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He let out the breath he hadn’t been aware he had been holding.
They both sat there in silence as the cat moved around to lick the kitten, and they couldn’t see it any longer.
Franklin was thrilled Eleanor had been able to get it out. Thrilled that the cat seemed like she was going to be okay.
“You did a good job,” he said, keeping his voice low but unable to keep from allowing his relief and excitement from coloring it.
“I’m just glad we were here. If we hadn’t been, the cat probably would have died. I don’t think she was going to have that on her own.”
He had to agree. “I guess, I wasn’t exactly angry with being practically kidnapped or at least deceived, but you’re right. If the cat had been at the dance, most likely no one would have heard her.”
“Or she might have found a quieter place to have her kittens. She might have ended up outside, where no one was around to bother her, and no one could hear her, either. I... I guess everything happens for a reason, and we can find that reason if we’re not so blinded by...”
“Anger? Irritation?” he asked as he handed her phone back.
“I was thinking embarrassment, but that was my feeling, not yours. After all, you don’t know this, but Sally talked to me about what she was going to do, and while I told her I thought it was a silly idea, I apparently was unsuccessful in talking her out of it. I can’t believe an adult person would think kidnapping a grown man was okay.”
“But we just agreed that it was all for the best. The cat’s alive, and both kittens will probably survive, because of Sally’s harebrained scheme.”
Eleanor shook her head, and then she said, “I can’t believe you’re not angry. I know I would be if I were you.”
“Even if it saved the cat?”
“Well, I don’t know about that, but I suppose you’re right. Saving the cat and kittens was a nice perk. And I guess it’s worth it to be stuck here in the snowstorm. Because I’m not sure we’re going to get back. It was snowing pretty good when I walked in, and I can’t imagine it got any better.”
As she said that, her phone flashlight blinked off.
“You turned that off yourself, right?” Franklin said without moving. He didn’t like being here in the dark. He had managed to sit, waiting for someone to come, because he convinced himself it wasn’t going to be long. But what Eleanor had just said about them possibly being there for the length of the storm, and with her phone shutting off immediately, he had to admit something slippery, and not very happy, slid down his backbone.
“It was at seven percent. I’m pretty sure that was my phone saying goodbye.”
“Great.” There was a heavy dose of sarcasm in his voice. But he couldn’t help it. He wasn’t upset earlier because he thought he’d be rescued, but now... And they were going to be stuck in the dark.
And then he thought about the cold. They could freeze to death. He couldn’t let that happen. If nothing else, he would have to make sure that Eleanor stayed warm. Some kind of protective instinct rose up in him. Maybe it was the male gene, knowing that he was supposed to be the protector, but whatever it was, he knew he would sacrifice in order to make sure Eleanor was okay.
He supposed, at some point, he would think back and be appreciative for that moment. Because up until that point in his life, he didn’t know for sure whether he would have the maturity, or the character, to want to take care of someone else over himself. If nothing else, this experience, which was far from over, had taught him that much about himself.
