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He pulled up close behind the car, killed the engine, and leaped out The rear as completely white, and the driver’s side as steaet out of there!” he called out, and the words see and hold the cat,” she yelled back as the door swung violently open He ju slarabbed the cardboard box she thrust into his arms and almost dropped it as the feline thrashed about inside “Jesus, you sure this is just a cat?”

“She’s deeply unhappy” Piper lunged back into the car, took the keys out of the ignition, and grabbed her purse “And that doesn’t look rouchy about that, rely “I so did not get grouchy”

“Well, you sound grouchy now” He turned toward the Land Rover “Get in quickly, we shouldn’t be hanging around out here It’s getting hazardous”

It was a relief to get back into the muffled war cold Even the cardboard box on the backseat seeainst the soft upholstery “So are you going to tellout here with a box of cat in a snowstor her to the drop-in vet clinic a couple of miles farther on, but now you are”

“I am?” He looked across at her and was captivated by a tiny snowflake clinging to the tip of one of her eyelashes It melted within seconds and dripped onto her cheek

“You are” She wiped the snow drip aith the back of her hand and glared at hi, please?”

There was no point sitting there arguing about it Another fewto make too much difference, or at least he hoped it wouldn’t He started the engine and she seemed to wilt back into the seat with relief She looked even“I knohere it is, we’ll be there pretty soon What’s up with your pussy?”

Piper threw him an acidic look “The cat has an injured tail that needs seeing to”

“What happened to it?”

“Sos” She shrugged irritably “My clumsy sister, I suspect, but she fled back to our parents before I could interrogate her”

“That’s one probleo to Antigua for a week”

“You seen and the fact you need me to pose for the camera a few ti anyone or anything Besides, we may all freeze to death before the airports reopen, and I fully expectback after a few days back in Moanized domain”

“A mom who cleans and cooks? You don’t kno lucky you are”

“You sound bitter Or a it?”

Was he bitter about his mother? Possibly He felt pretty sour about the fact he’d only met histo keep him in his life, but she insisted it was for the best in the long run Perhaps his ht, but she’d been far from maternal herself; it wouldn’t have hurt to try and cook a Thanksgiving dinner just once

“Your sister sounds like a pain,” he said, ignoring her question, and then coughed aardly into a clenched fist

To his surprise, she laughed “She is, but you don’t get to choose your fan was just visible under a layer of white frosting and she let out a long breath beside hi to be fine now”