Page 4 of Autumn at the Cat Cafe

She cringed at the sound of the lock sliding into place. This guy had to be lying. There was no other explanation.

Sir was growing heavy in her arms—he was a big cat, after all—and she set him down, not expecting him to head toward the Second Chapter front door again. “What’s your deal?” She pulled on the leash a few times, then picked him up again and walked into Pawsitive Vibes.

Via, with Dora and Birdie’s help, had turned the café into an autumn wonderland. Shiny paper leaves in autumnal colors were strung across the walls, and Dora had taken one of their Cats with Pumpkins social media posts and turned it into a canvas watercolor painting that would be auctioned off during Harvest Fest at the end of the month. Via had strung amber-colored lights around it, providing a halo effect. Several extra-large coffee mugs were filled with cinnamon sticks and dried orange slices and placed throughout the café where the cats couldn’t get to them. They provided a wonderful hint of spice that mingled perfectly with the coffee scent.

The café was divided into several sections—the front foyer where the coffee and hot water machines, register, and packaged snacks were on one side, and café merchandise and information about pet adoptions were on the opposite. Patrons could order their drinks and then enter the cat lounge, the largest space in the café. Behind the lounge were the storage areas, Via’s office, and restroom. It had taken some planning on Via’s part to makeeverything flow, but she was pleased with the setup, and the cats and customers were too.

Pasting on a smile, she made her way over to Dora behind the coffee counter. Birdie Gunnerson, her only other employee, was working one of two industrial coffee machines, a turquoise kerchief tied around her gray hair, Rosie the Riveter style. A peek through the large window into the lounge revealed several customers interacting with the cats and each other.

Dora glanced at her as she set a plastic-wrapped, cat-shaped sugar cookie into a basket filled with them on the counter. The cookies came from the bakery, along with a few other sweet treats. Via was one of Sally’s best customers. “What’s wrong?” Dora asked in a low voice.

“Nothing.”

“You’re ears are bright red. Practically purple.”

Nuts. Her ears always turned red when she was mad, and she was hopping angry right now. “It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

Dora’s left eyebrow arched. “It’s serious then.”

Her sister knew her too well. “Some guy is claiming to be Earl’s nephew.”

“What?”

Sir Meow was squirming in Via’s arms. She quickly unclipped the leash and set him down. He dashed off to the back of the café where the litter boxes were kept. Removing her teal and pink beanie, she filled Dora in on her discussion with Leo. “I don’t believe him,” she said, shoving the hat into the pocket of her jacket. “Earl would have said something about him to me, even if they were estranged.”

“Maybe.” Dora tapped on the edge of the counter. “Or maybe he’s telling the truth. Earl would be the kind of man with a secret or three.”

“I know, but he wouldn’t have kept something that important to himself. Family is everything.” She bent down to give Toffee, a tortoiseshell cat who always came to Via for her morning chin scratch, a little attention. She, Luna, and Sir were allowed up front since they never tried to escape outside. Despite Sir’s love of the outdoors, he was a total indoor kitty. “I’m going upstairs to call Bennett. He’ll straighten this out.”

“Take your time.” Birdie added a little whipped cream on top of a coffee in a mug that said “All I care about is my cat and maybe three people.” “We have everything handled.”

Luna, a sleek black feline, rubbed her cheek against the hem of Via’s bootcut jeans. “I’m taking her with me,” Via said, picking her up. “Sir Meow is on my naughty list right now.”

“Really?” Dora chuckled. “I thought he could do no wrong.”

“He was acting weird around that guy.” She cuddled the cat and walked toward the side door that joined the narrow stairwell leading to the apartments upstairs. Her café and Earl’s bookstore were the only two businesses in Pecan Corner with apartments above them. The rest either had storage or office spaces.

As she made her way up, she considered Dora’s idea that Earl was keeping Leo a secret, then dismissed it. Even if they were estranged, Earl would have mentioned him during their conversation about the future of Second Chapter. Why would he even consider Via taking over the business if he had a nephew waiting in the wings?

Then again, he hadn’t talked a whole lot about his past. She knew he was from Philadelphia, had moved to Pittsburgh in his late teens, and retired early from a steel manufacturing company before moving to Pecan Corner. Mostly he’d reminisce about how and where he’d amassed his vast book collection. That was why he’d opened Second Chapter, to share his love of books with otherbook lovers. Although the place was always a mess, he knew exactly where everything was, no matter how deeply buried in the shop.

He never married, never had any children. Had never mentioned siblings, or even his parents. She didn’t pry either, figuring there was nothing but time for them to get to know each other, although she had volunteered plenty of information about herself. He was a good listener, didn’t judge, and... she missed him.

She drew Luna close as she continued up the stairs. There was still so much she wanted to know. Now she never would.

Via opened her unlocked apartment door and entered her eclectically styled living room. Earl had never locked his door either. After he died and no one had showed up to claim his things, she’d considered packing them up, but she didn’t have the will to do so. Possibly a good thing, if Leo was really Earl’s nephew and the shop and apartment were now his. Bigif. She walked into the living room—

Crash!

Luna jumped from her arms and darted out of the apartment. Someone was here!

Frantic, Via searched the living room for a weapon. Past the teal papasan chair with the bright tangerine cushion, the glass-topped coffee table that had four gold-and-black cheetahs for legs, and behind her purple plaid couch was her thin, tall lamp with a chartreuse-and-yellow beaded fringe shade. It would have to do.

She yanked the cord out of the wall and grabbed the lamp, holding it like a sword close to her body. The plastic beads clicked together as she crept down the hall, ready to smash the intruder.

A tall figure dashed out of her room.

She wound up and swung at it.