Page 48 of To Catch a Latte Thick as Thieves

Through gritted teeth, she said, “Get her off of me.”

Fisher reached for the bird. Laying his finger in front of Harpy’s feet, he made kissing noises until Harpy stopped flapping and stepped onto his finger.

“She didn’t poop on me, did she?” Annie tipped her head forward for Fisher’s inspection.

“Ah, no,” he said, clamping his lips together to keep from laughing.

Annie straightened back up and combed her hair from her face with her fingers. Her red curls resisted and flopped back across her face. Grabbing her hair with a sigh, Annie twisted it into a knot at the back of her head.

“How did Harpy get in here?” he asked.

“I have no idea,” she said. “I was just sitting on the sofa, watching TV when she landed on my head and started singing.”

Fisher glanced at the sofa. His gaze ran up the wall to the vent near the ceiling. Walking across the room, he checked the vent. Sure enough it was loose on the bottom. Harpy could have slipped through it easily.

“You think she came through the vent?”

“I can’t think of any other way she got here,” he said. “What were you watching?”

“N.Y.P.D. Blue,” she said.

“Ah.” He nodded.

“Ah, what?” she asked.

“That’s Harpy’s favorite show. I think she has a thing for Dennis Franz.”

“You’re teasing me,” she accused.

“Nope. Watch.”

Fisher lifted his finger up and down in a quick motion and Harpy leapt off and flew straight to the TV. Landing with a thump on top of the set, she began to dance from foot to foot as the distinctive music for the popular police drama filled the room. When Dennis Franz appeared on the screen, she hung over the front of the screen and began to peck at the glass, following his character across the TV.

“I don’t believe it.” Annie began to chuckle. “That’s just...why I’ve never...well, I’ll be.”

“She must have heard the show come on through the vent and decided to come over and watch with you,” he said. “She didn’t scratch you, did she?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Let me just check your head to make sure.”

He didn’t give her a chance to argue. He dug his fingers into her hair and pulled her close. The knot she’d wound it into slipped free and her hair spilled over his hands in a wave of glorious red. It was soft to the touch and for a moment he forgot his purpose. Gently he began to sift through her hair looking for scratches on her scalp. The faint floral scent of her enveloped him, and he felt his insides tighten in response.

There was no sign of any scratches, but he was reluctant to let go of her. He would have liked to pull her into his arms, hold her close and kiss away all of the troubles between them. But he knew it wasn’t that easy. She had to learn to trust him again and that would take time. He couldn’t push her.

Stepping back, he released her. “No damage that I can see.”

The face she turned up to him was flushed and her deep blue eyes looked confused and alarmed. Fisher smiled. She was flustered. He had hope.

“I’m sorry Harpy scared you,” he said.

“It’s all right,” she said, turning her attention back to the bird. “She’s a clever little dickens, isn’t she?”

“That’s a nice way of putting it,” he agreed.

“I’m glad you’re here,” she said.

“Really? Why?”