There was a weird vibe in the room. A feeling of expectation. She looked from him to his mother. "Is everything okay?"
"Fine," he said. So why were they looking at her that way? As if something was about to happen.
"So is that it?" she asked, nodding to the box.
"That's it," Elizabeth said. "Open it."
Julie eyed it warily. Was something going to explode or jump out at her? Was this some sort of gag gift? Because it sure didn't look as if had been shipped there.
"Come on," Luc said, sliding the box closer to himself to give her room to sit. If it were something volatile he probably wouldn't do that. Right? Of course, if he were the type of man to give his wife a box of some volatile substance, she wouldn't be married to him.
She sat gingerly on the edge of the cushion. He slid the box to her, and feeling a little nervous still, she reached for the top. She tested the weight of it, and it was definitely too light to be a fruit basket. Bracing herself, she lifted the flaps, sure she was in for a shock. And boy, did she get one when she looked inside. Curled up in the bottom of the box, on a hospital baby blanket, lay a sleeping ball of fluffy, snow-white fur with an itty-bitty pink nose and black tipped ears.
"Oh my gosh, it's a kitten!" she said, but by their smiles, it was clear that they both knew exactly what was inside the box. "Did you do this?" she asked Luc.
"My mom and I went to the shelter today."
"But...you said-"
"Did you honestly think I wouldn't let you have a cat?" he asked.
Actually, she had. He'd said no, and in her world, no meant no. "But I thought you didn't like cats."
"I said I didn't dislike them. Would I rather have a dog, yes, but as you said, we don't have the time."
"It would probably be best if I watch him for you while you both work," Elizabeth said. "Until he gets bigger and knows his way around the house."
"He?" Julie said, lifting him gently from the box. He was so small and fragile looking. As she cuddled him in her palms, he blinked his little eyes open and looked right at her, making a soft mewling sound, as if he was saying hello.
"He is a very special kitten," Luc said. "One that no one else wanted."
Who in their right mind wouldn't want this adorable little ball of fluff? "Is there something wrong with him? Is he sick?"
"He's blind," Luc said. He moved the box out of the way so he could scoot closer. "I guess it's common in white cats. There were a dozen or so other kittens available, but Megan said the little ones go fast. I knew you would want an animal who really needed a good home. We looked at the older cats first, then Megan told me about this little guy. The second I saw him I knew he was perfect."
"He is perfect," Julie said, rubbing her cheek against the softness of his fur, and he started to purr. A surprisingly loud purr to be coming out of something so small. "He's just so tiny and sweet. I love him."
"There's the added bonus of him not jumping up on things," Luc said, rubbing the kitten under the chin with his index finger. "Since he wouldn't know where to jump."
"He really can't see anything?"
"Megan said he won't respond to visual stimulation. Otherwise he's perfectly healthy. He'll need shots eventually, but that's about it."
"How old is he?"
"Eight weeks."
He was wide-awake now and fussing to get free, so she set him down on her lap, but he didn't stay there long. He sniffed around the sofa cushions for a few seconds, then leaned way over the edge, and before she could grab him, toppled over and landed on his back on the rug.
"Oh no!" she said, reaching for him, thinking he might be hurt, but he got up on his feet, shook it off and started sniffing around the coffee table leg. "Resilient little thing, isn't he?"
"What will you name him?" Elizabeth asked.
"I'm not sure. I'd like to get to know him a little better before I give him a name."
The nurse came in the room looking for Elizabeth. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's time for your PT."
"Already?" Elizabeth said with a sigh. To keep the circulation moving in her legs she had a daily physical therapy session. "It can wait a while."
Luc shot her a look. "Mother."
"Fine, fine, I'll go," she mumbled, wheeling her chair from the room.
"So you like him?" Luc asked, even though it was pretty darned obvious.
"He's adorable."
"His litter pan and food are in the utility room. I wasn't sure where you would want to keep them."
"In my room for now, I guess." She scooped the kitten up before he could get far, but he didn't want to be held and struggled to get free. She set him back on the floor and watched him sniff around. "This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me."
"And I know just how you can thank me," he said his lips tipping up in a sly grin. She knew that look, and what it meant. And she was more than happy to oblige.
She leaned in and kissed him, and when he slid his hand behind her neck and under the root of her ponytail, cradling her head in his palm, she was toast. Luc knew just what to do to get her engine revving, and right now, her gas pedal was to the floor.
"Maybe we should take this upstairs," she said. "If you have time."
"I could be persuaded to take the rest of the day off. How about you?"
"I don't know, my boss is kind of a hard-ass."
Luc grinned. "I think he could make an exception just this- Ow!"
He winced in pain, and she looked down to see her sweet little kitten climbing his leg, nails out.
"Hey, you," she said, carefully extracting him from Luc's slacks, hoping that he hadn't ruined them. "Climbing up pant legs, not cool."
"Beth warned me that he can be very mischievous," Luc said. "She said that we have to keep a close eye on him until he's familiar with the layout of the house."
Considering how big the house was, that could take a while, and she could hardly imagine anything so small and sweet being mischievous. How much damage could one tiny kitten do?
It didn't take long to find out.
Thirteen
They took the kitten along up to Luc's bedroom, putting him on his blanket in his box on the floor by the bed. Luc had never been a cat person. As a kid he pretty much ignored the ones they had on the ranch. But he couldn't deny that this little guy was kinda cute.
When he first walked into the shelter he'd been overwhelmed by the volume of animals in need of homes, and picking one seemed a daunting task. He'd wandered the facility looking in cages. His mother had been no help at all. Had it been up to her they would have left the place with a couple dozen felines. It had been Megan who swayed him in the right direction.
He had been looking at the older cats, the ones who had been in the shelter the longest, when Megan suggested a kitten.
"I would think that kittens would be pretty easy to place," he'd said. "Julie would choose a cat no one else wants."
"I have just the thing," Megan had said, steering him to a cage in the kitten section. "Someone brought in a litter last week, and this little guy is the only one left."
The second he saw the little white fur ball he was sure Julie would love him, and when Megan told him the kitten was blind, he knew it was fate.
Julie was so independent and capable, not to mention practical, it wasn't often that she let him do anything really nice for her. So when she asked him about getting a cat he lunged at the opportunity. Nothing meant more to him than making her happy.
And she seemed happy now. But they barely had a chance to get started in bed before the kitten climbed up the side to join them.
"Down you go," Luc said, scooping him up and setting him back in his box. "This is your bed."
They had just taken off their socks when he was up there with them again, so back in the box he went. And back up he climbed a few seconds later.
"This is not working," Luc said, dropping the kitten into his box again, this time not quite so gently. And back up he came like a spring, clawing his way up the comforter. "Do we have any packing tape?"
Julie shot him a look. "If you're thinking we're going to tape his box closed, think again."
Okay, bad idea. "We could lock him in the bathroom."
He got another look.
"Have you got a better idea?" Luc asked, putting the kitten on the floor this time. "Shoo. Go play."