6. Abigail
SIX
ABIGAIL
I heaved the kitty litter into my trunk. Who knew that stuff was as heavy as bricks? And I still wasn’t certain I would need it. Sure, everyone at Hooker’s Paradise agreed it was time for me to bring a cat into the mix, but what if finding the right cat was like dating? What if it took months or years? What if I never found a cat that wanted to spend the rest of his or her life with me?
I had no idea. I only knew there was one way to find out.
Besides, thinking about a cat was easier than thinking about Rex.
Sophie was positive I would be adopting a sweet little feline this evening and convinced me to be fully prepared. So I stocked up on other supplies too—kibble, litter box, toys, a collar with a little bell, and some catnip because if my future cat was anything like me, he or she would want something to help relax in the evenings.
The sun was just setting when I pulled up at the New Elwood Animal Shelter. Even though Sophie volunteered here regularly, I didn’t ever remember stepping foot in this place. When I walked up to the door, a friendly face was standing by, waiting for me. But it wasn’t Sophie.
“It’s a big day!” Charlie practically sang with a big grin on her face.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We don’t know that I’m leaving here with anything.”
“If that’s what you have to tell yourself to keep your cool, but I know you’re excited.”
I bit back a smile. It was true; I was excited. This was something I’d always wanted and didn’t think I could ever have. At the same time, I knew that sometimes things didn’t always work out as planned. So I was cautiously optimistic.
Charlie put her arm around my shoulders. “C’mon, Sophie’s waiting for us.”
I expected the shelter to be more like a pet store—clear acrylic cages with adorable little pets on display—but the main room was just a reception desk. Sophie stood behind it, chatting with another volunteer. As we approached, we stole her attention.
“There you are!” Sophie greeted me with a grin that rivaled Charlie’s. “I couldn’t wait for you to get here.”
“Isn’t this supposed to be an animal shelter? Where are all the animals?” I asked, looking around again.
“What did you expect? Critters roaming free like it’s Ace Ventura’s apartment?”
“Maybe,” I answered. “You always talk about how much fun you have cuddling with all the cats and dogs.”
“I do, but in the back for safety reasons.”
“Keeping strays off the streets,” I joked.
Sophie’s smile fell. “Abigail. We don’t say strays. We prefer the term adoptables.” Of course she did. The woman was a saint.
“Well, am I ever going to see any of these adoptables?”
She slapped her denim-clad thigh. “I thought you’d never ask!”
Charlie and I shared a look and followed our bestie down a hallway into a large, brightly lit room. I practically inhaled stray cat hair when I entered. Excuse me, adoptable cat hair. The walls were lined with metal cages, each housing its own cat. There was enough space to consider them cozy studio cat apartments—but the views were terrible. So maybe it was more like jail.
Not that I knew anything about that.
I looked around at all of the cats, catching gazes with a few of them as they stretched their paws and cried adorable meows. My heart melted. I wanted to take them all home.
Then I’d really be the crazy, divorced cat lady.
Charlie and Sophie were quiet as I walked past the cages until I came across a black cat. Suddenly, it was like I was a little girl again. I pressed my hands to my heart and wailed, “Aw! This one’s just like Mr. Kitty!”
“Who’s Mr. Kitty?” Sophie asked.
“It’s a long story. Can I see this one?” I asked, giving the sweet cat goo-goo eyes as it waved its tail like it was saying hello.
“Of course!” Sophie said. “You can see any that you’d like. As long as you see Winston too. I have a feeling about you two. He’s a sweetheart, just like you.” She beamed at me .
“We must have different definitions of ‘sweetheart,’” I noted.
Sophie unlocked the black cat’s cage and handed the creature to me. The cat curled up against my chest, and I petted its soft, soft fur. When I scritched it behind the ears, there was a soft rumble of a purr.
Yeah, I could get used to this.
The cat stretched and flicked its tail into my nose. I snorted and reared back, and the cat startled. It jumped from my arms with a yowl and took off, scrabbling around the room as the other cats joined in the screaming.
Sophie—short, curvy Sophie, who was sweet as pie and always smiling—moved faster than I’d ever seen her. She pounced on the cat and caught it, then gave it a cuddle that immediately calmed the creature down.
I cringed. “Whoops.”
Sophie rolled her eyes with a fond smile and deposited the black cat back in its cage. “Lady is a little skittish. I’m not sure she’s the one for you. She needs someone who moves slow and has a calming voice, I think.”
Like Rex. I peered into another cage, where a ginger cat batted at the air. “So which one is Winston?”
