Careful What You Kiss For (9 page)

She would give her best friend a chance to explain. Two minutes, max.

After that, all bets were off.

It was a pretty bad sign, Tensley decided, when you didn’t recognize the ICE number stored in your own cell phone. Her emergency contact should be someone she at least knew.

She’d scrolled through the list once, twice, and then three times. None of the names, and there weren’t a lot of them, were familiar.

But most importantly for right now, Kate’s name wasn’t there.

She, of course, had the number memorized. She called it, but someone named Joe answered and had the balls to insist he didn’t know Kate. After the third time she’d said she couldn’t believe him, he’d gone from marginally polite to pissed off, telling her she’d better not call again. He sounded like he meant it.

How could Kate not be a part of her life? They’d been best friends since the fifth grade sleepover at Megan Asmussen’s house, when a custom-made glass door had slammed on the cast on Tensley’s arm and shattered all over the hardwood floor. Megan’s parents had been so upset, they’d canceled the sleepover and sent the girls home.

Kate, the new girl at St. Alban’s Academy, had been the only one to defend Tensley, who had not-so-wisely used her plaster cast to block Megan from slamming the door on her. Yes, Tensley
had
been trying to overhear what Megan and her two right-hand witches had been saying about Turner Wells III, who every girl in the class had a crush on, but that didn’t matter as much as the fact that Megan had lied to her parents and everyone else by saying Tensley had put her cast through the door on purpose.

Kate had come to Tensley’s defense, even tossing in a speculation that Turner Wells III despised curly-headed girls. Megan had begun straightening her hair the next day and never forgiven Tensley or Kate, who had become inseparable friends from that day forward.

A person did not just misplace her best friend. It wasn’t possible.

Tensley called directory assistance, relieved when she was given the office number for Kate O’Brien, DVM. At least that hadn’t changed. Kate was still a veterinarian.

“I would like to speak with Dr. O’Brien, please,” she said when the phone was answered.

“She’s with a patient right now. Can I take a message?”

Tensley knew that voice, with its slight southern drawl. Mary Sue, the woman Kate had felt sorry for and hired as her receptionist. Mary Sue was notorious for saying, “Now I could have sworn I put that right here … .” Animals loved her. People loved her. And she was as disorganized as they came.

If she left a message, it might get to Kate in a few days, or a few weeks, whenever Mary Sue uncovered it and said, “Well, there you are.”

Tensley had to see Kate
now
. “Um, actually, I’ll make an appointment to see Dr. O’Brien.”

“Well, sure, honey. Now what kind of a critter do you have?”

Tensley slanted a look across the room, where a sleeping Gemini lay curled up in the sun. “A cat.”

“And what’s your cat’s name?”

“Gemini.”

The cat in question lifted his head, on alert.

“How about this Thursday?”

“No!”

“No?”

“I have to see the vet today.” From the corner of her eye, Tensley saw fur go by in a blur as Gemini made his escape from the room.

“What’s going on with Gemini?”

“He’s … ” She wracked her brain for an answer. “I don’t know, but it’s something bad. He’s lethargic. Won’t play with cat things.”

“Hmmm … ”

This wasn’t going to get her in sooner than Thursday. “And he won’t eat,” she rushed to add. “I think he has a headache.”

“A headache — ?”

Right. How would she be able to tell? “His head flops to the side. It’s as though he can’t hold it up. And his voice — I mean, his meow. It’s high-pitched. Like he’s crying.”

“Oh, my.” Mary Sue sounded distressed. “That does sound bad. We’d better get him in right away.”

Tensley’s body sagged in relief. “Please.”

“Give me just a minute to check the schedule.” A brief pause. “It’s going to have to be her last appointment of the day, I’m afraid. Can you be here by five
P.M.
?”

“Yes. And I’ll bring the cat with me.” Although how she was going to wrangle him into going, she wasn’t sure.

“It is important, honey,” the receptionist replied carefully, “to bring him with you.”

• • •

By 3:30
P.M.
, Tensley was outside, aiming the Ford remote she’d found in her purse down one direction of the street and then the other. When a Taurus obediently lit up, she sighed. It was a color somewhere between green and brown, several years old, and covered with a layer of dirt. A long, very long, way from her sleek silver BMW.

