Page 8 of Keystrokes and Kittens

“It’s new. We haven’t had theboyfrienddiscussion yet. I didn’t want to be presumptuous.”

“Yeah, we’re boyfriends.” Sam offered a smile as he tucked Jack under the blanket. “I’ll stimulate his bladder in a second.” He squirted some disinfectant gel into his palm and rubbed his hands. Then he scanned Miranda’s items. He gave her the total.

She tapped her card on the reader.

Sam put the three tins into a small paper bag.

Miranda tossed the receipt in as well. She offered a smile I couldn’t quite interpret. “Until next month, Sam.” She turned to me. “Nice to meet you, Soren. I’m happy to see Sam’s found someone.” With that, she and Persephone left the store.

Within a heartbeat, Sam had Jack in his hands and was gently rubbing the kitten’s belly.

I peered into the box. “The heating pad isn’t plugged in.”

“Just for a few minutes. Once they’re fed, I’ll take it to the back again. If you don’t mind watching the store.”

“Of course I don’t mind.” I scratched Tibby’s ears. “We’re very free today.” I eyed the kittens. “Look, you obviously need help.”

He met my gaze with what I now recognized as bleary eyes. I couldn’t tell if he had bags under his eyes. But those eyes were red.

He sighed. “It’s only been two days.”

“And you’ll have to keep it up for how long?”

“Weeks.” He blinked. “But I have to do it. I tried to find a foster home, but haven’t been able to. I can’t let anything happen to them. And I’m sorry you felt you had to pretend to be my boyfriend. I’ve tried telling Miranda that I’m gay. She’s not big on taking hints.”

“Awkward.”

“Yeah.”

“Look, I don’t mind. At all. Whatever pretense you need to put up is fine with me.”Pretend to be your boyfriend? Yes, please.“What does this entail? Do we have to be spotted around town? I’m not here often. Heck, I don’t even know where you live.”

“Here. Well, not at the store. Three streets over. Easy commute.”

“And there’s no one in town to help you with the kittens?”

He shook his head.

I pursed my lips. “Let me make a phone call?”

He blinked. “Sure.” He sounded anything but sure. Probably because I was being cryptic.

I held up my phone and exited the store with Tibby. The sun was beating down, so I sought the shade of a tree. I hit Noah’s number and waited for the call to connect—praying he’d be there.

“Hey, Soren. To what do I owe the pleasure?” His voice came through clear with just a touch of that Tennessee accent that seemed to be disappearing more and more each day.

“Glad you picked up. I have a bit of a situation, and I need your advice. Is now a good time?”

“Sure. I’m between clients and just hanging at the house. Do you want to come over? Is it about Tibby?” Trust Noah to immediately assume I was calling about Tibby.

And since I was, sort of, I smiled. “I have an odd question for you. I’ve seen plenty of cute videos with big dogs and little kittens. How safe is that?”

“Are you planning to bring home a basket of kittens? Is this a hypothetical?”

“Let’s just say I came across someone with kittens who needed help. Now, I wouldn’t want to exclude Tibby…”

“I hear what you’re saying. The situation really depends on the dog. With Tibby’s nature? I wouldn’t be worried. You still need to do the introductions carefully as Tibby might not have a sense of how easily she could damage a kitten. With her gentleness, though, I don’t foresee problems. What’s up?” Asked casually.

“A friend has rescued a litter of kittens, and he’s having a rough time. I just thought I could help, you know? But I don’t want to just leave Tibby alone. Or in another room.”