by Shea Balik
“Uhm, yeah,” Wylie said. “I think the water traumatized her more than the Fae ever could. You do know cats hate water, right?”
Mingus gasped then kissed the top of Pretty Baby’s head. “Oh, my poor girl. I didn’t even think of that. Come on. I’ll take you inside and give you a treat. Would that make it better?”
Oluf watched him go without Mingus looking his way.
“Dude,” Wylie said to Oluf. “I think you’re being upstaged by a cat.”
Unfortunately, that seemed to be the way things had been since Mingus had regained consciousness after being stabbed. Oluf feared, so long as that cat was around, he would never get any closer to Mingus, for it was as if the man used the cat to keep Oluf at a distance.
All he could hope was when they got back to Colorado, and things returned to normal, he’d have a chance to get closer to Mingus.
CHAPTER 9
Wylie let out scream when he started to sit down next to Mingus but saw Pretty Baby sitting on his lap. “Damn,” Wylie breathed out as he went ahead and plopped into the same seat. “You’ve really got to warn people when you’re bringing that thing around.”
“She’s a cat, not a thing.” Mingus was getting tired of Wylie always picking on his baby. “And it’s not funny to pick on her.”
Wylie nodded at him with his eyes slightly widened and a serious expression on his face. “I agree, which is why I’m not laughing.”
“Maybe you should tell Wylie what happened to her,” Oluf suggested as he sat down next to Mingus with a plate of food now that he’d finally finished cooking for everyone.
Mingus wasn’t so sure the workload was fair to Oluf. The man slaved from the early morning to late at night making sure all the meals were made, as well as snacks for anyone who got hungry, to scrubbing the kitchen clean so it sparkled. Hell, he was fairly sure they could eat off the floor.
They’d been in Colorado for a week and if Mingus didn’t hang out in the kitchen, he never got to spend time with Oluf. Even then, he felt as if Oluf’s attention wasn’t really on him, but on the work he needed to do.
Sure they all worked hard, but Oluf did all that, plus trained for hours every single day on combat training. He was the first one up and usually the last one to bed. It was exhausting. Mingus should know, for just this morning he had tried to get up before Oluf. He’d set his alarm for five, but when he arrived in the kitchen, he would swear Oluf had been up for hours already.
“What difference would it make?” Mingus grumbled. He was tired. Being up for two hours when it was only seven would do that a person. Or, at least, to him. Oluf seemed perfectly happy, cheerful even.
It just wasn’t natural to be so damn chipper that early in the morning. Then again, it hadn’t helped that for the past week Mingus had been forced to join the Vikings in their combat training.
He wouldn’t have to do it all the time, thanks to Dermot and Wylie basically refusing to join in and causing the group to rethink the need for the druids to learn to use weapons, or even worse, their fists, when they had magic.
That said, it had been felt prudent they at least learn the basics of self-defense, just in case. Mingus didn’t have an argument for that, neither had Wylie and Dermot, for they’d had to join him. But it just left him even more grumpy because not only had he not gotten enough sleep because of his early morning alarm, but he was physically exhausted, too.
As if sensing his sour mood and deciding she didn’t want to deal with it, Pretty Baby jumped down from his lap and sauntered off. “Traitor,” he mumbled to her, sure she would find a nice sunny spot to take a nap, something he desperately wished he could do.
“Damn,” Wylie whispered as he stared at Pretty Baby in horror. “Was her tail sewn on?”
“Yes,” Mingus said through clenched teeth, ticked at the way his baby was being talked about. “If you must know, when she was barely a month old, her owner kicked her through a glass window.”
Tears stung his eyes as he remembered the day he’d gotten that call. He worked at a local vet’s office for the past couple of years in hopes of one day making enough money to go to school to become a veterinarian himself. Mostly he answered phones, greeted clients, and helped care for the animals they boarded.
But once in a while Dr. Krinsky would allow him to help with the examination too. In Mingus’s opinion, there was nothing better than caring for animals, especially when they were in need.
