Loving You (The Bridesmaids Club Book 2) (22 page)

Tess joined them at the table. “We could have fresh flowers in vases, like what Sally did here. We could find some pretty napkins and trays, give the photos a warm and homely feel, but with a touch of sophistication.”

“Aspirational photos,” Molly said softly. “We’re selling more than food in the photos. We’re selling a lifestyle choice. We want people to know they’re getting healthy, homemade meals made from the best ingredients. Photographing the meals in a kitchen that most of us can only dream about will reinforce all of those messages.”

“That’s all very well,” Anne said. “But I’m not sure Dylan would agree. He hasn’t even moved in yet and we’ve already taken over his kitchen.”

“It would only be for a few hours,” Molly said. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

Sally glanced at her watch. “I’ve got to go. I texted Dylan this morning and told him I’d meet him at the animal shelter in an hour. I need to make the kittens look so cute that he’ll want to keep them forever.”

Annie didn’t see how the kittens she’d seen on Sally’s cell phone could look cuter than they had yesterday. She’d been tempted to offer her home for them, but starting a new business would mean long hours away from her apartment. Three mischievous kittens left alone for most of the day wasn’t the best start to their lives.

Sally gazed at her with a hopeful gleam in her eyes. “What about you, Annie? We’ve got a lot of shelter kittens looking for a home.”

She reluctantly shook her head. “I’d love too, but not yet. Maybe when my business is more established.”

Sally smiled. “I’ll remember that. Where are you all going to be in a couple of hours?”

Molly had her head bent over her keyboard, staring at the template they’d decided to use for Annie’s website. “We should have most of the framework for the website finished soon. I guess we’ll be back at Logan’s house unpacking dresses.”

“Why don’t you text us when you finish at the shelter to see where we are?” Tess said. “I can make lunch for everyone.”

“Sounds good to me.” Sally picked up her bag and headed toward the front door. “I’ll see you soon.”

Annie watched Sally leave. Dylan didn’t stand a chance against the animal shelter queen of Montana. She was relentless, taking every opportunity she could find to match stray animals with big-hearted people. And sometimes, without knowing she was doing it, Sally placed animals with people who were every bit as lost as the animals they took in.

Annie had a feeling that Sally’s uncanny knack for healing past hurts was about to strike again. She just hoped Dylan was prepared for the upheaval three little kittens could cause, especially if he decided they wouldn’t be going back to the shelter.

Chapter Nine

Dylan opened his front door and pulled Todd in fast. “Thank God you’re here.” He slammed the door shut and looked at the floor before taking a single step.

Todd raised his eyebrows. “You look like shit.”

Dylan’s partner in crime didn’t look much better, but that was for completely different reasons. “I’ve been in the basement looking for lost kittens. I don’t think anyone’s been down there for years.”

Todd didn’t wait for the rest of Dylan’s sad tale. He slung his backpack off his shoulder and left it on the hall table. Within seconds he’d pulled out a giant flashlight and half a dozen small cloth mice.

Dylan held one of the stuffed critters by the tail and frowned. “Catnip?”

“Double strength. Mavis Buckley makes them.”

Dylan didn’t have a clue who Mavis Buckley was, but he was glad Todd did. If he lost a kitten within an hour of bringing them home, Sally wouldn’t forgive him. If he lost three, she’d never trust him with a shelter animal again.

If Annie heard what he’d done she’d shake her head in horror. He knew without a doubt that confessing his stupidity to her would be worse than telling Sally.

Todd put the catnip mice in the sling supporting his right arm and moved silently across the room. Getting shot in New York hadn’t slowed him down. Unlike a lot of things in his life, the sling was a minor inconvenience that time would heal. Todd was close to finding the men responsible for his wife and son’s murder. He was starting to rebuild his life, one step at a time.

Todd stopped in front of the door to the basement. “Have you found any of the kittens?”

“No. I thought I saw Boxer, but then he disappeared. I haven’t seen Boots and Blinky at all.”

