Nikki shook her head, and tears welled in her eyes again. “No, not so well.”
“What happened?”
“She didn’t take the news well,” Nikki said without relaying the entire awful scene.
“Oh,” Kaylyn replied. “Well, just give her some time. She might come around.”
Nikki laughed. “That seems to be the general consensus. I guess that’s all I can do.”
“The good thing is you found her, and now she knows. Based on my experience, people don’t just walk away from something like that.”
“I hope you’re right,” Nikki told her.
“Come, let’s get you something to eat. You’re beginning to look a little pale,” Kaylyn said in a matronly way.
Nikki was grateful because she hadn’t eaten all day. When she returned to the house, she got to work on the paper she needed to submit, and as she did, she started to bake. Cooking had always been another passion of hers, so she tried to busy her mind with writing and getting a savory meat pie in the oven.
The house was filled with the flavors coming from her seasoning and spices, and once out of the oven, she set her pie on the counter, just inside the sliding window, to cool. Her stomach had started to rumble, and she anticipated digging into her creation.
She was finishing her paper when she heard a scratching by the window. She knitted her brows as she walked cautiously to the kitchen to investigate. She peered outside and noticed a cat reaching toward the window, paws scratching as it tried to get a piece of the pie.
Nikki smiled. “Oh, you like the smell too, don’t you?” she asked the animal as she slid the window open. “I guess we could share.”
She reached for the animal and was surprised when it calmly came toward her. She enticed it with the pie and brought it to the back door where it could feed. She watched it as it ate hungrily and noticed it was a little thin, with its fur pasted on, like it had gotten caught in something sticky. There were no name tags, and she suspected it was a stray cat.
After it was done eating, she took on the task of cleaning it up. That was a bit of a struggle, and she realized all too quickly that cats really didn’t like water much. She managed to get it decent-looking.
The thought occurred to her that she could take it to the Humane Society. She was glad for yet another distraction as she drove to the shelter.
“Nikki,” Reed greeted her upon arrival. “What do we have here?”
“Oh, just a little friend that wandered onto my windowsill today. You think you can make a home for her here?”
Reed’s jaw dropped. “Sorry, Nikki. We’re out of space at the moment.”
“Oh, okay. But I can’t just let it go now,” she said as she looked at the very calm animal. She couldn’t imagine how it was a stray.
Reed grinned at her. “Maybe you can keep it.”
“Keep it?” Nikki asked in surprise.
“Just until we have more space. People adopt animals all the time. I’m sure we’ll have a space in no time.”
Nikki sighed and looked at the cat as it yawned and prepared to take a snooze. “It is kinda cute. Okay, I’ll keep it. For now.”
“I’m glad you came over,” Reed said. “I meant to call you but got caught up.”
“What’s up?” Nikki asked and started to stroke the cat in her arms.
“I just wanted to keep you in the loop about this weekend,” he beamed. “Everything is in place. We’ve sent word to practically everyone with ears or eyes.”
Nikki laughed. “We’ll have the place all set. I can’t wait. Thanks again, Reed.”
“Anytime,” he said.
And Nikki returned home with her new friend. He sat on the front seat with his head on his paws, and she reached over and occasionally stroked it as she drove.
It would seem she had planned on staying in Camano for a short time, but as the days passed, she felt like she was slowly setting her roots.
