Under Pressure

by Lori Foster

  “Of course not.” With a fleeting touch to his back, Tonya said, “But are you sure? Cats are a lot of responsibility.”

  Bobbing his head, Kevin glanced back at the cat. “I’m sure.”

  As if on cue, Love walked out of the carrier with her big belly swaying. With a raspy meow, she butted her head against Kevin’s knee.

  The boy breathed fast, then carefully ran his hand down her back.

  She purred loudly, and poor Kevin looked like he’d collapse.

  It damn near left Jesse choked up. “She likes you,” he managed to say without too much smothering sentiment.

  When the cat put both front paws on his thighs and looked up into his face, Kevin went stiff.

  “Aw. She does,” Tonya confirmed.

  In her gaze, Jesse saw the same things he felt—relief, satisfaction...and burgeoning hope. Kevin needed a new focus, and he badly needed a friend. So far he’d shunned those people trying to get closer, so maybe the cat could do what humans couldn’t—or at least soften the way a little.

  While Kevin and the cat cozied up to each other, Jesse ate the rest of his sandwich, content just to watch the bonding process.

  After climbing into his lap, the cat curled herself comfortably and closed her eyes. Kevin continued to gently stroke her. “She’s going to sleep.”

  Tonya blinked back tears and carefully put her hand to Kevin’s back. “Yes, she is. That’s how she tells you that she trusts you.”

  Moving slowly so he wouldn’t disturb the cat, Kevin shifted to sit cross-legged, his back to the wall. He swallowed hard when the cat looked up at him, gave a high-pitched “meow” and settled again.

  His gaze flashed to Tonya, and then to Jesse.

  “Cat talk,” Jesse said. “She likes to meow every now and then, but I don’t think she realizes how loud she is.” He chewed the last bite of his sandwich. “The vet told me most white cats with blue eyes are deaf. I hadn’t realized that.”

  “How come?”

  Jesse shrugged. “No idea. Just part of their DNA I guess.”

  “Maybe we could go to the library one day and get some cat books, do a little research to see what causes it,” Tonya suggested.

  Kevin froze again. “The library?”

  “There’s one not too far from here. I have a library card, but we could get you your own if you want.”

  Given his expression, Jesse would bet Kevin had never been within throwing distance of a library. Which probably meant he didn’t do much reading. “I like mysteries,” Jesse said. “And I own a ton of how-to books.”

  “I read a lot of romance and some biographies,” Tonya offered.

  Kevin frowned. “I don’t read much.”

  “Then maybe you just haven’t found the type of books you like. But we’ll look into it,” she told him.

  “Cat books,” he murmured uncertainly. “I guess I could check in to them.”

  “So.” Jesse, too, joined them on the floor. “I already got her a cat box. With her pregnant, that’ll need to be changed a couple of times a day.”

  “I’ll do it.” Kevin glanced at Tonya, then back at the cat. Shoulders dropping, sounding very uncertain, he offered, “She could stay in my bedroom with me.”

  Locking her hands together, probably to keep from hugging the boy, Tonya said, “That’d be great, honey. But I’m not sure there’s room.”

  “Why don’t I take a look?” Relieved to again have something to do, Jesse pushed back to his feet.

  “A look at what?” Scrambling up to join him, Tonya laughed with her own uncertainty. “You can’t make the room bigger.”

  “No, but I can do other things.” As he started out of the room, he heard her speaking to Kevin in a rush.

  “Do you mind keeping an eye on her while I...?”

  Kevin must’ve agreed, because two seconds later Tonya was beside him. “Jesse, wait. I don’t know what—”

  Overwhelmed and feeling it, he caught the back of her neck and put his mouth over hers. Her soft, sweet lips took him closer to the edge, but he knew this wasn’t the time and it sure as hell wasn’t the place. By small degrees he forced himself to ease away.

  For two seconds more, Tonya’s eyes stayed closed, her lips parted.

  “Damn.” If there wasn’t a kid only a room away, he’d definitely accept that unwitting invitation. “Soon,” he promised her, knowing neither of them would last much longer. Now that he understood why she threw up barriers, he hoped to help her tear them down.

