Cats in Heat by Asha King Read Free Book Online

big show of pretending to compare the sizes against her own yoga pants, there was no denying that she was shopping for someone else—not when she grabbed a pair of pants that would only fit a man six-three or so and definitely not her . Everyone in town knew her and certainly knew she didn’t have a boyfriend. So she made her trip brief, grasping a few pairs of dark track pants she thought would fit along with some T-shirts. Shoes, she didn’t even try. He was housebound for the time being anyway, and she didn’t want to guess at his size.
    Loading up on all of that seemed to take forever even if she was only in the thrift shop for ten minutes. From there she headed to the discount store for a pack of underwear, and then grocery store where she stocked up on more breakfast foods, soups, and finally energy drinks.
    Weighed down with bags, she wasn’t looking forward to the walk home, but she kept her head down and started in that direction anyway. Hot sun beat down on her, warming her black hair which swung in a ponytail against her back.
    A prickle of warning ran down her spine and she shifted uneasily. Much like the afternoon the day before, when she came home in the rain, something unsettling crept up on her, that foreboding sense of something coming .
    Her mother would’ve brushed it all aside, but given the shapeshifting tiger in her living room, Addie couldn’t do that anymore.
    I wish you were here, Granmama .
    A blue Chevy rolled up next to her then, crunching gravel on the shoulder of the road. Robbie leaned across the passenger seat as the window rolled down and offered her a lopsided grin. “Ride?”
    She glanced down only briefly at the bags she carried and then smiled gratefully in return. “That would be wonderful.”
    After tying her bags closed and strapping them in the back, she climbed in the truck and buckled up, and soon the vehicle was rumbling back down the long road.
    Despite the sun being out all morning, the grass on either side of the road was damp and muddy. While a blue sky hung over them, Addie couldn’t shake the feeling there was another storm on its way.
    Her stomach twisted as they rode back for her house; she was only vaguely aware of Robbie’s idle small talk. Would Erik even be there when she returned? He seemed too weak to leave, yes, but he might not stay. Not now that he was conscious and mending.
    And if I get home and find him gone? Do I believe I’m crazy then?
    She didn’t want to contemplate it.
    “Addie?” Robbie prompted.
    She visible started and glanced at him quickly. He faced the road but flicked his eyes in her direction and she realized he must’ve asked her something.
    “I’m sorry, I missed that. Didn’t sleep well.”
    He smiled gently. “No problem. There’s a new blues band playing at the Haven’s Bridge tonight. I thought you might want to go?”
    Haven’s Bridge was the one respectable pub in town: clean, run by good people, usually with good music on weekend evenings. It sat on the western corner of Havelock, right next to the rickety wooden bridge leading out of town.
    She should go out, she knew. Be normal. Have fun, maybe relax a little. But what other people considered “relaxing” was something that made her uncomfortable—she spent the whole time feeling weirdly separate from everyone else.
    “I don’t know about tonight,” she said after pretending to give it some consideration. I’d rather stay home and take care of the strange tiger-man sleeping in my living room, oh God, I am nuts . “I didn’t sleep much with the storm last night.”
    She braced and studied Robbie but though there was the flicker of disappointment in his expression, he didn’t get angry about it. “Understandable. Maybe next week?”
    “Sure.”
    He pulled into her driveway and Addie fished her house keys from her pocket. “You’ll tell me...”
    She paused and met his eyes.
    Seriousness crossed his expression, pulling his brows down tight over his eyes,