Blame It on the Blackout by Heidi Betts Page B

patented, full-points grin. “I’m happy to do it. This might even give me the chance to catch up on my stories. I just hope Cocoa likes soap operas.”
    Lucy’s eyes narrowed cautiously and Peter cleared his throat, trying to warn Ethan that he might be laying it on a little thick.
    Taking the hint, Ethan rubbed his hands together and glanced around the small kitchen. “So where is Cocoa, anyway? I’d like to meet her before you take off, see if she minds me staying with her for a while.”
    â€œShe’s afraid of strangers, which means she’s probably hiding under the bed.”
    They moved in the direction of the bedroom, in search of the cat.
    â€œYou don’t have to stay here the whole time, though,” Lucy told Ethan. “She’s used to me being gone a lot of the time for work. If you could just stop in once or twice a day to make sure she has enough food and water, that would be okay. I realize you need to be at the club at night, when I’d normally be home with her, but if you could stick around a while when you’rehere during the day, I’d really appreciate it. That way, she’ll get some company and not feel quite so abandoned.”
    â€œNo problem. Like I said, I’ll watch some television, and Cocoa can sit on the couch with me, if she wants. At the very least, I’ll keep up a steady stream of conversation so she knows someone is in the apartment with her.”
    Lucy beamed at that and Peter shook his head. Ethan in action was a sight to behold. No wonder women fell at his feet. Fifteen minutes ago, he’d been turning Peter’s ears red with complaints about lowering himself to this task, and now he had Lucy gazing up at him like he was king of the damn universe.
    If Peter hadn’t known his friend was putting on an act for her benefit, he probably would have been annoyed. At the very least, he thought, he should be taking notes.
    At the foot of the bed, made up with a thick safari comforter covered with lions, elephants and giraffes, Lucy got on her hands and knees and crouched down to peer beneath the raised bed frame.
    â€œCocoa, baby. Don’t you want to come out and meet Ethan before Mommy leaves?”
    Ethan’s head lifted, one dark eyebrow quirked comically as he shot Peter a look that seemed to say, You’re sure this girl is sane, right?
    He nudged Ethan in the side with his elbow, afraid Lucy might look up and see the expression on hisfriend’s face. And though Ethan might not be one to use baby talk to converse with another species, Peter knew his friend liked animals well enough and would take good care of Lucy’s cat while they were away.
    It was no less than he’d have expected of Lucy, though, to be so devoted to her pet. She was a caretaker, inside and out. Lord knew she took care of him better than anyone he’d ever known, including his own parents.
    He wasn’t surprised that she treated her cat like a child, the same way he wouldn’t be at all amazed if she turned out to be the best mother in the world when she decided to have children of her own. Those kids and her family would come first above everything else.
    Peter had never known love like that. His mother had tried, and he knew she loved him, but he’d always felt like an afterthought growing up. And he’d never been a priority in his father’s life. For all the attention the old man had shown him, he might as well have not even existed.
    Peter shook off the maudlin thoughts spiraling and multiplying in his brain like gnats when Lucy climbed to her feet, a fluffy ball of multicolored fur in her arms. The cat looked angry and put-out, her body arched, ears pressed flat against her head. But she let Ethan pet her with little more than a low growl from deep in her belly.
    And Ethan, big, bad bully that he’d been in the car, seemed completely enraptured. He scratched the feline’s ears and clicked his