Page 23 of A Love Like Pumpkin Spice
“I know you will.”
My eyes are glued to him as he checks the kitten, his forehead creasing as he gently examines its leg as she keeps screaming.Something about that tenderness and confidence has a thought hitting me with the force of a freight train: Even though I barely know him, even though everything inside me screams at me to be skeptical … I trust him.
I gulp, the realization making my fingers tremble and a heavy weight settle in my gut. I thought Jay and Marissa tore my heart to shreds, obliterated any ability I had to trust people.
Well, people aside from Lauren.
But Henry? For some reason, being close to him makes me forget about the mistrust I should have. I’m torn. He’s making it incredibly easy to trust him, yet every single cell in my body is cautioning me, trying to protect me from getting my heart broken again.
On cue, my phone buzzes in my pocket, and I lift my gaze to the ceiling, blinking away tears and swallowing down my emotions. No. Not now.
I let it buzz, ignoring it. Like Henry’s curious gaze in my direction.
My arms snake around my midsection as he does more tests with the cat, and all of a sudden, a knowledge settles in my gut.
I’m on my own.
Sure, there is Lauren, and she’s an amazing friend, but this is … different.
There’s nobody at my place who will have an opinion about me adopting this cat. Nobody who will start a fight with me about what cat food to buy or where to put which cat tree in the living room. Nobody to judge me when I spend the next few days holed up in my new home for several-day-long pity party if she doesn’t make it.
Nobody will care.
The realization is a tough pill to swallow. I guess loneliness is a new emotion I’ll have to get used to. Yet it’s still a whole lot better than expecting Jay or any of my family members at home. Who would have thought?
“The good news is, she’ll be all right.” Henry’s voice pulls me right out of the beginning of a self-deprecating rant. “She had a splinter in her foot. That’s probably why she was so … vocal.” He chuckles and runs his fingertip over the tiny creature’s head. “A flea bath and some food, and she’ll probably be fine.”
“Probably?” I blink up at him and force myself to swallow down the panic. “What is the bad news?”
“I need you to keep an eye out if her mother comes back,” he implores, and picks up the kitten, letting her gnaw on his thumb.
“It’s a girl?”
“Yes, you have another lady on your hands. She’s only around three weeks old, so very much still a baby. Her mom would do the best job of keeping her on track and healthy.”
“I didn’t see another cat,” I say contemplatively. After we put her in the box, I looked under the porch again. I walked around to see if there were any other cats, but I didn’t see any. “I think I have some tuna somewhere; I’ll try to lure her back with it.”
“Wait a second,” he says and disappears into his office for a moment. “Here is some high-calorie cat food. If she is around, she’ll need it with a fresh batch of kittens.”
“Thank you,” I say, but I don’t think those words do a good job of encompassing what I mean to say. God, he’s considerate.
“Are you taking her home with you?” Henry asks, and I freeze mid-movement. Right. “Because if you’re not, we need to find someone to take care of her.”
God, can I really care for a little creature like her? Apparently, I can barely care for myself.
“I … don’t know,” I whisper, swallowing down the disappointment in myself and get up, nervously pacing the room.
My phone buzzes again, and I take a deep breath, pinching the bridge of my nose and closing my eyes for a moment to collect myself. God, how I want to throw this piece of shit phone against a wall.
“Someone’s important today,” Henry teases with a chuckle, but I can’t find any humor in this. I’m too busy spiraling.
What business do I have taking in a kitten? Evidently, I can barely manage to be a functioning human being. “What if I do it wrong?” I look at him helplessly. “What if I end up killing her?”
Chapter 7
Henry
“Listen,” I say softly, walking over to her and putting my hands on her shoulders to gently guide her to sit down.
