Chapter 33 #2
Sawyer’s the vet. I’ve seen Meredith give Blue belly rubs, cuddle a few barn cats, and snatch up a chicken for some loves, but I’ve never seen her this excited around animals. Like me, she’s usually working too much to enjoy the moment.
She crouches to look through the grass. “Kitty?”
I gather all the garbage, dump it in the deli bag, and set it inside the brewery door.
I wipe my hands off and join her. Two steps off the concrete slab, another meow stops me in my tracks.
A scrawny calico cat trots up to me, her primordial pouch swinging.
Mama was militant about fixing our barn cats and dogs to keep them from overrunning the place.
She often traded eggs and roasters with the vet to keep costs down, or we would’ve gone bankrupt.
But I’ve seen enough mama cats to know when they have a litter on them.
She twines around my legs, and my stomach sinks. This isn’t some stray, and the nearest farmhouse is miles away. I pick her up, and her purr ignites immediately.
“Shit.”
When I look up, Meredith is watching me, dismay in her eyes.
“She got dumped?”
I nod grimly. “I forgot about this side effect of being far enough from town but not too isolated. People talk themselves into dumping animals, thinking they’ll get found.”
“There was a goat once.”
Makes me grateful for a cat. “There’s no barn goat at home. What did you do with it?”
She grins. “Sawyer found it a new place to live. He’s a happy billy goat with his pen mate to be nice and stinky with.” She whips around, her braid flying. “I hear more meows.”
The cat starts wiggling in my grip. She must be hungry, and if she has kittens somewhere, they might be famished. I take out my phone and put in another order with a generous tip. By the time I’m done, Meredith’s out of sight. I find her bent over a beat-up box.
“They hid them by the fence.” She holds up two fingers. Two kittens.
The mama cat runs to Meredith, meowing, but she veers off before reaching them.
Another kitten? I follow the cat, and a tiny orange kitten beelines out of the taller grasses by the fence, its fuzzy tail straight in the air.
His belly’s rounder than his mom’s, but that could be from worms. I pick him up.
Meredith squats by the other two, absentmindedly petting the mama cat while checking over the two kittens.
“Two little torties.” She frowns. “One’s got gunky eyes, and the other just sneezed.
” She digs out her phone, pokes the screen a few times, and then puts it to her ear.
“Hey, how busy are you? A cat and her litter got dumped. Four total. Can you? That’d be awesome. Thanks.”
She hangs up and lifts the mama cat with her when she rises. The purring gets louder the closer I get, and Meredith itches her ears. My kitten is already asleep, tucked into the crook of my arm.
“Sawyer’s on her way?”
“Yep.” Meredith’s eyes melt when she sees the kitten. “That’s the cutest thing ever.” She juggles the cat to take a picture of me.
“Is that for blackmail?”
“I wouldn’t need it. I can sell it and make more money. Hot guy and a kitten? If you were shirtless, I could be a millionaire.”
“I’ll pay you not to show anyone.” I carefully pick up the box. The kittens inside are nestled in a corner, their little eyes wide.
We carry our find to the patio. Meredith giggles as the cat rubs all over her.
“I’m going to have to change before I return to work.”
“You can work topless. I won’t mind.”
She smirks, but her cheeks flush. “It’s not hygienic, but you really don’t like the work polos.”
“Wrong. You made me like them a lot, rosy. I’m going to walk the fence and the ditches, make sure no more kittens are roaming around. Want to check me for ticks when I’m done?”
She may be blushing, but interest lights her eyes. “I can be of service. I might need my own check.”
Chuckling, I set the orange kitten in the box and walk through the property listening for meows. I find nothing but an empty Cheetos bag, three shooter bottles of Smirnoff, and a used condom.
Bowen pulls in with Dad’s pickup just as I return to the patio.
The windows are open, and Landry’s in the passenger seat.
They both get out. Landry swaggers with his head down until Bowen says something to him.
They both arch their brows at the picture Meredith and I make hanging out on the porch.
Meredith is sitting backward on the picnic table.
She has one tortie kitten, and the other two are playing at her feet.
“Want a cat?” Meredith asks when they get closer.
“Strays?” Landry drops to a knee. I don’t expect him to get so close, but he picks the kitten up and cradles her.
“They were dumped.” Mama cat swirls around my legs, so I lift her. It’s been ages since I’ve cuddled a cat. The barn cats are still wary of me, but the more I feed them, the closer they get. “They need names.”
“You only name the animals you keep,” Bowen says.
Meredith puts the other tortie down, and the kitty runs to Bowen’s boots and attacks the toe. The corner of his mouth lifts.
