Her Enemy Protector Bear by Cynthia Wilde
Chapter 13
Zoe stood in the large kitchen of Nick's two-story house. He and Devon went out to pick up lunch for all of them while she was supposed to be resting, but Zoe couldn't relax. On the one hand she was kind of in heaven because she had met someone who was turning into the man of her dreams. Last night almost cemented it. But besides all his hotness, and all the things he could do with his tongue, well he was just so sweet. She was falling hard. So that was great.
But at the same time her mind was in full-blown problem-solving mode. What happened to her at the lake didn't make any sense. She’d almost drowned! She’d certainly been convinced she was going to, until Nick saved her. But why would someone want her dead? She knew it wasn't her imagination that someone pushed her and held her down. She was sure of that. She shivered at the thought. Zoe hadn't been in the area long enough to make enemies, and outside of work at the faire, she didn’t even know anyone.
She couldn't think straight. Her mind raced all over the place. For some reason it went right to Furdi. That dream had scared her to death. Now she couldn’t shake it. He'd been so sweet and cuddly when they first got him. He seemed exceptionally smart for a stray cat, and he didn't even fight her when she'd put a leash on him, which had been kind of miraculous.
It was after they'd started to settle down at the faire that he began to act like a completely different animal. It was literally since arriving here that he’d become a hissing, aggressive cat. Now after the dream her mind was starting to go a little crazy.
Over the last four weeks, he'd disappear, only to come back once in a while to eat some food or sit on Devon's lap. The cat stopped interacting with Zoe; it was as if he didn't like her anymore. That was right after the first day they were there, and the black and white cat showed up in front of the booth. Furdinand had gotten so upset that he ran off again for a day after that little episode, and the black and white cat never came back. Then it showed up once again only to claw her leg at the lake when she was pushed.
What is wrong with me? Why am I thinking so much about the damn cats? As much as it made no sense, she knew there was something going on with them, she just couldn’t put her finger on it.
Zoe even wondered if Furdinand had anything to do with Nick's back storeroom's spraying, though it didn't make sense. If the cat were upset with me, why would it go after Nick’s things?Why would any cat go after a bunch of costumes? What kind of cat ‘seeks vengeance’? She sighed. It all confused her. What is going on around here, and why am I being targeted? And what about the strays? Zoe knew she needed to get to the bottom of it all, starting with finding that damn special moo cat. At the very least maybe it would set her mind at ease to get it tested for rabies. She actually did have an idea just how to catch it.
Nick's pantry was sparse. Some wheat crackers, a bag of sugar, three boxes of instant rice, several cans of salmon, and a solitary bag of flour. All Zoe needed were some eggs, which Nick happened to have in his fridge, hidden among something that was once a block of cheese, and several half-eaten Chinese take-out boxes that smelled like they'd gone bad weeks ago. What has he been eating this whole time? she thought as she vowed to fill his fridge with real food as soon as she could get to a grocery store.
Making the treats was easy, though she hadn't done it in such a long time. Zoe remembered a simple recipe she'd used when she was a teenager, when her parents’ barn was full of cats that would let only her touch them. Her dad hated the cats and tried to get rid of them, but Zoe fought back and took care of them herself, making sure they were all happy and fed. Once she left, though, she knew her dad would drive them away. She knew he would never have hurt them, but also that he would never have feed them.
Zoe felt terrible for abandoning her little cat family and felt obligated to make up for it now that she had the means. It was probably why she still had connections with rescuing cats, that barn story. She was going to make treats again, this time she’d save them all. She got all her tools ready for the task. The blender roared with the sound of the mixing ingredients as Zoe set the oven to three-fifty. Unlike most commercial treats, these didn’t smell bad at all. If Zoe didn’t know better, she would think it was a good lunch for a person to eat. Rolling out the fishy dough, she sprinkled a little sea salt as she hummed. It felt good to cook in a large kitchen instead of the tiny, cramped camper stove she was so used to.
Carefully cutting out little fish shapes in the dough, Zoe placed them on a greased cookie sheet and set them in the oven to bake. By the time they were done, Nick and Devon appeared in the doorway with a pizza and salad.
“What smells so good?” asked Nick as he sniffed the air. “It smells like salmon pie.”
Zoe smiled as she took the treats out of the oven. “Cat treats,” she said. “Want one?”
