Page 50 of Interference

Eh. It would catch up with me eventually. I gave the boys a couple of treats, then went into the bathroom to take a leak and brush my teeth. Within minutes, I was sliding into bed next to my cats.

Usually, this was the point when I’d suddenly be wide awake. Exhausted and desperate for a nap, yes, but my brain would start spinning too fast about too many things. It would take a good half hour or more of tossing and turning before I’d finally lapse into restless sleep.

This time, Bear curled up beside me like he always did.

I wrapped my arm around him.

Listened to both cats purring.

And fell right to sleep.

I slept until almost ten, which I hadn’t intended. Felt good, though. Less like I’d spend the rest of the day in that post-redeye zombie state.

The boys didn’t mind, either. Moose was on his back with his tail encroaching on my pillow. Bear was stretched out beside me with a paw over his eyes. I reached down to scratch behind his ear. He didn’t move, but a low, loud purr started up.

I couldn’t help smiling. I loved these rare lazy mornings with the cats. I didn’t even have practice today. We usually played the night before Thanksgiving, but the way the schedule had shaken out, we’d scored three days off. Saturday, we’d be back to it—morning skate and a game against a division rival. Today, tomorrow, and Friday? I could be an absolute sloth.

Except I had promised Wyatt we’d go pick up a few things for him today, hadn’t I? And I doubted he and his PTSD would enjoy the Black Friday crowd if we put it off until after the holiday, so we needed to do this today.

Besides, if I lounged around in bed too long, I’d screw up my sleep pattern, and then I’d be a mess for Friday’s game.

So… fine.

I got up, and I paused to stretch. Neither cat so much as twitched. I chuckled. “Lazy asses.” Then I headed into the bathroom for a shower.

When I came out, though, both cats were gone. That was unusual. They always hung around and waited for me to get dressed. Moose had learned that if he did just the right amount of purring, chirping, and walking around with his back arched, I’d give him treats. Bear had learned that Moose was smarter than him and could con me out of treats. They were both, shall we say, food-motivated.

Which was why it all made perfect sense when I made it downstairs and found the pair of them sitting on the kitchen island, intently focused on the eggs Wyatt was making.

He turned to me and smiled. “Morning. I didn’t even hear you come in.”

“Oh, good. Because I kind of spaced out that there was someone here, and I wasn’t exactly quiet.” I grimaced. Nodding at the cats, I added, “They sure heard me.”

“Is that why they both left in such a hurry?” He focused on sprinkling some grated cheese over his eggs. “I kind of vaguely remember them jumping down, but didn’t think much of it.”

“Ah, so they did sleep with you.” I crossed the kitchen to the coffeemaker and pulled a cup from the cabinet. “They didn’t give you too much hassle while I was gone, did they?”

“Pfft. Nah. They were great company.” He offered up pieces of cheese to both cats, having apparently learned it was better to feed them at the same time than play the “but I didn’t get one” game. Moose was a pro at that—gobble up his piece, wait until Bear got one, and then fix pitiful eyes on me as if I’d forgotten to give him one. Manipulative little shit.

As I made myself some coffee, I said, “So, I got a later start than I’d planned, but we still have plenty of time to go out shopping if you want to.”

Wyatt froze and looked at me with wide eyes. “You… really want to do all that?”

“Well, yeah.” I shrugged. “I wasn’t just making conversation. Lily’s got her follow-up with Dr. Green today, you both need some things, and we’re better off going today than this weekend. Since… Black Friday and all that.”

He shuddered, which made me think I was right on the money that he wouldn’t be comfortable in that dense of a crowd. Focusing on his food again, he murmured, “I’d really appreciate it. I just don’t want to, you know…” He turned to me again, his expression bordering on shy. “I don’t want to impose.”

“You’re not.” I paused, then decided maybe some candor would ease his uncertainty. “Listen, back when I played youth hockey, my dad lost his job. All of a sudden my parents could barely afford to pay the electric bill, never mind keep me in hockey gear. There was a pro player who sponsored our youth league, and he not only covered my gear and all the expenses that come with playing hockey, he helped our family out for a few months while Dad found another job. So…” I half-shrugged. “Consider this me paying it forward.”

“Oh,” he said softly, and I was relieved to see him relaxing a little. “Okay, I guess, um… Yeah, we can do that.”

“Awesome.” I smiled. “Let me grab some breakfast—er, lunch, I guess—and then we can go.”

Chapter 14

Wyatt

Our first stop was at a pet store near Anthony’s house. Neither of us liked Lily riding untethered in the car, and her seat belt had been among the items stolen by the cops. A few bucks later, she was safely clipped into the backseat of Anthony’s Land Rover.

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