Chapters (85)
- BOOKS BY LOUISE BAY
- ONE
- Rosey
- TWO
- Byron
- THREE
- Rosey
- FOUR
- Byron
- FIVE
- Rosey
- SIX
- Byron
- SEVEN
- Rosey
- EIGHT
- Rosey
- NINE
- Byron
- TEN
- Rosey
- ELEVEN
- Byron
- TWELVE
- Rosey
- THIRTEEN
- Byron
- FOURTEEN
- Rosey
- FIFTEEN
- Rosey
- SIXTEEN
- Byron
- SEVENTEEN
- Rosey
- EIGHTEEN
- Byron
- NINETEEN
- Rosey
- TWENTY
- Rosey
- TWENTY-ONE
- Byron
- TWENTY-TWO
- Byron
- TWENTY-THREE
- Rosey
- TWENTY-FOUR
- Rosey
- TWENTY-FIVE
- Byron
- TWENTY-SIX
- Rosey
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- Byron
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- Rosey
- TWENTY-NINE
- Byron
- THIRTY
- Rosey
- THIRTY-ONE
- Rosey
- THIRTY-TWO
- Byron
- THIRTY-THREE
- Rosey
- THIRTY-FOUR
- Rosey
- THIRTY-FIVE
- Byron
- THIRTY-SIX
- Rosey
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- Byron
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- Byron
- EPILOGUE
- A month later – New York City
- 14 months later - Star Falls
- MR. MAYFAIR
- Beck
- Beck
- Stella
- BOOKS BY LOUISE BAY
The yowl sounds again, just before a long-haired white cat lands from nowhere on the porch railing.
“Fuck!” I say. “Where did that come from?”
Rosey starts to laugh next to me. “Not a wolf, then.”
“Way scarier than a wolf.”
“Byron, it’s the fluffiest cat I’ve ever seen. There’s nothing scary about it.” She leans forward, holding out her hand. “Here, kitty, kitty. Who do you belong to? Is she Beth and Mike’s cat?”
“I have no idea. But Beth and Mike live on the other side of town, so I doubt it.”
“Maybe we should feed it.”
“That will just encourage it to stay.”
She beams as I say it, like that was her exact plan.
“But it’s someone else’s cat,” I say, as if that’s the real reason I don’t want to encourage its presence here. “I’m sure they’ll miss it if you steal it away.”
Rosey narrows her eyes at me. “I’m not sure your intentions are honorable.”
I chuckle. “If you knew what I was thinking up until we got interrupted by that cat, you’d know they weren’t honorable.”
I enjoy the blush creeping over her cheeks. I glance back at the cat to find it staring at Rosey, like it knows she’s the soft touch here. It’s not wrong.
It jumps from the railing onto the floor by Rosey’s legs and starts to rub itself against her jeans. I can’t blame it. Wasn’t I ready to do the exact same thing a minute ago?
“I’ve always wanted a cat,” she says. “But there wasn’t enough room for all of us in our trailer, let alone a pet.” She scratches the cat under its chin and the cat starts to purr like a Bugatti.
“It’s loud,” I say.
Rosey laughs. “You jealous?” she asks. “You want me to tickle you under your chin?”
“You can do anything you want to me,” I reply.
“I’m going to take a rain check on that,” she says, letting go of my hand and standing. “I have an early shift tomorrow. I don’t want to piss off my boss on my second day.”
“Yeah, that would be a bummer.”
She laughs, though I’m not quite sure why.
I don’t want her to leave, but we barely know each other. I can’t expect her to stay. The cat follows her into the cabin, and all I can do is sit here and wonder how the fuck I almost kissed a near-perfect stranger, and why I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop myself next time.