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Chapter22

Avalon

“You have a cat?”A huge orange tomcat stares at me from the top of the kitchen island. He looks like he’s been through a few rounds. He’s missing the tip of one ear, and the other ear looks like it was nibbled on by rats. There’s a scar on his nose. But his fur is bright, clean, and long. He looks like a Maine Coon mix.

“Yeah, that’s Kojak.”

“Kojak? Like the old detective show from the seventies?”

He walks to the cat, rubs his head, picks him up, and puts him on the floor. “Yes, like the TV show.” The cat immediately jumps back onto the counter in a move so smooth he doesn’t jump as much as materializes on top of it.

Jake sighs loudly. “I can’t keep him off the counters, tables, or any place he decides to be.”

I laugh. “Well, that’s what cats do. I pictured you more of a dog person than a cat person.”

Jake scratches Kojak just behind his ear, and the cat tilts his head, eyes half-closed in bliss. “I didn’t really have a choice. He decided this was his home, and that was that.” Jake walks to the fridge. “Something to drink?”

“Just water, thanks.”

He gets a beer for himself and a bottle of water for me.

The scent of garlic and fresh bread makes my mouth water. “It smells delicious in here.”

“Hopefully it will taste good, too.”

We sit at his dining room table. Kojak promptly jumps on the table, walks across it, and then settles on a large empty wooden bowl in the center.

Jake points at the bowl with the beer bottle. “I used to put fruit in there. But he’d take everything out and lie inside it. I gave up. It’s his house now, and I just pay the bills.”

I’m enjoying this too much. It’s a side of Jake I hadn’t seen much of yet. Sweeter, more relaxed, jovial. “How long have you had him?”

Jake’s smile is unguarded. “Two years this summer.”

“And you said he just showed up at your door?”

“Not exactly my door. At the barbecue grill. I was making hotdogs. Put the grill on and set a plate of hot dogs next to the grill. Went back inside because I forgot the tongs. Came out, and there he was with a hot dog in his mouth. He hissed at me, hotdog in mouth and all, and took off.”

I’m laughing, picturing the huge cat stealing hotdogs. “So, it was love at first hotdog?”

“No, I think the grilled salmon did it.”

“The grilled salmon?”

“Oh, he showed up a couple of days later. I had grilled some salmon for dinner and was eating outside, enjoying the nice weather. Next thing I know, he jumps on the table and sits right in front of me. I gave him a little piece of the fish and he tried to steal the rest right off my plate.”

Now I’m laughing so hard I have to hold back a snort. I swear the cat is smirking at us.

Jake smiles. He looks years younger. The closed-off vibe he always projects is gone.

I reach over to pet Kojak, and Jake holds my wrist to stop me. “He doesn’t like to be touched. I’m the only person he tolerates. He has the vet terrified of him.”

“I don’t know. I’m pretty good with animals.” I reach for the cat again and give him the back of my hand to sniff. Kojak pushes his head into my hand, and when I scratch his neck, he purrs so loud that he sounds like a little engine.

Jake huffs. “Traitor. Is that all it takes? A pretty face, and you turn coat?”

The sideways compliment makes me blush. The cat rolls onto his back inside the bowl and gives me his belly.

Jake shakes his head. “I’ve never seen him do that before.”