Chapter 3
Ethan’s gaze reluctantly pulled away from Cali’s face as Leo ran up behind her. Side by side, they could’ve passed as brothers, minus the dimple thing. Both dark hair, well built. But Ethan had more of an edge to him.
Cali cleared her throat and took her seat again at the opposite side of the circle. She sent an icy stare in Ethan’s direction.
“Well …” Ethan started, hesitantly, piecing together how he may have interrupted something sacred.
“I was going to grab a bite at the café, but it was closed.” He glanced over at Minka, and she waved like a schoolgirl.
“Then I thought I’d just grab a beer and wait instead, but the bar was also closed.
” His eyes flicked between Lynne and the wine bottles.
“So when I saw the light on inside the library, I figured I’d knock.
” He glanced around the entire group once more.
“Did I interrupt something? Why do I feel like I maybe should’ve known the secret handshake to be let in?
” His eyes landed back on Cali, and she shifted in her seat.
“Oh no,” Tabitha chimed in. “We’re just the book club. And the Nine Lives club. Same thing. We were about to dive into They Both Die at the End. You read it?”
“Of course.”
Of course? What did he mean ‘of course’?
He leaned forward in his chair and rested his elbows on his knees when someone passed him a cup of wine.
Cali watched as he pushed the Henley sleeves up to his elbows, revealing the tattoos.
“Sorry,” he said with a muffled snicker, “I don’t think I caught everyone’s names.
” He stared across at Cali. “Let’s start with you. ”
Cali felt her face light on fire. Her hand instinctively rose to her collar, and she found her fingers fumbling the buttons along her chest. “Oh, me? I’m Cali.” She cleared her throat again. “Cali Jacobs. I’m the librarian here.”
“And the one who started the book club,” added Minka.
“And the Nine Lives club,” said Leo. “She’s being modest.”
“I don’t think we’ve ever seen you modest before, darling,” Mrs. Ellery said with a wink.
Cali ran her fingers through her curls. “So, um, Ethan … " She really did like the way his name sounded, the way her tongue pressed against her teeth when she said it. “Who else don’t you know here? We should probably start soon.”
Ethan turned toward the florist, Freya, and a couple others, including Mrs. Ellery. Once the conversation died down, Cali interjected. “Since this was my pick, I’ll start with the elephant in the room: the title. Were you surprised by the ending?”
A heated debate immediately ensued. Ethan rolled his eyes when Cali romanticized Mateo’s passive nature, and she returned the gesture when his speech about life’s randomness started to sound more like a lecture than a discussion.
She accused him of being “too practical” in his takes.
He called her “too soft” for needing a happy-ever-after.
But then they both brought up the subtle-yet-possible direct involvement of Death-Cast in the main characters’ downfalls, which left the rest of the book club speechless.
If Cali wasn’t mistaken, she caught the barest ghost of a grin on Ethan’s face—a true and genuine smile, not a smirk.
“Is this one of the banned books you’re trying to get in the display, Cali?” Freya asked.
Cali nodded. “If it’s LGBTQ+, you can bet someone doesn’t want you reading it. In fact, if it’s got sex, race, religion, or anything not strictly ‘vanilla,’ it’s inevitably challenged. That’s why I wish the library board would hear me out. Books like this need more attention.”
“They’re just stick-in-the-muds, Cali,” Mrs. Ellery offered. “I should know. I grew up with most of them. It’s not that we shouldn’t have a banned book display. It’s merely that the library’s never had one before.”
Leo downed what was left of his wine. “Not to break topic, but we’re already well past 8 p.m. Tell us more about this Maine Coon you spotted, Ethan. We’ve been texting about it all day.”
Leo’s pivot jarred no one, it seemed, but Cali, who shifted uncomfortably in her seat as Ethan recited the history between him and the Maine Coon kitten—and its stray mother before it ever appeared. He’d clearly found it before Cali had. A wave of embarrassment crept over her.
“I think his mother died,” Ethan explained.
“I got all the construction crew guys looking out for his mom. We almost got her into a trap so I could get her spayed and checked out and bring her home. The Great Catsby’s been wanting a brother or sister,” he confessed.
Cali almost spit out her wine. Catsby! Ethan saw her hand fly to her face but pretended not to notice.
“Then she disappeared,” he continued, “and this little guy shows up on site instead, same colors, same tree where she always waited and watched for the lady who put kibble out behind the library every morning.”
His voice trailed off. Cali was so flustered she could sink into her chair. No, through it. Right through the carpet and into the core of the Earth. No one knew she’d been doing that. No one needed to know! That was between her and the cats.
In a long, comedic delay, Minka exclaimed, “Oh! That must’ve been Cali you saw!”
“Stay with the class, dear,” Mrs. Ellery quipped. “Now back to the plot.” She gestured for Ethan to go on.
“He’s too young to be running out here alone, especially around a work site. I’m just worried about him. So when Leo here told me there was, like, a cat rescue group thing in town, I said I’d swing by.”
Cali couldn’t help flinching every time Ethan referred to the kitten as “him.”