  “Oh.” Gaze searching his, Tonya cleared her throat and smoothed her hair. “What was that for?”

  “For being so amazing.” She’d not only taken in a boy with a lot of baggage, but she’d openly accepted a pregnant, deaf cat. That made her pretty damned special.

  “Amazing?”

  “And hot too.” His gaze dipped over her. “Definitely hot.”

  She took the sexual compliment better than the emotional one. Pretending exasperation, she started to say something, but when he walked on down the hall, she again hurried to catch up.

  Standing in the open doorway to Kevin’s new room, he immediately saw the problem. Large, clunky furniture filled the space to the point he wondered how they could get to the closet.

  Squeezed in close beside him in the doorway, Tonya said quietly, “These are his things.” Giving an embarrassed wave at the disreputable mattress, the dresser missing a drawer, the threadbare quilt, she added, “I wasn’t sure how—or if—I should replace them right away, or if he’d mind...”

  “Yeah.” Mouth firming, Jesse made note of the deep scratches in the dresser, the stains on the quilt. He turned away with a purpose and called down the hall, “Hey, Kevin?”

  Confrontational but cautious, Kevin peered around the corner from the kitchen only a few seconds later. “What?” The cat wound around his legs.

  “Come here a sec, will you?”

  Even more wariness entered his gaze until he hung his head, tightened his shoulders and, at a snail’s pace, stepped around the cat.

  What the hell? Did he really think Jesse called him over for something awful? If it wouldn’t unman Kevin, he’d have pulled him in for a big, gentle bear hug.

  He needed it even if Kevin didn’t.

  Going the next best route, he put his arm over Kevin’s skinny shoulders and drew him into the room. “It seems your stuff doesn’t fit.”

  Chin jutting, Kevin shrugged. “I told her there wasn’t room but—”

  Tonya cut him off, saying firmly, “If I lived in a one-room hut, there would still be room for you.”

  Damn. So Kevin mistook his meaning? Jesse allowed himself one squeeze—a move that clearly surprised Kevin—then he got down to business. “It’s the furniture that’s too big. But you know what I think?” Stretching out his arms and framing one wall with his fingers, he imagined it aloud. “Loft bed.”

  Tonya’s eyes widened, but Kevin just looked at him with confusion.

  “See, the bed will be on long legs, sort of like a top bunk bed, but instead of another bed on the bottom, we’d put a desk and dresser. And I’d even build a nook, so there’d be room for Love.”

  “Love?” Tonya asked, sounding a little breathless at his fast-track plans.

  “The cat.” Curious at her reaction, he watched her closely. “That’s what I call her.”

  “Why?” Kevin asked.

  “Because she seemed so uncertain of her welcome, but I figure there’s always room for Love, right?”

  As if summoned, the cat sauntered in, brushing against this leg and that leg until she reached Kevin and sat on his worn sneaker.

  God love the cat, she did what Jesse couldn’t—freely gave affection.

  Kevin again looked like a deer caught in the headlights. He
clearly didn’t know how to react. “Um...so you actually love her?”

  “It was love at first sight.” Again he dropped his arm over Kevin’s shoulders. “It’s like that sometimes. The cat wasn’t sure about coming into the house. I wasn’t sure she’d want to. But we tried it and, hey, worked out great, right?”

  Frowning in thought, maybe drawing a parallel, Kevin muttered, “I guess.”

  “There’s stuff to work out, of course. It’s always that way when things change. But we’re getting there.”

  Kevin looked at him. “Okay.”

  Before things got awkward, or maybe more awkward, Tonya took control. “I love the idea of a loft bed.” She tipped her head at Kevin. “What do you think?”

  “It’d mean climbing a ladder each night, but tall as you are and long as your legs are, it’d probably be only one step for you.” Jesse did a visual measurement. “You’re what? Five-eight?”

  “I dunno.”

  Jesse backed up to him, did a hand measurement on the difference in their height, and nodded. “I’d say at least five-eight. Maybe five-nine. Tall, for sure.”

