Paws for Connection (Pages and Paws #1)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

Raven Johnson picked up her tote bag and paused to scratch Jackie’s head. The gray tabby cat awakened from her slumber in her usual spot on the windowsill, soaking in the warmth of the early summer sunshine.

“I’ll see you later, after I give my talk at the school meeting tonight,” Raven said. Jackie flicked her ear, lifted her head to allow a scratch under her chin, then settled back onto her paws and closed her eyes.

Raven walked across the gravel driveway toward the Cat’s Meow Rescue Centre, admiring the new sign, with a cat peering out from the O in Cat’s Meow. It felt fitting since many of the cats she received there tended to hide behind obstacles until they felt safe.

The late afternoon sun was still bright but the sharp heat from earlier in the day had begun to dissipate.

Raven pushed open the door and was greeted by Mal, one of two full-time staff, who was writing notes and sorting through papers at the desk.

Her short dark curls had gone awry since Raven had seen her earlier that morning, which meant that she’d been raking her hands through her hair again.

“Hello again,” she said. “Looks like you got busy since I left.” She pointed to the paper.

“Just printed off the application forms.” Mal finished making a note in the ledger. “We got another call from animal rescue. They caught a feral mom with a litter of kittens and took them to Rosalyn to get checked out.”

“How many?”

“Four. But the kittens are too young to leave their mother, so Rosalyn’s going to keep them all in her back room for a couple of weeks, then spay the mom before sending them over here.”

“I’ll have to thank her.” Raven made a mental note to stop by her friend’s vet practice when she was in town. “That’s the third time this month Rosalyn’s kept the overflow there. Kitten season started early this year.”

“Tell me about it,” said Mal. “At least the applications seem to be picking up. That kitty cam has stirred a lot of interest.”

“Everyone wants to adopt Dot and Dash,” Raven said of the tiny kittens that had grown up in the eye of the whole community, courtesy of the camera trained on their cage. “I just wish we could get as many people interested in adopting the older cats.”

“Daisy and I have been brainstorming about that,” said Mal.

“Brainstorming about what?” asked Daisy, stepping through the door that led to the kennel area. She wore her long blonde hair in two braids that made her appear younger than her twenty-one years.

“How to market older cats,” said Mal.

“Right.” Daisy’s face lit up. “I was talking to my grandma about it. She’s super interested in animal welfare. She said we focus on how calm older cats are. How they don’t have the midnight zoomies or climb the curtains, that sort of thing.”

“Great idea,” said Raven. “Once we get our summer kickoff done and the kitten craze is over for a few months, we should plan for another campaign for September or October.”

“How about ‘Fill your empty nest with four legs and a purr’?” said Daisy. “You know, for those people whose kids go off to college in September. It sure helped me when Mom got a new cat after I started college. Before that she called me daily.” She rolled her eyes and laughed.

“I like your creativity,” Raven said. A familiar pang caught her off guard—that empty nest feeling didn’t only happen in September. Her daughter Wren had left two years ago with Rosalyn’s daughter, McKenzie, to attend school in Edmonton. The house still felt too quiet.

“Is Charlotte ready to go?” she asked, pushing the thought away. “I want to drop her off at the Bookworm on my way to the school.”

“Right! I forgot.” Daisy turned back the way she had just come. “She’s in the transition suite being her usual perfect self. Just need to get her into the carrier. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Daisy scurried away, and Raven walked over to thumb through the pile of adoption applications.

She hoped some were appropriate. With thirty-eight cats, they were near their forty-cat limit.

What they needed was to expand. One rescue from a hoarding situation or an unregulated breeder, and they’d be unable to assist.

“I hope Charlotte likes Rhett Butler,” said Mal, moving around the other side of the desk and heading toward the laundry room.

“Charlotte is sweet,” said Raven. “Even a grumpy store cat like Rhett will be fine.” Though she too had her concerns.

