Vet's Desire (14 page)

Maddy looked
pointedly at the tube top Cindy wore.

“This is
classy.” Cindy preened.

“In what
universe?”

“Mine.”

“It must be
nice in your own little universe.”

“It’s great,
you should try it sometime.”

Maddy laughed,
then sobered. “Seriously, you are so at ease with who you are. I
used to envy you that when we were teenagers.”

“Maddy,” Cindy
replied seriously, “You chose early on in life to do what you
wanted as well.”

“Yeah, but I
was never as free as you.”

“Hey, in what
way?” Cindy winked. “Sex?”

“Please, if
you’re going to start telling me about that Italian bloke who
thought you were God’s gift to men, I don’t want to hear about
it.”

“Oh, come on.
You’re just jealous.”

“Me?” Maddy’s
eyes softened. “I have Mike.”

And there it
was, Cindy thought, observing her friend. Maddy, so self-assured,
yet she’d just blossomed completely under Mike’s love. The only
time she’d known her friend to retreat into her weight worries was
after her wretched family had thrown a spanner in the works, but
Mike had ripped that spanner right out and now her best friend was
the happiest she’d ever been in her life.

“If you’re
going to start sharing tales of Mike’s prowess in the bed-”

Maddy’s eyes
twinkled. “Who said it was just in the bed?”

Cindy perked
up. “Really? Do tell.”

“Don’t tell.”
Maddy’s round cheeks were flushed. “That’s between me and
Mike.”

“Oh, come on.
I’m your best friend. Besides, you can’t just throw out that
tid-bit and expect me stay quiet.”

“Cindy, I bet
you’ve had sex in other places apart from a bed.”

Most recently,
on the kitchen table. “We’re not talking about me.”

“And I’m not
talking about my sex life.”

“Huh.” Picking
up the cup of tea, Cindy blew lightly upon the hot surface.
“Spoilsport.”

Smiling, Maddy
nibbled on a biscuit. “So, Al. Cute name. Bet he’s going to be a
right little scrapper with a name like that.”

“It’s been
awesome looking after him.” Cindy yawned. “Tiring, but
awesome.”

“Oh, poor
little mummy.” Reaching over, Maddy patted her hand. “But you have
such a glow!”

“Shut up.”
Cindy laughed.

“Seriously.”
Maddy settled back in the chair. “You’re normally so outgoing, out
to parties and clubs, yet here you are, all content to stay at home
and care for this furry orphan. I’d never have thought it of
you.”

“He depends on
me.” Cindy shrugged. “What can I say? Once he’s older, I’ll be able
to go out again. Meanwhile, I’m a stay-at-home mum.”

“Cute.”

Thoughtfully,
Cindy took a sip of tea. “I’ve been thinking-”

“Oh geez.”

Cindy kicked
out at her friend lightly under the table but Maddy, knowing her
too well, already had her shins out of range.

“As I was
saying,” Cindy said a little haughtily, “Before you so rudely
interrupted...”

“Sorry. Do go
on.”

“As I was
saying, I’ve been thinking…” Cindy gave her friend a hard stare,
only to get an innocent look back. “I have a big home, plenty of
room outside, and there are a lot of orphan animals out there.
Maybe I’ll consider becoming a foster carer.”

“What?” Maddy
blinked in surprise. “Really? You?”

“Sure. Why not
me?”

“Well, you love
to travel and party and things. Having orphaned animals to look
after can take a lot of time up.”

“I won’t have
orphaned animals all the time. Kittens tend to be seasonal.”

“You’re only
looking at fostering kittens?”

“And cats.
Mads, I love all animals, you know that, but cats are my thing, and
so many kittens and cats get euthanased every year. If I could
foster some now and again, it would give them a chance.”

“You’re
building a cattery?” Maddy’s eyes were wide.

“No, you wally.
To foster them, I’d have them in the home. They need to be used to
living indoors amongst people, handled regularly, shown love. That
way, when they go to their new homes, they’re used to all of that.
And, of course, the kittens might need to be hand-reared.”

“So where are
these orphans and strays coming from?”

“The vets. They
get them in almost every day during kitten season.”

“Wow, that’s a
lot of work.”