  “Mom wasn’t as tall as Tonya.”

  Jesse didn’t know about the kid’s dad, so he asked instead, “Your grandparents?”

  Kevin deferred to Tonya.

  “Dad was tall. Mom and Cissy, my sister, were both shorter. I’m guessing Kevin got my and Dad’s height.”

  “Couple more years,” Jesse said, “and you’ll be taller than me.”

  Maybe flustered by mention of the future, Tonya launched back into the discussion on the bedroom. “Are the ceilings high enough for a loft bed?”

  “Yeah. I can make it work if Kevin likes the idea.” Before he could reply, Jesse said, “I’m a contractor, you know? Not to brag, but I can build anything. Especially if you lend a hand.” It’d be good for Kevin to have something to do, other than ponder the rapid-fire changes in his life. “I already have the wood and supplies from leftover orders.”

  Kevin scowled at the old bed taking up too much room.

  In a rush, just in case Kevin thought to deny him, Jesse added, “You can consider it payback for your taking care of Love.”

  “But I want to do that.”

  “Great.” He gestured around the room. “And I want to make this setup better suited for you. It’s great when you can enjoy your work.”

  Unconvinced, Kevin shifted his feet. “I don’t know how to build anything.”

  “Well, neither did I at your age, not until someone taught me.”

  “Who?”

  “My dad, and Brick’s dad—you’ve met Brick, right? There was an older guy that lived next door to us too. He built furniture and he’d let me lend a hand sometimes.” Shrugging, Jesse added, “Anytime someone gave me the opportunity to hold a tool, I was on it.”

  Tonya eased closer to Kevin. “Would you mind if we replaced these things?”

  “To make room for Love?” Jesse hoped that’d cinch the deal. Damn, but he wanted to do something for the boy.

  “I don’t care.” Kevin swept a scowl over his meager belongings. “It’s all junk anyhow.”

  “It’s not bad. I remember being your age,” Jesse told him. “I’d camp out on the ground, the floor, in a tree house... I could pretty much crash anywhere.”

  “I guess.”

  Needing no more agreement than that, Jesse almost rubbed his hands together. “Tomorrow is Saturday. We can get started then. It might take a few days. It’ll be best if we build the bed right in here, which means we’ll have to move all this out. I have a sleeping bag you can use until we get it all done. Love will probably want to bunk down with you. You’re not allergic to cats, are you?”

  Tonya stared at him for that verbal outpouring, but she didn’t interfere.

  Kevin shook his head. “Don’t think so.”

  “Good. I have her things in my truck. Cat box and litter—Tonya will have to decide a good place for that.”

  “In the alcove by the stairs to the basement?” she suggested.

  “Sounds good.” Again he put his arm around Kevin, ignoring it when the kid stiffened. “I have a brush for her too. She loves being brushed. And some food and her dishes.”

  “Those can go in the kitchen.”

  It almost made him grin, how Tonya struggled to keep up.

  “Got her some toys and catnip too. She’s nuts on the nip, so protect your toes. She likes to pounce.”

  Kevin looked at the cat and grinned—and damn, but that almost floored Jesse. That grin made him feel twelve feet tall, and at the same time it put a vise around his throat. “You have great teeth. Anyone ever told you that?”

  Blinking, Kevin said, “Uh, no.”

  “You do.” He clapped him on the shoulder. “You’re a good-looking kid. Tall. Broad shoulders. Strong enough to help me with the heavy lifting.”

  Tonya protested. “Hey, I want to help too. I think I’m strong enough.”

  She had more strength than any woman he’d ever known. He smiled at her, checked her biceps and pretended to think about it. “Hmm. What do you think, Kevin?”

  Ducking his face, Kevin hid a smile. “Up to her.”

  “Then I guess she can help. A little. But I was thinking it’d be nice to make it a surprise for her.”

  “I do love surprises,” she said, playing along.

  To Kevin, Jesse asked, “Wanna help me carry stuff in?”

  “Sure.”

