Catgirls Can Do It! (Build-A-Catgirl Book 2)

by Simon Archer

  My heart started pounding, and my mind started to buzz. I had to figure out a way to get away from this thing. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine it gone, but that didn’t work. I surged with anger at having no control of my body. I opened my eyes and tried once more to yell.

  Nothing happened.

  Then I heard low, rumbling laughter come from the man with no face. It was soft at first but got increasingly louder. Soon it was so loud I felt my eardrums straining. I only had one free hand, so I covered my left ear with it and tilted my head to try to cover the other one with my shoulder. The laughter got louder still, and I bent forward and closed my eyes against the pain it was causing in my head.

  Just when I thought my eardrums were going to burst, the laughter stopped. I opened my eyes just in time to see the snake retreat down my arm and turn back into the blank man’s hand. By the time I stood up and blinked, he was gone. Color started to return to everything around me. I looked at the table, but there wasn’t anyone sitting at it any longer. I was alone in the courtyard, or so I thought until I heard my name.

  “Clark!”

  My eyes snapped open, and my whole body twitched. My heart was thudding in my chest so hard it hurt. I could hear the blood rushing through the veins in my neck. I was looking at the ceiling of the barn loft now. I sat up quickly and looked around.

  I was in my bed, and I was completely disoriented for a moment. I took a deep breath and shook my head to clear the fuzzy feeling I had. Slowly, all the details of the loft came into focus, and I became aware that I had woken from my nightmare. My heart was still pounding, though, and I was breathing hard, so I tried to calm myself down. I took a deep breath, held it in for a few seconds, and then let it out. I felt my pulse slow a little, so I repeated the slow breathing a few times.

  After a minute or so, I was back to normal, at least for the most part. I tried to recall what had scared me so badly, but the details of my dream were fading quickly from memory. In the end, all I was left with was the feeling of dread that only comes from failure or deceit. It had been years since I’d had a true nightmare, and while I couldn’t remember that one within a matter of moments after waking, I had the lingering feeling that I needed to pay attention to some sort of warning.

  I shook my head again and reached for the water on the table beside the bed. I took a long drink and set it back down. Looking around, I saw that Kennedi and Krysta were already up and out of the loft. No doubt, they were taking care of breakfast since Ellie and Bev would be leaving early for the event this morning.

  Judging by the brightness of the sun streaming in through the crack in the curtains, I guessed it was about seven in the morning, which meant that Bev and Ellie would have actually already been gone.

  I threw back the comforter and swung my legs over the edge of the bed. It only took me a couple of minutes to get dressed and grab a fresh change of clothes to take into the house with me. I planned on grabbing a quick shower after breakfast and getting to VSG. Macy was at the event today, so I would be dealing with the showroom while Kennedi did modifications for the first half of the day. Then I was going to close the store and head to the event.

  I climbed down the loft ladder into the main portion of the barn. I made a quick stop at the bathroom that was tucked back in the corner and then headed to the house. The moment I walked in, I was met with the smell of bacon frying and pancakes cooking. I poked my head in the kitchen and saw Krysta and Kennedi buzzing around the kitchen, preparing breakfast. They both turned and smiled when I stepped into the room.

  “Good morning!” Kennedi said happily. “How did you sleep?” I knew she was perfectly aware of my quality of sleep. It was one of the things she constantly monitored for me, without my asking her to. However, she’d learned to ask such questions as a courtesy. High level of familiarity or not, when someone tells you how you’ve slept, it can creep you out.

  “Good morning, ladies,” I replied. “Sleep was alright. Had a crazy dream, though.” While Kennedi showed no shock because she already knew about the dream from my sleep patterns, Krysta’s face took on an expression of concern.

  “What was it about?” Krysta piped up. She walked around the island where she’d been working and sat on the other side, facing me. She started cutting strawberries as she waited for an answer.

