They both turned to find the little stray cat lying motionless near the curb.
“No. No. No,” Maddox sobbed. “Please, Daddy. Make him get up.”
Setting his son on his feet, Will’s face went grim. “Kara, could you take Maddox while I check Soufflé?” He gripped the little boy’s shoulders to prevent him from dashing over.
Pulling herself together, Kara held out her arms. “Let me hold you, sweetie pie.”
The little boy strained away from her.
“Sweetheart, please.” Snapped out of her shock, she lifted the struggling child. “Let Daddy look at Soufflé first.”
Crying, Maddox buried his face into her chest. Her arms wrapped around him, she could feel his little body quivering. She brought the little boy to the sidewalk.
“No signs of bleeding.” Crouching, Will’s gaze roamed over the inert cat. “His eyes are open, and he’s breathing.”
She gave Maddox a quick squeeze. “Did you hear what Daddy said? Soufflé is still alive.”
The little boy lifted his head. “Soufflé’s not dead, Daddy?”
“No, son.” Will glanced from the cat to the large sedan. “But it looks like he was hit by the car.”
Her lips trembled. “Run over?”
Will shook his head. “I don’t think so. Maybe just knocked for a loop and bounced over to the curb.”
Abruptly, the cat staggered to its feet, only to collapse again.
Will rose. “I’m going to immobilize Soufflé in my jacket so he doesn’t further injure himself. We need to take him to the vet.” He gestured at the veterinary clinic several blocks away on Main.
Maddox slid out of Kara’s embrace. “Firefighters help ever-wee-body, Miss Karwa.” He smiled. “Daddy will make Soufflé all better.”
She and Will exchanged an anxious look.
Oh, Lord, please help us help the tabby.
She hugged the little boy at her side. “I’m sure Daddy and the veterinarian will do their best.”
Will gently lifted the cat a few inches off the asphalt. She and Maddox spread the navy blue TFD jacket underneath the injured stray.
“Uh, Kara. I hate to ask this of you... But I don’t think it’s a good idea for Maddox to hold the cat while I drive.”
He was right. There was no telling how the injured animal might respond to handling. The cat could strike out while in pain and hurt Maddox.
“You don’t have to ask.” She raised her chin. “Of course, I’m coming with you and Maddox.”
“And Soufflé,” Maddox piped.
She nodded. “And Soufflé. But first, can you help me lock up the restaurant, Maddox?”
Carrying him inside, she put him in charge of turning off all the lights. A minute later they stood outside once more, and she turned the key, locking the entrance behind them.
The crowd and vehicles had dispersed. And Will, with the tabby in his arms, waited for them beside his black truck.
“I put in a call to the clinic. The vet is waiting for us.” He looked at Kara. “I think it would be a good idea for you to drive.”
She blinked. “You trust me to drive your vehicle?”
He locked gazes with her. “If I can trust you to save the life of my son, I think I can trust you to drive my truck.” His voice softened. “And thank you for that, by the way.” His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. “So much,” he rasped.
In that instant something passed between them. Leaving her slightly breathless and wanting more.
Kara picked up Maddox, holding him on her hip. His little arms went around her neck. She kissed his cheek and glanced from father to son.
Please, Lord. Yes. So much more.
* * *
The journey from the Mason Jar to the vet clinic was mercifully brief. Sitting on the passenger side, Will cradled the cat in his arms. The tabby had been remarkably compliant, as if sensing they were trying to help him.
Behind the wheel of his big truck, Kara seemed somehow even more tiny. But she’d been steady of mind and large of heart throughout the whole ordeal.
The female vet on call this weekend, also new to Truelove, met them at the door. There was an antiseptic smell to the clinic. He carefully placed the cat, wrapped like a mummy in the folds of his jacket, on the small gurney.
Holding Maddox’s hand, he and Kara stood back to allow the vet to do a preliminary evaluation. He’d had no reason to meet the veterinarian before now. She was strikingly attractive with a brisk, competent air. And she was tall.
