Dammit!We may be running out of time.
Mama Cat shows no resistance as I lower her into the towel-lined bin, only offering a sound so weak, it barely counts as a protest.
Before getting back on my feet, I tuck the towel tighter around her fragile body, then lay the lid loosely across the top, leaving it cracked so she can breathe.
Crystal Cove was supposed to be about peace and quiet.
A chance for me to heal my butchered heart.
Now I’m knee-deep in kittens, a mother cat in labor, and a hot-as-hell neighbor who may damn well ruin me.
CHAPTER 5
Cami
The back of Knox’s Range Rover smells like his expensive cologne has collided head-on with a wet and smelly Mama Cat. Poor thing reeks of Millie’s attic, stench more stubborn than an ex who won’t stop texting at midnight.
Wedged between a box of squeaky newborns and their too-quiet mom, I brace one hand against each to keep them from tipping as Knox backs out of the driveway.
Intermittent mewls, high-pitched and broken, chisel at my heart. The kittens are hungry. Terrified. Maybe even a little annoyed that I took so long to find them.
I’m annoyed I took so long, too.
If only I hadn’t freaked out the second I heard those ghostly noises, maybe we wouldn’t be here, rushing Mama Cat and her precious offspring to an emergency vet.
Then again, I might’ve missed out on watching my surly neighbor transform into a real-life superhero. One who checks out loud noises and rescues cats in labor.
Not like it means anything. He’s simply the sexy grump next door—who also smells ridiculously yummy and handles emergencies like it’s his job.
Is it his job?Despite our run-ins, I don’t know anything about him.
Drawing in a breath, I glance down at the kittens, my fingers drifting across fluffy, newborn fur. Their eyes are still closed, and it’s adorable how they curl together, instinctively becoming each other’s emotional support kitten.
But Mama Cat is silent and still.
Not even a stir from her makeshift maternity ward.
I ease the lid off the bin to make sure she’s breathing, then freeze as an audible gasp escapes me.
“You alright back there?”
Knox’s gravelly tone pulls my gaze to the rearview mirror, where his dark eyes meet mine.
“Yeah. I mean…sort of.”
“Sort of?”
“Mama Cat’s paws are all white, except for her back left one. It’s completely black. Like she dipped it in ink.”
His eyes flash with curiosity. “Okay…?”
“I mean, I’ve seen her before. She was on the porch this morning when I got back from Seaport Coffee Café.” I exhale, frustrated. “I ran inside to grab her some water, but she’d vanished.”
Knox nods slowly, eyes on the road as we turn onto a narrow street lined with restaurants and boutiques. He’s relaxed in the driver’s seat, one hand draped over the wheel as though chauffeuring stray cats and a perfect stranger around town is completely normal for him. Meanwhile, I’m two heartbeats away from crawling out of my skin.
“She must’ve wandered inside while I wasn’t looking,” I say, tracing a finger over her matted fur. “Then made her way up to Ms. Palmer’s attic and had her babies. All alone.”
Quiet stretches between us, filled only by the hum of the engine and small cries coming from the box beside me.
