My eyes flit to my annoyingly sexy guest. She blushes.
I should’ve known she’d tell them something while I spent ten minutes rummaging around with the ladder.
Willow nods, still looking at me, her eyes lit like stars.
The girls are damn near glued to her.
Christ.
The fact that they already adore her this much is even scarier than what her fuck-hot looks do to me. And I’m already bracing for impact, knowing it’ll just get worse after the twins get one good look at the biggest surprise of their lives.
“There are rules when it comes to Bruce,” I say, my voice on full dad-tone. “Whenever you want to see him, you have to promise me you’re gonna follow them to the letter of the law. Okay, kidlets?”
“Yeah, sure! But...but why?” Sawyer asks, tilting her head. “Is he like one of those kitties with no hair so you have to be careful how you pet him or something? Is that why he’s in the barn?”
Willow and I share another slow, uncertain look. I clear my throat.
“He has fur,” I say.
“Oh, good! Those Sphynx cats scare me,” Avery says, hugging her arms around her. “What color is he?”
Damn.
No way to answer that without giving too much away.
“Look, before I answer any more questions, you both have to pinky swear that you aren’t going to tell anyone about this cat. You’ll want to when you see him, but you can’t. Not even Uncle Hank. Promise us both, me and Willow.”
My dad game is stronger than it’s ever been today.
They both know the pinky swear is sacrosanct.
Frowning, the girls look at each other, shrug, then look at me and nod.
“Okay, Dad. We’ll do it,” Avery says first.
“Yeah, pinky swear!” Sawyer chimes in.
“And you also have to follow every single rule Willow and I put in place. No buts, no exceptions, and no complaining.”
Again, they look at each other with a weight I only see when they’re worried, which means it’s sinking in.
Good.
They silently whisper their agreement before they both look at me and nod several times.
Now the moment of truth.
I hold up my hand for a pinky swear. It’s a thing we’ve done occasionally for years, and they’ve never broken a pinky promise.
Someday when they’re older and trying to stay out past curfew with boys, they’ll think it’s too corny to work, but that day isn’t today. One at a time, they hook their pinky fingers with mine, and then with Willow.
“All right, now for the ground rules. No messing around the barn. Ever. Not without Willow or I present. And when I say none, I mean it, girls. You can’t go within ten feet of the barn without us. If I catch you, you’ll be grounded for life, and that’ll be pretty miserable for everyone, so...don’t do it.”
They look at each other gravely again, and then their gazes go to Willow.
“You heard the man, kids.” She nods, her mouth pulled into a tight line even though she’s trying to smile. “Forever.”
They both sigh and slowly bob their heads.
It’s now or never.
“Okay, hold on to Willow, please. We’re going for a walk.” I stand up straight as I slide open the door and lead them outside.
They each grab hold of Willow’s hands—one more precaution so she can jerk them back if they can’t contain themselves—and the four of us walk to the barn.
I head for where I’d put the ladder and step on it, testing its grip, before looking back at them.
“Heads-up, I’ll be putting this ladder away the instant we all climb down. No one except me is allowed to haul it out here. Understood?”
“Gosh, Dad, it’s a cat! Not some kinda wild beast,” Sawyer says, rolling her eyes.
I hide a grin, loving how wrong she’s about to be.
Willow leans down and gently bumps her head against the side of Sawyer’s. “He’s a very special cat, remember? Please be patient. This safety talk will make a lot more sense soon.”
“Is he like...priceless or something?” Avery asks, her eyes flitting around. “A rare breed like a Burmese or Savannah cat?”
“Yes,” Willow answers quickly.
I look at her. “I’ll go on up first, open the door, then you can send them up one at a time, okay?”
The girls are good climbers and always safe with heights, so I’m not worried about them finding their way up to the loft.
“Okay. Ready when you are, big daddy,” Willow says eagerly.
I climb the ladder and open the door, reminding myself that I need to put a padlock up here for good measure. Sawyer follows me up first, enters, and I tell her to stand next to the wall. Then it’s Avery’s turn, and Willow comes last.
The loft space covers about three-fourths of the barn. I know the perfect spot where they’ll be able to see Bruce, even if he’s tucked inside the trailer.