Keeva giggled. “Just teasing with ye, Lexi. Just teasing. Here. This way. The meeting hall has the registry for all the cottages we let.” She led the way up the sidewalk.
As they reached the main entrance, a kitten, a sweet orange tabby, leapt out of the bushes and gave a pitiful meow. Before Lexi could bend to pet it, it vaulted its tiny body onto her jeans, climbed to her waist, then leapt onto her shoulder and leaned against her head, purring like a well-oiled engine.
“Oh, dear.” Keeva went pale again, and her eyes widened. If Lexi wasn’t mistaken, she looked ready to panic.
“It’s all right,” Lexi assured her as she gently but firmly detached the kitten from clinging to her shoulder and cuddled it in the crook of her arm. “Animals love me. It comes in handy, considering I’m a vet.” She rubbed the purring cat’s belly, laughing as it batted and bit at her finger. “Aren’t you the ferocious little tiger? Where is your mama, little one? You’re barely old enough to be weaned.”
“Nonie, the bookshop owner, has a cat, but Midnight is a tom. This kitten…” Keeva eyed the tiny feline as if it were a monster. “Is not from around here.”
“Well, that’s not good. It’s too small to fend for itself.” Lexi’s heart fell, not only hurting for the poor abandoned waif but angry at whoever had dumped it. She eyed Keeva and sent up a silent prayer. “Can I take it to the cottage and take care of it? I’m due to be here for a month. Surely, by the time I leave, I will have found it a permanent home.”
Keeva curled her upper lip as if smelling a stink. “I dinna think I have much choice in the matter.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you saying no?” Why was the girl acting so strangely about a stray cat? Was she one of those people who were afraid of them? “Does the owner of the cottage not allow pets? If not, maybe you could take him?”
“No!”
Lexi reared back a step. Keeva was acting strange, as if the kitten were dangerous. How ridiculous was that? Maybe she should find different lodging. “Uhm…perhaps I should head back to Inverness.”
“No! Dinna mind me. ’Tis been a long day. ’Tis all. Nothing more. I swear it.” Keeva fluttered about like a nervous butterfly, frantically pushing open the door and motioning for Lexi to follow her into the building. “Let’s get ye signed in. Of course, ye can keep the wee moggy during yer stay. I feel sure he’ll make himself at home in the garden. Then, when the time comes for ye to leave, we’ll be sure and find him a fine home. I’ll even help by going to Boyd’s and fetching some moggy food and supplies ye might need for him. We can post a notice there, too. On Boyd’s announcement board. Seeing if anyone has lost a kitten.”
“Thank you. He’s just too tiny and helpless to abandon,” Lexi said. “I just can’t do that.”
Keeva immediately calmed, and her smile turned almost thoughtful. “Aye, Mistress Lexi. And that be exactly why ye are here.”
Slightly confused by Keeva’s sudden change of heart, Lexi idly rubbed the now sleeping kitten’s head. “I’m not sure about soft-heartedness having anything to do with my vacation. I needed a change, and Seven Cairns seemed to fit the bill.”
“Aye,” Keeva said as she tapped on the electronic tablet on the table, then handed Lexi the stylus. “Sign here, lass.”
With a strange sense of signing away her soul, Lexi signed the tablet, then handed the stylus back to Lexi. “All set?”
“All set. Here are the keys. Now, back to yer car, and I’ll show ye the way.”
As they walked back to the automobile, Lexi kept looking around for signs of the kitten’s mother. “Do people drop animals here to get rid of them?”
“Drop animals?”
“Leave them and drive away. How else would this kitten get here?”
“That moggy came here on his own,” Keeva said with such conviction that it took Lexi by surprise. “Not a soul abandoned that beastie. I’ll grant ye that.”
“Can you hold him so I can drive? I need my left hand so I can shift gears.” Lexi slid into the driver’s seat and tried to hand the cat over to Keeva.
Keeva recoiled as if the little thing were some sort of compact little monster. “Oh no. I canna hold it.” She faked a pitiful sneeze. “Allergies, ye understand.”
“Ahh…” Lexi didn’t understand, but that didn’t matter. Keeva definitely had some kind of cat phobia. She settled the kitten into her lap. “I’m sure he’ll be fine here. Especially if the drive is short.”
“Oh, it is, lass. The cottage is just around the bend a ways. Past the kirk. Within walking distance, really. Once ye’ve settled in, ye’ll not need yer car to fetch things from the village. Ye can walk, and there’s a fine wee cart to help ye carry yer messages home.”
Lexi followed the cobblestone road around the old church, then spotted a cheerful, white washed cottage with a thatched roof and bright red shutters. Her heart leapt with joy. She felt like she’d just spotted home after a long, trying trip. “Is that it?”
“Aye, lass. Do ye like it?”
“I love it. It’s going to be hard to leave when my time is up.” Lexi parked the car beside the cottage, scooped up the sleepy kitten, and got out of the vehicle, not bothering to close the door behind her. She hurried to the bright red front door, tried the old-fashioned skeleton key in the lock, and laughed when the portal swung open. This was better than any fairy tale she had ever read as a child.
The cozy interior welcomed her, hugging her like a long-lost friend. The furnishings were worn, but clean and decorated with colorful knit throws and pillows, making it look like a loving grandmother had just finished cleaning and decorating. The overstuffed couch and chairs in front of the quaint black woodstove would be a perfect spot for reading. Across the room was the kitchen, with bright red cabinets as cheery as the front door and shutters. A polished copper kettle squatted on the stove, and a fat-bellied cookie jar waited to be filled on the butcher block counter.
“’Tis not a big thing, but will do and keep ye dry and warm for the duration of yer stay,” Keeva said. She pointed to the right. “There’s yer bedroom. The next door over is the toilet, and that door there goes out to the garden.” She tipped a leery nod at the now awake kitten in Lexi’s arms. “Ye might wish to put the wee moggy out there. They like to explore and ensure the place is safe.”
