mouth to yell for Pete and felt something heavy bump her leg. Without moving her head, she looked down. Baby stood beside her, butting her big golden head into the side of Tala’s knee like a house cat. But hard enough so that Tala had to brace her other hand on the medicine cabinet beside her to keep from falling over.
Baby butted her again, then rubbed her body along Tala’s legs, crossed over in front of her and collapsed into a big yellow heap on the concrete. She lay there rumbling contentedly.
“Okay, you’re not hungry—at least I hope you aren’t,” Tala said with more conviction than she felt. “And you’ve been around people, although God knows what they did to you before they shot you. I doubt seriously you know I rescued you last night, but maybe you’re just cold and lonesome.”
Baby rolled her eyes and yawned. Even without all her incisors, her mouth looked capable of biting Tala’s head off in one gulp.
Tala was trapped. The cat lay across her boots. Her body wound around so that in order to move, Tala would have to dislodge her feet and step over the mound of lion. Assuming Baby would let her. How much time would it take before Pete realized she’d been inside too long?
She couldn’t wait. She’d better try to get herself out of this.
“Sweet Baby,” she crooned. “Is your shoulder better?” Slowly, carefully, Tala bent her knees until she could touch Baby’s head. She began to scratch behind the cat’s ears. “My cats always loved this, let’s hope you’re cat enough to do the same.”
The rumbling increased. My word, Baby was purring! Or as close to a purr as she could get. Tala began to stroke the animal’s head. “Aren’t you a sweet ole baby girl?”
A moment later she nearly toppled head first on top of the lion as the door behind her opened and hit her in the rear.
“Hey, can’t you find your gloves?”
“Pete, stay out,” she hissed.
He poked his head around the door. “Holy hell. You okay?”
“I’m fine.” Tala tried to stand up, but couldn’t with Pete halfway in the door. Baby looked over Tala’s shoulder and lashed her tail, annoyed at the interruption.
“Stand up very slowly,” Pete told her. “Then when I open the door, I’ll grab you and drag you out.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Tala said. “Or necessary. I think she just got lonely. I’ve been scratching her ears.”
“Do what I tell you, woman. We’ll worry about what she wants when we’ve put a steel door between the two of you.”
“All right.” In spite of her bravado, Tala felt a rush at his peremptory tone. He was worried.
Or maybe he just didn’t want to have to deal with the consequences of having to explain her carcass to the authorities.
She stood slowly. Baby rumbled again, but she seemed more disturbed at the loss of physical contact than angry. Tala felt the breeze from the slightly open door, and reached back. Pete’s big rough hand engulfed hers. “Hang on.”
He shoved the door open, yanked her around the edge, and almost dislocated her shoulder. He slammed the door and dragged her into a fierce bear hug, lifted her off her feet and swung her away from the door. “Dammit, don’t ever do that again.”
She forced her mouth away from his breast pocket and said indignantly, “Me? What did I do?”
He held her at arm’s length with her feet dangling as though she were a rag doll. “Didn’t you see she was out of her cage?”
“Put me down! By the time I spotted the empty cage, I had a lion on my feet wanting her ears scratched.”
On her feet again, she stood toe-to-toe with him. “I think I behaved pretty darn well, all things considered. For that matter, so did she. She’s a sweet pussycat who just needs a little affection!”
“Oh, my sainted aunt!” Pete struck his forehead with the flat of his hand.
“What’s the matter?” Mace came running around the corner of the building.
“She’s out is what. And little Miss Cat Lady here has been scratching her ears. I told you she was trouble.”
“Me or the cat?”
“Both, dammit!” Pete stalked off to meet his father. “How the hell are we going to handle the lion now? Even if we finish setting the posts today, the concrete won’t be solid until morning, and then we still have to stretch the fence and cover it over.”
“We could shoot her,” Mace said solemnly. Tala caught his wink, but Pete obviously didn’t.
“Are you crazy?” He stopped. “Okay. You got me. But we can’t leave her loose in the workroom either.” He turned to Tala. “Could you tell if she knocked down the enclosure?”
“Didn’t look like it, but I must admit I didn’t check closely.”
“Then she probably came out over the top. We can wire down some steel fence on top of her enclosure in about an hour and get her back into it with the capture gun if we have to, although I suspect another hunk of meat will do it.”
“Promise you won’t hurt her?”
“We will not hurt her. Not unless it’s her or us. In the meantime, I can sucker her into the guest bathroom with another hunk of deer meat. She’ll be okay.” He touched Tala’s shoulder with surprisingly gentle fingers. “And you. You okay? Did I hurt you?”
“Not a bit.” She smiled at him. “I’ll give her the meat if you like.”
“Sure you’re up to it? She must’ve scared you pretty good just now.” He smiled, his hand still kneading her shoulder. For a moment she wanted to relax against him, feel those hands on other parts of her body. Enough, she admonished herself.
“I’m fine,” she said and moved away.
Suddenly he sobered. “The instant you forget you’re dealing with a wild animal, you’re dead. Trust me on that. She may act like a pussycat, but she weighs two hundred pounds, and she’s used to raw meat. At the moment she’s well fed and still not feeling in hunting trim.”
“But won’t she smell fear?”
“Sure. So fake out your pheromones. Don’t be scared, be aware. And don’t take chances.”
Mace came down the steps of his trailer unwrapping a piece of meat. “That beast is eating all my venison, drat it!” He handed it to Tala.
“Go in through the front,” Pete said. “Open the door to the guest bathroom, then open the door to the exam room, show her the food, toss it on the bathroom floor, and once she’s in, shut the door on her. I’ll be right behind you. Think we need the rifle for safety, Dad?”
“No!” Tala wailed.
“Your safety is more important than she is,” Mace said. “Take the gun, Pete. Better safe than sorry.”
“All right,” she said. “But you won’t need it. I promise I’ll make this work.”
Tala wished she felt as confident as she tried to sound. She knew the scary bit would come from the time the cat saw the food until Tala could shut the bathroom door on her and walk away. Suddenly, Pete’s huge presence—even holding the rifle—was no longer threatening. He was comforting.
He stood in the hall doorway with his hand on the knob behind him as she inched open the door to the examining room. “Here, kitty, kitty, kitty,” Tala called. She heard Pete’s snort behind her.
The cat still lay by the door, but on her back with all four feet in the air. She rolled her eyes, saw Tala, and struggled to her feet quicker than Tala would have imagined possible. She put no weight on her left leg, but she still managed to move