Into the Woods: Tales from the Hollows and Beyond(114)
Author: Kim Harrison

"Okay, you convinced me."

The woman clapped once as her red hair flew everywhere and her black boots tapped on the old oak flooring. "The band starts at ten," she said, and Cooper was struck by how much her alive and excited eyes looked like her daughter’s when she had held the kitten. "Why don’t you come early so we can talk before it gets noisy?"

"Nine thirty," Cooper affirmed, and she smiled, extending her hands for the kitten.

"Wonderful! Emily is so perceptive. How much for the cat?"

"You’re going to get it for her?" Cooper asked as he handed the squirming thing over.

"Absolutely!" Felicity snuggled the animal under her chin and smiled as whiskers tickled her neck. "I can’t have her trying to trade Leonard again!"

Cooper raised his hand against her credit card, brought out from the same pocket the bat was still in. "No charge," he said, thinking of the germs that might be attached despite the woman’s assurance that it was a pet. "We don’t actually sell the cats, but we do ask that you make a donation to the Humane Society."

Felicity smiled as if confused and tucked her card away. "See you at nine thirty, Cooper. Tell them you’re with me, and they’ll let you in. Felicity. Remember it."

"I will," he said, then hesitated. "How did you know my name?"

"Emily told me," she said, eyes glinting. "I told you, she’s been watching the store for months." And then she turned, steps clacking as she walked out the door with the kitten in hand.

Cooper watched appreciatively, thinking that he had the right seeing as they were going on a date. The bells didn’t jingle for her either, and his smile fading, he followed her to turn the Open sign around. Bemused, he shook his head, thinking about how the rest of his evening might go if he played his hand right. "If nothing else, I’m finally going to see the inside of that place," he said to the remaining kittens, and they curled up in an uncaring little gray ball.

Smiling at the reminder of how good she looked, Cooper paused in his reach for the old-style, iron bolt as a familiar figure came running to the door, her shuffling gait looking almost pained. It was Kay, and standing sideways, he pushed the heavy door open for his boss as the sleek black car with Felicity and Emily in it pulled away.

"Oh God. It’s cold tonight!" Kay exclaimed, coming in with a gust of snow. "I think I just froze my tail off!"

"Tell me about it," he said as she stomped her feet and brushed the snow off her short leather coat. "Where have you been? You’re late. Uh, not that you can’t be," he said as he threw the bolt.

Her expected laugh didn’t come. Nose wrinkled, she looked over the store, slowly taking off her snug knit hat to reveal blond hair cut just below her ears. It framed her round face to give her a sweet look with her turned-up nose and blue eyes. "You sold the Lab?"

Cooper nodded, feeling tall beside her as he always did. He couldn’t help but compare her to Felicity; the woman’s long legs, pale skin, and obvious interest stood in stark contrast to Kay’s petite stature, tan complexion, and companionable distance. Why had he wasted his time trying to get to know Kay when she so clearly wasn’t interested? "Ah, a few minutes ago," he said when she turned to him, blue eyes questioning at his lack of an answer. "Nice man with a kid."

Silent, she looked him over, her small hands unwinding her long scarf. Nodding, Kay strode to the back trailing clumps of snow. "Can you come in early tomorrow?" she asked as she vanished behind the plastic curtain. "I’ve got a new litter I’ve been wanting to bring in, and you’re so good with the paperwork."

More dogs? "Christmas is in four days!" he shouted so she’d hear.

"Yeah. I know!" she shouted back. Boot heels clacking, she strode back into the store, coat on but open, her nose still wrinkled and a disgusted look on her pretty face. "What is that smell? Did something die?"

In a pet shop? Probably. Cooper headed for the dog kennel. "I took the papers out already."

"No, it’s not that," she said, hunting with her nose and pausing when she got to the cats. "You sold a cat, too?"

"Little black one, right after the dog. Weirdest thing-" he started, his words trailing off. Christ almighty, he couldn’t tell her he gave it to a woman who had a bat. Kay would have a fit.

Kay’s eyes narrowed. "Really? What did he look like?"

"She," Cooper said reluctantly, flushing as he remembered Felicity bending over the counter. "A little girl and her mom. Hey, I’ve got a date tonight. Would you mind if I did my close-out list in the morning? I should splash on some cologne or something." And shave, he thought as he touched his jaw.

Focus distant, Kay drifted to the register. "Take a bath. You smell funny."

"Gee, thanks, Kay."

"Anyone I know?" she asked, head down as she opened her breeder file.

"I doubt it. She looked like she was from the university." Distracted now, he vowed to ask Felicity tonight if only to prove he was interested in more than how she looked.

"I need you here tomorrow at eight, okay?" Kay said, hand on a folder as she looked out into the night like it meant something. "Where are you going?"

Cooper leaned over the counter for his coat, suddenly feeling as if the cotton fabric wasn’t good enough. Gateways was totally out of his league. "Golly, Mom. It’s just a date."

That brought a smile to her, but it faded fast. "Cooper . . ." she said, reaching out to touch his shoulder. Cooper stopped, surprised, and her hand dropped, her fingers closing into a little fist. Biting her lip, she looked up at him with her big blue eyes. The woman never seemed to lose her tan, even in the dead of winter. "You said your grandmother used to tell you stories. Fairy tales."

His arms halfway into his coat, Cooper stared at her. "You mean like crossing yourself when you see a ring around the full moon, never eat food left out because the fairies might have claimed it, or that you can see lost souls on Halloween when you look between the ears of a barking dog? Yeah. She was a weird old bird. She taught me how to play poker, too."

Not giving him the expected laugh, Kay took a breath. "Be careful tonight. It’s slippery out there."

"You got it. Thanks, Kay. Have a good night."

"Godspeed, Cooper."

The bells jingled brightly as he went out, the snick of the lock behind him sounding as cold as the air now burning his lungs. Striding quickly to his beat-up Volvo, he mentally went through his closet, hoping he had something that wouldn’t make him look like a total loser. Shower, shave, and some cologne to get rid of the dog smell. Tonight would be a date to remember.