Charlotte was the second cat to be taken to stay at the store, and though Rhett Butler had tolerated the new cats so far, there was a concern he might exercise his territorial rights one day. .

“How’s Tilly doing?” asked Mal, when she returned after transferring laundry from the washer to the dryer.

“She’s fine. She loves Lance.” She smiled at the thought of how Lance, the owner of The Bookworm by the Bay, had taken to the little calico cat. “And Rhett Butler has taken her under his wing. Despite all the visitors to the bookstore, I think Rhett appreciates a little four-legged companionship.”

“How is the volunteer situation working out?” Raven walked over to review the schedule on the desk. “Any of the students to return for summer?”

Mal shook her head. “I haven’t had time to contact them all yet. I’ve been vetting the applications, but we’ve lost Sam and Becks. They graduated and moved away to work this year.”

“I’ll see if we can advertise through the volunteer center.”

“Or you can ask one of the advisory committee members to do that?” Mal’s voice rose in a question, but Raven knew she was right.

“You have a point. We made this a not-for-profit for a reason, didn’t we?” She was so used to doing everything—including funding the organization—herself that she wasn’t yet comfortable relying on others.

Or giving up control.

Lance had reminded her of that only a few days ago on their hike.

“You can’t do everything yourself, Raven. That’s what a board is for.” She could still hear his deep voice, patient and amused.

She would need to learn to listen, but in the meantime, she had a presentation to make and cats to find homes for.

Daisy pushed open the door, and a cacophony of meows followed in her wake.

“They want to go too.” She nodded her head toward the door that had just shut behind her and set the carrier down in front of Raven.

Charlotte, a dainty black shorthair, peered up at her with bright inquisitive eyes, as though anticipating a new adventure.

“Thanks, Daisy.” Raven picked up Charlotte’s carrier. “If we continue to do our job right, they’ll all get their wish for a new home.”

“We’re doing our best,” said Mal, returning from across the room where she had retrieved another application from the printer. “Though if we had one of those special needs and behavioral modification spaces they built down-island, it would be a game changer.”

“I read about that,” said Daisy. “It’s a whole recovery center, Raven. They’re setting it up so even the hard-to-house cats can adapt.”

“A recovery center takes money,” Raven said, feeling as though this topic of conversation was being staged for her benefit. She had to admire their enthusiasm.

“But just think,” said Mal. “With our new board connections and all the new volunteers, we might have access to money and resources. And with our nonprofit status, we can raise a lot more money now.”

Raven listened as they outlined their vision. “Why don’t you write down the ideas, and I’ll take it to the board for discussion.”

“You’d do that?” asked Daisy.

“Yes, but we need to build a case first. That means statistics about the number of cats needing rescue, information about that transition space you’ve read about, numbers of staff needed, and anything else you can think of.

We’ll have a meeting tomorrow and discuss it.

” She thumbed through the pile of applications on the desk.

“We can go through these then, as well, and try to free up some room in the meantime.”

“Should we include Betty?” asked Mal, referring to the new board president.

“We could,” said Raven. “Why don’t you send her an email and ask her to attend a brainstorming session?

See if she wants to call in on video.” She glanced up at the clock.

“Is that the time?” She checked her phone to confirm, then picked up the cat carrier.

“I have to go if I’m going to get to that meeting on time.

Come on, Charlotte. Let’s introduce you to Rhett Butler. ”

Twenty minutes later, Raven carried Charlotte into The Bookworm by the Bay. The familiar smell of books—both new and used—greeted her. Dark oak bookshelves lined the walls and aisles, leading to unexpected alcoves with overstuffed chairs where customers could linger and read without interruption.

The children’s section upstairs was quiet today. The children who came for reading hour had gone home, taking their happy giggles with them.

“Hello!” Ahmed, an amiable man in his sixties and one of three full-time employees, came forward to greet her. He peered into the carrier. “Is this our new addition?”

“Yes, this is Charlotte. I thought she would do well here.” Raven bent down and opened the cage. Charlotte emerged, sleek and dainty, and walked right up to Ahmed, winding around his legs.