  “I don’t remember all the details,” I told her. “Just a feeling of needing to be careful about something. I think there may have been something to do with a snake too, but I can’t be sure.” I heard footsteps behind me and turned to see Theo. He slapped me on the back and smiled.

  “You’re dreaming about mean snakes? Is that what I just heard?” he asked, finding humor in my nightmare. I smiled back at him.

  “Ah, you know how dreams are. Can’t remember shit three seconds after you wake up!” I replied, matching his jolly mood. I turned back to Krysta. “How long before breakfast is ready?”

  Krysta glanced behind her at Kennedi’s progress at the stove and looked back. “Ten minutes, tops,” she said.

  “That’s perfect,” I started. “Hey, Theo, do you mind if I jump in the shower real quick? I can wait until after breakfast if you’d prefer.”

  Theo laughed and turned to leave before saying, “Boy, how many times do I have to tell you? You don’t have to ask to take a damn shower!” He continued laughing as he walked down the hall, headed towards the living room. It was true, both he and Bev had repeatedly mentioned that I need not ask, but I couldn’t bring myself to that level of assumption. Regardless of how much the couple had become family, it was still their house, and I was a frequent guest in it. It was just a value I’d picked up along the way in life, I guess.

  Theo’s bright mood did make me smile, though. I winked at Kennedi and headed to the bathroom. Seven minutes later, I was clean, groomed, and sitting at the dining room table with Theo as Krysta started to bring out plates stacked with pancakes and bacon. Kennedi followed with bowls of freshly cut strawberries, blueberry compote, and hot maple syrup. Layers of sweetness filled the air as she reached over my shoulder to put them on the table. The girls retreated into the kitchen briefly and returned with steaming cups of coffee for Theo and I. Once they’d set the coffee in front of us, they both took their seats and started passing the dishes of food around, starting by handing the pancake dish to Theo. He loaded his plate and handed the dish to me. I took three of the thin, fluffy pancakes and passed the dish to Kennedi just as Theo was handing me the plate piled with bacon. Then came the fruit and syrup. If anyone had been watching us, they would have thought our process had been perfected over years of practice. It was only a minute later that all our plates were full, and the serving dishes returned to the center of the table.

  I always waited for Theo to take the first bite when we were eating together. Again, it was another one of those manners that I’d picked up somewhere. As soon as he did, the rest of us started eating. I cut into my pancakes with my fork. They were made thin but were also light and airy. They were golden brown and had been drowned in butter the moment they were taken off the griddle. I’d poured blueberry compote and maple syrup over the top of them. The flavors mixed together seamlessly in my mouth when I took that first bite. The blueberry compote was a bit on the bitter side, which worked perfectly to balance the sweetness of the maple syrup. I chewed my food slowly, enjoying every moment of it.

  Theo was clearly enjoying his breakfast, as well. He put down half his plate of food in four bites. Then he started to slow down. He looked up at the girls and nodded his head, his mouth still full of food.

  Once he’d swallowed, he looked back and forth between Kennedi and Krysta and said, “Ladies, you are welcome to cook breakfast any day you’d please!” Then he smiled and popped another bite of pancakes into his mouth.

  “This is delicious,” I echoed Theo’s sentiment. Both Kennedi and Krysta smiled shyly.

  “Thank you,” they said in unison.

  The table went silent as we all continued to eat
. Both Theo and I went back for seconds on the pancakes and the bacon. Before long, I was reaching that point where one more bite would be too much, but I wanted to eat it anyway because it tasted so good. I cut another bite of my pancakes and had it halfway to my mouth when I reconsidered. I would be wandering around the showroom and then walking around the event later. The last thing I needed was an upset stomach because I couldn’t control my urge to binge on the best pancakes I’d ever tasted. I lowered my fork and sat back in my chair. Theo did the same, and we looked at each other.

  “Those are some dangerous pancakes!” he said, laughing and rubbing his stomach.

  “You said it,” I agreed. I looked at the girls. “You ladies are going to give Ellie and Bev a run for their money if you keep putting up food this good!”

