Page 10 of Absolutely Pucked (Punk as Puck #3)
This pet shop had an open area where any visitor could walk in and play with the fosters, which was nice, not having to track someone down. Jonah’s cane tip trailed along the edge of the glass room, and then he tapped it impatiently while I got the door open.
“After you. To your left on the far side of the room are two cat trees, and if you reach out like a foot and a half, there’s the bench.”
“Don’t let me step on any of them,” he said, sounding almost frantic as he folded up his cane and felt for the seat.
There were only three kittens, and all of them were cuddled up in a little basket a few feet from where he was standing. “You’re fine. Just sit, and I’ll push their little kitten bin over.”
Jonah settled on the floor instead of the bench, and I balanced carefully on my leg while I used my cane to hook the basket and pull it between his spread legs. His hands immediately went out and brushed over the tops of the little furry babies.
“I’m going to die. They’re so cute. What color are they? They feel black.”
They were black. “Yeah. One of them has Halloween eyes.”
“I don’t know what that means, but I love her anyway.
” Jonah carefully lifted all three and set them on his chest, where they curled up almost like they were made to be there.
“If I died on the way over here, I’m fine with it because it means I went to heaven.
” He put his face in the purring cuddle pile.
I snorted. “There’s not a chance in hell you’re going to heaven, bro. I’ve seen your incognito browser.”
Jonah grinned, even as he rubbed his cheeks back and forth across kitten ears. “Whatever, dude.” He breathed in. “I want one. I’m being serious.”
Biting my lip, I glanced across at a couple of workers who were staring at us. It was hard to tell why. Most of the time, it was because Jonah was hot, but people got weird when he didn’t use his prosthetics. And I was in shorts, so my leg was obvious.
“Are you and Micah planning on splitting up?”
“God, you make it sound so creepy,” Jonah complained, and there was some edge to his tone, which reminded me of how many people assumed he and his brother liked to have threesomes.
“And yes, I think so. I mean, we eventually want to settle down, and I don’t want him in my fucking pocket while I’m trying to figure out my life.
The only reason we’re as close as we are is because of our mom. ”
I grimaced. I knew a lot about his family. Too much. They were different from mine, but the trauma was just as heavy. “He’s actually a good dude.”
“No.” He deflated quickly. “I know. It’s just…I want to do something for me for once, you know? We’re on different teams, but we play on the same goddamn ice half the time. We’re both goalies. We’re both shitheads. The only difference is that he likes dudes, and I…usually don’t. ”
He’d been flirting with the idea of bi-curiosity for a little while now, but I wasn’t going to push him. “I get it. I mean, living with Boden and Tucker was nice, but it wasn’t nicer than having my own space. It gets a little lonely, but I have Nugget, and she’s basically my child.”
“I want a child. Like this,” he added quickly, scratching the top of the Halloween-eyed cat. “Not a real child. That’s nasty.”
I laughed. “So maybe this little trip was a good idea.”
“I could get this one, and you could babysit her until I move out,” Jonah wheedled. His face turned up to me.
“You forgot your puppy dog eyes at home, babe.”
He wrinkled his nose and shrugged. “I’m being so for real right now though. Would you?”
I cocked my head to the side. “Nugget might like being a big sister. Or she might hate it, but she’s not evil enough to eat the kitten, so…”
Jonah hesitated. “Do you think the other kittens will be sad if I don’t take all of them?”
With a laugh, I reached out and plucked the yellow-eyed one from his arms. “No. They’re too cute. They’ll be gone in a day.”
“Let’s do this. I’ll make it worth your while. I’ll come over every single day and take care of her.”
“With your schedule?” I said with a snort. “But for you, babe, I would. You’re one of my favorites.”
“I knew I loved you best for a reason.” He eased the kittens off his lap. “Let me go get a salesperson. Stay right here.”
I knew better than to follow him, but I did watch as he made his way out of the room and toward the front of the store. Jonah had been navigating without sight since birth, so he had a system. But I was unsurprised when the salesperson made a face as he approached.
It was a tall guy who couldn’t have been more than twenty, and he stepped back when Jonah walked up, almost like his disability was catching. I could see their mouths moving, and then, after what felt like forever, Jonah turned.
His face was bright red, and his hands were shaking.
That was my cue. I climbed to my feet and grabbed my cane, doing my best not to step on the disgruntled kittens as I made my way out. Jonah was alone in the middle of the floor and flinched when I touched his arm.
“What the fuck just happened?”
“We need to leave,” he said tensely.
I swallowed heavily and glanced around, finding the sales guy whispering to the woman who had been up at the front before. “Seriously, what happened?”
He took another breath. “I think you know what happened. He said it would be too dangerous for me to adopt a kitten. What if I step on her?” The way he pitched his tone told me he was mocking the guy who said it. “What if I can’t clean all the shit out of her litter box properly?”
Rage bubbled in my gut, hurtling toward my chest. My heart felt like it was going to break out from behind my ribs. “Oh, that is some fucking bull SHIT ?—”
“Ford.” Jonah’s voice was very quiet.
All the anger in me dropped to a low simmer. “I don’t want to leave it like this.”
“I do. Like you said, they’re cute. Someone will come along and love them. It just won’t be me. Not from here.”
I wasn’t asshole enough to fight this battle for him, but I was going to leave without Nugget’s salmon food. She would learn to love tuna, or I would order that shit online. Whatever happened, I was done with these people.
Because fuck them.
“Do you want to skip the furniture store and go home?” I asked quietly as we passed the automatic doors.
He bowed his head and nodded. “Sorry I ruined your day.”
“They ruined my day. You’ll get your cat,” I said, squeezing his arm.
“The best cat. The most perfect cat in the world. Okay? She and Nuggs will be best friends, and they will be the most spoiled babies in the world. We don’t need shit-fuck assholes like those people back there telling us what we can or can’t do. You’re going to be the best cat dad.”
He eventually smiled just as he slid into the seat of my car, and then he turned to me. “And you’ll find someone who makes you happy, Ford. You’re too amazing to go through your life alone if that’s not what you want.”
It wasn’t. But I had a gut feeling my chance had come and gone. I could make this work. It would just be a little suckier than if I had managed to convince a man like Ian to stay just a little bit longer.