of fresh air in his otherwise stuffy existence, and he wanted that air back. But he’d humiliated himself by trying to flirt, and Levi was definitely not interested.
George wandered near the edge of the forest that made up the back of the cabin’s property. In the far distance, he could see the very peak of the mountain that he remembered from the ghost town. The land up here was absolutely gorgeous, even with the weather easing into winter. Peaceful in its quiet. Completely different from living in the city with its constant noise and people everywhere.
The brush rustled nearby and George froze. He’d wandered a long way from the cabin, and there were wild animals out there in the mountains. Slater had said so. The rustling got closer, and then a small black-and-white creature streaked out from the underbrush. George yelped, terrified it was a skunk about to spray him.
Instead, the cat stopped by his ankles and bumped her head on his leg. George smiled and squatted to pet her. “You must be one of Levi’s kitties.”
She let him scratch her head a few times before swatting him away with one paw. “Hey, sassy britches, you came over to me for pets. Are you Baby, Sporty or, well, I guess you probably aren’t Ginger.”
She meowed at him, then turned and started walking toward the underbrush. George stood, amused when she stopped and looked back at him, as if expecting him to follow. If these cats were smart enough to use a cat door and always come home to Levi at night, maybe he was supposed to follow. Curious, he did. She darted behind a tree, and a few steps into the woods, George heard it.
Yowling. Distant, but he followed the sound and the cat deeper into the woods until he found the source. A striped ginger cat lay on her side, meowing in distress, and at first George couldn’t figure out why. He knelt, heart aching for the poor creature’s obvious pain. Then he noticed the odd angle of one hip, protruding too far from the joint. She must have fallen out of a tree and hurt herself.
“It’s okay, baby, we’ll get you help.” He yanked out his cell and called Orry.
“Dude, why are you calling? Where—what’s that noise?”
“Where’s Levi? I need to talk to him.”
“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.