Ted stood and buttoned his suit coat. “I have to go. Get me regular updates, Cal. I’m dead serious. This is critical to my administration.”
Cal shoved to his feet and headed for the door. “I’ll do my best.”
“And Callum?”
He turned back to face the mayor from the office door.
Ted cracked a smile. “Tell the ladies organizing this weekend’s festivities that I’ll bring smoked chicken and lots of it. See you Saturday.”
“Good deal,” Cal said, giving his friend a casual salute.
Cal arrived at Jules’s tiny motel room promptly at 7:00 p.m., as promised. She didn’t want to be impressed with something as trivial about him as his being on time, but she’d known too many men who thought their time was more valuable than hers and had kept her waiting for professional appointments, study groups and even dates. Furthermore, she didn’t want to be charmed by his warm grin or his teasing words—“I like what you’ve done with the place”—when she ushered him into the sparse, aged motel room.
“Thanks,” she returned. “I call the style Early Dismal.”
He laughed, then paused to sniff, his nose wrinkling. “Eww. What is that smell?”
She rolled her eyes. “I try not to think about it. It’s the only way I can sleep at night.”
He gave her a speculative look. “Would you like to go somewhere else to talk?”
“Yes!” she said, almost before he’d finished his sentence. She grabbed her jacket from the back of the one chair in the room.
He chuckled as he motioned for her to lead the way out. “That’s the most agreeable you’ve been since we met.”
“Because that’s the first agreeable suggestion you’ve made,” she returned, unable to squash the grin that tugged at her mouth.
He bounced the keys to his Jeep in his hand while she struggled to get the lock on her motel room door to fasten properly. The whole assembly from knob to latch, rattled whenshe wiggled it, and she feared a strong shake would pop it open without a key. She’d mentioned this failing to the front office, but clearly nothing had been done yet.
She sighed as she followed Cal into the parking lot and inhaled the fresh evening air.
“Where to, then?”
She shrugged. “It’s your town. You tell me.”
“The Brewery has good local beers if you’re in the mood, but I think Cup of Joe would be quieter—fewer people this time of night.”
“Cup of Joe, it is.”
“Shall we walk? It’s only a couple blocks.” He hitched his head down the street toward the quaint business district.
“Why not?”
Cal placed a wide, warm hand at the base of her spine, a possessive gesture as he guided her toward the sidewalk. A shiver chased through her despite the lingering heat from the day.
“Have you seen the stray cat again? He still hanging around the shop?” he asked.
“Sheis,” she said, emphasizing the correct pronoun. Jules furrowed her brow as she remembered the kitten’s pitiful mewls earlier that evening. “I worry about her out there by herself. There are wild animals around the area of the shop and cars on the highway and…”
“I can ask animal control to pick her up—”
“No! Not animal control. They’d shut her in a cage. Maybe put her down.” She shook her head. “I can’t bear the thought of her…” She exhaled heavily, then admitted, “I’d like to catch her if possible and… I don’t know. Maybe take her to my motel room?” She groaned. “Like I need to add a feral pet to the chaos my life is right now. I guess I should try to find someone to adopt her.”
“I might be able to get you a humane trap if that’s what you decide.” He motioned to the front door of a store with a wide picture window.
“I already called the Red Grove Animal Rescue about a trap. I’m picking it up tomorrow at lunch, if I can get Bonnie to watch the shop,” she admitted. “Because apparently I have more pity for that cat than I have good sense.”
“I tend to think compassionisgood sense,” Cal said, holding the door for her.
