“Okay, all set,” Julian said, coming back to my side.
I bit my lip and nodded. “Me too. Hopefully, they don’t hate me.”
“You’re going to keep feeding them. They’ll get over it.”
“You’ve never had cats, have you?”
He laughed. “Admittedly, no. You?”
“My mom had one, growing up. Total bitch. Thing hated everyone. Even my mom.”
“Eesh. Well, I think Avocado and Bacon will be different.”
I crossed both of my fingers and held them up. “Let’s hope.”
With the enticing smell of fish too potent to resist, Avocado stuck her head out of the bushes. Her orange tail swished back and forth as she scented the air. She walked over to me first, running her body against my legs.
“Wish I could pick her up here,” I said. “Would be a lot easier.”
“I could,” he said, bending at the waist and touching Cado’s back.
“Wait…”
But it was too late.
Avocado was the more finicky of the two cats. Bacon didn’t mind being pet by strangers as long as they were near me, but Cado was still getting used to it all. Especially men. She really hated men. I never wanted to know the trauma she had gone through at the hands of some asshole. I never wanted to see her full rage either.
She whipped around so fast that Julian never saw it coming. Avocado raked her claws along his arm.
Julian yelped and reared back. “Fuck!”
Three long red welts rose on his forearm. He clapped his hand over the scratch, and blood welled underneath.
“Oh God, are you okay?”
“Fine,” he said through gritted teeth.
“She really got you. God, let me get you something for that.”
“No, look,” he said, pointing toward the crate I’d set up.
Avocado had her tail in the air as she followed the bread crumb trail toward the opening.
“She’s so close,” I whispered. “But someone is going to need to close the door.”
“Hence the spring-loaded box,” he reminded me.
“I know, but it’s so mean.”
He shrugged. “So are the cats.”
I laughed. “You poor, poor thing.”
He flashed me a grin. “I didn’t know she was going to scratch the shit out of me.”
“She’s a stray!” I gestured to the cat who was almost inside the carrier. “What did you expect?”
“Well, you pet her just fine.”
“I’m her owner,” I argued.
He put a finger to his mouth. “She’s going inside.”
“Did you guys figure it out?” Annie asked, bounding out of the house.
“Shh!” we both said at the same time.
Annie’s eyes widened, and she put her hands up. “Sorry,” she whispered. Her eyes landed on Julian. “Oh my God, are you bleeding?”
“Shh,” he hissed.
Then Avocado walked into the pet carrier.
“Jennifer, go!” he said, all but shoving me off the front steps.
This was the one problem with the pet carrier over the other ones that Julian had wanted to use: someone had to close it. Which meant, I should have been waiting nearby. So that as soon as the cat walked inside, I could snap the door closed. Instead, I was running like an idiot the short distance across the lawn to try to get there before Cado ate all the fish and realized she wasn’t in her natural environment.
I dashed across the yard and smashed the grate closed as Avocado tried to stick her little head out. She snarled and yowled, slashing at the metal. I secured the grate in place and carefully pulled my hand back. If I hadn’t been quick, she could have gotten me.
When I turned back around, Julian and Annie were both laughing hysterically.
“What?” I demanded.
“You should have seen yourself,” Annie said. “You, like, slid into home to get that gate closed.”
“She would have gotten out!”
Julian tried to cover his laugh, but it didn’t work. “It was amazing. And good news: Bacon made it into the other one.”
I found the spring-loaded carrier had worked, and Bacon was inside, contentedly eating the fish. Cado never would have gone willingly. Should have seen that one coming.
I flopped back onto the grass. “Thank God that’s over.”
Julian dropped down next to me. “Remind me to never offer to help you catch cats again.”
The adrenaline of the moment was gone. “I can’t believe it worked!”
Tears rolled down my cheeks as laughter hit me right in the pit of my stomach. Julian was right there with me.
Until Annie came to stand over us and shook her head. “I want whatever y’all had.”
I wiped the tears from my eyes. “I trapped cats that a few days ago, I wouldn’t have even claimed as mine. And I’m taking them with me across town.”
“I knew you loved those cats.”
“At least one of us did.”
Avocado was still crowing. I was going to have to figure out what to do with her. She was probably going to be pretty pissy for a while once we got her out at the other house. But at least Bacon seemed fine, and Cado loved Bacon.