Sophie locked up Lady, who eyed me like I was the devil, then walked to the other side of the room and pointed at a cage. The moment she did, a black paw with white markings reached between the bars, clawing the air. Winston yowled so loud my eyebrows shot up. But could I blame him? I wasn’t a fan of being trapped behind bars either.
Sophie cooed at him. “He’s feisty. Just like you.”
Uh-huh. I approached with measured steps, not quite ready to commit. “Let’s get him out of there,” I said, reaching the cage and meeting the cat face-to-face. Our gazes locked. His eyes were slightly green with rounder, black irises. Black covered his ears, nose, and mouth with a fluffy white chest, whiskers, and chin. I felt my eyes go goo-goo again, and just as I was about to let out another coo, Winston pressed his head against the cage and hissed.
“Ahh!” I jumped back, heart pounding and adrenaline pumping.
“Winston!” Sophie reprimanded him. She planted her hands on her hips, which would be intimidating if she didn’t give off strong Ms. Frizzle vibes at all times. Then she looked at me. “Don’t mind him. He’ll warm up to you.”
“No, I think he’s pretty much vetoed me,” I replied, then glared at him with my hand on my hip. I leaned closer. “You know, Winston, the feeling’s mutual.”
“No, Abigail. Trust me. You two will hit it off. I’ll take you to the adoption room and bring him out. I can bring Nemo out as well,” she said, nodding to the ginger who had gone stock still and was staring at me like he’d never seen a human before.
I narrowed my eyes. “Sophie. Cat scratches don’t really go with my outfit.”
She rolled her eyes and walked off. “You’ll be fine.”
I looked at Charlie, who simply shrugged. “She’s the expert.”
“Um,” I said. “I don’t know about Nemo. I’m getting serial killer vibes from him.”
“That’s because he’s a very good hunter,” Sophie agreed.
“Maybe that other black one?” I pointed to one next to Lady, who was curled up in the back corner of her cage, ignoring us.
Sophie brought us to an enclosed space with cat trees and benches. We took a seat while my friend ran back to pick up the cats. I braced myself.
“Here they are!” Sophie sang as she walked into the room with a cat curled in each arm moments later. “You’ve met Winston.” If that’s what she wanted to call our stand-off. “And this is Pearl.”
“Pearl? For a black cat?”
“Matt, one of the high school volunteers, named her. He likes to be ironic.”
“How Alanis Morissette of him,” I said as she placed the two cats on the ground. Winston sprang up like a bat out of hell and landed on the top pedestal of the cat tree. He’d warm up to me, huh? Not a chance. So despite Sophie’s attempts to play matchmaker, I put all my attention on the black Pearl. “Hi there,” I said softly, offering my hand for a sniff.
She took the bait, and I felt her cool little nose press against my skin. She walked around me, sniffing my ankles and letting her tail slide over my calves. “You think she likes me?” I asked.
“Of course. What’s not to like?” Sophie asked.
My expression flattened. Oh, just a dash of recklessness and an inability to do anything right? But who was keeping track, other than my ex-husband, brother, and perpetually disappointed parents?
I shot a look at Winston, who licked his paws and couldn’t be bothered to say hello. “I don’t know. Why don’t you ask him?”
She looked up at the aloof cat. “C’mon, Winston. I brought a friend here to meet you.” The tuxedo cat completely ignored her calls for attention. All he cared about was being out of that cage. Come to think of it, if I were him, I’d be cranky too.
“Speaking of meeting friends, Sophie and I wanted to ask you about last night,” Charlie started, and I flicked cautious glances to each of them.
My tongue went dry. “What about last night?”
“Rex Montgomery showing up at your house,” Charlie said.
Now my heart was really racing. Knowing my friends, who knew me better than anyone, they smelled something. And it wasn’t cat pee. I gulped hard. “What about it?”
“Just seemed a little strange is all,” Sophie chimed in. “We get he’s your client, but what was so important that he had to come over unannounced? Couldn’t you do the whole property thing over the phone?”
Oh, you know. Only that his meathead brother forgot to book the hotel for his own destination wedding, and now I had to play hostess and girlfriend. And if I didn’t, my brother would treat me like a failure forever.
But I didn’t say any of that.
Instead, I just shrugged. “Nothing. I think he just likes to do business in person.”
“Do business or do the business?” Charlie pressed and wiggled her brows.
I scoffed. What she was suggesting was utterly ridiculous. Yes, I’d felt some spark of attraction for Rex recently. But I was probably ovulating, or something. It wasn’t real.