  “Never!” Kennedi exclaimed. She had a shocked expression on her face that was borderline scared-looking. “I would never do that to them!”

  I realized my mistake instantly. While Kennedi was a thousand times better at it than when I bought her, she still took figures-of-speech very literally sometimes. In that case, she thought I believed that she would literally make Ellie and Bev run and then give them some money. Her naivete made me smile, but I was quick to put her mind at ease.

  “No, no, Kennedi. All that means is that your cooking is getting really good. Good enough to compare to chefs as great as Ellie and Bev. It is a compliment,” I said, softening my tone. She was very good at taking corrections, but I was still always careful not to embarrass her.

  Her eyes lit up, and her face changed from scowl to smile. “Oh! Okay!” she said, the happy instantly returning to her voice as well as her face. “In that case, thank you!” The four of us laughed together. Kennedi’s misunderstandings had become endearing to everyone she knew, including me.

  Krysta stood up and reached for my and Theo’s plates. Kennedi also stood and started carrying the serving dishes back to the kitchen. Theo looked over at me, smiling, and started shaking his head slowly.

  “Never gets less amusing,” he said, referring to Kennedi. He leaned his head on the back of his chair and rested his hands on his belly. “I’m going to take five to let these pancakes settle and then head into town. You’re going to VSG first, yes?”

  “Yes,” I said. “I’m closing up shop early and sending people over to the event. It sounds like it’s going to be a good one.” Theo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He looked like he could fall asleep at any moment.

  “Stop by the food. That’s where I’ll be,” Theo said and cracked one eye open to look at me.

  I laughed, stood up, and slapped Theo on the shoulder. “You got it,” I told him. It was time for the girls and me to get to the store.

  Twenty-five minutes later, Kennedi, Krysta, and I were standing inside the VSG showroom. We weren’t taking new consultations, but the first modification appointments of the day had already entered the store and were being taken care of by the girls. Krysta would greet and seat the owners and cat girls, and Kennedi would take the CGs back to be modified. My function was to chat them up, make sure their needs were being met, then drop the event information into casual conversation. I found that as the day moved on, the more I was really looking forward to going to the event. First, it would be something new for Kennedi. She’d been to plenty of events, sure, but this would be her first vendor event. I loved watching her experience new things.

  At twenty-til-noon, our last client walked through the door. A short, overweight woman with a kind face framed by salt-and-pepper hair. She had a red-haired CG by her side who looked terrified when Krysta approached them.

  “Welcome to VSG, Ms. Glowery,” Krysta greeted the woman. She looked at the cat girl and smiled. “Nice to see you again, Clara.” Krysta linked her arm through Ms. Glowery’s and slowly walked her to one of the available pods. Kennedi was waiting for them and immediately led Clara away to have her modification performed. I went to the showroom door and locked it. There had been a notice on the outside of the door for the past two weeks informing people that the store would be closed during the community event. My hope was that VSG could contribute to the success of Leah Lindy’s UsForThem Foundation.

  Thirty minutes later, Ms. Glowery and Clara left the store. Clara was no longer a scared cat girl. She was smiling and grateful, and instantly protective of her owner. I smiled to myself as I watched them walk across the parking lot. One of the most rewarding aspects of VSG was getting to see first hand the positive impact that it made. Being able to create an impact like that had been a desire of mine for years. I left the nastiness of high-dollar corporate business years ago, shortly after I graduated from college. One asshole boss was more than I was willing to sell my soul for, in terms of time and commitment. Once Ms. Glowery and Clara were safe inside the red Buick SUV they’d walked to, I turned around and went to my office. Kennedi and Krysta were both waiting for me.

  “Anything else we need to get done before we leave?” Krysta was bubbling with excitement.

  “Nope. I’m just grabbing my wallet and keys.”

  I opened my desk drawer, fetched what I was looking for, and led the way, the girls following me out the back door of my office.

