David stood between Kylie and the mini-stampede in case someone collided with her. “Slow down, guys.”
“Mr. Whiskers took Charlotte’s mouse,” Charlie said as everyone came to a screeching halt.
Kylie spun toward the closed front door. Mr. Whiskers sat on his bottom, staring at them with a suspicious gleam in his eyes. “I’ll get it.”
Before David could do anything, she was moving toward the cat. Mr. Whiskers stretched and moved farther away. Getting the mouse out of his mouth would be difficult.
A little girl with pale gold hair gathered into pigtails, stood beside Charlie. When she looked at the cat, tears gathered in her eyes.
There were a lot of things David could ignore, but a little girl crying wasn’t one of them. Maybe standing here wasn’t such a great idea. “Are you all right?” he asked.
“Mr. Whiskers took Frederick when I wasn’t looking.”
Charlie glanced at his young friend. “Charlotte’s grandma made her a toy mouse. Don’t worry. Kylie’s a good mouse catcher.”
David didn’t know how Charlie knew that, but it seemed to make Charlotte feel better. He zeroed in on what was in the cat’s mouth. Apart from a long tail and pointy ears, he couldn’t see much else of the stolen mouse.
Kylie was slowly getting closer to Mr. Whiskers, but he wasn’t giving up the mouse easily.
Andy ran toward them. “Pastor John said we should give him these treats. They’re his favorite.” With more stealth than David thought was possible, Andy made his way toward Kylie and handed her the fish-shaped cookies.
As soon as she held one out to Mr. Whiskers, he dropped the cloth mouse and chomped on the treat.
Andy grabbed Frederick off the floor and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
As soon as Charlotte had the mouse in her hands, she held it to her chest. “Thank you.”
The blush on Andy’s cheeks made David smile. “Where’s everyone supposed to be?”
“With me,” Pastor John said from behind them. “I’m glad Frederick’s safe. It’s time to get back to the meeting room, everyone. Shelley will look after you until you’re picked up from the center.” He smiled at David. “Once everyone’s settled, we can talk in my office.”
“Sounds good.”
Kylie took the cookies out of David’s hands. “I’ll take these.”
“Are you sure?”
She looked at Pastor John. “Are all men this overprotective?”
“Only the best,” John said with a smile. “Thank you for bringing the cookies into the center. The children will enjoy them.”
“It’s no problem. I’ll see you around town, David.” She smiled at John, then headed toward the kitchen.
On their way back to the meeting room, Charlie walked beside David. “Do you have any pets in your house?”
“It’s difficult having pets when you live in an apartment. The only thing that would work is a goldfish.”
“Or a mouse,” Charlotte said as she clung to Frederick.
David wasn’t fond of fish or mice. If he had a choice, he’d rather adopt a dog. But with the number of hours he worked and where he lived, it would have to wait until something changed.
“We’re getting a cat or a dog soon,” Charlie said.
Andy stood beside his brother. “Mom said not to get your hopes up. She wants to make sure everything’s organized for the café before we do that.”
Charlie didn’t look worried. “Mom said she’ll be ready soon.”
“Where’s your mom now?” David asked.