She’d gone back inside to find the cat. At least she didn’t have to worry about him scratching the leather seats of her BMW.

Gemini, it turned out, not only knew the word “vet,” but also apparently hated everything associated with it.

It took Tensley twenty minutes to find him, even though the apartment wasn’t very big. When she finally spotted him curled into a ball on the top of a kitchen cabinet, she crossed her arms and directed her voice upward. “I see you.”

One eye opened.

“Sorry I said the ‘v’ word.” The eye closed. Gemini was doing his best to ignore her. Or wait her out.

“Don’t worry. She won’t do anything to you. She won’t even look at you. But I have to see her. And to do that, I have to take you with me. So. Come down, please.”

Fat chance, apparently. Not one hair on the cat’s body moved.

Time for a change in tactics. Tensley took a deep breath and then called, “Here kitty, kitty,” in the sweetest voice she could manage.

Still the cat did not move. She tried again. Nothing.

“Okay. This can go one of two ways. You cooperate and everything’s fine. You don’t and I can’t promise what will happen. Either way, you’re leaving with me.” She tapped a toe on the floor. “If you won’t come down, I’ll come up.”

No response.

She tried whistling. Gemini opened one eye a slit, just enough to convey his disdain. But he didn’t move a muscle.

So begging didn’t work. Neither did threats. And time was slipping away. If Kate’s last appointment of the day was a no-show, she might leave early, and Mary Sue wouldn’t buy the cat with the floppy head story twice.

She glanced at the clock. “Time’s up. I didn’t want to do this, but you’re not leaving me any choice.” She climbed onto the kitchen counter and began scooting her hands along the cabinet, trying to maintain her balance as she prepped for a grab.

Gemini stood, his back arched, tail switching.

It crossed Tensley’s mind that she should have found oven mitts and put them on. Too late now. “One … two … ” she breathed. Then … “Three!” Her hands shot up at the same second Gemini hissed and leaped out of her reach. “Whoaa-ahhh-eeek!” Tensley lost her balance, falling backward as the cat ran the length of the cabinet and jumped onto the refrigerator.

By some miracle, she managed to get her feet under her. They hit the floor hard as her hands splayed across the counter. Ouch. That hurt.

From his perch on the refrigerator, Gemini glared at Tensley.

From her spot on the floor, Tensley glared at Gemini.

“Fine,” she said. “I’ll find another cat. One who will cooperate. There has to be some starving stray out there who would love to have a new home.”

He didn’t even blink. She’d never had a cat call her bluff. It wasn’t a great feeling. And exactly where was she going to find a willing stray in the next two minutes?

It wasn’t until she’d closed the apartment door behind her and was fumbling for her keys that another idea occurred to her. Her chin shot up. It might just work.

She turned the key in the lock a few more times than she needed to. Then, instead of taking it out, she threw open the door and grabbed for the cat who had taken up his position in front of it.

He screeched, legs clawing at the air, but she had him. And she wasn’t letting him go until she had answers from the vet he dreaded and the best friend she needed.

• • •

By the time they arrived at Kate’s office, Tensley was convinced Gemini had used the filthiest cat language possible to curse her up one side of the car and down the other. He’d probably even made up new words. Just for her.

He’d clawed his way across her body, managing to get one paw stuck in her hair, and they’d driven that way for several minutes — Tensley struggling to keep the car in the middle of the lane while Gemini dug sharp, painful needles into her shoulders and hissed his fury into her ears.

She pressed harder on the gas pedal and muttered a quote from the old Blues Brothers movie, a favorite at the elite Catholic schools she’d attended. “Our Lady of Blessed Acceleration, don’t fail me now.”

When she pulled up to the vet clinic ten minutes late for the appointment, she’d jammed the car into park and reached up to grab his sorry cat ass and tuck it under one of her arms. She slammed the door behind them and strode toward the entrance, ignoring Gemini’s yowls. They were on a mission.

The woman at the desk started as they stumbled through the automatic door, her eyes wide. Tensley recognized her. It was Marla, one of Kate’s techs. “Can I — help you?” Marla skirted the counter to reach them. “Have you been in an accident?”