“Sure. But I’m
not silly. I’m not taking in ten cats and kittens at a time. Just a
litter of kittens if needed, and their Mum if she’s with them, or a
couple of adult cats here and there. I can’t risk becoming over-run
with them and not able to get homes, I’ll only take what I can
handle, and won’t take on more until what I have are re-homed.”

Maddy looked at
her admiringly. “You’ve really thought about this.”

“I did some
research on-line, as well as visited the RSPCA shelter and animal
havens. There’s a real need for foster homes and education. I’m not
too good at talking to people, but you know, looking after Al has
made me realise just how much I love it. Caring for something.”

“You’re going
to re-home Al later?”

“What? No! Al
is mine.”

“You’ve got a
soft heart, Cindy. You’ll cry when the kittens and cats you foster
go to new homes,” Maddy pointed out practically.

“Don’t I know
it. But if it gives a couple of our feline friends a chance, isn’t
it worth a few tears?”

“It is.” Maddy
shook her head. “Wow, Cindy the party-girl becomes Cindy the feline
foster mum. Who would ever have guessed? But, honey, what about
your work in the family?”

Cindy smiled.
“Thanks to the wily minds of my Dad and Mum, all our monies are
invested wisely. I already work for the family business mostly from
home anyway. That’s what computers are for.”

“Well, yes
but-”

“Mads, it’s not
like I’ll never travel again, or never leave the house for a party
or a few hours at a club. I can still have fun, still work, but I’m
fortunate enough to be able to work around whatever needs the
feline foster kids have.” Cindy’s smile widened. “I’ll be doing
something worthwhile, apart from helping fill the family coffers.
Plus I know a lot people and contacts are a good thing to have when
it comes to homeless animals.”

Maddy nodded.
“I know a lot of people from work, too, both workmates and clients.
I can make some contacts for you and keep my ears open for anyone
wanting a cat or kitten.”

“You’re a
pal.”

“What are
friends for?” Maddy gently nudged Yamaha with her foot as she slid
around Maddy’s chair looking for a piece of biscuit. “After all,
they’re worth it.”

“Yeah.” Cindy
looked down at Yamaha. “Still sleeping on Mike’s pillow?”

“Yes, and we
never discuss it.”

“Of course not.
Mike’s such a big, tough man. He’s not a push-over for an itty,
bitty kitty.”

They both
laughed.

Leaving Maddy’s
house, Cindy felt a lot better than she had since her encounter
with Tim, and she drove home to feed Al and spend some time with
him before she got ready for the party that night.

Entering the
kitchen through the door connected to the garage, she was amused to
see Sam holding Al in one hand and cooing to him, while holding his
bottle steady with the other hand. As soon as he saw Cindy, he
frowned and stopped cooing.

“Spoiled,” he
announced. “This kitten is becoming spoiled.”

“Really?” she
returned dryly.

Ruth looked up
from the stool she was perched on, a gardening magazine before her.
She rolled her eyes before looking back down at the magazine.

“Ruth has been
treating it like a human baby.”

“There’s not a
whole lot of difference, you know. They both drink, poop, wee, cry
and sleep.”

“Humph. Anyway,
I’m glad you’re back to take over this thing.”

She noticed
that he kept hold of Al, cradling him against his chest while the
kitten sucked on the bottle. “Anytime soon, you think?”

Ruth
snickered.

Sam scowled at
her before switching the same scowl to Cindy. “You can’t just toss
Al around from person to person while he’s drinking. You’ll give
him gas.”

“Then we can
add farting to his repertoire as well.” Grinning hugely, Cindy
walked past him to sit at the counter opposite Ruth. “What are you
going to do on your days off without Al?”

“Have a rest.
My job description doesn’t include cat-sitting.” The way Sam’s
thumb gently rubbed Al’s side as he spoke was a direct
contradiction to his words.

Ruth winked at
Cindy.

“I am forever
in your debt for taking on such a horrendous chore,” Cindy told him
gravely.

“And don’t you
forget it.” Sam looked down at Al as the kitten released the teat.
When the kitten refused to take it anymore, he set the bottle down
on the counter and cradled the kitten in his big, work-roughed
hand, one finger gently rubbing the tiny back.

“Burping him?”
Cindy queried.

Sam cast her a
narrow-eyed look.

“Or not.” Cindy
looked at Ruth. “How’s the gardening going? Anything we need?”