“I’d seen a lot of animal cruelty working in a vet’s office, but the day that call came in had to be the worst.” His voice had grown husky as he remembered receiving the call from the police who had responded to a call about animal cruelty from someone who had been out on a walk, only to witness the tragedy.
“Apparently, the owner of the cat who had gotten pregnant had been drinking, even though it was only eight in the morning. The mewling kittens had gotten him angry and he started to kick them.” The tears fell from Mingus’s eyes and Oluf put his arm around him, just holding him tightly.
He hadn’t realized how good it would feel to have that support until now. His parents, as much as they loved him, had never really understood Mingus’s obsession with animals.
“The others, as well as the mother, didn’t survive. Dr. Krinsky hadn’t been sure he’d be able to save Pretty Baby. She’d been cut in so many places from the shards of glass.” God, he wished he could forget that day. It had to have been one of the worst experiences of his life and that was after dealing with the Unseelie’s pets, as well as the Seelie.
He much rather face them than have to see the tiny blood covered ball of fur, mewling pathetically in pain. “I named her Pretty Baby because anyone who’d been through that much trauma deserved to know how special she was. That no amount of scars on the outside could ever replace how sweet she was on the inside.”
He turned to Wylie. “It’s not her fault what happened to her, but she survived. For that, I think she merits as much love and attention as she can get.”
A tear tumbled down Wylie’s cheek. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “You’re right. I promise, I’ll try to be nicer to her.”
“Thank you,” Mingus told him, appreciating his friend admitting he’d been wrong to treat Pretty Baby like that.
Then he stood up, picked up his plate and went to the sink. Rinsing it, he placed in the dishwasher. “I think I need to go talk to someone,” he told Oluf. “I’ll be back to help you do the dishes.”
Not letting Oluf say something that might stop him, Mingus left. He had his own apology to give and if he let someone ask him more questions, he feared he’d let it stop him, because this was something Mingus was loathe to do.
It took him ten minutes to find the person he was looking for. When he did, Mingus was surprised to find her with Pretty Baby.
“Who’s a good girl?” Kyleigh cooed gently as she scratched under Pretty Baby’s chin. “You’re a good girl, aren’t you? Yes, you are.”
He stood there for several minutes watching his cat tilt her head this way and that for the perfect spot to be scratched. Her purrs got louder when she finally stilled and Kyleigh dug her nails in just right on the spot she’d decided needed the most attention.
“You’re good with her,” Mingus said after another minute of trying to figure out what he was going to say. “She’s not always great with anyone new in her life.”
Case in point, Oluf. Pretty Baby had the man so clawed up, Mingus feared he’d end up hating her. But Oluf never gave up trying to get Pretty Baby to accept him. He was almost as persistent with her as he was with Mingus.
If only he could actually spend more time with the Viking, then Mingus wouldn’t feel the need to keep a distance between them when they were together. Although, if he were honest, a space keeping them apart disappeared whenever Mingus needed a shoulder.
Like this morning. He had no trouble letting the man comfort him as he spoke about Pretty Baby’s injuries. Maybe, if he didn’t try to put that distance there, they would n
aturally become closer.
Pushing the confusing thoughts aside, he went over and sat on the other side of where Pretty Baby had set herself up on a window seat with the sun streaming in right on top of her. He let his hand trail along her back while Kyleigh continued to scratch her chin.
“Animals are easier,” Kyleigh said. “They don’t judge you.”
Ouch.
Mingus might have deserved it, but that didn’t mean he appreciated hearing it. Not one to procrastinate, Mingus took a breath and pushed forward. “Look, Kyleigh.” Shit, now that he was there talking to her, he had no clue what to even say.
Well, not all of it, but he did know one thing. “I want to apologize for comparing you to the Fae. It was unfair and probably a bit childish of me.”
Her head jerked up and her gaze fixed on him as if trying to judge if he were telling the truth of not. “What?” she said, before switching to, “Why?”
