"Could I have this one, Daddy?"

Samuel knelt down next to Emily, who had an orange and white kitten on her lap, its paws contentedly kneading the material of her overalls. "Chris said you can have the one you like best."

Emily looked around at the other five kittens that roamed the room, chasing and tackling each other, as their mama cat lounged nearby. Her gaze then drifted back to the kitten she held, hearing the animal's purr, as its blue eyes stared up at her. "I like this kitty the best, and I think he likes me too."

"I really liked what you said in class today, Steve. I thought it was very insightful."

Steve walked beside Katie, the couple heading to another section of the university's campus. "Thanks. It didn't feel insightful to me. Just practical because I get how the mind can be affected by anything that's traumatic."

Katie carried a binder and two textbooks, her hair tied into a messy bun. "You always talk about these things like you have experience. Is that because of whatever it is that happened in your childhood?"

"That's part of it, yeah. But it doesn't really stop there cause some stuff happened when I was older too."

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry if things felt awkward between us lasts night. I know my opinion about religion is kind of a strong one."

"It's fine. I didn't think things felt awkward. But my faith is pretty important to me. It's okay if that's not something you can share, and I respect your beliefs so long as you respect mine."

"I do. This isn't a personal thing. I just really like you, and I don't want to think we can't date because of religion."

"We can still date, Katie. I didn't stop liking you because you don't believe in God. But I do believe in him, and my conviction is as strong as yours."

"I could sense that when you talked about it last night. I could sense the passion there. I do now too, and even though there's no part of me that believes, I like seeing that truly genuine part of you."

"I have to get back to work, sweetie. But you have fun with Macaroni, and teach him where all his stuff is."

Emily waved goodbye to Samuel, as she used a small scoop to put some cat food into a bowl next to another that held water. "Okay, Daddy. I'll see you after you finish work. I love you."

Samuel kissed Emily's temple and gave the new kitten a pat, as he started to make his way out of the house. "I love you too."

Emily picked Macaroni up and put him near his food dish, giggling when he meowed and started to sniff it. "You eat this, okay, Macaroni? Then, I'll show you your litter box."

Samuel smiled at both his daughter and her new pet, as he went out the front door to find Vivian on the porch. "I'm heading back to work, honey. I should be home early today."

Vivian looked through the window at Emily, seeing her talking to the kitten. "She's over the moon, isn't she?"

"She sure is. He is a cute kitten. I only just hired Chris onto my staff a few weeks ago, so the timing is pretty incredible."

"Well, we're quite familiar with that, aren't we?"

Samuel cast one more glance inside the house, seeing Emily with her furry friend, her face bright with joy. "Yes. We sure are."

"I'm back now, Mr. McCoy. What were you wanting to show me?"

Mr. McCoy, manager and head mechanic, beckoned Soda over to the area where a couple of cars and a truck were waiting to be serviced. "This. I want you to work on the Corvette with me."

Soda punched back in on the timeclock that was behind the Tulsa Service Center's front desk, then went over to his boss, who was holding a paper with a detailed diagram on both sides. "Okay. So what are we doing then?"

Mr. McCoy pointed to a section of the diagram that mapped out the components of the automobile's engine. "See these sensors here?"

"Yes, Sir."

"I think the wiring needs to be replaced, then reconnected."

"All right. Let's get to work."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Katie. I've got to leave now if I'm going to make it to work on time."

Katie felt Steve's lips brush her own, as the couple stood in the university's main parking lot, the kiss too quick for her liking. "Okay. I don't want to make you late."

Steve opened the door to his car, putting his textbooks and notebooks inside. He started to get in himself, only to hesitate.

"What is it? Did you forget something in the classroom?"

Steve went back over to Katie, his hands holding hers, as he kissed her again, this one longer than the last.

Katie heard a whistle from nearby at the same time Steve broke the kiss. "Publicly affectionate, are we?"

Steve smiled, as he released Katie. "I hope you don't mind a 'hell, yeah' as an answer. But I am a very affectionate guy. That's another part of me you'll get to see, and I hope you like it too."