  Love jumped up to Kevin’s mattress, circled a few times, then snuggled down into his pillow.

  Appalled, worried, Kevin glanced at Tonya.

  Reassuring him, she smiled. “Isn’t that sweet? Will you mind sharing your pillow?”

  “No, I don’t mind.” Poor dude exhaled in relief, scrunched up his brow, then blurted, “I brought this old cat in once, but Mom had a fit and made me put it back out cuz it got on the couch and stuff. She said no one wanted an old mangy cat hanging around. She said if I wanted a pet, she’d get me a cute little kitten.”

  Jesse and Tonya exchanged a look over how he’d suddenly shared all that.

  “She never did though. We never had any pets.” Still frowning, Kevin stepped over to pet Love. “Probably a good thing, I guess.”

  It surprised Jesse, hearing Kevin open up so much. “A lot of people like kittens more, but I think Love is perfect. For one thing, she doesn’t have to be box trained, and she already knows not to shred anything with her claws.”

  Kevin nodded.

  “And she’ll have kittens,” Jesse reminded him, in case that appealed to him.

  “Yeah.”

  Going one further, Tonya said, “I know not everyone lets pets on the furniture, but it’s never bothered me. You’ve met Merrily and her menagerie. They all go wherever they want.”

  “We’ll have to introduce the animals to one another.” Jesse watched how gently Kevin petted that cat, and how the cat loved it. “Brick might want to help with the room. He’s a handyman himself. His brother, Evan, is pretty good too. Have you met him? He’s a gym teacher at the elementary.”

  “Evan and Cinder were by a few nights ago,” Tonya told him. And then to Kevin, “You remember them, right?”

  “Yeah.” Kevin stepped away. “Want me to just get the stuff from your truck?”

  “Sure, if you don’t mind. Thanks. It’s on the floor of the passenger seat.”

  After giving the cat one last look, Kevin jogged out.

  With gratitude shining in her eyes, Tonya sent Jesse a silent but heartfelt thank you. When she heard the front screen door drop shut, she added, not so silently, “I can pay you for the materials—”

  “You heard what I told Kevin.” He scooped her in close for a one-armed hug and got her moving. “I already hav
e everything I need.”

  “Which you paid for.”

  “It’s just scrap material, leftovers from other jobs. But enough to make the room work better for him.”

  They were in the hallway, out of sight of adolescent attention, and to Jesse’s surprise, Tonya pressed him back against the wall.

  Her hands to his chest, her face tipped up, she gave him a solemn smile. “You make it seem so easy.”

  Since she’d never before initiated things, Jesse took advantage by putting his hands on her waist and keeping her close. “What’s that?”

  “Dealing with him.”

  “I was his age once.”

  “It’s not the same, and you know it.” She took another step in and snuggled against him. “I angst over every little decision. I’m so damned afraid of making things worse for him.”

  “You could never do that just by caring, by trying to improve his life.” By loving him.

  Her hands moved over him, creeping up and around his neck. “He tries so hard to be tough when I know he has to be fragile.”

  “Boys that age are a lot more resilient than you think.”

  “He’s so...moody.”

  “Honey, he’s twelve.” He kissed her forehead. “He’s been through hell, I know. But trust me on this, moodiness is not uncommon for any kid his age.”

  The front door opened and dropped shut again, forcing Tonya to step back away from him. They watched Kevin cross into the kitchen, his arms loaded with cat paraphernalia.

  “You gave him some direction.” She looked back at Jesse. “A way to be a part of things.”

  “So you don’t mind the cat?”

  “Of course not. It’s brilliant. And she’s beautiful. And you’re...wonderful.” Her face showed many emotions. “Again, thank you.”

  “You’ll let me help?” He wanted her agreement. He wanted her. Hell, he was starting to think he wanted it all—Kevin included.

  “If it was just me...but you got him to smile.” Her eyes glistened before she blinked fast and gave him a smile of pure happiness. “Yes, please, I would love your help.”

  “That’s a start.” Hopefully, eventually, Jesse would get her to love everything he had to offer—forever.