Chapter 27
‘Here you go, love.’ Mollie opened the door to Monty’s enclosure, and, to his surprise, he found Bella was already in there.
His heart gave a lurch when he saw her. Whether it was nerves about the conversation he was about to have, or the fact that she had swept her red hair off the back of her neck into a messy bun and he could see, to full advantage, her striking bone structure, he wasn’t sure.
Every time he saw her, he saw something new that he liked about her.
He tried to steer his thoughts away from that direction: if Bella got any inkling that he fancied her, she’d turn down his proposal point blank.
He had to play this one straight. This wasn’t about getting closer to her; it was about helping her out. And Monty.
‘I’ll leave you to it.’ Mollie left the enclosure and Bella looked about to do the same.
‘No, please, stay,’ he stammered. ‘I know we agreed to meet later, but if you’ve got a minute, I’d love to talk to you now.’
‘OK.’ Bella gave him a guarded smile. ‘I have to admit, I’ve been racking my brains all week, wondering what you could possibly have to speak to me about, so I’m more than happy to have my curiosity satisfied.’
‘Curiosity? Isn’t that what killed the cat?’ Noah quipped weakly.
‘Not this week,’ Bella replied with a smile. ‘He’s right as rain, now.’
Noah felt his heart lift with relief as Monty jumped down off the second tier of his perch and padded towards him, those green eyes seeming to evaluate every inch of him.
‘It’s almost as if he knows what a lucky escape he had,’ Bella murmured.
‘If he did, I think he’d be coming at me, claws out!’ Noah joked weakly. Monty didn’t seem to have suffered any ill effects from the near-death experience.
‘So, what are you planning on doing with him?’
Noah reached out a hand and ran it down Monty’s spine, feeling apprehensive about making eye contact with Bella. The cat arched his back, and his tail rose, curling around Noah’s hand as it did so.
‘Well, as a matter of fact, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about,’ he said, his eyes fixed on Monty.
‘Me? Hasn’t Mollie been through the options? Re-homing? Long-term boarding?’
Noah nodded, and, straightening up again, he finally met Bella’s gaze. ‘Yeah, but neither of those is the answer.’
‘Then what is? And why do you want to talk to me about it? It’s not as if I’m in any position to adopt Monty – I told you.’
‘I know.’ Noah ran a nervous hand through his dark hair. ‘I know you can’t adopt Monty… but what if Monty adopted you?’
Bella burst out laughing. ‘I wasn’t serious about moving into his enclosure, you berk!’
Noah smiled back at her. ‘That’s not quite what I’m getting at. To be honest, I don’t think he’d be happy sharing his bed.’
‘Then what?’
‘Well,’ he began, ‘I’ve found out recently that Grandpa’s cottage needs a fair bit doing to it before it can be put on the open market. So much, in fact, that unless my brothers and I were to find a cash buyer, and even then get rid of it below market value, there’s no way it’s saleable right now.’
‘Work? Like what? Is the place dangerous?’
‘No, no, nothing like that. Believe me, some of the places I’ve been asked to value… asbestos, non-typical construction, staircases you’d only use if you had a death wish…’ Noah grinned. ‘But enough work to guarantee it won’t be saleable for a few months, probably longer.’
He explained the bare bones of the roof issues and the re-wiring. ‘And so, I was wondering, what with you needing to find a place to live… how would you like to be Monty’s tenant back in Grandpa’s cottage?’
Noah watched as a look of surprise crossed Bella’s features. ‘What?’
‘Well, I need someone to be on site while the work’s going on, to let the people who are fixing the issues in and out, that sort of thing.
There’s no one around here who could help with that, since the only set of neighbours I know are out of the country, but, given the situation with Monty, and the fact you need somewhere to stay, I thought… ’ he shrugged. ‘Two birds, one stone?’
Bella shook her head. ‘But you don’t even know me. What makes you think you can trust me?’
‘I’ve seen the way you are with all of the residents here, especially Monty,’ Noah said gently.
‘And I’m sure, if I asked her, Mollie would give you a glowing reference, as well as Paddy at the pub.
Anyone who can work two jobs and stay so cheerful, caring and positive has got to be a decent human being.
And Monty only scratches you occasionally, so that’s an even better reference as far as I’m concerned! ’
Noah’s heart did a little flip as he saw Bella’s eyes filling with tears. ‘I’m sorry. Have I said something to upset you?’
‘No, no,’ Bella replied shakily. ‘I wasn’t expecting you to make an offer like that.’ She gave a brief laugh. ‘Nothing like this ever happens to me.’
‘Then what were you expecting?’ Noah was touched by this sudden vulnerability.
‘I – I don’t know.’ Bella’s right hand rubbed at her eyes and then she looked up at him again. As their gaze locked, he saw her eyes narrow. ‘What’s the catch?’
‘Well, there is one small catch,’ Noah hedged.
‘I’ll need to stay in the house at the weekend.
It’s got two bedrooms, so we won’t be in each other’s way too much, although there’s only one bathroom.