"Can I give Macaroni a bath, Mommy?"

Vivian chuckled at Emily's question, as she helped her out of the bathtub and wrapped a towel around her. "No, honey. Cats usually don't like water. Macaroni can clean himself."

Emily walked out of the bathroom, shivering, as she made her way to her bedroom to get dressed. "How?"

"Cats lick themselves clean, and it works very well for them. He's still a kitten, so he may not be the best at it yet. But he'll learn."

Emily started to put on the clothes Vivian had laid out for her, frowning as she held up the yellow shorts. "I want pink ones."

"If they've been washed, they're in your dresser drawer."

Emily let out a small huff, clad in polka-dotted underwear and a white top, as she began to dig into the drawer.

Vivian had to suppress a smile at the serious expression on Emily's face. "Or if they aren't there, they could even be in the basket of clean clothes I folded earlier."

Emily spotted the pink shorts, her face breaking into a smile. "Found them, Mommy! Now, I'm about to be all clean and dressed. Can I take Mac outside?"

"I think he should stay in the house, so he doesn't get lost or hurt."

"Oh. What can I do with him then?"

"I'm sure I have some yarn he would enjoy chasing. But I'll pick up cat toys for him next time I go shopping."

"What kind of toys do kitties play with?"

"Balls with bells, pretend mice, anything on a string. You'll see."

"Would he like a yo-yo?"

"I bet he would."

Emily finished getting dressed, then dumped out the bin of small toys next to the wooden chest, finding slinkies, bouncy balls, and a neon green yo-yo. "Got it! I'll play with Macaroni while you work in the garden, Mommy. Then, when he gets sleepy, I'll come out and see all the pretty flowers."

"So when will it be time for your practicum again?"

Steve heard Mrs. Larson's question, as he was at the counseling facility's back desk assisting with client records and files. "About a year and a half. Then, I'll be all yours most of the time."

Mrs. Larson, the main psychologist at Parkview, took a seat in the swivel chair beside Steve's. "Good. As you know, I'm looking forward to it. You have such analytical thoughts and observations when you sit-on on sessions with me or Dr. Branson. I'll be honored to supervise you in earning your counseling license."

"I'm already honored that you've taken me under your wing. It's incredible to work and get my clinical hours in a place like this."

"Well, what can I say, Steve? I see a lot of people, clients and students. So I know when I spy someone with a gift."

"Man, I thought I was going to melt right there on the concrete when she said that to me."

Soda sat at the table with Steve, the two men eating leftover fish. "I'm glad she looks at it the way she does. Seems like ya'll havin' such different beliefs could mess up what you've got goin' on, but it ain't. And it's even better that she likes to hear you talk about your faith."

Steve thought back to the second kiss he'd shared with Katie, not even aware of the smile taking over his face.

Soda started to laugh, as he gave Steve a shove. "You're swoonin' over there, Stevie. Damn, I better start lookin' for another apartment."

Steve's attention snapped back to the present, his smile fading away. "Don't even say that, buddy. I need you here."

"Hey, I'm only kiddin'. I know you two aren't anywhere near that sort of step yet. I ain't plannin' to leave til I've got you married off."

"Speaking of which, have you and Penny talked about what you two plan to do?"

"Not really. I know she's got a couple of job offers. Other than that, I guess we'll just see how things go once she's here."

"You're not sounding very excited about her coming back."

"Yeah. I'm just kind of nervous. I mean, I still love her and all, but I'm not sure about anything else. I know I can't just up and ask her to marry me either cause she'll probably say no."

"That's something you'll have to talk about together then. She's always sounded like she wanted to marry you someday."

"I know."

"I'm not holding you back, am I?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Us being roommates and what I just said about needing you here. I do, but if you want to ask Penny to move in somewhere with you-"

"Steve. I'm not doing that without at least bein' engaged first, okay? And when we moved in here, we decided it's til you finish school. We put our money together, remember? I'm not about to leave you high and dry. All jokin' aside, I'm not moving right now or for a while yet. So please don't worry about that. You said you need me here, and I know that's true. But I need it too. This works for both of us, and I'm good right where I am."