A Homecoming to Dye For
(Cajun Charms # 1)
Schorl eyed the open carrier on the backseat, then turned back to glare at me.
Absolutely not.
“I’m sorry, but it’s the office policy. All animals must be leashed or in a carrier. Would you prefer a harness and leash next time?”
If it was possible for a cat to look appalled, that’s what Schorl was projecting my way.
What is this next time business? I’m not even convinced there should be a this time.
I gave him a sympathetic smile and hoped he could read human body language enough to interpret that. “I get it. New things are scary.”
Don’t you mean humiliating?
“It won’t be that bad,” I assured him. I fully accepted responsibility for him calling me a liar later. “But you’ve been on your own for a while. A check-up is a good idea.”
I am in perfect health. And I’ve been in perfect health long before you showed up.
“Yes, but if you’ll be hanging out with me, there are certain regulations. I might need to show proof you’ve been vaccinated.”
I hoped that last part would do the trick. Schorl wasn’t fond of human regulations, but he was less fond of being denied access to places. In fact, telling him he couldn’t go somewhere with me only made him want to go even more.
His tail flicked on the passenger seat, then thumped heavily against it as he took one more look at the backseat.
Fine. But we never speak of this. And I want something in return.
“Free access to most places in Myrtle?”
He narrowed his orange eyes at me. Something besides that.
“We’ll work out the details later,” I said with a nod toward the back. “Come on. We’ll be late for your appointment.”
After his body puffed up and relaxed with what I could only guess was a heavy sigh, Schorl hopped into the back and reluctantly entered the carrier. I hurried to open the door and secure the carrier before he could change his mind.
This had better at least be quick, he said in my head as I carried him inside.
“Good morning!” A chipper young woman wearing scrubs with puppy faces on them greeted us from behind the reception desk. “Who do we have here?”
“This is Schorl.” I spelled it for her. Not a whole lot of rock hounds in Myrtle, much less witches.
Nope, it seemed I was unique in that department.
“I’ve got you all checked in.” The woman stood and leaned over the counter to stick her finger through the bars of the carrier door. “What a gorgeous guy!”
Would you be so kind, Kim, as to set her on fire for me?
I stifled a giggle as a tech led us into an exam room.
His request wasn’t actually a serious one, since we both knew I couldn’t follow through on it. At least not yet. Despite many practice sessions and loads of encouragement and patience on his part, I still couldn’t replicate what had happened in my shop that night with Gretchen. Tingles. Warmth. A hint of… something. That was the most I could produce on command.
Schorl reassured me we’d figure it out and unlock my magic, eventually. He was right, probably. But I was becoming an increasingly impatient fire witch.
The tech asked a few questions to add to his chart while I set the carrier on the exam table and opened the door. Schorl stepped out and shook his fur a bit like a dog might. The tech assured us the vet would be in soon and left us alone in the room.
Schorl sniffed every inch of the table. What procedures am I to be subjected to besides a vaccine or two?
“I’m not entirely sure.” I’d never actually brought a pet in for an exam before. Mom never liked the mess of them when I was growing up, and I could barely remember to feed and water myself once I moved out on my own. “If it’s like human exams, they’ll probably look in your ears, eyes, and mouth. Maybe listen to your heart. Then they’ll give you a shot and send us on our way.”
At least, I hoped it wouldn’t be anything more invasive than that. I was confident the vet would have experienced unruly, pissed off creatures before now, but I wasn’t sure what kind of payback I might be in for if this visit took a nasty turn.
The door opened and a tall man with dark skin and a shaved head entered wearing a white lab coat. It took just a few seconds for my memory to connect those dark eyes with someone younger, with a bit more hair.
“Damien?”
The vet smiled. “I thought I’d heard you were back in town.”
“I’m sure you heard a lot more than that,” I said. “So you’re a vet now, huh?”
I couldn’t make sense of that information. We’d been lab partners in biology, and I had been the one who had to hack off specimen pieces while he’d squeamishly label them.
“Wild, right?” He shook his head. “I can’t believe you’re really back. I thought for sure you were gone for good.”
“So did I.” I noticed the gold band on his finger and decided to be nosy, since everyone else around her was. I pointed at it and asked, “Anyone I know?”
His cheeks darkened slightly. “Kyle.”
“Wait… star wide receiver Kyle?” I gasped. I didn’t remember much about Kyle except that he was extremely popular and equally cute. And I had no idea he was gay.
“That’s my guy,” Damien said with a grin.
Hate to break up the reunion, but if you aren’t going to set anyone on fire, could we at least move on with the humiliation to get this over with?
“Oh, sorry.” I gestured at the cat. “This is Schorl. He’s… my cat. I guess.”
Excuse me? Yours?
Damien laughed. “You guess?”
“He kind of came with the salon.”
“That’s sometimes how things work.” He removed his stethoscope from his neck. “Let’s see if he’s as healthy as he looks.”
I should hope so.
Despite his proclaimed humiliation, Schorl sat regally while Damien inspected him. He didn’t even flinch when he inserted the needles for more shots than I’d prepared Schorl for.
“Just one more thing left to do.”
Kimberly, what is that?
Schorl’s terror rang out loud and clear in my head.
“Wait!” I blurted out, grabbing Damien’s arm poised with the fecal swab near Schorl’s rear. “Is that really necessary?”
Damien remained calm despite my outburst. He’d probably seen plenty of overreactive pet parents in his time. “If he’s been an outdoor community cat for a while, the chances of intestinal parasites are high.”
Is he implying that I have worms?!
I ignored Schorl’s indignation. “If he probably has them, can’t you just give him meds for it?”
“I need to know what kind to give him the proper treatment.”
The absolute nerve of this human. Worms. I have never been so insulted in all my life!
I looked back and forth between them, trying to find some way out of this. “I’m just afraid he’s going to freak out, is all.”
He was already freaking out, but as far as Damien knew, the cat was merely pacing on the exam table. He had no idea about the telepathic tantrum.
Damien put the swab back into a container and handed them both to me. “Get a sample for me from his litter box and drop it off at the front desk in the next day or two.”
My shoulders relaxed, and I took the container. “Thank you.”
We will discuss that later.
“He’s all good to go for now,” Damien said. “It was good to see you again, Kim. And good to meet you, Schorl.”
For half a second, I thought maybe the two of them also had a connection. Then I remembered lots of vets talk to animals as if it’s a two-way conversation and figured Damien was just being friendly. Or polite? Whatever vets thought they were doing with that.
We checked out at the front desk, where I kept Schorl’s carrier on the floor, far away from the receptionist’s finger this time. Once I got him back inside the car, I released him from the carrier and sat behind the wheel.
Now, can we set something on fire? Or someone?
“Oh, it wasn’t that bad.”
It was.
“And Damien was nice, right?”
He narrowed those orange eyes at me again.
“Fine, it wasn’t great for you. I get it.” I grinned at him. “But guess what day it is?”
I wouldn’t know.
Schorl still hadn’t mastered calendar conventions. He lived in today or the next day or a few days from now. The names of the days of the week remained a confusing subject.
“It’s Tuesday afternoon. Treats and sunshine with friends time.”
I had earned a hard seltzer today.
Schorl climbed onto the passenger seat and tilted his fluffy head as he considered what all of that entailed.
I do like those things.
“Even the friends part?”
I knew the answer to that, but I was wondering if he was ready to admit it yet.
After a long pause of unusual silence in my head, Schorl said, I think I may have come to like that part the most.
I turned the key to start the car as a huge smile took over my face.
“Yeah, I think that might be my favorite part, too.”
Look for Book #2 in early 2023!