He nodded, freezing suddenly. “Find me after you’ve read it. Either way.”
“Okay.” I slid a hand under his t-shirt, his jacket unzipped. Muscle and sinew was there underneath my hand. I felt him tense.
“Callum, unless you’re telling me this isn’t going to work in that email, then…”
“I’m not telling you that.”
“Then it’ll all be fine.”
“Good.” He kissed me.
“Do you two need more time? If not, you should come see what’s in one of the stables.”
* * *
There were kittens,six of them, skittering around their mum who looked at us with mild distaste. She was thin and in poor condition, a stray rather than feral and not much more than a year old herself.
They were now in the utility room in the Callaghan house with a large comfy bed, a new cat tree to scratch and several litter trays, plus a ton of food.
“What are you going to call her?” Callum crouched down next to me. The kittens were surprisingly healthy and around two weeks old. Curious and playful.
“The mum? Amber. Because of her eyes.” She was a moggie, grey in colour but she had the pointed face of an oriental. If I were to guess, I’d say she was the product of a British Blue and a Siamese. She was absolutely adorable and very fed up with her naughty kittens who were trying to escape the bed where she wanted them.
“Amber.” I knew he was smiling without looking. “Are we going to keep her?”
“Does that need to be a question?”
He laughed and I felt his arms reach around me. “She can stay here until the house is ready. The kittens will be ready for homing then too. Keeping them all is not an option.”
My sigh was dramatic. There would be other animals we’d end up with at the farm, ones needing homes because they weren’t quite perfect. Four of Amber’s kittens were destined to be family pets for Jackson and Claire, the other two I’d keep.
“I know. And Amber won’t want them all around.”
“You haven’t named the kittens yet?”
That would be a fatal move. “No. Just two.”
His eyes narrowed but he was fighting a smile. “Dinner’s ready in about an hour. Claire’s just got here; Max is around twenty minutes away. Please excuse my family.”
“They’ll be fine.”
He shook his head. “They can be a lot. I understand if you need to get fresh air at any point.”
I got the feeling that he wasn’t actually joking.
“It’s fine. Why don’t we grab a quick shower?”
His eyes danced. “I’ve no idea what you’re suggesting. Aquickshower?”
* * *
It wasn’tquick and Claire had been there for about half an hour before we made it back downstairs. Eliza, her little girl, was running around everywhere, pinging off the walls and being thrown around by her father which made her giggle. It was a good noise.
“Welcome to the madhouse.” Claire sat down, her pregnant belly protruding over her jeans. “About to get even madder.”
“There’s only Max and Vic. And Ava and Eli. It should be a quiet weekend.” Marie joined us, passing me a glass of prosecco. She was warm and welcoming, easy company and didn’t miss a trick.
“No Seph?” Claire looked enviously at my drink.
