Shane gave a sweeping gesture. “Pull up a stair.” With three strides, he planted himself six steps up, claiming the high ground.
I could live with that. I sat on the second step, put my back to the wall, and looked up. The cat appeared at the top of the staircase. She descended slowly, tail tip twitching, and when she reached Shane, she climbed onto his knees. He stroked her absently.
“Hey, kitty.” I dug in my pocket and found the bit of ham I’d folded into some tinfoil. Her nose twitched as I opened the packet, and I held the tidbit up at her. “Here. Want some?”
She blinked at me but didn’t move from Shane’s knees.
“What’s in it?” he asked.
“Ham. I swear it’s fresh.” I ate a little bite, as proof of my honesty, and held out the rest. My fingers trembled and I felt foolish, but I didn’t pull my offering back.
Shane hummed a soft sound, then said, “Okay, Mimsy. Go for it.”
Quick as a flash, the cat leaped down the steps, snatched the ham from my fingers, and retreated three steps back up to eat just out of reach. I’d felt only the ghost whisper of her chin against my fingertips.
“Is she hungry?’ I asked. “I could bring more another time.”
Shane snarled, “What’s with people thinking I can’t feed my own cat?”
His anger caught me by surprise, echoing off those walls, feeding the miasma of the place. I heard my grandparents’ voices, shouting, scolding… Suddenly, I needed to be outside, away from here. I jumped to my feet. “See you later.”
“Wait!” Shane stood too. “Did I say something wrong?”
The air pressed in on me, like a thunderstorm building. I gave him a wave but didn’t try to answer, just backed up the ten feet to the door and yanked it open. The bright sunshine outside came as a relief. I slammed the door behind me and hurried away. At the corner of the parking lot, I looked back. Shane stood in the doorway, the cat on his shoulder, watching me. I was glad I hadn’t parked nearby. Turning, I walked away from him with the steady gait of a man who had somewhere to be. Or who liked to pretend he did.
When I reached my car, I checked behind me. No sign of man or cat. I sighed as I popped the locks. “So, that went well.” On the other hand, I hadn’t felt an uncontrollable urge to smash the rest of the mirrors or set the place on fire. I guessed that was progress.
CHAPTER5
SHANE
I recognizedTheo the moment he showed up on the edge of the crowd outside the bookstore. That hair was hard to miss and the intentness of his gaze heated my skin. I kept up my patter. I’d done a whole show once with a guy who wanted to bust my face standing in the back, and then escaped when he was distracted by folks putting money in the hat. Left the money behind and the hat too, which sucked, but not as bad as a broken nose.
I didn’t know what Theo wanted, but I was pretty sure he didn’t plan to punch me.
Mimsy did the bit where I made a hoop with my arms and she jumped back and forth three times. Then I pretended to tell her to go again but signaled no and she shook her head, sat down, and yawned. I told the crowd, “Cats. What can you do?” She meowed her best yowl. “Oh, yeah, feed them.” I tossed her a fishy treat, then we took our bows.
I wasn’t sure if Theo would stick around, but he waited till folks stopped tipping me, then lifted the hat. I saw his fingers go into it. With most of the guys I’d known on the road, he’d have been swiping something, but with Theo, I wasn’t sure. Maybe he was donating a quarter.
When he passed my hat over, I said, “Thanks, dude,” and dug out the cash into my pocket. After sticking the folded cap into my other pocket, I eyed him up and down.Not a hardship.But it wouldn’t do to act soft. “Happened to be passing by?” I knelt to give Mimsy another reward.
“Something like that.” He looked away, though.
“You live around here?” I’d given some thought to Theo since the last time I saw him, and decided no way was he homeless. His clothes were ordinary, but they didn’t have the rubbed seams and worn-in grime that comes from sleeping in them. His hair was clean and shiny, and he shaved that pretty face smooth as a baby’s ass. Plus, he’d left behind the faint scent of cologne, not sweat.
I couldn’t tell the difference between thousand-dollar jeans and Fleet Farm twenty-buck specials, or a pricey cologne from a Walmart cheapo, but getting clean like that’s a luxury. Shaving was something I did about every four days when the stubble got out of control, if I got the chance. The wine place had the safety shower, and I’d scrubbed the bloodstained sink with my eyes half shut for the bonus of standing under falling water, despite freezing my nuts off. But even now, I wasn’t half as pristine as he was.
He hadn’t answered. I scooped Mimsy to my shoulders and stood. “It’s okay. I know you must have someplace you go.”
“Yeah, its… I don’t own it or anything. Short-term rental. But I’m not homeless.”
“Figured.” I headed off down the sidewalk and he fell in beside me. I was okay with that. Things were boring right now. Don’t get me wrong— boring as inI’m not going to freeze to death or have all my shit stolen or get arrested or find someone OD’d on my floorisn’t a bad thing— but that wine place echoed emptily, I was on a fourth reread of my one book, and I hadn’t found the town library yet. It wasn’t labeled on Arthur’s map. “Hey, do you know where the local library is?”
“Huh? No. Sorry.”
“S’okay. I bet Arthur does.”
“Arthur?”