  10

  It was just past noon when I navigated my 4Runner into a parking space at the back of a first-floor parking garage. The garage was attached to the Red Lion Casino and Hotel. Leah’s event was being held in the large central courtyard that separated the rooms from the gambling. Kennedi, Krysta, and I stepped out into the Nevada heat and walked the ten yards to the nearest breezeway entrance.

  The moment I opened the door, a gush of cool air surrounded us. We stepped inside and let the door close behind us. The breezeway was a good thirty yards long, lined with windows, and led directly to one of the courtyard entrances. Looking out the windows, I could see a flurry of activity, and the closer we got to the door, the more noise we could hear coming from outside. When I pushed the door open to exit the breezeway, I was expecting to feel the same hot air that was in the parking garage. Instead, there was only a slight increase in temperature. To the left and right of the door, Leah had set up two giant air conditioning fans. A quick look around the area, and I saw six more. She had really thought of everything.

  The outside edges of the square courtyard were lined with vendor booths for all different local businesses. A bright blue, faux-stone path had been laid to run right in front of the booths, giving patrons a flat walkway. The path had off-shoots that went towards the center of the courtyard which had been divided into three main sections. In the first area, there was a slightly raised stage with enough chairs for about forty onlookers set up in front of it. Kitty-corner to the right of the stage was where the food and tables for eating were.

  Belavi was serving appetizers and had a barbeque buffet set up, but there were several other food booths surrounding them. From the large signs placed at the top of each booth, I could see that there were stands for cupcakes, specialty drinks, confections, and breads. Off to the left of the stage, next to where the food was set up, was a large, white tent. Inside is where the toys and children’s furniture was being made, which was made apparent by the giant sign with a stroller on it that was set over the tent doors. Leah had outdone herself in the organization department. The way the event was designed made it so that there was no foot-traffic congestion, and that guests could get to where they wanted to go with ease. As standard as a feature as it sounds like it should be, it was rarely pulled off successfully.

  While I was taking in the scene, I spotted Macy. She had just exited the building tent. She saw the three of us immediately and started waving her arms over her head to get our attention. The moment Kennedi and Krysta saw her, they started jumping up and down and squealing. Kennedi leaned over, kissed me on the cheek, and in a flash, she and Krysta were running across the courtyard. A small stand with event pamphlets was just off to my left side. I grabbed a pamphlet, unfolded it, and read the list of vendors as I started w
alking towards the tent. The variety of businesses represented was impressive. There was everything from jewelry makers and fitness centers to custom art and bookstores. I made a mental note of the vendors I’d like to visit and checked out the entertainment schedule. According to the pamphlet, a kid’s magic show had just wrapped up, and a high school choir would be taking the stage next.

  By the time I reached the tent, I’d planned which shows I’d like to see along with the businesses I’d like to visit. I was just about to pull back the wide flap door and go in when Kennedi came bursting out, all smiles.

  “Clark!” she said loudly. “I was just coming to see you! Isn’t this just amazing? There is so much to see!” She was buzzing with excitement and couldn’t seem to decide where to look. I couldn’t help but chuckle at her.

  “Well, let’s start at the beginning,” I told her. “There are some vendors I’d like to check out. Come with me!” I grabbed her hand, turned, and we walked quickly to the blue path surrounding the courtyard. “Where is Krysta?”

  “She is building a crib.” Kennedi looked at me with her eyes wide open, almost astonished-looking. “You wouldn’t believe the knack she has for woodwork! I mean, I like it as a hobby, but she is an absolute artist at it!”

  “That’s good to know!” I had no idea Krysta had that talent and could understand Kennedi’s surprise. “I’ll have to ask her if she wants in on building the furniture for the house.”

  “She would make such beautiful pieces!” Kennedi clapped her hands together. I could tell she was excited for Krysta. She looked up at me and smiled. “Who are we going to go see first? This reminds me of the Farmer’s Market you took me to, only with less food everywhere.”