Todd frowned. “You’ve named them?”

“Not me. Sally.”

“Are you sure this Sally person knows what she’s doing? You’re the last person I’d leave a litter of kittens with.”

Dylan didn’t know whether to puff his chest out and feel proud that Sally thought he could give the kittens a good temporary home, or stand in line behind the other no-hopers who didn’t care diddly-squat about what the animal shelter was doing.

He crossed his arms in front of his chest and glared at Todd. “She gave me good instructions.”

Todd grunted, then turned his flashlight on. “You coming into the basement with me?”

Sweat broke out on Dylan’s forehead. He hated enclosed spaces almost as much as he hated touching people. He’d been locked underground in Afghanistan for six weeks, not knowing whether he was going to live or die. The last thing he wanted was to go back down into his basement and search for the kittens.

Todd looked at the cat flap a previous owner had cut into the door. “I take it the kittens found this door and disappeared?”

Dylan nodded. “Sally said to keep them in the laundry until they got used to living in a house. I thought I’d show them around…make them feel at home…” Dylan glanced at Todd. He was staring back at him as if he’d lost his marbles. But it wasn’t his marbles he needed to find. It was three little kittens that had kind of grown on him.

“You do know they’re cats and not humans, right?”

“Cut the smart ass comments and start looking for my kittens,” Dylan growled. “I’ll follow you down.”

Todd didn’t bother saying another word. He gave Dylan one last worried glance before opening the door. “How long have they been down here for?”

“About an hour.”

“And you haven’t heard them talking to each other?”

Dylan would have smiled if he hadn’t been so stressed. “They might have meowed, but I didn’t hear them. I was too busy trying not to freak out.”

Another grunt from Todd and they were heading down the wooden stairs. “What did you tell me to bring my flashlight for? This place is lit up like the fourth of July.”

Dylan hadn’t paid too much attention to the lighting situation either. Except in the far corner, under the furnace. It was pitch black, full of cobwebs and dust, and about as far out of Dylan’s comfort zone as he could get. “Weren’t you ever a Boy Scout?”

Todd ignored him and pulled a cloth mouse out of his sling. He’d lost his sense of humor a long time ago and Dylan couldn’t blame him. Over the last eight months they’d become friends, relying on each other for their sanity, not their sense of humor.

Todd crouched down on the concrete floor and wiggled the mouse in front of him. “Here kitty, kitty, kitty…” he cooed.

Dylan’s mouth dropped open. He nearly laughed, until he remembered he was in the basement.

Todd must have sensed the change in Dylan’s stress levels. He looked over his shoulder and frowned. “If you want to do something constructive, point this flashlight along the bottom edge of the walls.”

Dylan wasn’t going to disagree with him. Todd had given up his Sunday morning to bail him out of trouble. He’d make him lunch afterward if it helped find the kittens quicker.

He took the flashlight out of Todd’s hand and turned it on.

If anyone had wandered into the basement, they would have had plenty to laugh about. Todd and Dylan were crouched low, crawling around the floor on their hands and knees. Todd kept repeating his, “Here, kitty, kitty, kitty…” and Dylan kept listening for an answering meow.

Then out of the deepest, darkest corner of the room came a pitiful meow. Dylan spun the flashlight toward the furnace.
Damn
. If any of the kittens were hiding in there, Todd would have to get them out.

Todd took one look at Dylan’s face and held his hand out for the flashlight. “Guess it’s me who’s going in. How big are they?”

Dylan held his hands about seven inches apart. “They might be small, but they’re fast. Boxer’s the leader of the pack. He’s the kitten with a big black spot of color over one of his eyes. If you get him first, his sisters will come out looking for him.”

Todd pointed the flashlight toward the furnace. “You sure about that?” Two little eyes were glowing out of the darkness.

“Almost.” Dylan stared at the kitten, hoping it would make it easier on everyone and find its own way toward the catnip mouse.

