Read Online Woof at the Door by Laura Morrigan - Free Book Online Page A

though she clearly was.
    Through the massive front window, I could see movement, a hint of gold, speckled with
     black. Charm was in the living room to the right of the front door.
    I heard Kai’s quiet footsteps in the grass. I looked at him—he didn’t look happy.
    “Is the door unlocked?” I whispered.
    “Yes.”
    I nodded and tried to come up with a plan. It had been a while since Charm had seen
     me. Though I couldn’t tell from this distance, she might be highly upset about all
     the commotion. Or she might not.
    Only one way to find out. “Okay, I’m going to go in. If she jumps me, shoot through
     the glass window. It might distract her, scare her off.”
    I knew instantly that I shouldn’t have said that.
    “If she
jumps
you?” Kai whispered as we crept up the front steps. “I thought you helped raise her.”
    “Well . . .” I paused, feeling a sudden twinge of nerves. “She might not remember
     me.”
    Kai followed close behind me as we made our way onto the porch. “But you walked up
     to a snarling Doberman without batting an eye.”
    “This is different. Dogs have been domesticated for thousands of years.” I inched
     up to the huge picture window and peered inside. “It may be hard to believe, but
that
is a wild animal.”
    We both gazed into the room. The jaguar lounged benignly on a black leather sofa.
     Her tail flicked up and down, and her attention was fixed on the entryway to the room.
    I could hear Kai’s breath next to my ear. “Grace, I can’t let you do this.”
    I turned and asked, “You have a better idea?”
    “Yes, we get someone from the zoo to dart it and you don’t risk your life.”
    I reached up on impulse and patted his cheek. “You’re cute when you’re worried.”
    His eyes hardened. “You won’t think I’m so cute when I toss you over my shoulder and
     haul your ass away from here.”
    From the look in his eyes, he meant it. If he really thought I was in danger and I
     resisted, he would fireman-carry me back to his truck. Usually, I’d be irritated by
     the caveman machismo, but coming from Kai it was . . . sweet.
    “Look, I’m sure she’ll remember me, okay? And if someone from the zoo came to tranq
     her, they’d have to go inside. I have a much better chance of ending this peacefully.
     Trust me.”
    Kai seemed to think about it for a long time. Finally, he nodded. “So what are you
     going to do?”
    I shrugged and moved quietly to the riveted metal front door. “Talk to her.”
    I began to turn the handle. The cat tensed on the other side of the door.
    My stomach tightened nervously in response. I focused on remaining calm.
It’s okay, Charm. It’s me, Grace
. I opened the door slowly and stepped inside. The living room was to my right. I
     tried to conjure up as many memories of the jaguar as I possibly could. Starting from
     the time I had cared for Charm for those weeks as a cub. She had been so small and
     bony. I always worried she’d get cold. So I’d piled blankets around her, just in case.
     She loved for me to cover her with them, with just the tip of her spotted tail sticking
     out. With those images firmly in place, I walked cautiously into the room.
    Charm had abandoned her perch on the sofa and was now standing, facing me.
    I kept my voice level and quiet. “Hey, pretty girl, remember me?”
    The jaguar let out a low growl. Her pupils dilated and she lowered her head, focusing
     intently on me.
    I knew what Charm was doing; she was getting ready to pounce. I felt her pulse quicken.
     I took a deep breath to steady myself and concentrated on strengthening my memories
     of her, and bringing them to the front of my mind.
    No fear, just thoughts of the jaguar’s time with me as a cub—sleeping on the rug under
     all those blankets, wrestling around the house with Moss, the way she would beg for
     bottles of milk even when she wasn’t hungry.
    The growling slowly subsided. Charm’s head and tail lifted in recognition. She