I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand as I wiggle away from Griff to go to the two kittens. He stays close behind me as I slowly get closer, not wanting to spook them.
“They’re babies.” I fall to my knees.
“There,” Griff whispers from behind me. I turn to him and follow his line of sight to see a white cat coming back toward us. She’s not very big herself, but I know she’s their mama.
“It’s okay,” I encourage her. She slowly moves closer to her babies that are now cuddled up in a ball together. The second she lies down beside them, they wiggle around to find a nipple to nurse from. “Griff.”
“I’ve got it,” he says. His phone is pressed to his ear.
“We’re taking them?”
He nods. I let the mama smell my hand before I pet her, and she starts to purr. I glance up again when a coat is dropped over my shoulders. The smell of Griff surrounds me. To my surprise, he kneels next to me on the ground. It’s a bit damp, and I’m sure it’s ruining his fancy suit but he doesn’t seem to mind. I’m starting to think there’s another side to him after all.
“The mom is so small.”
“I think that’s why she probably only had two.” He peers at the kittens.
“Their daddy must have been an orange cat.”
One is pure white like the mama while the other is white and orange. I move my hand to pet one of the kittens and manage to steal a peek to see what their gender is. The all white one is male. I gasp when I check the orange one and see it’s a girl. “Is something wrong?” He almost sounds panicked.
“It’s a girl,” I whisper loudly. “You know how rare orange tabby female cats are?”
“Really?”
“Yeah, only about twenty percent are female.”
“How do you know such interesting cat facts?”
I shrug. “I have a small obsession with cats. I’ve always wanted one of my own, but it wasn’t possible living at a boarding school.”
“Now you have three, it seems.”
“What?” I gasp. Is he saying what I think he’s saying? I don’t want to get my hopes up until he clarifies what he meant.
“You don’t want to keep them?”
“Really?” I half scream, making the mama cat meow. The kittens keep nursing, not caring about anything else that’s going on around them. “Sorry,” I whisper and scratch under her chin until she starts to purr again.
“If you want them, we’ll keep them,” he offers. “But they will live here, not at your parents’ house.”
I purse my lips when I realize he’s just caught me in a trap. I shouldn't be surprised. The one thing I do know about Griff is he’s lethal when it comes to business. He’ll do anything to get his way, and he’s made it clear from the start I was staying under his roof as his ward. “So are we keeping them?”
Out of the corner of my eyes, I see a man in all black start to approach with a box in his hands. I’m guessing that’s what Griff called for.
“Yes, we’re keeping them.” I hold my hand out for the man to give me the box. Griff snags it from him first, then gives it to me. “I’m going to need some things for them.” I pick the babies up first to put into the box. The mama jumps right in when she sees what I’m doing.
“Make a list.” Griff lifts the box from the ground. “Hop up, and I’ll put it in your lap,” he instructs, nodding for me to get back into the SUV. I notice more men in all black lingering about now.
“Do they all work for you?” I ask as Griff puts the box in my lap just as he promised.
“Security.” He shuts the door before I can ask anything else. Why does he need so much security? I watch out the window as he talks to one of the men before he slips back into the SUV with me and we start to pull up the long driveway toward my new home.
I can’t help but wonder about all the guards that linger around. Is there some danger I should worry about? I peek over at Griff, who is staring at me again. My heart gives a strange flutter.
I think he might be the real danger.
5