Part 15 (1/2)

Oh that kind of baby.

Ross joined in the search. They walked through the house more slowly this time and examined every nook and cranny. Nothing. Mo became increasingly hysterical as they checked first in this cranny then that nook and didn't find her cat. She went outside to call for Talley from the porch and then descended the steps to the sidewalk in front of the house. When they'd exhausted their search, she collapsed to sit on the steps.

”Oh, Ross, what am I going to do? He's nowhere in the house. He probably ran outside when... when whoever did this was still here.”

Ross placed an arm around her shoulder and she turned into him, hiding her face against his chest.

”It'll be okay, love. He's probably hiding. He'll come out when things calm down,” he soothed. Ross hugged her tightly to him. Her face was wet with tears.

”I'm soaking your chest,” she said, wiping at the fabric of his dress s.h.i.+rt.

A distinct tingle radiated from the skin-to-skin contact. He suppressed the urge to press it further. This hug was all about comforting Mo, not about his urges. Anyway, he shouldn't have any urges. Hadn't he decided less than an hour ago to suppress his feelings toward Mo?

”It doesn't matter,” he said, patting her hand partly to console her and partly to stop her from the stroking that gave him those dastardly urges.

”I know I'm being ridiculous, but Talley isn't an outdoor cat. If he got outside, he could get hurt. An alligator could get him.”

Ross had heard about the extremely infrequent alligator sightings in downtown Savannah. Should he point out that her emotional concerns were probably unfounded? The cat would come out of hiding and come home in time. She only needed to wait. However, it felt wrong to try that type of reasoning with a hysterical Mo.

”If something happens to Talley, I don't know what I'll do,” she cried, brokenly. Pulling away, she looked up at him, her eyes solemn.

Ross opened his mouth to try to rea.s.sure her again, but before the words had time to actually emerge, Mo flung herself against him again and resumed her crying jag.

With her rational mind observing from a distance above her, Mo knew she was stupid and weak to blubber like this on Ross. No man had patience for a crying woman for long. Besides, she knew that chances were in her favor that Talley would be all right. Get a grip Mo. Get a grip.

Ross disentangled her arms from around his neck and then stood up. She gazed up at him with hurt wet eyes.

”I'm going to go-” he began.

He was going to go? Just like every other man in her lifetime. They got going when the going got tough.

”I'm going to go search for him around the neighborhood,” Ross said.

”What?” she asked just to hear him make the offer a second time.

His offer to find Talley-so unexpected- made her pause to process the words for a moment.

”I'm going to go look for Talley. Do you have a flashlight? It's getting a bit dark. Does he have a favorite toy? Or maybe a food treat. Something I could lure him out with. And I guess I better know what he looks like. Do you have a photo?” He glanced back at the house as if remembering the shambles the photographs were probably in. ”Or give me a description. I don't think it would be advisable for me to drag every cat in the neighborhood back here.”

At that moment, Ross appeared to her the most das.h.i.+ng, handsome, heroic man in the history of the world. Mo hopped up before hurling herself against his body, kissing him hard on the lips.

”You're wonderful,” she said between more quick kisses.

His expression revealed a pleased surprise. ”I haven't done anything yet.”

”Oh, yes you have.”

The endorphin effect of Mo's grateful kisses had largely worn off by the time Ross rounded the block, flashlight in hand, for the third time. At seven p.m. the comfortable dusk had turned to cold darkness.

Ross could probably indicate on a map the location of each tree, sewer grate, and foundation hole in the neighborhood after he'd examined them all tonight. Mo searched on the other side of the street with her own flashlight, inspecting the underside of bushes, the inside of trashcans, and the topside of sheds. Still no cat.

At one point, Ross had wrenched a smallish black cat out from under a car, resulting in several scratches for his trouble, only to have Mo say she'd never seen the hissing beast before in her life. Thank you very b.l.o.o.d.y much.

Ross almost p.r.o.nounced the task impossible, and even opened his mouth to admit defeat, when Mo blew a kiss in his direction and then smiled. Blast. He was trapped into more searching.

b.u.g.g.e.r the woman and her fantastic legs. Just b.u.g.g.e.r her. Yes, exactly the problem, Ross realized. He desperately wanted to b.u.g.g.e.r her...and other positions. He longed to have those fantastic legs wrapped around him, which was why he was out here forever searching the cold darkness for an animal which would likely make his eyes swell shut.

Being totally honest with himself, Ross had to admit that part of the reason he continued to search out here for the cat was that he wanted to be a hero for Mo. He stupidly wanted to rush in and save the day. Her dejected sobbing had stirred something primal within him. Ross wanted to be a superman. Worse than that, for the first time in his life, he wanted to be Stephen b.l.o.o.d.y Dagger.

s.h.i.+vering, Ross pulled the ridiculous phantom cape around him and again set off. He had almost reached the derelict blue house three doors down from Mo's when he spotted a flicker of something s.h.i.+ny. If Ross had blinked he would've missed the faint gleam of two green eyes peering from the heavy shadows under the dilapidated front porch.

He trudged across muddy ground, overgrown with weeds, to obtain a closer view. His shoes would never be the same, but Ross wanted to be sure of what he was seeing. No need to excite Mo about finding her cat if this one didn't belong to her.

Kneeling down, Ross felt the icy muck seep through his pant leg, which probably meant saying bye-bye to his deposit from the costume rental booth at the convention. He leaned on one hand, the mud squis.h.i.+ng around his fingers. Fab.

From this angle, Ross saw a cat crouched under the house's foundation. The creature hovered just out of reach by mere millimeters.

”Mo, I think I've found him,” Ross called.

At the sound of his voice, the cat hissed and backed further away. Brilliant.

Mo darted across the street and then knelt at his side.

”That's him.” She gave a gleeful clap of her hands. ”Talley-baby, come to Mommy.”

Talley gazed at them with solemn, unblinking, green cat eyes. He didn't move an inch.

”Are you sure it's him? He doesn't seem to know you,” Ross said.