I played it off with a wave of my hand. “What? You’re nuts.”
“I don’t know. I think the fire marshal has a little crush on you. I saw the way he was smiling at you when he came in. It was so obvious.”
Maybe he was smiling at me in an unusual way. But it had to be because of our deal. Nothing else. Right?
“Charlie, I’m potentially about to adopt a cat. I don’t have the bandwidth to even consider what you’re suggesting.” And that was the truth.
Her eyes narrowed as she pointed an accusatory finger in my face. “Okay, now I know you’re lying. Spill it, Abigail Stone!”
I swallowed hard and glanced at sweet Sophie for support, but her crossed arms and pursed mouth told me she was with Charlie on this one. Shit. So much for keeping this quiet.
After peeking over my left and right shoulders, and assuming the cats wouldn’t repeat anything, I leaned forward. “Okay, I’m going to tell you, but you cannot say a word to anyone.” My severe gaze met Charlie’s. “Not even Sebastian. Especially not Sebastian.”
She threw her hands up. “Okay, just because we’re getting married doesn’t mean I’m abandoning the girl code.”
“Okay, good.” I wasn’t sure why that made me feel a lot better about everything. “So, you know how Donny Montgomery’s getting married here this weekend?”
“Yeah…” they drew out.
“Well, apparently Rex dated the bride before she hooked up with Donny.”
“Rex dated Blair Hollins before Donny? How did I not know this?” Sophie said, and we shot her a look. “What? I follow her on social.”
“Anyway,” I continued. “To show his brother he’d moved on from the past, Rex lied about having a girlfriend to bring to the wedding. So he asked me to play the part.”
Charlie and Sophie gasped.
“Where is the damn popcorn? This is better than this season of The Bachelor !” Charlie said.
“A fake date, huh? Are you sure it’s not just his backwards way of asking you out for real?” Sophie asked.
I considered the idea for a moment, and my stomach fluttered. I couldn’t imagine anyone going to such lengths just to ask me out. So I replied with a hard, “No. But now you can see why this cannot leave this room.”
“I can’t believe you weren’t going to tell us,” Charlie said.
“I was going to after it was all over. For Rex’s sake.”
“Since when do you care so much about Rex? Why do this for him at all? You don’t still like him, do you?”
My face flushed beyond measure. “Of course not! Boy Scout Montgomery, are you kidding?” My gaze fell on Pearl, who continued to weave between the three of us with cautious curiosity.
“All right, Abigail. If you say so,” Sophie said, kindly letting me off the hook.
I had said so, and I didn’t want to say another word about it. So I reached out and petted Pearl behind her ears. Her hair was short and silky, and she didn’t seem to mind at all. Nor did she ask any more probing questions.
“Maybe you were right, Charlie,” I said with a soft smile.
“About you having a thing for Rex?” she replied.
I rolled my eyes. “No. Right about this. I think I might be taking home a cat tonight,” I said with my gaze locked on the pretty kitty. Me with a black cat. It made total sense. No one said it to my face, but when you got on my bad side, I could be a total witch. I sat on the floor and patted my lap. “Come here, Pearl. Do you like to cuddle?”
A cuddly cat would be nice. I missed cuddling. But I doubted the small feline would let me be the small spoon.
Pearl looked at me with her autumn-orange eyes and trotted my way. This was it. She was answering my call. Just as she was hopping into my lap, a yowl exploded from above, and before I knew it, Winston had landed in front of us.
He swatted at Pearl with his big white-spotted paw, and she scurried away with her tail between her legs. And just when I thought he would pick a fight with me too, he hopped right into my lap and sat up straight.
I froze. What in the hell just happened? Winston knelt and nudged my hand with his nose like he wanted me to pet him. Knowing full well it could’ve been a trick, I ran my fingertips over his soft fur. He melted into my lap, so warm and snuggly. I looked up at Charlie and Sophie, who were recovering from the shock of it all just like me. We were stunned. Quiet.
A moment later, purrs rumbled out of the territorial cat. Winston? Purring? On my lap? It could only mean one thing. He liked me.
I didn’t have to pretend to be gentle. I didn’t have to worry about messing up. He’d seen me scare Lady, and he didn’t care. Hell, maybe he even approved. He’d watched me from his perch in the corner of the room and was satisfied with me.
That felt good. It felt damn good.
And I was beginning to recognize something familiar in him. Winston came off tough, but deep down, he just wanted someone to cuddle with. And that would be our little secret. Forever.
Then Sophie leaned over and petted his head. “See, I told you he’d warm up to you.”