This was the part he probably should have taken time to figure out before he started this. But it wasn’t as if Mingus could do much about it at this point. He looked down at Pretty Baby and said, “Do you know how Pretty Baby got all her scars?”
Kyleigh scrunched up her face for a moment as if wondering where this was leading. “No. I assumed she was hurt in some way.”
“Her owner. The person she should have been able to trust, kicked her through a window.” Mingus proceeded to tell the rest of that horrid tale. “Ever since then, she’s had an aversion to all men, even me.”
Pretty Baby started purring loudly again as he scratched behind her ears. “Don’t get me wrong, she is learning to trust me, but even now, after I’ve cared for her for more than three months, she still scratches the shit out of me if I try to pick her up.”
That had Kyleigh frowning. “But I do that all the time and she doesn’t scratch me.”
Mingus smiled, glad his little girl had someone she could trust completely. “Part of her fear is that I’m a man, as was her previous owner. But the point is, she’s afraid and the only way she knows how to tell me that is by lashing out.”
There was understanding in Kyleigh’s eyes. “Yeah, I know. It’s what I do.” She let out a long sigh before reaching over, picking up Pretty Baby and snuggling her close. “I don’t mean to, I swear. It just starts to come out of my mouth and I don’t even realize what I’m saying until it’s too late.”
Mingus nodded. “Just like Pretty Baby takes a swipe at me before she even realizes who it is holding her. There’s not much I can do to help Pretty Baby, except to show her with time that I would never hurt her. But you…”
He held Kyleigh’s gaze, wishing to God he didn’t have to see the tears in them, threatening to break free. “If we could find you someone to talk to, a counselor, do you think that would help you learn to cope?”
Several of those drops of water fell down her cheeks and Mingus rushed to say, “If not, we can try to find another way. It’s just none of us know exactly how to help you, so we thought maybe a professional would be a good idea.”
He wanted to shout with glee when Kyleigh gave him the barest of nods as she continued to rub her face along Pretty Baby’s back. “Maybe,” she whispered after a full minute of silence.
That was good enough for Mingus. Smiling at her, he reached over and gave Pretty Baby one last pat on the head. “In the meantime, feel free to share your pain with the cat. You’ve both had a lot of pain to deal with, it might actually do you both a lot of good to be there for each other.”
He got the slightest smile as he stood up. Just as he was heading out of the room, he heard her whispered, “Thank you.”
Turning back to her, Mingus was struck by how sad she was as she silently cried against Pretty Baby’s fur. “You’re welcome and know, even though we didn’t start off on the right foot, I’m here anytime you want to talk.”
Feeling better about things, Mingus headed back into the kitchen. The odds were Oluf had finished the dishes already, but that didn’t mean Mingus couldn’t find another way to help. For if he wanted to get to know Oluf better, and he very much did, Mingus would need to find a way to get closer to the man.
CHAPTER 10
“You came back.” Oluf felt himself take his first real breath since Mingus had left when they’d been eating breakfast. It had taken a lot of doing. Between getting up at three to start preparing the meals for the day and convincing Ryley and Cullen to help with putting things in the oven for lunch and dinner, as well as threaten no bacon for a month to get Arne and Bjorn to help with the chickens and cows Mingus had forced them to bring to Colorado, Oluf managed to carve out the whole day to spend with Mingus.
Assuming the man agreed. Which, considering he would need to be without his beloved cat, that might be a hard sell. He was hopeful, but he did have a backup plan if Mingus refused to leave Pretty Baby.
“Yeah, sorry that took so long. I know I promised to help with the dishes, but I needed to talk to Kyleigh and apologize for what happened back in Michigan.”
He was sure the surprise Oluf felt showed on his face. “You did?”
At the time, Oluf had thought Mingus was right to chastise Ky, because at the time, he was still pissed at her for scaring Mingus and the kids. After thinking about it, Oluf did feel as if Mingus might have been a bit hard on her, but he hadn’t been sure how to bring it up. Or if he even should.
Mingus nodded. “When I was telling Wylie about what Pretty Baby had been through, I realized how she is always so scared, especially when it comes to men.”
