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to
her.
    Maddy watched
as he speared a large chunk on his fork and put it in his mouth.
Utter bliss crossed his face, and he closed his eyes as he savoured
the rich indulgence. “Its okay?” she queried with a small
smile.
    “Decadent,” he
replied and opened his eyes. “Another big word for me.”
    “Don’t choke on
it.”
    “Ouch.”
    “You asked for
it.” She speared a smaller chunk of cake and sampled it. It really
was yummy, one of her favourite recipes.
    Disregarding
her remark, Mike licked some of the fudge frosting off his fork.
“You’re a good cook.”
    “How do you
know I didn’t lie and just bought it?”
    “Nothing this
good is ever bought. This sort of thing is made by someone who
loves baking.”
    Her brows rose
in surprise.
    “My grandmother
baked cakes a lot when she was alive,” Mike explained. “It was the
only time I got to taste home baking and I’m telling you, once you
taste real home baked goodies you can always tell the difference
between them and store bought.”
    “Very
insightful. I’m impressed.”
    Mike grinned.
“I’m full of surprises.”
    “I bet you
are.” Maddy scraped some of the frosting off the cake. “So, about
this kitten…”
    He didn’t
answer, but his gaze almost seemed to spear her to the chair.
    “I’m not asking
you to keep it.” Laying down the fork, Maddy leaned forward. “I’m
just asking you not to shoo it away.”
    Resting the tip
of the fork tines against his bottom lip, he studied her
silently.
    “I put some
food and water outside your shed.” She gave a small smile. “When I
last trespassed.”
    The silence and
steady gaze continued.
    “This
morning.”
    It was becoming
a little uncomfortable.
    Clearing her
throat, she thought she might as well throw herself under the bus
as run alongside it. “Can we also keep your shed unlocked and the
door open a little?”
    His silent
regard was becoming unnerving.
    And irritating.
Laying down the fork, Maddy folded her arms and arched a brow. Two
could play the silent game. Unfortunately, she was never good at
playing the silent game and less than three seconds had passed
before she gave up and threw her hands in the air. “Fine! Whatever!
Geez, Mike, I’m not asking for your first born, just a few days
grace to catch this kitten.”
    His next move
was unexpected. Instead of arguing, he speared another big chunk of
cake and chewed it slowly while studying her. Then he got up,
crossed to the kitchen door and opened it to gaze down the backyard
towards his shed.
    Maddy moved to
stand partially behind him and gaze towards the shed as well. What
she saw made her smile. The kitten was hungrily scoffing down the
biscuits. Glancing up at Mike, she wondered what he was thinking as
he watched the kitten. He stood so still, it was like being behind
a huge statue.
    Looking back
out at the kitten, she saw that it had finished eating and was now
washing itself. It had a drink of the water, stretched leisurely,
and then slipped inside the shed. Knowing kittens, Maddy suspected
it was now heading for a nap. Fed and safe for now, it was content,
or as content as it could be, being so small and young without a
loving home.
    The last
thought wiped the smile from her face and sadness filled her at how
callous humans could be when it came to their furry and feathered
friends.
    Turning, Mike
saw her expression and dismay was clearly reflected in his eyes.
“You’re not going to cry, are you?”
    “What?” She
frowned. “Of course not.”
    “All right.” He
took a deep breath and placed one big hand on a lean hip. “The
kitten can stay.”
    Her eyes lit
up.
    “For now.” He
waved the fork under her nose. “A few days, Maddy. You can feed it
and try to catch it, and I’ll agree to leave my shed door open,
though God knows why I’m agreeing to that, it’s just begging
someone to come in and steal something from it.”
    “You could put
a kitty door in it,” she suggested.
    “Don’t even
start.”