I left the shelter and did what Sophie said: I put Winston in a room with a litter box, food, water, and a few toys, closed the door, and gave him time to get accustomed to his new surroundings.
After returning a few calls from buyers and catching up on some emails, I checked on Winston once more and, finding him happily exploring the room, went out for my second meeting of the evening. I pulled up outside one of the fancy wine bars that had popped up in town with the explosion of tourism and the growth of the annual Wine Festival, got out of my car, and headed inside to meet with the most hated man in New Elwood.
Theo Sinclair was already there, sitting at a booth at the far end of the bar with his back to the wall. He slid out and stood when he spotted me.
We shook hands, and I didn’t immediately burst into flames from touching him. Not that the other townspeople would believe me.
“I’ve taken the liberty of ordering a couple of bottles,” Theo said, waving to his table.
“‘A couple of bottles?’” I repeated. “What kind of dinner do you think this is?”
He laughed. “I love wine, and I wasn’t sure which way your tastes leaned. I’d like to get to know you better. ”
Uh-huh. I sat down and looked at the labels on the three bottles at our table. Theo watched me select the third one, which was a Pinot Noir from a micro-winery called Catnip, whose grapes apparently came from just outside New Elwood. It seemed fitting.
Leaning back against the booth, Theo nodded. “Good choice,” he said. “Cherry, raspberry, and a hint of nutmeg.”
I took a sip. It tasted like wine to me.
“Let’s cut to the chase,” I said, not wanting to leave Winston unattended too long. “What do you want?”
“As you’re aware, I’ve been looking for investment opportunities in New Elwood.”
“You want to own the town.”
“Why does everyone keep saying that?” he said with a laugh. “I don’t want to own the town. I want to own the most lucrative businesses in the town.”
“Uh-huh.” I took another sip. It really was good wine. “And with the Monticello off the table, you’ve got your eye set on…”
He smiled. “I’ve got my eye set on image rehabilitation. I feel the good people of New Elwood and I have gotten off on the wrong foot.”
“Theo. I’m a real estate agent, not a mediator. Just tell me what you want, and I’ll tell you if I can help you.”
“The strip mall south of the New Elwood Museum. I want to buy it, clean it up, and set it up as a hub for some of the businesses here in town.”
I leaned back. “Interesting.”
Theo grimaced. “Problem is, the woman who owns it won’t even look at me.”
That was no surprise. She was rumored to have killed at least two of her three ex-husbands. Evelyn Blanchard was as terrifying as she was rich, and I didn’t think she thought much of Theo Sinclair and his image rehabilitation plans. I would know; I spent the evening with her every two weeks.
“I’ve heard that you might know her personally,” Theo said, eyeing me.
“I do.”
Theo leaned forward. The low light of the bar kissed his cheekbones, his clean-cut jaw. It glinted off the golden strands of hair perfectly styled on his head. He looked like a storybook prince—except for the sly look in his eyes. “If you were to put in a good word for me, I would see it as a personal favor, and I would repay it in kind.”
“Ha,” I said. “I’m not too big on tit-for-tat favors at the moment.”
“One of the vacant offices in the strip mall would make a great realty office, if someone in town felt like opening their own real estate agency.”
I laughed. In one fell swoop, Theo Sinclair had cut straight to the heart of me. I would love to start my own agency. The problem was, I messed everything up.
But if I had a space…maybe…
“I would give you the space, a great deal on rent. And I would owe you a favor,” Theo said, sweetening the deal.
“All this for me to put in a good word with Evelyn for you?”
“I want that strip mall.”
I finished my glass of wine in one gulp. “Let me think about it,” I said, then I got up and walked out of the bar.
The air outside was fresh, carrying the first hint of fall coolness. I inhaled deeply, and excitement sparked in my gut.
My own real estate agency. My name on the sign. That was something a reckless, foolhardy woman could never achieve.
But if Theo opened the door, could I really step through?
As I drove home, I tried to dampen the excitement in my gut. Partnering up with Theo—and trying to talk Evelyn into anything she didn’t want to do—was a bad idea.
Then Rex’s words popped into my head. You’re the only one who can pull this off , he’d told me. He was talking about the wedding.
But he’d believed in me. Would it be so hard to believe in myself?
I walked over to the spare room where I’d left Winston. Cracking the door open wide enough to slip inside, I called out my cat’s name and then took a seat on the carpet in the middle of the room.
Winston watched me from his perch on the windowsill.
“Hey,” I told the cat, leaning back on my palms. “I want to run something by you, and tell me if you think I’m insane for considering it.”