After feeding the strays in the back and taking inventory of the morning’s schedules, Cali made her way to the front door and was distracted by a loudthudamong the stacks. She froze. It turned quiet, but that sound was enough for concern. She grabbed the closest weapon she could find—a stapler—and tip-toed to where she thought she’d heard it.
In the Occult section, right underSigns, Omens & Familiarswas the Maine Coon kitten, cuddled against the books. One of its legs dangled over the shelf’s edge. Several hardcovers had spilled onto the floor beneath it.
“How on earth did you get in here?” she whispered.
The cat slow-blinked its eyes at her, unfussed, as if it owned the place.
She tip-toed back to her purse, grabbed some cat treats from inside, and made a trail from the shelf to a cardboard cat carrier she kept in her office in case one of the strays ever had an emergency.
A few sniffs in the air and the kitten leapt down and devoured the trail behind her. It was almost too easy.
When it was secured in the carrier, she grabbed her phone and took a photo of a little pink nose peeking through one of the holes. Then she texted The Nine.Guess who finally showed up at the library?! Mission: Maine Coon—accomplished!
While texts of congratulations and where and how she found it flooded her screen, Cali noticed an alert appear. A new number added to the chat. Leo’s text came next:Cali caught it, man!
That was when she realized,Shit. That must be Ethan’s number.
Another message to the group, from the new number, appeared immediately:Cute. So is it a he or a she?
Cali’s face soured. She could ignore it, but now that he’d asked, she was sure the rest of them would want to know. If she replied, Ethan would know it was her number. Howquickly avoidance had turned into him being involved again. She reminded herself to punch Leo in the arm next time she saw him.
A girl, obviously,Cali texted back. Of course she didn’t know for sure. There was all that fluffy fur hiding things, and she didn’t dare let it escape again just to check. But she wasn’t going to give Ethan the satisfaction of raining on her parade in a group chat either.
I wanna pet the floof tonight!Minka replied. Several of the others agreed. But then an argument ensued over whether or not that many cuddles would be too overwhelming for the stray.
Fortunately, no one mentioned handing the cat over to Ethan. And neither did he. The matter seemed to be settled. They’d all made efforts to find it, and Cali was clearly the one who finally did. Or rather, it had chosen her.
She skated through the rest of the day on a cloud, checking in frequently on the kitten and giving it as much pâté as its heart desired—which was a lot. Even the heavy drilling noises from the excavation couldn’t dampen her mood today. By the time the book club was in attendance, it was all they could talk about. Minka brought cookies to celebrate. Lynne brought some beer from her pub. Mrs. Ellery even suggested they postpone the scheduled book discussion for the following week.
With no sight or knock from Ethan by half-past eight, Cali felt her body finally relax. The cat—and the help in finding it—was really all he’d wanted after all. Now that it was hers, he had no reason to come to Nine Lives. No reason to note her daily routine. No reason to, intentional or not, stand shirtless in view of her office window ever again.
But all her hopes were dashed the next minute, when Leo announced Ethan had been hanging around outside for the past ten minutes. He sprinted toward the doors as Freya said, “I guess we were so busy celebrating we didn’t hear him.”
Ethan followed behind Leo. He wore yet another gray shirt, light and heathered this time, with a V-neck. Cali would have to ask him about all that gray someday. It clung to his deltoids and pecks as he walked, and Cali felt the world tilt toward him for a moment. Heat curled low in her belly, every nerve in her suddenly awake and humming.
“I do have one topic I want to discuss with you all, now that Ethan’s here,” Mrs. Ellery said. She stretched a hand in his direction lovingly, like a grandmother might. “You’re part of this group now, too, Ethan. Before you came, The Nine—as we like to call ourselves—only totaled eight.”
Cali hadn’t thought of that before. But even as that comforting realization sank in, a little voice reminded her Ethan wouldn’t be around forever.
Mrs. Ellery continued. “Since we’ve saved our first stray as a team, I think it’s high time we put our heads together to do more. What would you say to a fundraiser? Or a gala—for the Autumn Ridge strays?” She turned to Cali. “That way you won’t have to feed them out of your own pocket for a while. You can focus on feeding the Maine Coon instead.”
“What if we used it for food, litter, and vet bills for the fosters, just like a shelter would?” Lynne suggested.
“That’s brilliant,” said Leo.
“You gotta admit, it’s a tempting idea,” Freya admitted. Cali could almost see the wheels turning in the florist’s head. Location. Invites. Floral displays, naturally. Minka and Lynne agreed. They could each find some way to contribute.
“I don’t own a business,” Leo said. “But I could check with the guys at the fire station. I’m sure they’d agree to auction off dates or calendars or something of value.”
“Ooh,” Lynne said, almost too eagerly. “I like the sound of that!”
“Then it’s settled,” Mrs. Ellery said. “And with that in mind, I’ve already reserved the ballroom at The Old Ridge Inn for the first Saturday in October. My sister, rest her soul, was best friends with the owner, Rosita.”
Cali stammered out a “What?” in disbelief.
“Which part, my dear?”
“All of it!” said Leo. The Nine nodded their heads in agreement. It was one thing to discuss expanding their efforts and another to do it within a few weeks.