“She’s got an orange nose.”
She scoops up the orange kitten. “These girls and one boy are used to being inside. I think you’re a… Cheddar.”
Landry holds his kitten up to his face. “Belle.” The kitten sneezes, and he squeezes his eyes shut. “My dude. Gross.” He chuckles and wipes his nose off on his shoulder.
Bowen laughs. “You’d better hope that’s not distemper. You’ll pass it on to all those models in Cali.”
Landry scowls. “Not how it works, jackass.”
I catch Meredith’s eye, and we both grin. A shared moment. My brothers aren’t being pains in the asses. They’re naming cats like they care whether the animals will be here the next time they come home—if they return. I could go for more instances like this.
Bowen holds his bundle close to his chest. “She looks like a Bonnie.”
“Have you known a Bonnie?” I ask.
“Nope.” He strokes her head.
“Calder?” A smile plays over Meredith’s lips. “You got a name for mama kitty?”
Mama kitty’s rubbing her head against my chest, but I’m watching Meredith’s eyes go soft, and the sweet look on her face because I’m cuddling a cat. She likes my softer side.
I scratch the cat’s chin, and she stretches her head out. She’s the second female I haven’t wanted to let go in two weeks. “Winnie.”
“Winnie,” Meredith says with a broad smile, nuzzling Cheddar. “I like it.”
“Bit close to Winslow, isn’t it?” Bowen asks dryly, but not without a note of accusation.
I lift a shoulder, but yeah. It’s real damn close to Winslow. For a reason.
The rumble of Sawyer’s pickup saves me from admitting I named the cat after the woman I can’t quit thinking about. She parks close to the patio and hops out with a different bag than she used for the sick calf.
She cocks a brow at Bowen and the way he’s cradling the almost-asleep kitten to his chest. “Am I interrupting?”
“Yes,” Bowen murmurs, his thumb stroking Bonnie’s side. “Bonnie needs her rest. It’s been a day.”
Sawyer’s lips quirk. “Bonnie? You’ve named the cats?”
“Winnie,” I say.
“Cheddar,” Meredith says next.
Landry pulls his kitten’s claws out of his shirt. “Belle.”
“Quite the crew.” Sawyer doesn’t sound like she’s talking about the cats. She sets her bag down and gestures for Bowen to give her the sleepy kitten.
Bowen blankets a hand over Bonnie. She’s nothing but a dot on his big frame. “She’s sleeping.”
“She won’t be when her siblings complain about their shots.” She waggles her fingers.
Bowen hovers while Sawyer checks over Bonnie, gives her dewormer, and vaccinates her.
Landry starts pacing like a nervous father waiting for his kid’s appointment.
I’m not excited about putting Winnie through an inspection.
How did I become attached this fast? I come home, see Meredith, and start questioning all my adult life choices.
I find a cat, and I’m wrapped around her paw within minutes.
I’ve gone twenty years without forming attachments, and now I have two whose lives are in Scandal.
Landry murmurs to Belle after her turn and cradles her in the crook of his elbow. “Before we forget what we came here for, Sheriff Dietz called. We need to get Dad’s car.”
A dark cloud floats over my afternoon, and lead fills my gut. “He got a time in mind?”
“Friday,” Bowen says. “He’s at a conference for the next few days.”
Why would the sheriff care when we get the car, as long as we get it? “We don’t need him to pick it up.”
“We don’t,” Landry agrees grimly. “Finn Sterling can meet us.”
“Can you check on the camera?” Meredith asks, suddenly looking sheepish. “It’s Holly’s. Never mind. I can call him.”
Landry shakes his head. “I don’t mind making Dietz answer about the missing items.”
Bowen nods. “We should bring up the incident at the house.”
The possible breaking and entering. “I never mentioned this, but the first night I was back, I thought I saw something. It was dark, and I couldn’t make it out, but it was no stray cat.”
“Skunk?” Bowen asks.
“Raccoon?”
“Bigger,” is all I say and leave it at that.
The sheriff is going to point out that the house was open and nothing was taken.
We have nothing to prove someone was in there, and he won’t buy Meredith’s intuition.
He’ll likely question her memory that Holly had the camera with her.
“We’ll bring it up. Carlos hasn’t heard about anyone having issues either. ”
“And there’s been nothing at the brewery,” Bowen adds, “but there’s a sign warning about security cameras.” He lifts a big shoulder. “There’s no reason not to talk to him. Make Dietz earn his paycheck, and if Sterling is working? Fuck him too.”
I’ve made it home this long without running across a Sterling. All of us have. Hoping our luck holds out. “Friday it is.”