You could call it that.
Tensley leveled a black look at Gemini, who quit squirming long enough to return it. Then she lifted her chin and calmly said, “Hello, Marla. We have an appointment. This is Gemini.”

Marla wasted no time on greetings, paperwork or anything else. Less than a minute later, Tensley and Gemini were installed in a room decorated with a kitten calendar and a large poster detailing the anatomy of a cat. Gemini made straight for the corner while Tensley used the reflection in the poster’s glass to assess the damage. From what she could tell, one entire side of her hair looked as though it had been styled by a KitchenAid mixer. No wonder the tech had made a quick escape.

Kate was going to have a fit. Sure, she’d laugh when she saw what Tensley looked like, but then she’d get serious when she heard what had happened at the psychic appointment she’d forced her best friend to go to.

Tensley rummaged inside the leather purse until her fingers found a comb. She was trying to decide how best to approach a massive detangle when the door opened. Tensley turned to see her best friend standing before her in a white coat with red letters that spelled out “Dr. Kate O’Brien,” followed by a tiny paw.

“Kate. I am so glad to see you.” Tensley’s voice broke under the weight of her relief. Her knees gave way and she had to grab the edge of the exam table to keep from falling.

“Tensley.” Concern lined Kate’s forehead. She closed the door without a sound and moved to the exam table. “Are you all right?”

“So far.” Then she thought about the picture her hair, furious cat and Jell-O legs must present and began to laugh. A desperate, near-wail of a laugh. “I have so much to tell you. You’re not even going to believe it.”

Kate opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, before seeming to settle for, “It’s been a long time.”

“What do you mean?” Tensley shook her head. “No, it hasn’t.” She was starting to get a very bad feeling. She’d seen Kate two days ago. And since when did she decide to get a shorter, more severe haircut without even mentioning it?

The other woman set her clipboard on the table and turned her attention to Gemini, who was still in the corner. “I hear you’re worried about your cat.” She knelt before the animal, softly clicking her tongue and extending her hand.

What the hell was going on? Her best friend in the whole world was acting as though they barely knew each other and that traitor of a cat was lifting a paw toward Kate, pleading his nonexistent pathetic case.

“Don’t worry about the cat. There’s nothing wrong with him,” Tensley said, more sharply than she’d intended.

Cat and vet turned to her at the same time. “I don’t understand.”

“Kate, what’s the matter with you?” This was not going well. “Have you ever known me to have a cat? I can barely take care of myself, let alone a cat.”

Her friend rose slowly. “I wouldn’t know. It’s been years since we’ve seen each other. I didn’t realize you were back in town.”

Years
. Shit. Double-shit.
“Kate — ”

“I’m really glad you’re okay. I tried to find you after you disappeared.” Despite her even tone, Tensley could hear the hurt ringing the edges of her friend’s voice; see it in the pinched corners of her mouth. Kate reached down to pick up Gemini, who promptly buried his head in her white coat, purring his innocence. “Guess I can understand you not wanting to see anyone, even me.”

Tensley’s stomach squeezed tight. This was wrong. All wrong. First Max, now Kate.

“I would never not want to see you, Kate. You’re my best friend.”

“Couldn’t believe they were so hard on you. Rhonda deserved it. I don’t know what I could have done to help, but I tried.” A rueful smile. “Your mother threw me out of her house when I said I wasn’t leaving until she told me where you’d gone. The ice queen is stronger than she looks.”

“Listen to me, Kate.” Tensley laid her fingers on her friend’s arm as her words tumbled over each other in her haste to get them out, to make Kate understand. “Whatever you think happened — didn’t.”

“It was a long time ago. Don’t worry about it.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Tensley repeated as she began pacing back and forth in the narrow space between the table and wall, each step pounding the tile harder than the last. “I’m not worried. Hell, no. I’m way past worried. I’m in some kind of a fucking nightmare. Ever since I found myself on a stage last night with no clothes, dancing for men with saliva and whatever the hell else dripping from them, getting sweaty money shoved at me and then having it taken away by a club owner who treats me like I actually work there and am lower than dirt, and then Max,
Max
is there and it’s like high school all over again — ”