“Get ready to pick the kitten up when it gets close,” Todd said quietly. “I’m going to balance the flashlight in my sling so that I can use my hand.”

Dylan followed Todd as he crawled slowly toward the glowing eyes.

Another high-pitched meow filled the basement and Todd slowed down. The kitten was crouched under the furnace. It sounded as though it hadn’t eaten anything in days. “I know you’re hungry, little one. Come and see Dylan and he’ll make you a nice bowl of warm milk.”

Dylan didn’t know about the milk, but he was seeing a side of Todd that he didn’t know existed. They’d worked together on Todd’s ranch, followed gangsters and the mafia around New York and been involved in a shoot-out that could have ended in disaster. Never once had Todd shown a softer side, a side to his personality that calmed the smallest of animals. But that’s what he was doing now.

Todd kept talking quietly to the kitten. Before Dylan worked out what he was doing, Todd pulled the kitten to safety and sat her in his sling. “Don’t pee on me,” he whispered, “or you and I will have to have a serious conversation.”

A loud purring filled the basement. Todd smiled for the first time since he’d arrived and turned to Dylan. “All yours. She must be one of Boxer’s sisters.”

Dylan picked the kitten up. “It’s Blinky. Boots won’t be far away.” Sure enough, another meow sounded from under the furnace. Dylan put Blinky in the cat box the shelter had loaned him and shut the door. “One down, two to go.”

Todd dropped to his knees and sent the beam of his flashlight low. “Does Boots have white paws?”

“Yep. You’ve found her.”

“I think I’ve got Boxer, too.” Todd pulled two cloth mice out of his sling and slid them halfway between where they were standing and the furnace. “Here, kitty, kitty…”

Boots jumped toward one of the mice. Boxer, not to be outdone, jumped on Boots. They ended up rolling around together in a multicolored ball of fur. Dylan moved fast, picking the kittens up before they got tired of each other.

He opened the cat box and put them inside. “Time for us to leave.”

Todd looked around the basement. “This isn’t a bad space. There’s plenty of room down here.”

Dylan was already at the top of the stairs. “I don’t care about its potential. I’m moving out at the end of the week.” He opened the door into the house and took a deep breath. “Are you coming upstairs or staying down here?”

Todd picked the catnip mice off the floor. “I’m coming. I heard someone from Angel Wings Café has been leaving food for you. Do you feel like sharing?”

“I can do better than that,” Dylan said. “Annie’s going to lease the commercial kitchen in the building I’ve bought. Apart from the rent, there were two conditions.”

Todd followed Dylan into the kitchen. He washed his hands under the faucet and looked around for a dish towel. “If your conditions have anything to do with a lack of female company, then I don’t want to know about them.”

“You will if you want some of the best meals I’ve ever tasted.” Dylan opened a drawer and threw a clean dish towel at Todd.

When Todd looked at him blankly, Dylan smiled. “Annie’s going to make us both dinner each night. She’ll freeze the meals at the beginning of the week and I’ll drop yours off to you.”

Todd left the dish towel on a hook beside the oven. “Why would she do that? She doesn’t know me.”

“Yeah, but she knows me. She’s a good cook. In return for the low rent I’m charging her, she’s making us meals.”

“You think I can’t manage on my own?”

Dylan knew better than to get into an argument with Todd. He was every bit as sensitive about being able to live a normal life as Dylan was. Since his family had been murdered, Todd’s life had turned upside down. Nothing was straightforward or without a price. He didn’t accept help easily. He didn’t accept anything easily, including the way his life had turned out.

Dylan put the coffee machine on. He glanced at the cat box and added a saucer of milk to the microwave. “Who else was I going to ask her to make meals for? Logan’s got love handles from all of Tess’ baking, William and Patsy may have their issues, but he’s never short of good food, and Jeremy doesn’t need any home baking. He’s got a steady stream of girlfriends to keep him busy. So that leaves you and me.”

“Are you trying to make me feel better or worse?”