Page 103 of My Knotty Mountain Men

“We’ll see about that.”

“You have an idea?”

Thom nodded then hung up his jacket. He put Cerberus back in the bedroom. “Just for a minute,” he told her and Annika smiled that he talked to his dog just the way she talked to her ferret.

“Does she ever answer you?”

“Not in words.” Thom took off his boots then and came to stand in front of the fridge in his stocking feet. “You get the cage door,” he said softly, pulling on a pair of leather gloves. Whatever his plan, he expected Percival to bite him. That gave Annika a bad feeling but then Thom wiggled his toes. He was wearing dark socks and he braced his hands on the fridge, leaning back on his heels so he could move all his toes.

She could almost hear Percival’s attention sharpening. Of course. Ferrets loved to hunt. She held her breath, watching. A scuttle sounded beneath the fridge. A little face peered out from the far side, then retreated into the shadows again—but this time, she could see the glint of the ferret’s eyes. He hissed a little. He chattered a bit, the way he talked to himself sometimes.

And then he pounced.

Percival emerged from beneath the fridge like greased lightning, heading straight for Thom’s wiggling toes and snatching at one of them. He bared his teeth and bit into it. Thom swore, even as he scooped up the ferret in one gloved hand. He turned smoothly, placing Percival in his cage more quickly that Annika would have thought possible. She slammed and locked the door securely, then exhaled shakily.

Percival pretty much dove into his bowl of fish, too tempted by the meal to be worried about the cage.

“You did it!” Annika said with delight. She would have thrown herself at Thom in her relief, but he sat down hard in the kitchen chair, ignoring her. She caught herself in time, watching as he pulled off his sock. His toe was bleeding from four small holes.

“I never thought I would do that on purpose,” he muttered. “Damn, his teeth are sharp.” He looked up at her. “He’s had his shots, right?”

“Of course. Let me get some disinfectant.” Annika had seen a bottle in the linen closet and brought it back to Thom with one of Leo’s facecloths.

He gave her a questioning glance, obviously recognizing the cloth.

She shrugged. “No one will ever know.” She doused the cloth with disinfectant and gave it to him, watching him catch his breath as he rubbed it into the wounds.

“Thank you,” she said. “Again.”

His gaze was warm enough to make her sizzle. “No worries.” He almost smiled and the prospect made Annika’s heart do a somersault.

“I would never have thought of that.”

“Rhea’s ferrets used to go under the couch, then if one of us moved our toes, they’d lunge out and bite. She said it was their hunting instinct. I said it was damned inconvenient.”

“All wiggling toes?”

“Toes in socks. They have to be incognito.”

Annika laughed and watched his eyes glint with satisfaction. “Thank you again.”

“Just call me the ferret whisperer,” Thom said with a slow smile that worked for her in a very big way.

“I made brownies.”

“For Leo’s inevitable return?” Thom sounded wry but he was examining his toe and avoiding her gaze.

“No. For you. As an apology. I’m sorry I was a jerk earlier.”

He shrugged. “I was a jerk yesterday.”

“But you followed up by being nice, a whole bunch of times. I’m way behind in the rankings.”

He smiled right into her eyes. “No one’s keeping score.”

Annika had a hard time making a sound when he looked at her like that. “I am,” she whispered.

Thom nodded. “A brownie would be great. Thank you. Do you mind if I take a shower first?”