a big wooden hoop, while Dez stitched what looked like a shirt by hand.
“Hey, dude,” Slater said. “You here to see your cat?”
Levi chuckled. “I see the gossip has gotten around. Yes, George is watching my cat because she needs a lot of supervision. It’s a huge favor. That’s why I’m bringing him lunch as a thank you.” He hefted the cloth bag he’d put his takeout order into. He preferred using the bags he already owned instead of plastic ones whenever possible.
“George is really cute,” Dez said. Her devilish smile suggested all kinds of things Levi wasn’t ready to explore with George.
Slater poked her in the ribs. “He’s also been through a lot and has just begun coming out of his shell. Don’t play matchmaker. The kid’s probably straight, and even if he isn’t, he’s still learning how to walk, let alone run.”
“Fine, fine.”
Levi left the pair to their craftwork and ascended the stairs to the Thompson apartment. Knocked sharply twice. The sounds of Ginger’s meowing greeted him at the same time George opened the door on a terse, “Hey.”
“Hi, everything okay?”
“Sure, Ginger’s just been a bit unsettled this morning.” He let Levi inside and took the bag from him. “Go see her. Please.”
The words sounded like a direct order, so Levi did as told. Ginger meowed pitifully in her crate, and she swished her long tail when she spotted him. Levi sat beside her and stuck his fingers through the slim bars. She immediately rubbed both cheeks against his knuckles and started to purr. “I missed you, too, baby girl.”
Tears smarted behind his eyes, and Levi rubbed at them with his free hand. Ginger was safe and purring, so why was he so emotional? Probably because he hadn’t spent a night with only two of his three girls since he found her and her siblings. They hadn’t even needed to stay overnight at the vet when he had them all spayed. The most difficult week of his life had been last December when Levi had come out to the ranch to see Robin again. Separated from his girls that entire time.
He petted her for a while, until his stomach grumbled for food. “I’ll be back in a few, okay?”
He started to stand, only to spot George in the doorway with two plates. “I thought maybe you’d want to picnic with Ginger and me,” George said, his cheeks stained pink.
“I’d love that.”
George handed Levi a plate with his sub and a handful of potato chips, then put his own plate on top of Ginger’s crate. “I’ll be right back with drinks. I have ginger ale, water and almond milk.”
“Water is fine, thank you.”
“Of course.”
Levi waited for George to return with drinks and napkins, and to settle before he tried the veggie sub. The flavors were amazing, with lots of crisp vegetables and a drizzle of Italian dressing, and he’d eaten three big bites before he realized George was staring at him. Watching him eat.
“You are definitely enjoying that,” George said.
“It’s delicious. Oh, and they had chicken.”
He grinned. “I saw the marking on the wrapper, thank you.”
“You are very welcome. Especially considering I imagine Ginger was being a bit whiny this morning?”
“She wasn’t too bad until about an hour ago. I think the pain pills help, and I gave her one with her breakfast, but I also think she just misses being outside.”
“I’m sure she does.” Levi popped a chip into his mouth and chewed, noting George had chosen a few sourdough pretzels for himself. “I’m sorry if her fussing brought down your mood.”
“She didn’t. I wear headphones when I work and can kind of tune her out, and Orry isn’t home.” His lips bunched into a frown before he ate a pretzel.
Levi’s own mood drooped. “Is Orry upset about Ginger?”
“He said he isn’t.” George put his sandwich down and huffed. “He lied to me last night, and he doesn’t lie to me. At least, not that I’ve ever noticed before.”
“What did he lie about?”
“Having a bartending shift. I checked the website of the place he works for and they were closed last night. It was Thanksgiving but that didn’t really occur to me until this morning.”
Levi couldn’t hope to understand the complex relationship of the Thompson twins, but he didn’t like seeing George upset. “Did you ask him about it?”
“Not yet. He’s working one of his other jobs. The food delivery one, I think. I just...he can tell me anything. We’ve always been honest, ever since we were sixteen. He knows all my secrets, and he’s never judged me for them. I can’t fathom what he thinks I won’t understand.”