“Oh, don’t let me forget to add you to the text thread, man,” said Leo. “We’ll find your cat.”
Everyone but Minka nodded their heads in agreement.
Minka glanced over at Cali, who was silently fuming.
How easily she’d been out-voted as the Maine Coon’s chosen rescuer.
Yes, Ethan had a history with the cat—and its mom if his assumptions were correct.
But Cali was the one sacrificing kibble and paté every day and kick-starting the Nine Lives Club and laying all the groundwork.
More than simply “keeping an eye out” for the cat. That had to count for something.
“And then Cali and I both saw him outside the library today.”
“You did? Did you two catch it?” Freya asked them.
Cali’s icy stare threatened to bore a hole in Ethan’s skull. “No. It ran off.”
“Because—”
“So what’s the plan?” Minka interrupted them.
Bless you, Minka. Cali sighed.
“Well, if it’s smart, it’ll stay away from the construction noise,” said Lynne. “Not sure you two will find it around here again.”
Cali had noticed a slight attendance drop in the morning’s stray cat kibble line when she opened the library this past week.
“But if Cali’s leaving food out behind the library, maybe they will,” suggested Freya.
“Honestly, with as many places as we observed that kitten today, it could turn up anywhere. We just all need to be ready when any of us finds it again.” Leave it to Mrs. Ellery to offer wisdom and some direction.
“But what does ‘ready’ mean?”
“I’ve got an idea.” Cali jumped from her seat and shuffled back to her office.
The crinkled, half-empty bag of cat food was tucked into one of her desk drawers.
She set her mug on top of the desk and grabbed the kibble, plus several brown bags she always kept on hand for craft days or just-in-case moments.
Once, when a young woman came to the front desk in tears, she’d even used one of those bags to discreetly pass her some pads.
She rejoined the group and started scooping small amounts of the kibble into each of the bags.
“If we agree to keep one of these with us at all times, our odds increase.” She passed around the bags and a permanent marker so they could each write their names on the outside.
“It’s not foolproof. From what Ethan and I saw today, it gets spooked easily.
But it’s bound to get hungry enough soon with all that scurrying around town. ”
Next thing she knew, Ethan was raising his hand. “Um, I think I got the wrong bag.”
“Why’s that?” she scoffed.
“This one’s got a, uh, sandwich. Smells like chicken salad.” He raised his eyebrows and that stupid lip started to curl again. “I mean, he may want this, but I’ll probably eat it before he has a chance.”
“Shoot. That was my dinner. Sorry.” She distracted herself with more kibble and bags. But when he tried passing it back, Cali shook her head at him. “You want it? Minka made it, so it’s obviously amazing.”
“But it’s yours.”
“Well, I’m not hungry anymore.” And feeling a little buzzed, she had to admit. Why do I always get so friendly after a few sips of wine? “You said you didn’t get dinner yet. So might as well.”
He shrugged, and she shrugged back at him. Then he devoured the sandwich in three bites. “Mmm. That is good, Minka,” he said, mouth still half-full of food. “Nice work.”
Cali and Minka exchanged a glance, and Minka chortled into her sleeve.
Between the cats and this guy, Cali, you’re up for sainthood.
She shoved the last cat food bag into his hands and started returning chairs to their desks.
The Nine—technically ten now, she realized—paired off, whispering goodbyes or chuckling as they made their way to the library exit.
Cali assumed Ethan and Leo would be absorbed in conversation, but within a matter of moments Ethan was hovering over her shoulder again.
One sweet and spicy whiff of his cologne gave him away.
“I can help,” he offered, a chairback already gripped in one of his strong hands.
Cali felt her mouth go dry. “Over there,” she gestured, toward the desk as far away from her as possible.
Two by two they replaced the chairs between them until they stood face to face again.
“Walk you to your car?” he asked. “Just want to make sure you make it home okay.”
Cali laughed uncomfortably and pulled a curl behind her ear. “I—I’ll be fine. I feel lucky to say this, but Autumn Ridge isn’t exactly an unsafe town.”
His nose crinkled. “But you locked the library doors before book club.”
“Oh.” She had to think for a moment. “Habit. I used to work in Eastmoor.”
“That explains a lot.”
Cali eyed him, not sure if that was a knowing stare or another tease.
He held her gaze, refusing to give her any more clarity.
She felt faint just looking at him, his pecs and mouth and fragrant hair dangerously close.
Close enough to touch. She could hardly breathe.
“But aren’t—aren’t you and Leo going to catch up or something? ”
“Nah, he’s gotta feed his cat.”
“If Fred didn’t sneak out again,” Cali snorted.
“Leo’s cat’s an escape artist?”
“Notoriously so.” Cali nervously tucked a curl behind her ear. “Well, what about Catsby? Don’t you have to get home to him?”
“Her and no. Catsby’s probably sitting on the couch like a loaf, still digesting her dinner.”
Her. Of course.
Cali gulped and nodded her head. “I guess I’ll grab my purse from my office then. Meet me at the front doors.”