For a moment, John wishedhisname was Sergeant. The thought of being her naughty boy held more appeal than it should have. “He... he was in the stable. I thought…” He pointed to Colonel. “I thought it was him.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m so sorry if he was a pest. He’s the worst of all of them, though.”
“All of them?” John repeated. He really should be getting back to the stable, but stealing another moment with the delectable Ella Mae surely wouldn’t hurt.
“There are four of them. That we know of,” she replied, dumping Sergeant onto the counter to join his brother, Colonel. “Admiral and General are the others. As for if they’reours, well, do cats ever actually belong to anyone? I’ve always had the impressionwebelong tothem.”
He chuckled softly. “Is that why one is named General? Because you report to him?”
A musical laugh sounded from Ella Mae. When he grinned in response, a dimple appeared at the base of his cheek. “He is in charge,” she remarked. “They all are, truth be told,” she agreed.
“Ah,” he replied, grinning “And I suppose they all look the same?”
She tittered. “Almost exactly,” she agreed. “The older two were litter mates, and these two... well, they are probably General’s sons.”
The bell on the front door tinkled, and John gave a start. “Oh, pardon me. I… I need to be getting back to the stable,” he said, wincing at the thought of having to leave her.
“Of course. Thank you for returning Sergeant,” she said. “Naughty boy,” she said again, directing her comment to the cat.
John tipped his cap and took his leave, stepping around the two matrons who had just arrived.
Naughty boy.He struggled to keep a straight face as he made his way across the street.
He was unaware of the orange fur ball that escaped the shop along with him.
