‘Then why are you here?’ Bella shot back. ‘I mean, poor Brutus. He’s only just got over losing his eye, he’s had the all-clear from the vet, I’ve packed up his favourite blanket and toys and now he’s not going with you? What kind of a time waster are you?’
Noah couldn’t help but notice how her face flushed and clashed with her ridiculously coloured hair when she got cross, but it seemed she was genuinely upset. He wondered if it was partly because he’d been so short with her the previous evening when he’d paid his bill, but he was so distracted by her obvious emotion, it took him a moment to register exactly what she said.
‘Hang on a sec,’ he said carefully. ‘Who’s Brutus?’
‘Oh, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten his name as well?’ Bella shot back. ‘He’s the cat you and your partner were all set to adopt. Who did you think I was talking about? The Queen of Sheba?’
The penny dropped. ‘I’m sorry,’ Noah said, rather stiffly. ‘But I think you’ve got me mixed up with someone else. I’m not here to adopt a cat.’
‘Then why are you here?’
Noah drew a deep breath, and not without a little satisfaction to finally have the upper hand in this conversation, he replied, ‘I’m Noah Hathaway, and I’m here to talk about my late grandfather’s cat. Monty.’
9
Bella could feel the hot creep of embarrassment stealing its way up her cheeks as she realised her mistake. ‘Monty? As in Jack Hathaway’s cat?ThatMonty?’
‘You have more than one resident by that name?’ Noah, whose expression had been alternating between confusion and irritation for the past few minutes, now looked insufferably smug that he’d got one over on her.
‘You’d be surprised,’ Bella shot back. ‘Pet names are like kids’ names – they go in trends, although Monty’s a perennial favourite.’ She put Brutus’s paperwork back into the document wallet so that she had a reason to look away from Noah, and something to do with her hands.
‘Well, be that as it may, I was hoping that Mollie would be here so we could discuss what’s going to happen to him.’
Bella chanced a glance back at Noah, and despite the fact they’d been at cross purposes for the past few minutes, she couldn’t help feeling sorry for him. He looked tired. She knew, from what Mollie had told her, that he lived in London, and despite what she’d said to Will the night before at the Star and Telescope, Jack had been loved by his family. Although Noah didn’t look familiar, Mollie had also told her that Jack’s eldest grandson had been in the habit of visiting him regularly when he’d lived in the cottage. She’d been working fewer evenings at the tail end of last year and assumed that was why she hadn’t recognised him. Now she’d connected the dots, she felt very awkward about what she’d said to Will.
‘I’m sorry about your granddad,’ she said quietly. ‘Mollie said he was a lovely man.’
Noah gave her a brief smile. ‘Thanks. He was.’
‘And,’ Bella paused, ‘I’m sorry if I spoke out of turn last night in the pub. I didn’t mean anything by it.’ She wished she hadn’t filed Brutus’s paperwork away again, so she’d have something else to fiddle with. Apologies didn’t come easy to her, and she felt distinctly uncomfortable making this one. She’d spoken without thinking last night, not for the first time. She had a tendency to be rather more direct than a lot of people found comfortable.
‘It’s all right. If I was looking at the situation from the outside, I’d probably have jumped to some of the same conclusions, too. And you’ve been looking after Monty for months – he’s not the easiest of guests, I’m sure.’
Bella, relieved at the lighter tone in Noah’s voice, gave a nervous laugh. ‘You could say that. He’s got a particular gift for swiping people when they get too close, and even though he’s mellowed a bit since he’s been here, he’s a feisty one when he gets a mood on.’ She paused before adding, ‘I think he misses Jack.’
A look of sadness flickered in Noah’s eyes as Bella looked directly at him again. ‘You must miss him, too,’ she added softly.
‘I do.’
There was a slight pause between them. It felt as though peace had been restored, after the misunderstandings, and Bella’s heart expanded with sympathy for Noah. It was never easy losing someone you loved, and she got the distinct impression, despite what she’d said last night, that Noah was grieving.
‘Well, even though Mollie’s not here to talk you through Monty’s longer-term options, I can do that, if you’d like.’ She gave him what she hoped was an encouraging smile. ‘I’m sure you’d like to get things sorted before you have to head home again.’
‘Actually, I’m here for the rest of the weekend,’ Noah replied. ‘I wanted to come down and work out what needed to be done with Grandpa’s cottage, and the stuff that’s left in it, and it seemed sensible to try to sort out Monty at the same time.’
‘Would you like to see him?’
As the question hung in the air between them, Bella saw Noah’s expression change from carefully friendly to something more apprehensive. Surely he couldn’t be that nervous of a geriatric, bad-tempered moggy, could he?
‘I’m not sure that’s a good idea,’ Noah replied. ‘I mean, what if he recognises me and it upsets him? I wouldn’t want him to end up being an even more difficult inmate than he is already.’
‘Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that,’ Bella replied lightly. ‘I’m sure he’d like it. You could pop in and there wouldn’t be any harm done.’
‘Maybe a bit later,’ Noah replied. Bella was a decent judge of character, but she couldn’t quite work out why Noah was being so reticent. Perhaps he did just feel guilty about leaving Monty in the cattery for so long? Maybe he was worried about getting attached to the old cat, so soon after his grandfather had died? It might even be that he didn’t want contact with Monty because he was intending to ask Mollie to re-home him, and he didn’t want to take responsibility for the crotchety Bengal.
‘Well, if you change your mind at any point, you’re very welcome.’ She smiled at him again, and as she did, she realised what gorgeous dark eyes he had. Although he looked tired, his deep brown irises were flecked with green. Blinking, she tried to focus on the here and now. Paddy, the landlord of the Star and Telescope, was always telling her off for getting sidetracked, and now definitely wasn’t the time.
‘Noah Hathaway, how wonderful to see you!’ Mollie’s distinctive tones echoed from the doorway as she arrived back at the centre. ‘I wasn’t expecting you until later.’
