Chapter 165: Shitting Kittens
*How big of a litter box did you get? Toad is going to be shitting kittens when he gets back. – Doc*
The next day, after Knuckles got up around noon, he grabbed Law and his pickup. They headed to the animal shelter and then the pet store. When they got back to the clubhouse, Law grabbed two newer prospects to help unload his pickup bed.
Meanwhile, Knuckles carried sleeping kittens down the hall to Nessie’s office. He had a small following of club girls and old ladies by the time he stopped at her office door.
“Hey, babe.” Knuckles said and she looked up from her calendar.
“Oh! Yeh got me a kitten!” she said coming over to him.
“Actually, I got three. I wasn’t sure which one you wanted.” He said as he shifted the kittens around in his arms to hand them over to her.
One mewed at her as Nessie took it and began speaking Gaelic to it. She stepped over and kissed him. The kittens were now awake and squirming loudly between the couple.
“How are you going to keep them out of the kitchen?” Yvonne asked as she plucked one off Knuckles shoulder.
“We’ll have us a talk about the rules in a little bit.” Nessie said nuzzling one of the kittens.
By the time Toad and Siobhan returned a week and a half later, Nessie had the kittens trained. If she was in the kitchen, they played or slept in her office. Unless one of the girls, old ladies or kids had them.
Or if Knuckles was laying down.
Then you could guarantee that there would be at least one asleep on his chest. If he didn’t sleep in her room, she let them into his room when she headed to the kitchen. One thing was certain; her little devils really liked their rescuer.
The first thing that Toad saw when they entered the clubhouse were the three black fluff balls that were racing away from two of Molly’s daughters.
“Molly! What the hell are your girls chasing?” Toad bellowed to a suddenly empty bottom floor.
Siobhan rested a hand on her slight stomach. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen the bottom floor this empty.”
“Yeah.” He agreed turning to see that even Sledge, who had picked them up from the airport, had also disappeared. “Something is up.”
The hallway leading to his office was empty. Even the other offices were abandoned. The only thing missing was the cartoon outline of everyone who ran away at lightning speed.
Toad took the back hallway by the gym to the dining hall which were both empty.
Nessie’s office door was open and music was playing on her speaker. Toad stopped in the doorway and looked at the giant cat tree in the far corner of the room. At the very top, looking down at the two toddlers were three little black heads.
“Ittens.” Kelsea said reaching as far as her little arms could go.
“The ittens need a break.” Nessie said with her back to the door.
“Mukles?” she pleaded.
“No, lass. Mukles will tell yeh to give me devils a break.” Nessie said with laughter in her voice. “Mukles is still asleep.”
“Why is Mukles still asleep?” Toad asked.
“Untoad!” Georgia ran to him and he picked her up. She planted a giant slobbery kiss on his cheek. “Get devils.”
“Where did your daddy go hide?” Siobhan asked accepting the girl’s kiss.
“Ittens.” Kelsea tried with them.
“Try the garden.” Nessie suggested as she hugged her aunt. “And how is the wee man?”
“It’s a boy?” Toad asked.
“Oops.” Nessie murmured as she hugged him.
“Come on girls.” Siobhan held out a hand for Kelsea. “Let’s go find all the big, bad, scary bikers. Don’t kill her too badly.”
Toad smiled at her and then watched as they went through the back door.
“I asked for them before yeh left. Knuckles got them for me after Stephen died.”
He let out a deep sigh and then sat on the small black sofa across from her desk. “How long did you know he had cancer?”
She sat behind her desk and closed her laptop giving them a clear view of each other. “I knew that he was dying when I met him. I didn’t know it was cancer until April or so. There was nothing more that could be done. He wanted to live life the best he could.”
“Is that why you encouraged me to take him on when no one else wanted to?”
“He had no one. His parents both left him. His grandparents had just died. He had terminal cancer. He didn’t want to die alone.”
“Why did you kiss him?”
“No one should die having never been kissed.” She said as one of the kittens jumped down to her desk. “He died a virgin. I thought that he should have at least one kiss.”
“He died a virgin?”
She nodded as she absently stroked the cat’s black fur. “He felt bad for lying to yeh. But was afraid that if yeh found out he was only seventeen when he came to yeh, yeh’d kick him out.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Tell me he didn’t suffer.”
“In his sleep.” Toad confirmed as the other two cats got down and then all three ran out the door.
“Mukles.” She grinned.
A moment later, Knuckles entered the office with all three kittens climbing up his jeans. “I know, I know. I love me, too. Oh, shit.”
He stood frozen to the spot where he first saw Toad. Toad glared at him and he seriously considered running. The kittens all stared towards the corner, completely transfixed.
“Hello, Sinner. He says that they stay.” Nessie said to the corner that the kittens were staring.
“It’s his Shack.” Toad said as he stood up and walked around the desk to kiss her cheek. “Grams asked me to ask if you could hear the stones. I hope that makes sense to you.”
“It does. And not yet.” She answered looking at him. “I’ll hear them soon enough.”
Toad nodded walking out of the office. He paused to pet one of the kittens. “What are their names?”
“Me Devils.”
Knuckles nodded. “They are just called the Devils. I think that they have the swarm mentality.”
“Only for yeh.” She smiled at him.
