Julie looked at the trail of dust her footsteps had left through the room. “Cleaning. That should probably be first on the list. I’ll have to do the downstairs rooms and the bathrooms. Probably not all the bedrooms.” Though if she got bored, it would be something to occupy her. She’d already learned that the data connection on her phone was not good enough to stream video.
“I have to speak to the caterer.”
The cat blinked open one curious eye.
“Not for you,” she muttered. “You know where your food cans are.”
He was quick on the uptake, she’d give him that. Once she’d fed him once and put away the rest of the cans, he’d been meowing at the cabinet ever since. It was a miracle he wasn’t in there now.
“I have a number for that somewhere…” She found the note she’d made and called the caterer before she forgot. She’d already talked to the woman about the party, but she had wanted to come over and see the kitchen to make sure it would be adequate for heating up food and serving. She made a quick appointment for the next afternoon and crossed it off the list she’d made earlier on the back of an old envelope she’d found in a drawer.
“Next we need to locate some cleaning supplies and get this place spiffed up.” Julie made a check mark next to that item, indicating it was in progress. “There. Doesn’t that make us feel productive?”
The cat squinted at her, with the other eye this time.
She scowled. “I could do without your judgment, cat.”
He shut his eye.
Julie harrumphed and went back to her to-do list. “What else? I’ll have to decorate, but that can only be done after the cleaning.” She glanced at the next item. “I know this place needs a couple of repairs too. I have a number for a repair guy in town…”
She was flipping through the notes on her phone when the cat jumped off of Gram’s chair and trotted away, tail held high.
“Cat! Cat—hey, where are you going?”
She really had to stop calling him “cat.” For one thing, it felt wrong. For another, it wasn’t as though the cat ever responded to it. Afraid that the mischievous animal would do more damage to the inn while her back was turned, Julie hopped to her feet and followed.
She reached the kitchen just as the cat jumped on the counter and pawed ineffectually at the cupboard. He looked at her and mewled.
“No. I’ve already fed you today. Which is pretty much as much as I’ve fed myself.” Maybe she should add “eat supper” to the to-do list. Not that she was the greatest cook. When she’d picked up the cleaning supplies, she’d thrown a couple boxes of mac and cheese into the shopping cart, along with the milk and butter to make it. That would have to be good enough.
With one hand, she reached out to lift the cat from the counter and deposit him on the floor.
Hiss!He swatted out, and Julie jumped back.
“Okay, fine. I get it. No picking up. And you wonder why I’m not feeding you again, Grouchy.”
She found the mouse toy she’d bought for him and tossed it. He pounced, content to be distracted for the moment.
Although she still needed to take a good look at the outside of the house and decide which repairs she was going to have done—if the Millers were buying the property as is, it seemed a waste to do them at all—she capitalized on the decent cell phone signal in the kitchen and called the number of the first repair guy Gram had given her. Bob Ryder.
Bob sounded about as old as Gram, but he was more than willing to come out the next day and fix up a few odds and ends. So that was one more thing checked off her list.
She looked at the floor of the kitchen and sighed. Now, for the hard part.
Where had she put the mop?
Chapter 9
Mornings in Pinecone Falls were little pieces of magic, especially in winter. Nolan had always been something of a morning person, eager to roll out of bed and start his day. When he’d moved to Barrington Lodge, that day had always started with tending the horses, and it was perhaps his favorite way of waking up. When they didn’t try to kick him, at least.
After brushing and turning out the horses—or, in this case, shuffling them around so he could muck out their stalls—he and Snowball were left with time to roam. Since Snowball liked snow even better than she liked the horses, it was time that Nolan took for granted.
And yes, maybe he should have paid more attention to where his steps were taking him, instead of soaking in the idyllic scene of snow-capped evergreens and the occasional cardinal or blue jay. There were deer in these woods, too, but they were shy. With Snowball by his side, he rarely ever saw the animals, but he did see their tracks. He didn’t mind, though. This time, this quiet morning before he had to involve himself with the running of the inn, was only for him and Snowball.
When the roof of the Cozy Holly Inn peeked through the trees, he paused in his step. When had he stepped over the property line?
“Snowball?”
