“Why? Are you okay?”
“I found one of his cats in the woods and she’s hurt. I don’t know what to do.”
“Shit, okay. One sec.” The hum of voices filled a line for too damned long, and the ginger’s distress was starting to freak George out.
“George?” Levi asked. “Where are you?”
“In the woods.”
“North or south?”
“I have no idea.”
Levi’s voice was coming in shorter pants, as if he was running and talking at the same time. Knowing he was coming helped George keep a lid on his panic. “When you walked, did you go left or right along the tree line?”
“Right.”
“Okay, good. Which cat and what’s wrong with her?”
“The ginger, and I think maybe she dislocated her hip but I don’t know. She isn’t bleeding, she’s just in pain.”
“I know, I can hear her. She’s Ginger. I’ll be there soon, okay?”
“Okay.”
Levi hung up, and George waited, making what he hoped were soothing sounds, but the poor cat’s meowing had begun fucking with his anxiety. His hands were shaking, and he really needed Levi to get there. To fix this, because George didn’t know how.
He finally heard Levi shouting his name; George shouted right back, and it helped Levi zero in on them. His face was flushed but he seemed outwardly calm, and George was surprised to see Orry following right behind.
“Are you okay?” Orry asked George, while Levi fell to his knees and stroked Ginger’s head.
“I’ve been better but I’m not hurt.” George watched Levi gently run his fingers along the cat’s flank, down to her protruding hip. She hissed. “Your black-and-white one led me to Ginger.”
Levi looked up, his eyes a bit too shiny. “That’s Baby. I think you’re right about Ginger’s hip.”
“What do we do? Vets aren’t open on Thanksgiving.”
“There’s an emergency vet about thirty minutes from here. Orry, can you do a favor for me?”
“Sure,” Orry replied.
“My house is only a few dozen yards farther north. My pickup’s there, and the keys are in the ignition. Can you bring it down here? I don’t want to jostle Ginger more than I have to.”
“Of course, I’ll be right back.” Orry took off at a run.
“I’m so sorry, little girl,” Levi said to his wailing pet. “I wish I could make it stop hurtin’.” The heartbreak and tenderness in his voice made George’s own heart ache a bit for the older man’s pain.
George risked reaching out and squeezing Levi’s shoulder. “I’m sorry she’s hurt.” I’m sorry you’re hurting, too.
“Thank you. Me too.”
The leaves rustled nearby. Baby came back out of the underbrush, trailed by a calico with gorgeous mottled fur in all shades of brown, tan, black and gold. Sporty. The pair stopped nearby and watched, seeming confused by their sister’s problem.
“They were six weeks old when I rescued them,” Levi said. “Littermates, I believe. They’ve got this hive mind that’s a little scary when they conspire to steal whatever I’m cooking for dinner.”
“It’s sweet how close they are.”
A truck engine rumbled toward them. “Okay, you aren’t going to like this, little girl.” Levi took his jacket off and spread it on the ground. As gently as he could, he lifted Ginger up and put her on the coat. The cat yowled and hissed but didn’t actively try to bite him. Levi wrapped her up, then slowly stood. George helped him with a hand on his elbow for balance. He kept his hand there. It was just practical. They didn’t need Levi tripping as they picked their way out of the woods.
The truck was idling, Orry standing by the fender. George opened the passenger door for Levi, who seemed torn about putting Ginger on the seat. No one to hold and support her. “I’ll go with you,” George said without thinking. “I can hold Ginger so she isn’t alone.”
Surprise flashed across Levi’s face for an instant before something softer replaced it. “Are you sure?”
No. “Yes.”
“Okay. Thank you, George.”
“Of course.” He climbed into the passenger seat, buckled up, and held still while Levi carefully arranged the coat-bundled cat on his lap.
Orry appeared before Levi could shut the door. “Call me, bro. Keep me updated on everything.” His expression clearly said he didn’t trust Levi alone with his brother on a long car trip to an unknown destination. But George trusted Levi.
“I will.”
Orry flashed Levi, who was getting in on the driver’s side, an odd look, then gently closed the door. George closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. On the scents of leather and a light, spicy cologne in the truck cab. On the constant whine of the cat on his lap. The vibrations of the truck as Levi drove. The radio wasn’t on, leaving the truck mostly silent when Ginger wasn’t voicing her displeasure.
“You doing okay over there?” Levi asked after a few minutes.
“I think so.” He opened his eyes. “This is...really outside my comfort zone.”
“Are you sure—”
“I’m sure I want to be here.” George met and held Levi’s gaze briefly. “I need to do this. Baby found me and brought me to Ginger to help her. Let me help.”
Levi grinned so sweetly George couldn’t help another glance at his lips. Lips he’d first noticed while they ate, watching them open and close around bites of food. Unbidden images had begun stirring in the far recesses of his mind. Images and urges that Levi had promptly quelled with his obvious disinterest. Not that George was entirely sure what he, himself, wanted.
To feel things. To stop being cut off from the world and the people in it.
“I’m grateful for your help and acknowledge your intentions,” Levi said.
That was a strange way to phrase things, but once in a while, odd words seemed to come out of Levi. But he’d mentioned studying religions and spirituality; maybe that was his Zen way of saying “You can help.”
Ginger’s cries lowered a bit the longer they drove. Maybe it was the comfort of being on a warm lap, in the warm truck cab, versus laying on the cold ground alone. George stroked her forehead with his fingertips, wishing he could do more for her and for her daddy. They soon left Garrett behind and were on the interstate heading west toward San Jose.