Ruth closed the
magazine. “I’ve sprayed the roses for aphids. This heat is burning
the leaves, but I think they’ll be fine. The rest of the garden is
good.”

“Okay.” Knowing
that Ruth was more than content to take care of the garden and tell
her when they needed anything, Cindy was happy with the report.
“Got plans for tomorrow?”

“Seeing the
grandkids,” Ruth replied. “They’re coming over for lunch.”

“Messy and
noisy as usual,” Sam grumped.

Knowing
perfectly well how much he looked forward to the visits from his
grandchildren, Cindy sighed. “It’s a harsh life, Sam, gotta take
the good with the bad.”

“Yeah, well,
someone’s got to make sure those kids get brought up right.”

Ruth rolled her
eyes again.

Sam placed Al
in his carrier and tucked him in, his sharp gaze switching to Cindy
in warning.

Miming zipping
her mouth closed, she locked the imaginary lock and tossed the
imaginary key away.

Getting off the
stool, Ruth rolled up the magazine and tucked it into the back
pocket of her old work pants. Sam gathered his car keys and wallet
from the drawer that he and Ruth used for themselves and after
bidding Cindy and Al goodnight, they headed out to their car.

Smiling, Cindy
picked up Al’s carrier and took it upstairs with her, placing it on
the floor beside the bed while she went to the shower.

Afterwards,
clad only in bra, panties, and a thin pink dressing gown which
reached mid-thigh and was almost transparent, Cindy slipped on the
kitten-heeled slippers and went downstairs for a drink. Choosing a
snack of biscuits and dip, she went back upstairs to sit in the
deep armchair that stood in a small alcove off her bedroom.
Switching on the TV before it, she leaned back and lifted her legs
to rest on the footstool. Placing the saucer of biscuits on a
little table beside the chair, she took a sip of the drink and
sighed in contentment.

This was the
life.

Everyone
thought they knew her so well. Cindy the party girl. Cindy who
lived fast, played hard, and was a good-time girl. She wondered
what they’d think if they knew that sometimes, when she was
supposedly out partying, she was actually tucked up here in her
little alcove, enjoying some peace and quiet.

Yeah, she loved
to party, loved to dance, but she loved time alone as well. Time to
reflect on her life, her day, to just sit and enjoy some alone
time.

It had been
during this time alone, nursing Al, that she’d come up with the
idea of being a foster home for cats and kittens. It was up here
that she’d phoned her old vet clinic and had a word to the staff
there, and then phoned Lara at Tim’s clinic and spoken to her. Then
she’d phoned up the RSPCA and the cat havens and spoken to them.
There was a huge need for foster homes. Good, reliable foster
homes.

Choosing to be
a private foster home, doing it on her own initiative, Cindy had
spoken again to Lara and her old vet and had decided that in a
couple of weeks, when Al was old enough, she’d take in the next cat
or kitten that needed fostering. Maybe later she’d extend to the
RSPCA and the cat havens, but for now she’d start small.

Stretching
luxuriously, Cindy glanced at the clock and sighed. Time to get
ready. More than comfortable, she’d have been happy to stay in her
little alcove, but she’d accepted the invitation awhile ago and one
thing she did take seriously was keeping her word.

Besides, she
hadn’t been out for at least a week.

“Poor, deprived
me,” she informed a sleeping Al with a grin.

Dressing in a
long, flowing, sleeveless, dark red gown with gold threads at the
cleavage and shot through the skirt, she nodded her satisfaction.
It framed her bosom, flowed inward at the waist and then draped
over her hips to shimmer down to the floor.

To complement
the gown, she slid on gold stilettos, fastened a gold chain with a
ruby tear-drop on it around her throat, snapped on a matching cuff
around her wrist studded with rubies, and picked up a gold
clutch.

A last
inspection of her hair, which she’d left loose, and she decided
that she’d fasten back the side pieces after all. Several minuets
later, she nodded in satisfaction and picked up Al’s carrier.

Downstairs she
got his bag ready, putting into it his clean bottle, teat, formula
and a clean, soft cloth.

The doorbell
played its merry tune and picking up the bag and carrier as well as
her clutch, she strode through and opened the front door.

“Hey.” Marty
peered at the carrier. “Al's going to the party? Isn’t he a little
young to drink?”

“No. I can’t
trust him to hold his liquor,” Cindy replied. “He’s going to a
baby-sitter.”