“Maybe he was embarrassed to tell you he was going out on Thanksgiving to shop Black Friday deals for a cheap flat-screen?”
George snorted. “Unlikely. Did you notice we don’t have a TV? We do everything on our phones and live as cheaply as possible, because rent is crazy expensive, even in this neighborhood. The only reason I have a laptop is because I can type faster on that keyboard for my closed-captions job.”
“That makes sense.” Levi hadn’t actually noticed that the living room didn’t have a television until George mentioned it. “And I’m the same about not owning a TV. There wasn’t a great place to install one in my house, and I have a tablet to stream stuff. And I usually prefer to read in the evenings, versus watching movies. Most of my TV watching happens on my days off.”
“Same. But I also watch videos all day long for my day job, so getting my eyes off the screen for a while helps. I have ebooks, but Orry also brings me physical books from the library when I ask him to.”
“Well, maybe one day soon you’ll want to go get your own books.”
George nodded slowly. “That’s part of the plan. Do more for myself so Orry doesn’t have to keep doing everything for me.”
“And you’re taking steps to get there. As your friend, I look forward to helping you take more of those steps.”
“Yeah?” George’s smile sent an odd warmth through Levi’s belly. “Thank you. And thanks for lunch, the sub is really good.”
“Happy to.” Before Levi could think through the intelligence of it, he blurted out, “We could make this a daily thing. You and me having lunch with Ginger. And it doesn’t always have to be subs, if you want something different.”
“Nah, subs are great. Like I said, I usually have a basic sandwich for lunch anyway.” George stared down at the portion of his six-incher remaining. “Honestly, I’m not sure I can eat the whole thing.”
“They have a four-inch option if six inches is too much meat.” Levi realized what he’d said and tried to hide his embarrassment behind sipping his water. George, thankfully, seemed oblivious to the innuendo.
“Maybe the four-inch tomorrow, then. I’ll finish the rest of this with my dinner.” He put the remaining quarter of the sub back down and ate his last pretzel.
Levi finished his food in between petting Ginger. She seemed content with her human companions, and the bandage on her hip looked as clean and new as yesterd
ay. “Has she been messing with the bandages?”
“Not really, no.” George petted the other side of her neck. “She really is a doll baby when she isn’t yowling at the top of her lungs.”
“She cried quite a bit as a kitten, but I also kept them fairly confined to the house until I thought they were old enough to run around outside. And, of course, they were confined whenever we were driving to a new spot.”
“How often do you move around?”
Do, not did. Interesting.
Levi pondered how much to share about Grant. “Well, when I first found the kittens, I settled at a campground in Wyoming, and I stayed there for a while. Then I needed a fresh start, so we traveled around before settling in Colorado. That’s where I was when Robin called me about the rodeo attraction.”
“And then you came here. About a year ago?”
“Almost a year, yes.” Levi saw the unasked questions in George’s wide eyes. “I love my job here, and I love working with Robin again. I like to think I’m here for a while longer. At least one more season at the ghost town.”
Something like relief flashed in his eyes. “Okay, cool. I mean, you bought a tiny house so you can travel, but it’s also nice to have roots.”
“I’m honestly not sure what it’s like to have roots. Growing up, we had a home base where we’d winter the rodeo in New Mexico, but it wasn’t like having a real house with Sunday dinners and all kinds of memories. My family moved around as a unit. I guess it’s sort of in my blood. But I do like to think I’ll settle down one day. Maybe find someone to settle with.”
George scratched beneath Ginger’s chin, his lips pursed together. “Maybe that’s it.”
“What’s it?”
“Maybe Orry is seeing someone and he lied last night so I wouldn’t know.”
“Why would your brother lie to you about dating someone?”
“I don’t know. I know he’s had casual things over the years, but he’s never really dated because he’s busy working and worrying about me. Maybe he’s met someone and doesn’t want me to know yet, so I don’t feel guilty and push my limits before I’m ready.”