Though in his opinion, tall women were overrated. Liz had been tall.
“It’s a good thing you brought him in when you did, Chief MacKenzie.”
No surprise she knew who he was. Such was small-town life. And the infamous Truelove grapevine.
“From your description of the accident, I’m thinking we could be dealing with a blunt force head trauma.”
They kept quiet as the vet listened to Soufflé’s chest and lungs.
Dr. Abernathy straightened, letting the stethoscope drape around the collar of her lab coat. “I’ll know more once I’ve conducted a full examination.”
“Soufflé couldn’t walk, Dr. ’Naffy,” Maddox interjected.
The vet, about Will’s age, gave the little boy a slight smile. “Soufflé?” Her blue eyes flicked to Kara. “Although, what else would a chef name a cat, right?”
Kara bit her lip. “He appeared to be in some pain, too, Dr. Abernathy.”
“Why don’t y’all take a seat in the reception area?”
The woman reached to pat Maddox’s head. But Maddox jerked away from her touch. Fairly typical from Will’s not-too-keen-on-strangers son. As for Maddox’s attachment to Kara? That was an anomaly Will had no explanation for.
With far too many hospital stays in the short space of his life, maybe it was simply a matter of the well-earned, white coat aversion Maddox had acquired for medical personnel.
Dr. Abernathy gave his son a quizzical look. “I can always call with the results if your son needs his nap.”
“I’m fwee.” Scowling, Maddox held up three fingers. “Naps awe for babies.”
Will put his hand on his son’s shoulder. “We’ll wait.” He hoped the vet was better with animals than she was with small boys.
The vet’s blue-eyed gaze flitted to Kara. “All of you?” Her eyebrow arched.
Kara rested her hand on Maddox’s short brown hair. “All of us.”
With a steely smile, the vet wheeled the gurney through a double set of doors.
He led his son and Kara over to the waiting area and a pair of upholstered chairs. Sitting, he opened his arms, but instead, Maddox climbed into Kara’s lap.
Apparently, white chef coats were another matter entirely from lab coats.
Maddox tucked himself under Kara’s chin. Within seconds Will detected the soft, even sound of his breathing.
“He’s fallen asleep,” she whispered.
“Obviously, very much in need of a nap.” Will rolled his eyes. “I have no idea what his deal was with the vet, though.”
Kara hitched her eyebrow. “She offended his three-year-old pride.”
Will’s lips curved. “She didn’t seem all that good with humans in general.”
Kara nudged him with her elbow. “She seemed to like fire chiefs well enough.”
“Thanks, but no, thanks.” He fidgeted. “Reminds me too much of Liz.”
Kara’s lips parted. He’d surprised her, but to her credit, she didn’t pry. Which made him admire her all the more.
“Although, when it comes to firefighters...” He threw her a cocky grin. “What’s not to like?”
She rolled her eyes. “What’s so sad is that you actually think you’re funny.”
He laughed. Maddox stirred.
“Shh...” She res
ettled Maddox in her lap.
“If your arms are tired, I can—”
Kara shied away. “My arms never get too tired of holding Maddox.”
He sighed. “It’s a shame his own mother didn’t feel the same.”
She went motionless.
In for a penny, in for a pound. He’d bottled his feelings too long. If he was going to unburden himself to anyone, and he wasn’t sure why, he wanted it to be her.
* * *
“My parents never liked her.” Will raked his hand over his head. “That should’ve been my first clue. But when it came to Liz, I was basically clueless.”
“You were in love with her,” Kara whispered. She wasn’t sure why she was whispering.
He grimaced. “I was certainly besotted with her. I realize now what Liz and I shared had very little to do with love.” His shoulders slumped. “Not the kind of love that lasts.”
Kara held herself still, afraid to breathe, unsure how to respond.
