I hid Don Gato under Reed's jacket when I got on the bus. I looked like I was six-months pregnant, but there was no way I could walk the entire way. It was now a little more than an hour after Jon and Bitsy had left for school. Don Gato was still alive when I knocked on Reed's door.

During the entire trip, I swore I wouldn't cry. Reed answered the door with bedhead, no shirt, low-slung sweatpants, and a sleepy adorable look on his face.

"I need your help and-and I'll sleep with you to get it."

Anger quickly replaced the sleepy look and, for a moment, I thought he would close the door in my face.

"What. The. Fuck, Jaycee?"

I started crying. It wasn't soft or delicate, pretty, or feminine. It just poured out. I unzipped the jacket and uncovered Don Gato.

"I don't want him to suffer, but I couldn't kill him. I don't have the money to have him put down and I couldn't do it." I was repeating myself and blubbering like a fool.

"Christ."

His arms closed around Don Gato and me at the same time he backed us into the house. He just held me for what seemed like forever. When his arms finally slipped away, he took Don Gato and carried him to the nearest couch.

"How long has he been this way?"

I wiped my eyes and sniffed. "For about twenty-four hours. I'm sorry I came here, but Bitsy loves him. He's just a darn old cat, but he adopted us after our mother died and he helped Bitsy when she really needed it. He hunts mice, so I don't need to buy much food and he's never needed anything else but a scratch here and there." I looked down. "I'm sorry."

"Stop saying that. Let me get a shirt on and we'll go to the vet. I don't know that there's anything that can be done, though."

"There isn't, but I don't want him suffering, and I want it over before Bitsy gets home. May I use your phone to call my boss? I'm supposed to work this morning's shift."

"You can use my cell phone in the car. I think we should hurry. Will you lose your job over this?"

"No, Dwaine will understand. I've never missed a day before. He teases me all the time..." My voice trailed off and I started to apologize again, but Reed left the room. He hadn't said anything about my offer to sleep with him, but I figured we would have plenty of time to discuss it later.

This time, he didn't turn up the music in his car. I figured it was out of deference to Don Gato.

"When did your mother die?" He watched the road, not looking at me.

"Three years ago."

Just a quick turn of his head before he turned back and watched traffic. "You were seventeen?"

"Yes."

"How did you get custody of Jon and Bitsy?"

"I turned eighteen a few months after she died. They were both in state custody until then."

"What about you?" His voice was low and coaxing like he knew I didn't talk about this.

"I refused. The state actually has a program that got me my own place and paid my bills."

I could see emotions crossing his face; his lips tightened, his forehead creased, but he kept his tone even. "How did you end up at the trailer?"

"The money stopped when I turned nineteen. One of the social workers owned the trailer and gave it to us. We've been lucky."

His lips mashed tighter and the outline of his jaw became more defined. "Nothing about your life has involved luck, Jaycee. Christ!"

Pity mixed with anger dripped from the words, and my fighting attitude reared its ugly head. "What-and the baseball player got his big house and fancy car because of luck?" I snapped.

He gave me another quick, frustrated look. "Yes. I make good money playing ball, but I inherited a shit load too. I've never worked a real damn job in my life. I play ball because I'm good at it and because I was born with good genes and natural athletic ability. Luck. And because of it, I have a big house and fancy car. If my career continues the way it has been, I'll make even more money."

Wow, I had no idea, but it still didn't mean I needed his pity. "They gave my mother six months to live. She lived a year. The first social worker on our case said I would never get custody of my sister and brother. I found a full-time job, signed up for college classes, and received custody anyway. I'll admit, getting caught breaking into your house was very unlucky, but we're on our way to a vet. I think it's the way you look at life. You should try the glass is half full approach some time." I sounded like my mother even though I believed the opposite. I just didn't want this man's pity.

His lips twitched and I watched a slow grin appear on his face. I could only see his profile, but loved the glimpse of that sexy smile. He made me think about my earlier dreams that would never come truethe dashing prince, the glittery castle, perfection. All fairy tales. Real life was actually the wicked witch and doom.

"I need to call Dwaine."

