The clock ticked away the minutes and she finally sat up and squinted at it - four-thirty. What time would Cade want to get up this morning? She threw back the covers. She might as well shower and dress. She wasn't going to be able to sleep any more.
With her bed made, she crept down the stairs and across the family room floor. A sliver of light under Cade's door suggested he was already awake. She quietly crossed to the kitchen and put some water on the stove for coffee. Scruffy was meowing at the kitchen door. Taking a zip-lock bag of scraps from the refrigerator, she opened the door and stepped out into the cool dawn. Scruffy limped to the bowl and she kneeled beside him.
"Come here, kitty. What's the matter with your foot?"
She lifted the cat to her lap and turned so the light from the doorway would fall on the foot. One of the claws was ripped almost completely out. She shuddered.
"Poor little thing. What happened? Did you get caught in a trap?"
A tall figure darkened the doorway and she looked up to find Cade watching her. He knelt beside her and reached for the cat.
"Let me look at him."
To her surprise, the cat gave him no resistance. Cade examined the claw and stood. "I have some salve in the barn. Let's go put some on it."
"Should we bandage it?"
His features twisted into what might have passed for a wry smile. "Bandages are for humans, not animals - not for things like this, anyway. He'll limp around for a week or so and then he'll be fine."
She smiled up at him. "You like him, don't you?"
He eyed her sourly. "I hate cats."
"Right. That's obvious. "Her smile broadened into a grin as she reached for the cat. "Come on scruffy. Daddy wants to fix your foot."
Cade handed her the cat and cuffed her playfully. She giggled and cuddled the cat close. "He's so soft. Don't you think he's cute?"
"Yeah," he commented dryly as they turned toward the barn. "You've been around that furry thing so long that you're beginning to look like him." He reached out and brushed her hair away from her face. "You're even getting hair in your ears."
She made a face and he smiled. Not a twitch of the mouth or a brief glimpse of teeth, but a regular smile. She caught her breath, realizing for the first time that he was actually an attractive man. How sad that his smile was so rare.
"Do you realize that's the first time I've ever seen you smile? You have a lovely smile, you know that?"