Ahmed chuckled. “She’s friendly. Likely won’t be here long.”

“We thought Rhett would be okay with her.” She scanned the store for the elusive feline and spotted him on the top shelf behind the cash register.

The fluffy tuxedo cat had raised his head and was watching the newcomer with interest. A moment later, he jumped down from the shelves onto the floor nearby.

Charlotte saw him and, rather than cowering as many smaller cats would do in the face of a much larger feline, marched right up to him. If she could talk, Raven was sure she would have said, “Nice to meet you.”

Rhett allowed her to sniff at him, and then, having bestowed his approval, turned and leaped onto a nearby chair. He settled into the shape of a loaf and watched as Charlotte continued her exploration.

“Well, that was easier than I thought it would be.” Raven glanced around the store again. “Is Lance here?”

“In his office. He said something about doing some product research.” Ahmed smiled knowingly, but before he could add anything more on the subject, a bell rang over the door, and Ahmed walked toward the new customer to greet them.

Product research? Raven glanced at the clock on the wall and decided she had a few minutes to say hello before heading to the meeting.

When she reached his office, she found Lance with his feet up on the desk, reading a book.

“Busted.” She laughed. “Ahmed thinks you are hard at work back here.”

“I am.” He dropped his feet to the floor and came around the desk to give her a kiss. “I have to know the product, and in this business, that means reading some of them.”

“Especially the products from the science fiction section.” She pointed at the tome on the desk.

“The best section.”

“Unless you read mysteries or romance or—”

“Okay, okay.” He laughed and swept her into a hug.

“What brings you by?” he murmured in her ear.

The sensation of his lips so close to her neck made her warm down to her toes.

Six weeks ago, she’d been irritated by the gruff bookstore owner who complained about cats.

And now? She welcomed the way he held her in his strong arms. She felt safe there.

“I brought Charlotte, and now I’m off to the parent–teacher meeting to give my talk.

“Right. I thought that was tomorrow.”

“You’re still in whatever world that is.” She pointed at the book.

His gaze flitted back to the book. “Possibly, but I like returning from there to Sunshine Bay for a bit if it means spending time with you.” His gaze returned to her face, and she swallowed.

How was it that he always managed to turn her insides to liquid?

She wanted to reach up, pull him down for a long kiss, and stay in his arms. The alarm on her watch reminded her that she had to come back from her brief fantasy, and she reached to turn off the offending noise.

“I shouldn’t be more than an hour. Would you like to grab dinner at the bistro after that? I need to talk to Esther about the Pages and Paws adoption event. She’s offered to organize putting up flyers with the other merchants. Their monthly meeting is tomorrow.”

“So it is,” he said. “I’ll be at the meeting too. I’m sure it’ll be a successful event. You’ve put in so much work.”

“It hasn’t hurt that you’re supporting the event. And cute cats do draw a crowd,” she teased. Only a month earlier, the Pages and Paws event was the last thing Lance had wanted.

“Increased sales are definitely a perk. Do you want me to meet you at the Whisk? Or will I see you back here?”

She watched his eyes stray to the book on his desk and smiled. “I’ll meet you back here. I’m sure you can amuse yourself if I run a bit late.”

He grinned. “Thanks. I just got to a good part.” He pulled her close to give her one of those kisses that always took her breath away for a moment. “Good luck at the meeting, though I doubt you’ll need it. Once you get talking about cats, everyone wants one.”

She reached her arms around him and gave him one last hug before leaving, feeling his strength and his kindness. This man was becoming an indispensable part of her life, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it.

After being a lone parent for more than twenty years, it was strange to rely on anyone else. Especially a man. But it was very pleasant to have someone to hug.

“I should go. See you in a bit.”

“Looking forward to it.” He waited for her to leave before returning to his book. Which, to her, showed great restraint. She knew how much Lance loved his sci-fi.