Page 44 of Reckless Harmony

Stark gave her another defensive look. “Molly likes to watch the birds while she’s feeding her babies.”

“You know, if I didn’t know your heart was cold and black, I’d almost be thinking you like having a cat in the house,” she said.

“Hardly,” he said with a disdainful look. “You led me to believe I had no choice by lying to me about the babies dying. Or have you forgotten that, Ms. Abrams?”

“Nope,” she said cheerfully. “I lied like a boss that day.”

She held up her hand for a high-five, lowering it when he scowled at her.

“Do you think tricking me into keeping a cat and her kittens in my home is amusing?”

“A little?” she said.

His scowl deepened, and she sighed. “Look, I’m sorry I lied, okay? But I was desperate for a foster home for Molly and her babies. The rescue has a shortage of fosters right now.”

He didn’t reply, and she said, “But the good news is - Molly isn’t your problem anymore. I had a foster who was on a break message me this afternoon. She’s ready to foster again, and she said she’d be happy to take Molly and the babies. She can take them anytime.”

She could have sworn anxiety flickered across his face before that familiar scowl stamped back into it. “Has she fostered a mother and babies before?”

“Yes,” Rayna said. “Plenty of times.”

He cleared his throat. “A cat with mastitis?”

“Yes,” Rayna said. “She knows what to do for Molly, and if necessary, she can bottle feed the babies.”

He stared silently at her, and confusion rocketing through her, she said, “It’s what’s best for Molly.”

He studied Molly and the babies before shaking his head. “No. What’s best for Molly is staying in a familiar place. She’s not feeling well, and moving her now could be detrimental to her health and the babies’ health. She’ll stay here with me.”

Rayna stared at the guy pretending to be Stark and, frankly, doing a terrible job at it. “I…what?”

“Molly will stay here with me,” Stark said. “I know her likes and dislikes, and she’s comfortable here. Who knows what that other foster will do to her.”

Rayna blinked. “Jami is one of my best fosters. Molly will be perfectly safe with her.”

“Does she know that Molly is an escape artist?” Stark challenged. “Or that she likes her wet food heated up for precisely thirty seconds in the microwave? Or that she likes to have her paws massaged?”

“Um… no. But you can tell her that.”

“Molly is staying with me.”

“She needs medicine twice a day,” Rayna said. “Assuming she heals quickly, that’s the least amount of work you’ll need to do. If the babies get diarrhea, they’ll need to be bottle-fed every few hours, and Molly will need her milk expressed manually. Do you understand that?”

“I do,” he said stiffly. “It won’t be a problem.”

“Why? Because you’ll hire someone to come in and do it for you?” she asked.

He glared at her, and she sighed. “Stark, look, I appreciate how much you care for Molly and the babies, but if you bail on me after only a few days, it’ll be more work for me to find her a foster home then. I have three other cats I can give Jami to foster. So, I can’t leave her open while I wait for you to realize playing nurse to a cat isn’t nearly as fun as you think it is. Do you understand?”

“I understand perfectly, Ms. Abrams,” he said. “And I can assure you I am not going to bail on you after a few days.”

She studied him. “Molly belongs to the rescue. I could make you give her to Jami.”

He stepped closer to the bed, and Molly jumped out of the container, rubbing up against his hip and meowing softly. He put a possessive hand on Molly’s side and gave Rayna an icy look. “Molly and the babies stay with me.”

“Fine!” She threw her hands up. “But when you come to me in a few days, I get to tell you I told you so, and you have to keep playing nursemaid to Molly until I find a new foster for her.”

“I assure you that won’t be necessary,” he said.

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