I need to sort through the rest of Grandpa’s stuff – my brothers and I spent some time after he died dividing up the more valuable things, but there are a lot of items I want to look at and work out what to keep and what to get rid of.
Would you be all right with a house guest at the weekend? ’
Bella nodded. ‘It’s your house. You can visit whenever you want to.’
‘But it’ll be your home – yours and Monty’s – first. I wouldn’t want you to feel uncomfortable.’
‘How long would it be for?’
Noah furrowed his brow. ‘To be honest, I’m not quite sure yet. At least three months, but I suspect it will be longer. Then, of course, I’m not sure how it’ll sell when we do put it on the market.’ He shifted on the spot slightly. ‘I haven’t done my homework on that yet.’
‘And you, a hot-shot estate agent!’ Bella was obviously trying to lighten the mood, and Noah smiled at her.
‘I could tell you the average house price on any street in my patch of London, but when it comes to the depths of the Somerset countryside… let’s just say I’ll need to do some research.’
‘Well, Lower Brambleton is quite desirable,’ Bella replied, ‘although most people tend to opt for the new builds on Observatory Field these days.’
‘I’ll bear that in mind.’ Noah paused before adding, ‘So, do you think you might consider my offer?’
‘What about Monty?’ Bella asked. ‘I mean, he’s no spring chicken, but who’s to say he doesn’t have another couple of years in him? Are you thinking of evicting us both when you get a buyer for your granddad’s house? That would upset him even more than leaving him here at Purrfect Paws.’
Noah’s expression grew tentative. ‘If it comes to that, I thought that maybe you could take him with you to your next place, if you’d like to? I’m happy to, er, contribute to his upkeep.’
Bella laughed. ‘That sounds great in theory, but I’m not sure where I’ll be going next, or even whether they’d allow pets!’
‘Like I said, there’s no rush.’ Noah looked Bella directly in the eyes. ‘Even with the best will in the world, house sales can take a while. And I’m not prepared to let the cottage go for less than its market value. Until the right buyer comes along, the place would be yours.’
‘Well, it’s an interesting offer,’ Bella said.
‘I can’t say that moving into Jack’s cottage wouldn’t get me out of a tight spot.
’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Marieke’s itching for Gerard to move in, and I haven’t got very far in finding somewhere else.
’ She furrowed her brow. ‘But as I said, I’m still worried about Monty. He could live for a few years yet.’
‘Really?’ Noah’s heart sank. He’d explained the situation about the work that needed to be done to Jack’s cottage to Joel last night, who hadn’t exactly been wild about waiting for his share of the money.
It had taken all of Noah’s salesman’s patter to convince his brother that this was the way to go, that, eventually, it would be worth it.
He’d avoided discussing his plan about asking Bella to house sit, and Joel hadn’t asked.
Noah had hung up the phone not entirely convinced that Joel had seen his point, but at least he’d grudgingly agreed for the initial work to go ahead.
In his own mind, Monty didn’t have very long left of an already long life.
Eighteen years old was already an impressive innings.
‘But who knows, with Monty,’ Bella added. ‘He’s in good health, apart from the heart murmur, but sometimes they just… go.’
‘Well, if he hangs on for a while, I’m in no great rush to get rid of the cottage,’ Noah said. ‘To be honest, it’s been good therapy, coming back here and sorting things out gradually. I don’t mind if it takes another year.’
‘But what about your brothers?’
Noah gave her a grin. ‘They’re both miles away. They’ll have to lump it!’
Bella was silent for a long moment, and Noah was about to speak again when she responded.
‘Well,’ she said. ‘I could certainly do with a place for the next few months, and I’m used to moving about, so for me, your solution is perfect.
’ She looked him straight in the eye, and Noah was about to reply before she added, ‘But I want Monty to be at the centre of this, Noah. He’s too old to take much upheaval, and it’s not fair. ’
‘I agree,’ Noah replied. ‘You have my word I’ll put him first.’ He fumbled in his pocket for the spare set of keys that he’d grabbed from the car. ‘Here. You can have these now.’
‘Were you that sure I’d say yes?’ Bella joked.
‘I hoped you would,’ Noah murmured. He felt his face growing hot, as if he’d admitted more than just the desire for a tenant for his grandfather’s cottage. ‘I mean, I’m used to persuading people to move into houses, so…’
‘What, by using elderly cats as bait?’ But her tone was lighter than her words. Noah grinned back at her.
‘I can’t say it’s part of my usual sales patter, but maybe I’ll keep it in my back pocket, just in case!’
‘Well, don’t take this the wrong way, but I hope it’s a while until you find a buyer. I’m pretty sure I’d survive being out on the mean streets of Lower Brambleton, I’m not sure Monty would.’
‘I understand. And I promise you, I’m not going to throw either of you out. You’ll be informed every step of the way.’ But even as he said it, Noah wondered if his brothers would be quite so sanguine about his plan, given their desire to take the money and move on.