“Stay with the class, dear,” Mrs. Ellery quipped. “Now back to the plot.” She gestured for Ethan to go on.
“He’s too young to be running out here alone, especially around a work site. I’m just worried about him. So when Leo here told me there was, like, a cat rescue group thing in town, I said I’d swing by.”
Cali couldn’t help flinching every time Ethan referred to the kitten as “him.”
“Oh, don’t let me forget to add you to the text thread, man,” said Leo. “We’ll find your cat.”
Everyone but Minka nodded their heads in agreement. Minka glanced over at Cali, who was silently fuming. How easily she’d been out-voted as the Maine Coon’s chosen rescuer. Yes, Ethan had a history with the cat—and its mom if his assumptions were correct. But Cali was the one sacrificing kibble and pâté every day and kick-starting the Nine Lives Club and laying all the groundwork. More than simply “keeping an eye out” for the cat. That had to count for something.
“And then Cali and I both saw him outside the library today.”
“You did? Did you two catch it?” Freya asked them.
Cali’s icy stare threatened to bore a hole in Ethan’s skull. “No. It ran off.”
“Because—”
“So what’s the plan?” Minka interrupted them.
Bless you, Minka. Cali sighed.
“Well, if it’s smart, it’ll stay away from the construction noise,” said Lynne. “Not sure you two will find it around here again.”
Calihadnoticed a slight attendance drop in the morning’s stray cat kibble line when she opened the library this past week.
“But if Cali’s leaving food out behind the library, maybe they will,” suggested Freya.
“Honestly, with as many places as we observed that kitten today, it could turn up anywhere. We just all need to be ready when any of us finds it again.” Leave it to Mrs. Ellery to offer wisdom and some direction.
“But what does ‘ready’ mean?”
“I’ve got an idea.” Cali jumped from her seat and shuffled back to her office. The crinkled, half-empty bag of cat food was tucked into one of her desk drawers. She set her mug on top of the desk and grabbed the kibble, plus several brown bags she always kept on hand for craft days or just-in-case moments. Once, when a young woman came to the front desk in tears, she’d even used one of those bags to discreetly pass her some pads.
She rejoined the group and started scooping small amounts of the kibble into each of the bags. “If we agree to keep one of these with us at all times, our odds increase.” She passed around the bags and a permanent marker so they could each write their names on the outside. “It’s not foolproof. From what Ethan and I saw today, it gets spooked easily. But it’s bound to get hungry enough soon with all that scurrying around town.”
Next thing she knew, Ethan was raising his hand. “Um, I think I got the wrong bag.”
“Why’s that?” she scoffed.
“This one’s got a, uh, sandwich. Smells like chicken salad.” He raised his eyebrows and that stupid lip started to curl again.“I mean, hemaywant this, but I’ll probably eat it before he has a chance.”
“Shoot. That was my dinner. Sorry.” She distracted herself with more kibble and bags. But when he tried passing it back, Cali shook her head at him. “You want it? Minka made it, so it’s obviously amazing.”
“But it’s yours.”
“Well, I’m not hungry anymore.”And feeling a little buzzed, she had to admit.Why do I always get so friendly after a few sips of wine?“You said you didn’t get dinner yet. So might as well.”
He shrugged, and she shrugged back at him. Then he devoured the sandwich in three bites. “Mmm. Thatisgood, Minka,” he said, mouth still half-full of food. “Nice work.”
Cali and Minka exchanged a glance, and Minka chortled into her sleeve.
Between the cats and this guy, Cali,you’re up for sainthood.
She shoved the last cat food bag into his hands and started returning chairs to their desks. The Nine—technically ten now, she realized—paired off, whispering goodbyes or chuckling as they made their way to the library exit. Cali assumed Ethan and Leo would be absorbed in conversation, but within a matter of moments Ethan was hovering over her shoulder again. One sweet and spicy whiff of his cologne gave him away.
“I can help,” he offered, a chairback already gripped in one of his strong hands.
Cali felt her mouth go dry. “Over there,” she gestured, toward the desk as far away from her as possible.
