“I’m glad you have him, too, but Charles and I are not starting a family just yet,” I reminded her with a stern expression.
She waved away my concern with her hand.“You know what I mean, dear.”
“I have gotten some unexpected experience with motherhood this week, though.” I proceeded to tell her all about Charlene, then added, “Man, you really have missed so much.”
“It sounds like it! Many memories in the making, both good and bad, I’d wager.” Her eyes held a knowing glint. She and I both knew that some of my worst experiences had turned into my best memories. Like meeting Octo-Cat after my traumatic near-death experience at the hands of a faulty coffeemaker.
“That reminds me,” I said suddenly, growing excited. “Is Octo-Cat around? Charlene wanted to meet him. She’s kind of a fan.”
“Uh-oh.” Nan’s face blanched. “You remember what happened last time that cat had a fan. Pringle entered all of our lives.”
“He’s not so bad,” I said with a smile, remembering the special moment we’d shared on my wedding day.
“Okay. One second, then.” The screen grew dark, but I still heard Nan loud and clear. “Paisley, find the kitty!” she shouted in a high-pitched baby voice.
A few moments later, a sharp string of barks rose on the other end of the call.“I think that’s my cue,” she said with a chuckle, heading up the stairs—not just once, but twice—all the way to my tower bedroom. Charles and I had talked about moving into the master now that he’d be joining me in residence, but I’d become quite attached to my tower.
Apparently, Octo-Cat had, too. Even though he had his own bedroom, complete with a fish tank and everything else a spoiled feline could ever want, he was still hanging out in my room while I was away from home.
While Nan went to get him, I flagged down Charles to tell him I was going inside, then hurried to the privacy of our accommodation.
I’d only just shut the door behind me when Nan held the phone in front of that furry little face I missed so much.
“Aww, what are you doing in my room? Do you miss me?” I cooed, partially teasing but mostly delighted.
His ears pressed down against his head.“Don’t be so—”
“I miss you, too,” I interrupted so he would know the feeling was mutual. “It’s okay to admit you love me, even when nothing bad is going on.”
“What do you mean nothing is bad?Everything is bad. My Grizabella has gone home, and now I am stuck missing her,” he growled as if the whole thing were my fault. To be fair, this was their honeymoon period, too, and they were spending it apart. Despite all our misfortunes, at least Charles and I still had each other.
“I’m really sorry,” I said and meant it. “We’ll book a trip to go see her in Colorado soon, okay?”
“I’m not okay, but what choice do I have? We can’t help who we love, and that darling kitten has my whole heart and soul.” He sighed and flopped over onto his side, tail a-swishing.
I think I swooned a little at his declaration of love. Cats—when they showed you love, it was like you became the queen of the whole universe.
As I thought about what I might say next, the door to our room swung open to admit Charles.
I motioned for him to join me on the bed.“Speaking of kittens, there’s someone here who would like to meet you,” I said, positioning the screen in front of the little black kit-kat.
“So this is my replacement for the week,” Octo-Cat intoned, then let out a soft chuff that told me he was just joking.
“Hello, Mr. Octavius. I like your pictures and your story.” Charlene appeared unsure of herself as she heaped praises on my tabby back home.
But Octo-Cat ate the praise right up.“The human’s been bragging about me, eh? Can’t say I blame her.”
“Yes, she loves you very much. And your mate is the most beautiful cat I’ve ever seen in all my life.” Yup, Charlene definitely knew how to get on his good side right from the start.
He smiled wide, teeth and all.“Yeah, kid, you’re absolutely right. Hey, Angie, can I talk to you in private for a sec?”
“Sure. Be right back,” I told Charles before heading for the communal bathroom and shutting myself inside.
“That kitten is hardly old enough to be away from its mother. What are you doing with her?” he demanded, concern reflecting in his amber eyes.
“She’s lost,” I explained quietly. “We’ve been searching for her mother almost non-stop, but so far no luck.”
“If you haven’t found her yet, she’s probably not coming back,” he said with eyes lowered, telling me he hated to be the one to deliver this somber news.
“I know, but we have to try.”
“Good luck, then. She seems like a sweet kid. I hope it all works out for her.”
“Yeah, me too,” I said before ending the call.
16
When I returned to our room, I found Charlene bouncing on top of the mattress showing great excitement.
“That was awesome!” she cheered while Charles took a video of her adorable antics.
We really needed to get back outside to look around for her mother some more, but our search was beginning to seem more and more hopeless. And right now the young kitten was so happy that I hated to upset her by abruptly changing the subject. So instead I stood with Charles and watched her celebrate meeting her newfound hero.
When she tired herself out enough to fall back to sleep, we snuggled together while watching a movie on my iPad. Once that was over, Charles ventured into town to grab dinner and some more supplies while I hung back with Charlene, continuing to search local rescue groups for any sign of her lost mother.
That night, we ate dinner in bed, enjoying the simplicity of each other’s company. After that, we spent some more time outdoors, hoping Charlene’s mother would find us—but no such luck.
We went to bed, the day ending much better than it had started, thanks to our caution. Still, even if we managed to survive the rest of the week at the mansion, we were still facing a ticking clock when it came to reuniting the kitten with her mother. I really hoped this week would have a happy ending for the sweet girl, seeing as Charles and I had already gotten ours.
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I woke up sometime during the night to the sound of heavy footsteps treading outside our door.
Charles slept deeply beside me, his soft breaths making it obvious the sounds hadn’t disturbed him in the slightest. Well, that just left me to investigate. I refused to be a sitting duck while someone planted some new trap for us to fall into the next day. Poor Charles had already been through more than enough.
Tugging my robe around me, I padded out into the dark kitchen and flipped the light switch on.
A shock of rainbow hair greeted me.
“Blaire, what are you doing out here?” I glanced at the digital clock above the stove. “It’s two o’clock in the morning!”
“I know what time it is,” she told me flatly, shutting the fridge before her, but not without first taking a jug of milk in hand.
“I thought the kitchen was off limits,” I pointed out sassily, too tired to try to play nice with someone who wouldn’t even meet me halfway.
She rolled her eyes.“Which is why I’m here in the middle of the night, duh.”
“You’ve done this before, haven’t you?” I asked as she headed to one of the cupboards and grabbed a glass, seeming to know exactly where she’d find it. “Are you the one who slipped laxatives into the potato salad at lunch?”
Blaire couldn’t hide her spurt of laughter, not that she tried to.
“It’s not funny,” I seethed, then grabbed the glass of milk from her before she could bring it to her lips. “Would you please take this seriously? You poisoned the potatoes, locked him in his room, sabotaged the stairs. When will enough finally be enough?”