Oluf held up his arm where three fresh red lines now adorned his flesh. “Yeah, she got me earlier when I tried to pet her. I think she’s more vicious when I walk up to her and she’s on the floor.”
“Exactly,” Mingus grinned at him. “Because she was kicked by a man, I think even though she’s only a cat, she is terrified that will happen again.”
“Not that I can blame her,” Oluf said. That had to have been horrifying to not only be kicked but to go flying into glass where she was cut up quite badly.
That smile brightened even more, lighting up the entire kitchen and leaving Oluf staring at Mingus, wishing he could kiss him. They weren’t ready for that, or, at least, he didn’t think they were. No. He was. Mingus, not so much.
Oluf had sensed the man kept a distance between them that he couldn’t seem to crack. That was one of the reasons for this outing. To give them a chance to get to know each other without the others clamoring for more food.
“Anyway,” Mingus said. “That got me thinking about Kyleigh and her own lashing out. It’s hard to blame her when she’s just reacting to fear. I mean, yeah, she shouldn’t be doing it to the kids, but I don’t think she has that much control when she’s faced with it.”
Oluf wasn’t sure what to say to that. He and the guys had been discussing the same thing since she first arrived.
“She did agree to talk to someone.” Mingus held up his hand to stop the objection he must have thought Oluf would raise. But Oluf wasn’t going to argue. He thought it was a good idea. “Obviously, we’ll have to find someone who can be trusted, especially with the stuff she’s bound to say, but it’s too important to do nothing. Kyleigh’s too important.”
“You won’t hear me say anything against that,” Oluf told him. “For that matter, I don’t think anyone really objects. They’re just more worried what would happen to her if the person she talked to tried to have her committed.”
Unfortunately, it was a real possibility. Their world wasn’t normal, by any stretch of the imagination.
“That’s why I think it’s up to us to find this person and explain what will be said.” That didn’t leave out the possibility of them being committed, but at least it wouldn’t harm Kyleigh’s emotional state.
“We can do that.” Oluf went behind the kitchen island and pulled out a big picnic basket. “But first, I’d like to spend the day with you, if you are up for it?”
Excitement danced in those sky blue ey
es. “A picnic. Really?”
“And I’m hoping a horseback ride through the mountains,” Oluf added.
Mingus actually jumped up and down as he clapped his hands. “That would be so great, but I have to go check on the animals first.”
“Actually,” Oluf gave Mingus his best smile. “I took care of that already. “Well, Arne and Bjorn did, with some help from Hrafn.”
A second later he had his arms full of Mingus as the man practically leaped into them. The feel of that hard body against his, as well as the intoxicating aroma that was all Mingus, had Oluf sure not even Valhalla could be as perfect.
“Do I have time to change?” Mingus asked as he pulled from the hug just as quick as it started. “I’d like to throw on jeans instead of wearing shorts if we’re riding horses.”
“That you do,” Oluf told him. “I just have to get us some drinks and we’ll be all ready. Why don’t I meet you on the front porch?”
Mingus dashed from the room without a word. Seconds later, Oluf heard footsteps pounding up the staircase. Smiling, he went over to the refrigerator and pulled out several bottles of water and a bottle of wine, just in case. Placing them in the cooler he had stashed behind the island, he added a few ice packs and headed for the front door.
Finally, a real day off.
He refused to count the days he had to travel to find and protect druids just before rituals as a ‘day off.’ At most, he’d get a meal off after coming home from a long, weary fight, but that was all. In fairness, part of that was Oluf’s fault.
He loved to cook. It was the period when he was most at peace with the world. After battling the Fae, sometimes time in the kitchen was just what he needed to relieve all the stress. There was nothing like kneading dough, or chopping ingredients, to get out any residual anger or tension.
Since finding Mingus, Oluf found he wasn’t enjoying it as much as he used to. How could he, when it took him away from being with Mingus? As much as he appreciated when Mingus joined him in the kitchen, it wasn’t the same as being able to just be with Mingus.
