KnockOut

strangers, Big Louie included, all three under his bed, three twitching tails never quite all the way under. He came down on his knees in front of her, as careful as could be not to frighten her.
    “Why did you come here, Autumn, really?”
    “Since Uncle Tollie isn’t here, I decided to come here so you can protect me.”
    But if someone came inside while I was out looking for you, I wouldn’t be here to protect you. No, no, keep it simple. “Who would I protect you from?”
    That was too much; he saw that immediately. She shrank back, wrapped her arms around herself. She looked ready to fold in on herself. Lula meowed. The little girl looked up. Mackie meowed, Big Louie barked, all three now a line behind him.
    “They’re nice,” she said.
    “They’re varmints,” Ethan said, but with a smile and a laugh, and was pleased to see her arms drop back to her sides. “Lula is a calico. See all the black and gold splotches on white? She’s so independent, I have to make an appointment with her before she’ll give me the time of day. Now, as for Mackie, he’s the big orange-and-white tabby, so big you’d think he could go bring down his own dinner, but he’s also a wuss, lives to eat and sleep and have me rub his ears and tell him how handsome he is. As for Big Louie, he’s a black Labrador, tough and so sweet you want to hug him all the time. He and the cats get along—what a surprise, but it’s true.”
    She said, “Lula? Mackie?” Ethan watched them stop their slinking and bound toward her. Independent Lula, to his surprise, began to rub herself against Autumn’s legs. As for Mackie, he had no shame. He stretched out his full length against her, his paws on her chest. She laughed and picked him up, then staggered before Ethan could steady her.
    He said, “Why don’t you call me Ethan?”
    She shook her head. “Mama said I was to stay away from you. Far away.”
    Now that wasn’t much of a surprise. “Did she tell you why?”
    The little girl whispered, “She said no way would you believe us.”
    “But you came here anyway.”
    “Yes,” she whispered, and he saw a small white hand stretch out toward Big Louie. “He’s bigger than me.”
    “Yeah, he is, but you know, he wouldn’t hurt you unless you tried to steal his dog bone. Then it’d be close. Would you like me to call your mother, Autumn?”
    “If you do, she’ll come out here and he’ll come and she’ll try to stop him and it could be really bad.”
    She was rubbing Lula’s back as she arched against her hand, purring with lots of horsepower. Mackie swatted at Lula. Lula whipped around and hissed at him.
    Ethan said, “Come on, you guys, don’t be rude around Autumn. That’s a pretty name—Autumn.”
    “My daddy wanted to name me that. He’s dead.”
    “I’m sorry. Was he ill?”
    She shook her head. “It was bad, real bad.” Slowly she held out her hand to Mackie, who turned slinky now, twisting and turning around her, teasing her. Big Louie nudged her shoulder. Ethan said, “Listen, you guys, how can I get to know Autumn if you’re all trying to take over?”
    She laughed, a very small laugh but still a laugh, and he found himself smiling in return. “Are you hungry? This trio sure was. You watched me play kibble Frisbee with them?”
    She nodded. “They’re good.”
    She fell silent, looked profoundly worried.
    He wanted to ask her why she hadn’t come out then, but he knew why. She’d been too scared. He said, “I can make hot chocolate. I think I’ve got some Fig Newtons.”
    She licked her lips. He had her. He held out his hand. And waited. It seemed like a year, but at last she put her hand in his. He rose. She walked beside him into the kitchen. “Why don’t you sit down and play with the varmints while I work. Are you hungry?”
    She nodded.
    Ethan thought about her mother. Another five minutes, he thought, get the little girl to tell him what was going on first. And he knew to his boot heels that whatever was going on with her mother, it wasn’t good. “You know, I’m hungry too. Why don’t I see what’s in the fridge?”
    There was leftover pepperoni pizza, four big slices. The best kid food in the land. “Look what I found.”
    “I was afraid to eat it,” she said. “I didn’t want to make you mad.”
    What to say to that? “I’m glad you didn’t eat it cold. The cheese would stick to your teeth. Let’s warm it up.”
    He turned the oven on high and laid the slices on a cookie