Nick waved her away. “I’ve never smelled cat treats like that before.”
“That’s because most of them are full of chemicals and preservatives,” she said, setting down the tray to cool. “If you want to catch your cat, or any cat, for that matter, these will do the trick.”
Nick looked at her and then shrugged. “I'm not sure you'll be able to catch the one I am looking for, but the strays, definitely.”
“What makes your cat so special?” Zoe asked curiously. “I had a barn full of ferals that loved me when I brought these to them. Even some of the worst and most skittish of them let me pet them when I brought these.”
“Let's just say, she's not like other cats,” Nick said. His eyes flashed over to Devon, who smiled at him as if they had an understanding. “But you can try,” he said quickly.
Zoe wasn't sure what the look the two of them shared was, but she decided to ask Devon later, when Nick wasn't around. Zoe wasn't sure she was comfortable with the two of them bonding so quickly. She didn't want Devon to be disappointed if things didn't work out between her and Nick. It was one of the hard and fast rules she’d heard from single mom friends, back when it didn’t apply to her, don’t let the kids get attached.
After the boys had left the kitchen she added what she always called the final ingredient to the treats. She lay them all out in front of her and wished that all cats that ate them would be healthy, happy, and whole. She brought up all her love for animals and said her little special prayer. There, all done! She knew it was silly but it always made her feel good.
* * *
A few hours later,after pizza was consumed, Nick was called out on faire business. Zoe went to work on the restoration of the damaged costumes, while Devon settled in front of the TV. He chose to watch a show about bears. The afternoon was pleasant as the speaker droned on about bears and the salmon run in the river.
Zoe's thoughts drifted. She loved sewing, but she felt distracted. So much had happened over the last several weeks since Devon’s dad had left them. Zoe never thought she would find herself in another relationship, much less one with a man like Nick. He had seemed all bluster and ego until she got to know him. Now, he was full of kindness toward her, as if they'd never been rivals. She realized now a lot of that had been because of how reactive she had been with him. She wondered how the weekend would go, now that everything had changed between them. Now that she had calmed down too.
“Bears really love salmon,” said Devon out of the blue, cutting into Zoe's thoughts.
“Yes, they do,” she said, agreeing with him. “Salmon are definitely part of their diet; the salmon run is a yearly buffet for the ones lucky enough to be there for it.”
“Nick really likes salmon,” Devon said. He turned to Zoe, and she could not read his expression as she usually could. “I mean he really likes it.”
“I suppose he does. There's a lot of it in his cupboard.” Zoe felt uncertain where the conversation was going.
“He's like a bear,” said Devon.
“I suppose he is,” said Zoe, laughing. “Where is this coming from?”
Her son looked at her as if he wanted to tell her something and then decided not to. “I don't know,” he said. “Just something I was thinking about. Something I thought you should think about.”
She gave him a confused before shaking her head and changing the topic. “Do you like being here, Devon,” asked Zoe. “Is Nick nice to you when I'm not around?”
“Oh yeah,” said Devon smiling. He lit up at the question. “He's pretty cool. He knows a lot of people, and I met some new friends because of him. He's fun to hang out with.” Then Devon got a serious look on his face. “And he saved your life, Mom.”
“I know,” she answered him. “And he's being very kind, but if there's anything you want to tell me, anything at all, please do, okay?” she asked. “I just want you to know you can always talk to me.”
“I know,” said Devon. “Anyhow yeah I really like it here. I get to watch TV here, and the bed is way more comfortable than the trailer.”
“Well, you should be doing some schoolwork,” said Zoe. “But if you can write me a few sentences about what you've learned about bears and their habits instead, then you can watch another program after that. I want to be sure you’re on track to enter the school system this fall, deal?”
“Deal,” said Devon as he focused his attention back on the program. Zoe couldn't help but feel that there was something he really wanted to tell her but couldn't, and that worried her. Secrets between them were no good in her book.
“Devon,” she interrupted his show. “Was there something you wanted to tell me about Nick?”
“Nope,” said Devon. “Just that he's like a bear. That's all.”
Zoe could tell that it wasn't all, but she didn't want to push the subject for now. Her boy had a vivid imagination, and sometimes, he'd come up with some fantastical stories of cats talking to him and people turning into animals. He just wants some extra attention. I get it. She'd tackle the subject of Nick another day.