The Christmas Cat Read Online Free PDF

TV show not long ago. Maybe it was Dr. Phil. Anyway, they said the best way to conquer your fears was to face them head-on.” She grinned wide, revealing a gold tooth. “I guess that’s what you’re doing right now.”
    “Right now, I’m going upstairs,” he told her. “I want to see if there are any rooms that have been off-limits to the cats.” Mostly he just needed a place to steady himself, a spot where he could close the door and catch his breath.
    “Lilly always kept your room closed up tight,” she called after him. “Hoping you’d come home to stay with her a while. It should be a cat-free zone.” She chuckled. “Imagine a big strong-looking young man afraid of a pretty little kitty like you, Viola.”
    “ Imagine ,” he muttered to himself as he scaled the stairs. He went down the hall and directly to his old room, quickly opening the door and stepping inside. Once again, he waspleasantly surprised to see that it looked exactly as he’d left it straight out of high school. It was like going into a comfortable time warp. Sure, the sports posters were curled at the edges and the plaid curtains and matching bedspread had faded some, but for the most part, nothing had changed. A little more at ease, he closed the door and leaned against it. Then he cautiously removed the face mask and, taking in a slow, deep breath, he felt himself beginning to relax.
    Was Ruby right? Did he really have some kind of cat phobia? He peered at his image in the cloudy dresser mirror. His brow was furrowed and his hazel eyes looked worried, and even his pupils appeared smaller. Wasn’t that a sign of fear? And yet, what did he have to be afraid of? He’d traveled the world, faced various forms of danger—everything from wild jungle animals to guerrilla warriors—and he had never felt unreasonably fearful of anything. And yet, it was undeniable, those silly old cats in the kitchen had just sent shivers down his spine. Maybe Ruby was right after all. It was possible that he was dealing with some kind of phobia. Perhaps he should take her advice (or the advice of that TV doctor she’d mentioned) and simply face his fears.
    He looked around his old room, wondering if it might be possible to actually stay in Gram’s house. It would certainly save him some hotel expenses. With this haven in his old room, he might be able to get by for a week or so. Hopefully it wouldn’t take long to find homes for Gram’s herd of felines. In the meantime, he’d attempt to take Ruby’s advice by facing his fears and getting to know these cats better. At least he’d try.
    “ Yoo-hoo? ” she called as she clumped up the stairs. “Are you okay, Garrison?”
    He put his mask back on, adjusting it snugly against hischeeks. It was one thing to face one’s fears, something else altogether to expose oneself to disturbing allergens. “I’m coming,” he called as he emerged from his room, carefully closing the door behind him.
    “I found some cat supplies,” she informed him. “Lilly had a whole closet just chock-full of kitty goodies. I helped myself, like you told me to—hope that’s okay.”
    “It’s more than okay,” he assured her as they went down the stairs. “Anything to get you and Viola off to a good start in her new home.” Bracing himself, he reached out to give the gray cat a quick rub on the head. Baby steps, he said to himself. One cat at a time. “I hope you two are very happy together,” he told Ruby. “And, uh, well . . . I shouldn’t say anything, Ruby, but my grandma has made some provisions for the, uh, for the folks that adopt her cats.”
    “Provisions?” Ruby’s brows drew together. “What do you mean?”
    “I don’t really want to go into the details now. But if you and Viola settle in nicely and you decide you want to keep her—”
    “I already know I want to keep her,” Ruby declared. “No question about that.”
    “Well then you shouldn’t worry too much about the expenses of cat food