Reed pulled his phone from his jacket pocket and handed it to me. After a moment, while I figured out how it worked, I put it to my cheek. The damn thing actually smelled like him. A phone for god's sake. I spoke to Dwaine and tasted Reed on my lips. I wanted to lick the cover plate.

I was perfectly pathetic.

We pulled up at the clinic a few minutes later. Reed carried Don Gato inside. I was glad. I loved the stupid cat and this was the hard part. After filling out a short form, the tech took us back to a private room. She was young and pretty. She ignored me, but stared at Reed like a lovesick fool. Yep, I knew I had the same look and it pissed me off.

She asked Reed about Don Gato and he turned to me. It was petty of me, but I was glad she had to take notice that I was in the room. I told her what I knew and she immediately turned back to Reed.

"Dr. Lyston will be with you in a moment."

I wanted to slap her hand when she placed her fingers on Reed's arm. He didn't seem to notice.

"Thank you." He gave her the same heart-stopping smile he gave me on occasion.

Now I wanted to rip her pretty little face off.

I looked down at Don Gato. His eyes were only partially open and he remained listless. I guessed his age to be about fifteen, but I actually had no idea. Reed kept a hand against Don Gato's side, lightly rubbing his fur.

Dr. Lyston finally entered the room. He at least looked at me after I answered the first of his questions.

"We can do some blood work and take an x-ray to see if he has a blockage." A touch of censure entered his voice. "It's hard to tell by what I can see. If he was an indoor cat, you would know about his bowel movements and eating habits, but I can only work with what we have. His temperature is slightly elevated and he could be fighting off an infection."

The doctor was making this hard. "He needs to be put down. That's all I want."

He gave me a stunned look. "I assure you, he may only have an infection."

I straightened my shoulders and refused to cry no matter how much I wanted to. "I don't have the money. Mr. Tyler agreed to pay for the euthanasia. Don Gato has been a good cat and he doesn't deserve to suffer because I can't afford his treatment."

Reed took my hand. "Run the tests, doc. I'll cover the cost. If the best thing is to put the cat down, I'll trust you to tell us. How long do you think this will take?"

I tried twisting my hand loose, but Reed wouldn't release it. I would never be able to pay him back for this. I had nice tits, but I didn't see Reed wanting me for more than a quick fuck or two. The novelty of the poor little burglary chick would wear off quickly. I cast my angry gaze his way, but his eyes told me I wasn't going to win this argument. At least not at the moment.

"It would be best if you left him here until this afternoon. I'm sure he needs fluids, and even if we start him on some antibiotics, we need to keep an eye on him. My nurse can call you later and give you an update."

Now the doctor wasn't looking at me either. His attention was on the man with the money. I had to ask. "How much is this going to cost."

"Don't worry about it," Reed said, cutting off any reply the doctor could make.

They had Reed's cell number, so we left. I sat in the car, crossed my arms, and tried not to cry again.

Reed pulled out of the clinic parking lot, placing his hand over mine and giving it a slight squeeze. "It's okay, Jaycee. If it makes you feel better, I'm doing this for Bitsy. I think she needs that cat and maybe the doctor can get a few more years out of him."

One tear, then two, spilled from my eyes. I turned away, looking out the window. "Believe me, you're getting the poor end of the deal. My body isn't worth this much."

Luckily, I had my seat belt on or I would have hit my head against the windshield. Reed turned sharply into an empty side lot and slammed on the brakes.

Oh no, I'd really pissed him off now.

"You seriously think I would sleep with you because I'm paying the damn medical bill for a cat? I've offered you an honest job. Sex was not part of that offer. I've never been so hard up I needed to pay for it. This-" he waved his hand in the air, "is a gift. I can afford to have Bitsy's cat looked at and fed caviar for that matter. You said a social worker gave you that trailer. You took that, so you can damn sure take this."

He turned the car around and jumped back into traffic. He didn't take me home; he pulled up in front of a diner, parked, and turned off the engine.

"I'm hungry and I'm buying you a meal. Don't even think about saying no." He unsnapped his seat belt and got out of the car.

I followed his angry strides with a slight smile on my face. His ass was so sexy. The smile left my face a second later. He wasn't taking me up on my offer to sleep with him, so there was really nothing to smile about.

I decided to sulk.