“Wow.” Julie glanced around the store with new eyes. As a kid, Ivy had always loved pets, so she shouldn’t be surprised. The store looked to be thriving and had Ivy’s personal touches. Like the pet pictures all around the perimeter, which showed happy dogs, cats, birds, guinea pigs, and even a fish. Each image had a little name tag on the frame. Probably Ivy’s own pets or maybe those of customers. Either way, it gave Julie a homey feeling.
Ivy was a part of the community, as integral here as Gram had been back in the day. In a way, Julie felt a little envious. She approached the counter and stacked the cat food cans next to the carrier. “This is a really nice store.”
Ivy beamed. “Thank you. And what about you? What have you been doing?”
“Uh…” Julie did not want to admit that she was between jobs. “I’m a freelance writer. Nonfiction, mainly for magazines. But I’m here helping Gram put on one last Christmas Eve party up at the inn.”
If anything, Ivy’s grin turned even wider. “I remember the inn from back in the day. I was just getting the shop up and running when Ida retired. How is she?”
Sick.Julie didn’t want to say that either. She shrugged. “Same as ever, I guess. I can tell she misses the inn, though.”
“Well, it was her home for the past, what, seventy years?”
Gram had inherited the inn from her parents. “Longer than that, probably.”
Ivy shook her head. “You can’t blame her for not wanting to let it go.” She leaned against the counter, her expression turning impish. “So, am I invited to this party?”
“Of course! If I’d known you were still in town, I would have gotten in touch somehow.” It really had been too long. More images of the simple pleasures Julie and Ivy had enjoyed as kids surfaced. Looking for turtles in the creek, catching fireflies, and running through the forest together, along with a much more annoying boy named—
“Nolan Miller is back in town too.”
Julie couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Oh, goody.”
“He’s not a little boy anymore. All grown up andverycute.”
“Right.” Julie flicked a lock of her hair out of her eyes. “Then why aren’t you dating him?”
Ivy waggled her ring finger in the air between them to show off her rings. “I’m happily married. But I don’t see a ring onyourfinger…”
Julie turned away. “I need kitty litter.”
The one downside to there being no other customers in the store was that Ivy felt free to tag along behind her—just like Nolan had done, once upon a time.
In a singsong voice, Ivy said, “That isn’t a no.”
“Trust me. It doesn’t matter how cute he’s gotten. It’s a no.” She reached the cat litter and dragged out a container that looked like it would provide more than she would need. Her back still turned on her old friend, she dug around for a litter box.
Ivy handed her the scoop with a teasing smirk. “I’m telling you, he’s grown up. You can’t judge him for things he did while he was an annoying preteen.”
Oh yes, Julie could. But even if she didn’t, she wasn’t in Pinecone Falls to find some kind of relationship. She didn’t havetimeto find a relationship. And there was no way she was up for a fling, especially not with Nolan Miller. “I’m only here for the party. Then I’m going back to Boston.”
Ivy propped her hands on her hips. “Right.” That one word was laden with disbelief. “Then why did you get a cat if you’re not staying?”
Julie groaned. She pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes and nearly poked herself with the litter scoop. “I did notgeta cat. The cat came unbidden, like an ant infestation.”
“You don’t have to sound so thrilled about it. I thought you liked cats. Didn’t you use to have one as a kid?”
Julie sighed, memories of Whiskers producing an unwanted longing in her chest. “Idolike cats. I just don’t likethiscat. I found him in the inn, and he’s been trouble ever since. But apparently, the animal shelter is full up right now, so I have to keep him until Myrtle has an opening.” She started to heft the heavy container of litter, only to get a brilliant idea. Brimming with hope, she asked, “I don’t suppose you’d like a cat?”
Ivy shook her head. “Josh is allergic. My husband,” she clarified.
Julie’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “Well, it was worth a shot.”
Owning and working in a pet shop must have added some muscle to Ivy’s curvy physique, because she lifted the litter as if it weighed nothing, leaving Julie to take the rest. As they returned to the register, Julie recalled Myrtle’s advice and grabbed a toy mouse off one of the racks at random.
“I refuse to believe he’s trouble,” Ivy cooed as she reached the counter. She bent to peer into the carrier. “He looks like a sweetheart.”
Of course, the cat didn’t hiss ather.