“My parents taught me right from wrong, but after I went to the firefighter academy...” He lowered his gaze, unable to meet her eyes. “Liz wasn’t like the girls I’d known in Truelove. She lived for the next party and didn’t believe the rules applied to us.” He swallowed. “But as I learned the hard way, consequences did.”
Kara took a quick breath. “You don’t have to—”
“I want you to know.”
His brown eyes bored into Kara. Searching her face. Trying to gauge her reaction. Probing for something. What, though?
“I messed up. Big time. Got things with her totally out of order. I was an idiot.”
“You were young.”
“I was old enough to know better,” he grunted.
“You’re not the same man now.”
His mouth pursed. “How can you tell?”
She lifted her chin. “Because of the little guy I’m holding in my arms.”
He looked at her. A long, long moment. “Thank you, Kara,” he rasped. “Thank you for saying that.”
“You’re welcome.” She brushed her cheek against the silk of his son’s hair. “And no matter whatever else happened, you gave life to this precious, precious child.”
Hands gripping his knees, he leaned back in the chair. “You make it sound far easier than it was. I wanted to do right by her. To live up to my responsibilities. But first, I had to convince her to keep the baby.”
Kara stiffened.
“Which was almost as hard as convincing her we should get married.” He laughed, but it was a sound without mirth. “She hated being pregnant because of the changes to her body. She hated being married because it tied her down.”
Kara touched his forearm, the muscles sinewy below the rolled-up sleeves of his button-down shirt. “I’m so sorry.”
Her fingertips tingled from the touch of his skin. His dark eyes darkened even further. Before she could withdraw her hand, his palm covered hers, holding it on his arm. Her heartbeat accelerated.
She became transfixed at the patch of skin in the hollow at the base of his throat above his open collar where a vein pulsed.
All of a sudden he pulled back, and his eyes became hooded. “Maddox was born premature with serious health issues, and Liz refused to even hold him. He had his first surgery when he was two days old.” Will raised his gaze to Kara. “That’s the same day Liz left the hospital and never came back. She couldn’t wait to be rid of us both.”
Kara went rigid. “She walked out on you while her two-day-old son was in surgery?”
“She relinquished all parental rights to Maddox, and the divorce was handled through our lawyers.”
The look of utter failure on his face made her heart hurt. “Neither of you deserved that.”
Dr. Abernathy returned to the waiting room. They stood up. Maddox rubbed his eyes.
“I suspect Soufflé suffered a closed head injury, but thankfully mild. It could take a few weeks for Soufflé’s brain to fully heal from the concussion.”
Will’s forehead creased. “Cats get concussions?”
“It’s more common than you’d believe.” Dr. Abernathy stuck her hands into her lab coat pockets. “Soufflé has also suffered a Grade 1 sprain on his left foreleg.”
Kara winced. “That sounds painful.”
“I’ve splinted the leg. And I gave him an anti-inflammatory medication to reduce swelling in the limb to speed healing and alleviate any pain. He will need to be restricted to his cage so he can rest and allow the limb to regain normal function.”
Kara gnawed her bottom lip. “But Soufflé is an outdoor cat.”
The veterinarian shrugged. “As long as the splint is in place, he must be confined indoors and not allowed to roam for fear of worsening the injury. A resting regimen must be strictly enforced for at least two weeks.”
Kara shook her head. “Soufflé is a stray.”
Dr. Abernathy’s lips thinned. “A stray? I thought the cat belonged to you, Miss Lockwood. Strays don’t usually have names. Who’s going to be responsible for the medical costs today?” She glanced between them.
Kara drooped. “I—I—”
“I’ll be taking care of the cost, Dr. Abernathy.” Will took Maddox out of Kara’s arms. “I guess I’ll need to pick up a crate at the pet store and supplies.”
“No, Will.” Kara knotted her hands. “This isn’t your responsibility.”
“I insist.” He adjusted his son’s weight on his arm. “If Maddox hadn’t chased him...”
“Soufflé would’ve still run into the road.” She shook her head. “If you insist on paying the veterinarian bill, then I insist on taking Soufflé home and overseeing his recovery.”
