Page 65 of Flame Kissed

Leilani spoke with the receptionist for close to an hour before she glanced at the time and frowned.

“I’m surprised Adaze isn’t back yet,” she said.

“I was thinking the same thing. I do hope at least a few of the cats actually came out for her.”

“Maybe we should check? Make sure she doesn’t need any help?”

The receptionist nodded, leading her inside.

When they saw her, Leilani grinned. Adaze had fallen asleep on the sofa, the smallest little calico she’d ever seen curled up on her lap, purring up a storm.

“It looks like she’s been chosen,” she grinned.

The receptionist shook her head in shock. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Patches come out for anyone before.”

“Really?”

“Really. She’s always so nervous around new people. Do you think Adaze will want to adopt her?”

Leilani grinned. “I can promise you she will.”

They’d celebrated the move-in and adoption with a housewarming party attended by all of Leilani’s friends and Diana. Adaze felt a bit self-conscious she didn’t have more people to invite, but once everyone was inside, she was welcomed among the other women like she’d been a long-time friend.

It was amazing how well they all got along when Adaze managed to work through her jealousy enough to enjoy their time together. By the end of the evening, she was sad to see them go.

One Year Later

Adaze and Leilani were set to go to another get-together with Leilani’s firefighter friends although it was now fair to say they were firmly both of their friends. Adaze especially clicked with Hallie Hunter and Becky Thompson, the chief. That morning, when they’d woken up, Leilani was delighted to find a giant box on their doorstep.

They dragged it inside and opened it to see the new cat tree they ordered. It came in countless pieces that Leilani immediately dumped out on the floor.

That was four hours ago.

Now, the pair of cats were watching Leilani fight to assemble the massive cat tree. Jaspurr was sitting near Leilani’s feet, his small face almost seemed to show concern. Patches, on the other hand, seemed more interested in stealing some of the screws than anything Leilani was doing.

Adaze frowned from her spot on the sofa, setting the thick book she’d been reading aside. “You’ve been working on that thing for hours now. Are you sure you don’t want me to call someone to do that?”

Leilani waved her off with the hand holding the screwdriver in a way that didn’t seem entirely safe. “Absolutely not! I’m not giving up now. I can do it! If you want to do anything, then get over here and help me, but under no circumstances do I want you to call someone else. I don’t need help.”

She snorted. “Absolutely not. There is no world I am getting involved in this.”

“But why not? Don’t you want to set a good example for the children!? What will they think if you leave me to fumble on my own?”

“Because if you’re having that hard of a time, all I’m going to do is get in the way and they’re cats. I somehow doubt they will notice which of us builds the thing they will very quickly abandon in favor of the box it came in.”

Leilani looked back to the pile of screws that had been sorted once upon a time with a sigh. “I don’t know about that. This thing is going to be great. I’m sure it’ll give them endless hours of entertainment.”

“Whatever you say, love.”

Leilani carefully started searching for the correct screw, a look of great concentration on her face.

“If you need to tap out I can make the call,” Adaze said in a tempting voice.

“No!” she insisted, brandishing the screwdriver again.

“Will you put that down before you hurt yourself?”

“Absolutely not! I can do this! I know I can. I just need to find the right screw. I’m almost done, really.”

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