And... Maurice had been busy, so it wasn’t the most pleasant welcome for Corbin or Justin.
“Sorry.” She grabbed the air freshener and liberally sprayed the air.
“You have a cat,” Corbin said, “so a box is a reality. We don’t mind, do we, Justin?”
Face scrunched up in distaste, Justin mumbled, “Guess not.”
There in the doorway to the hall sat Maurice, blocking their way with his imperious posture, his incredulous expression taking in the humans and the carrier with accusation. When he sniffed the air, Ivey could almost hear him demand, A dog? You dared bring home a dog? Fluffy gray fur bristled on end and his tail poofed out to twice its normal size. Arching his back, Maurice glared.
“Let me get him,” Ivey said, but when she reached for him, the cat gave her a grumble of betrayal and shot away.
“Maurice,” she called. “Don’t be like that.”
A very rusty meow came back at her as the cat scurried down the hall and disappeared.
“Well, damn. He’s going to sulk for hours now.”
Corbin and Justin glanced at each other, then grinned.
“You talk to your cat like he’s a person,” Justin said.
“Well, yeah. He’s been my buddy for fifteen years.” She rubbed her forehead. “Like me, Maurice is set in his ways.” Giving up on that for the moment, she turned with a smile. “First things first. We can leave our wet boots in here and hang our slickers on those pegs. Let me get out of my stuff first, Corbin, then I’ll take the carrier from you.” She quickly toed off her boots and set them beneath a bench, then shrugged out of her dripping poncho.
Watching her, Corbin’s brows went up again.
Glancing down, Ivey saw why. Her oversize white T-shirt was more damp than not, and it clung to her braless breasts.
Thank goodness Justin had all his attention directed to removing his new boots.
Jerking around, presenting Corbin with her back, Ivey said, “Oops, I better change. I’ll only be a moment. Make yourself at home.” Face hot, she exited as quickly as Maurice had. Flying down the short hall, past the kitchen and into her bedroom, she very quietly closed the door and dropped back against it.
Good Lord, she’d given Corbin a peek with his ten-year-old son right there. Her face flamed with mortification. The only saving grace was that Justin hadn’t even noticed her faux pas.
For a few seconds she fanned her hot cheeks, then finally stepped away from the door and into her small bathroom.
Ack! Worse and worse. Her hair had spiraled completely out of control. In a rush, she tried to smooth it down, but it didn’t help. She curled her lip and growled at her own image.
Some women wore the super-curly look with panache. She wasn’t one of them.
Knowing she couldn’t take the time to primp, not with Corbin in her house for the first time, two animals bound to conflict and the storm still raging, Ivey went back into her room and stripped off her clothes.
What to wear, what to wear?
She heard a bark and, in agony over the circumstances, grabbed another T-shirt, this one dark gray with the word NOPE printed in bold white across the front. She found black-and-gray pajama pants and had just finished pulling them on when a tap came on her door.
“Ivey?” Justin said in a whisper.
In two big strides, she reached the door and pulled it open. “What’s up, kiddo?”
Beaming at her, he took her hand and urged quietly, “Come see.”
Curious now, very aware of the trust in his gesture, she followed along—and found Corbin sitting on the floor, his long legs stretched out, Daisy and one puppy on his lap...and Maurice close to his side.
Oh, my heart. She pressed a hand to her chest to contain all the emotion trying desperately to explode.
With one hand, Corbin gently rubbed Maurice’s neck, smoothing down his unruly fur. With the other, he kept the puppies contained. Every so often, he bent and nuzzled against Daisy’s little round head.
The sight of it completely did her in.
“Neat, huh?” Justin squeezed her fingers. “Come on. We gotta go real slow cuz Dad says your cat is nervous.”
“Your dad is a very smart guy.” Never in a million years did she think Maurice would get that close to a dog. Usually he didn’t even like people. For certain he’d always avoided Geoff.
She couldn’t have been in her room more than ten minutes. How had he pulled it off?
Releasing her, Justin got down on his hands and knees and crept forward. Maurice eyed him, then stepped into Corbin’s side and started to purr.
That did it. Pretty sure she fell in love at that moment. Not that she’d known Corbin long enough, but hey, her cat trusted him.
It wasn’t an earth-shattering thing. More like a feeling that sank into her bones.
She, too, lowered herself to keep from startling the cat, then scooted up to sit beside Maurice. The cat’s long graying whiskers curled around his face, as did the longer fur above his eyes, giving him a forever-disgruntled air, only contradicted by the rumbling purr.
“He’s a sweet old guy, aren’t you, Maurice?” Corbin stroked along his back. “You don’t mind one scared little dog visiting, do you?”
As if in answer, Maurice stretched out to sniff Daisy. The dog froze, only her tail moving as she waited to see what would happen. When one of the puppies tried to join in, Maurice gave it a swat. The pup sat down and stared.
Justin snickered. “It’s okay, buddy.” He lifted the pup into his lap.
Ivey sniffled. “Oh, you two sweethearts.” They were both utterly wonderful. “I’m not emotionally equipped for all this today.”
“They’ll get along,” Corbin said.
“But Daisy is still my dog,” Justin cautioned.
That got her snickering, which got Corbin grinning, and pretty soon they were all laughing softly.
And none of the animals minded.
* * *
Hope raised a fist to the storm, but it raged on all around her. So stupid.
“How could you get stuck?” she asked herself for the twentieth time. After a big, resounding boom, the power had gone out for good. At only two in the afternoon, it looked like early evening, the black clouds and gloomy skies blocking most light. Knowing she’d have to get at least a flashlight, she’d bundled up, gotten in her car, backed out...and off the driveway into the swampy yard where she remained.
Damn it, she was a good driver! How could that have happened?
She wasn’t sure what to do, but she’d need her car before Monday morning because she had to go to work. Ivey was visiting with Corbin, and no way would Hope interrupt.