entered.
âSee? They waited for you to invite them in. Youâre their pack alpha.â
âEven I know cats donât do packs. Is it odd that they arenât sniffing around? That would be normal, right?â
He shrugged. âCould be theyâre more than just well behaved. Could be theyâve been trained.â
âItâs kinda creepy. I mean, shouldnât they be more playful? Inquisitive?â
âThey might be both when they feel more secure. For now, theyâll be perfect ladies, wonât you?â He knelt to scratch each of them under their chins. âLook at it this way. If the doc knows them from her practice, theyâll be gone tomorrow. Houseguests for just one night.â
Who was I kidding? Even if I left them alone in the workroom, Iâd be up checking on them all night.
âAll right, but youâre helping me clean any messes,â I said, looking down at all three of their pleading, adorable faces.
âDone,â he said as he rose and crossed the few steps to open my stairwell door. âCome on, critters.â
The preternaturally quiet animals stayed seated.
âOh, for heavenâs sake.â I stood on the first step, bent down, and clapped my hands. âLetâs go.â
The cat emitted a gravelly
mreow
, the dog bayed a
bark-aroo
, and both bounded up the stairs.
I threw Eric a frantic, âOh, no,â and charged up behind them, but they werenât tearing up my apartment. I found them sitting beside the kitchen peninsula, the dog softlypanting, the cat with her tail curled around her. I couldâve sworn they smiled.
Eric entered with a food bag under each arm, a food dish in each hand. I took the bowls, rinsed them, and opened the bags while he went back down for the next load.
Not sure how much to feed the critters, I read the directions on the bag, estimated their weights, and scooped the food with a measuring cup. The dog and cat perked their ears as soon as the nuggets hit the bowls, but they waited until I put the dishes on the floor under the window to calmly walk over. One sniff, though, and they dug in.
Eric caught me smiling at them as he filled the water bowls that had been outside and set them near their food.
âTold you it wouldnât be so bad.â
âTheyâve been here five minutes.â
âFive good minutes. I like your place. I didnât realize the kitchen would be so big. Whatâs your square footage?â
âTwelve hundred, give or take. I feel like Iâm rattling around in here compared to sharing an apartment.â
âThe place is more modern than I thought it would be, too. Did you update it?â
âSherry did when Vonnie and her husband leased the building. She did the bathroom, too. Youâve never been up here?â
âNever had the occasion to be, and thatâs a good thing considering my line of work.â
âTrue. Well, the Vances took good care of the place,â I said, absently caressing the rounded edge of the stone-look countertop on the peninsula. The darker browns in the fake vein complemented the dark hardwood floor.
âWill you show me around? You need to decide where you want the litter box.â
âDefinitely not in the kitchen. Where do you suggest?â
âBathroom?â
âI donât know. The stacking washer and dryer are in there,and that takes up floor space.â Plus I wasnât keen on facing a litter box every morning and night.
I opened the door that accessed the bath from the living room, and immediately noticed Iâd left the other door open. The one that led to my bedroom. At least Iâd picked up my clothes and made my bed.
I knew the minute Eric spotted the bed because he stilled, and I was thrown deep in one of those awkward moments.
I heard a snuffling rustle and the dog trotted in via the bedroom, plopping down near the claw foot tub. An instant later, she was followed
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