on a clipboard. “Thanks. Call it in if you see it, I guess it’s been threatening local cats.”
That got their undivided attention. “I’ll keep mine in,” Gwen promised. “And call if I see any stray dogs.”
“Appreciated.” The man made his machine emit a grinding noise and guided it slowly away down the road as he peered into bushes and down alleys.
There was no retrieving their previous moment in the choking wake of the vehicle’s smog. Not now that Henrik could feel the worry for her cat weighing on her mind.
“I should warn the others not to let Socks out,” she said, confirming his suspicion. “She’s ungrateful, but she doesn’t deserve to get eaten.”
Henrik agreed with her, and they hurried back the way they’d come.
The garage door, out of view of the house, was still wide open, despite the chill, and they went in that way and closed it behind them. Gwen looked around anxiously in the low, hidden places that Socks liked to lurk. “Hey, kitty,” she called. “Socks? Let’s try treats in the kitchen.”
Neither of them spoke of the kiss that they’d shared, but Henrik was thinking about it, keenly. It was impossible to watch her bend down to look behind the bench in the practice area and not want her perfect, curvy little body. The feeling of her silky hair in his fingers still seemed to burn there.
The others were all in the living area and there was no way to sneak in from the garage without catching their attention. At first, Henrik thought that the buzz of excitement he sensed was just his own reaction to Gwen, but then he realized that their body language was full of relief and celebration.
Abruptly, he remembered. “Robin, you said you found Tadra’s key!”
Gwen, on her way through to the kitchen, almost tripped over Fabio, who stood up exactly as she would have stepped over him. “That’s amazing,” she said genuinely as she shoved the hound from her path with a knee. “Where is she? Er, he?”
There was a tablet showing what appeared to be a map on the coffee table that they were clustered around. “A wondrous land called Ecuador!” Trey explained, pointing at the green and blue shapes.
“It is a lengthy distance,” Robin said thoughtfully. They were standing on the coffee table frowning down at the device with their arms crossed. Their wings were folded at their back and Henrik wondered if they weren’t unusually tense. “I was barely able to dowse them, and their details are...confused. I should be able to make it there without trouble, but I will need to rest a short time before I can return with them.”
“You can’t miss Thanksgiving!” Heather protested. “We’re doing all the works!”
Robin looked gratified. “I hope to be back in time to eat myself insensible according to your peculiar customs,” they chuckled. “It would be difficult for me to take a cellphone of my own, but they have robust communications in Ecuador and I should be able to find a phone that I can use if I can’t manage to scry or make a portal. If I’ve overestimated my abilities, we can even figure out an alternate method of transport back.”
“I’ve got airline miles,” Ansel offered, “but I don’t know if they’ll get you from Ecuador.”
Robin gave him a grateful smile.
“Would they be able to travel as a pet?” Heather wanted to know. “They probably wouldn’t need a full seat.”
Trey, standing closest, gave Ansel a punch in the arm that rocked him. “Your generosity has been beyond that we could ask for.”
“What are airline miles?” Rez wanted to know.
Henrik was also curious about airline miles (were they a local unit of measure?), but Gwen had gone into the kitchen for treats, still concerned with her feline’s well-being. Henrik followed her.
“I’m excited to meet Tadra’s key,” she said brightly, kneeling to open the cabinet under the counter where the cat’s treats were stored. “And Tadra, for that matter. Here’s hoping that we can turn up her ornament faster than we found yours.” She laughed dryly. “It’s so funny that you were just a few blocks away, that whole time. I mean, what are the chances?”
Socks was, unsurprisingly, not in the kitchen, and did not come running when Gwen shook the little can.
Gwen wandered back out into the common area, Henrik trailing after.
“Try to keep Socks in for a little while,” she cautioned the others, checking behind the couch and in all the small spaces where the cat frequently hid.
“Are you