“You’ve got a restaurant to run.”
Dr. Abernathy crossed her arms. “During his recovery, Soufflé can board here at the clinic for an additional cost.”
Kara frowned. “And after he’s healed, what would happen to him then?”
“Seeing as the cat doesn’t belong to anyone, I’d turn him over to a cat rescue facility to find him a forever home.”
Kara bit her lip. “But what if no one comes forward to adopt him?”
“Then he’ll live out his life there. It’s a no-kill shelter.”
Her heart pounded. A shelter for cats with no place or no one to call their own. Abandoned. Forgotten. A dumping ground for society’s unwanted?
All of which hit far too close for comfort.
She took a deep breath. “I’ll take him home with me.”
“Are you sure?” He shifted Maddox to his other arm. “How will you juggle the restaurant and Soufflé?”
She squared her shoulders. “I’ll make it work.”
Maddox fidgeted and Will put him down. “I help take care of Soufflé, Miss Karwa. Ever-wee-day.” He tugged at her white coat. “Pwease. Pwease.”
She shot a glance at Will. “That’s totally up to your dad, sweetie pie.”
Will stuck his hands in his jeans. “Miss Kara might get sick of seeing us every day.”
“I won’t.”
“Can I help Miss Karwa, Daddy? Can I?” A human pogo stick, he bounced from his father to Kara and back again. “I’ll be de best helper you ever saw, Miss Karwa. Pwease, Daddy?”
“Since Miss Kara doesn’t mind, I see no reason why I should, either.”
Maddox fist-pumped the air. “Yay! Yay! Hoo-ray!”
Will headed toward the reception desk to settle the bill. And somehow he managed to sweet-talk the vet into allowing them the loan of a cage.
Dr. Abernathy ran his payment through the credit card machine. “Oddly enough for a stray, Soufflé was already neutered. Probably when he was a kitten.”
Kara planted her hands on her hips. “And then his owner just abandoned him? Turned him out when he wasn’t cute and cuddly anymore?”
Will and the vet glanced at her. Kara flushed.
“I’ll need to see Soufflé for a follow-up visit in about two weeks.” The vet handed Will his receipt and a printout of essential cat supplies. “And if I were you, I’d plan on giving the tabby a much-needed bath while he’s still groggy from the medication.”
On her cell, Kara searched for the closest pet store still open on a Sunday evening. “I’ll call next week to make the appointment.”
Will followed the vet into the back to load Soufflé into his new, temporary quarters. When he returned, Maddox murmured sweet words of encouragement and sympathy through the cage bars.
After a quick run to a big-box pet store in the new shopping center on the interstate, Kara found herself the proud new owner of several bags of special protein-enriched cat food, a few fun toys Maddox insisted Soufflé couldn’t live without and a litter box.
She didn’t consider herself Soufflé’s owner. She might not know much about independent felines, but one thing she did know—nobody owned a cat. In fact, it was probably the other way around. From day one it would seem it was Soufflé who’d claimed Kara as his own.
Coming out of the store, Maddox declared himself to be starving. She volunteered to make dinner at her house, but Will refused.
“You’ve saved my son and given a cat a home.” He grinned, exposing even white teeth.
Be still my heart. That smile really ought to come with a warning label. As in, potential to cause heart palpitations.
He turned into a burger drive-through. “I think I can swing dinner.”
“Surely, my food is better than this burger joint.”
“Absolutely.” He waited behind another vehicle to order. “But there’s nothing wrong with an occasional burger. Not too hot. Not too cold. Just right.”
Moments later he pulled away, and she unpacked the takeout bag. Laying his cheeseburger on the seat between them, she made a face.
He laughed at her turned-up nose. “Not every meal has to be haute cuisine, Goldilocks.”
“You have the taste buds of a Neanderthal, Papa Bear.”
They grinned at each other across the truck cab.
Love Inspired June 2021--Box Set 1 of 2 Page 42