Page 84 of Autumn at the Cat Cafe

She didn’t want to think about what would happen after Harvest Fest. She had to focus and savor every minute she had with Leo while he was still here. She held up her sad wreath.

“It’s not so bad.”

“And you’re being nice.”

“No, I’m serious. Just put the scarecrow here, the cluster of maple leaves here.” He took the wreath from her and did some rearranging. “The acorn spray here, and voilà. Fixed.”

“I thought you didn’t decorate.”

Frowning as he looked at his masterpiece, he said, “I don’t.”

With a smile, she moved closer to him, unable to resist leaning against his shoulder. “I think there’s a little designer inside of you waiting to burst out.”

“Um, no. There is not. I was just paying attention to what Anna was showing me.”

“Uh-huh.” She shifted her eyes up to his. “Thou doth protest.”

“Because thou art correct.” He looked down at her with a little smile.

“Aren’t you two the cutest!” Anna entered the room, clasping her hands together as her silk sunflower scarf fluttered around her neck.

They jumped apart. Leo said, “I was just—”

“He was just—” Via joined in.

“You were just enjoying yourselves.” Her excited expression turned somber. “I wish Earl were here to see this. I thought very highly of that man.” Her eyes grew misty. “I’d also hoped... well, never mind.” She waved them off and looked at Via’s wreath. “Good, Via, you fixed it. Your wreath looks lovely now.”

Leo smirked at Via. She rolled her eyes.

The next day, Via brought in an early lunch from the diner to Second Chapter. She noticed Leo had hung his wreath on the rusty nail stuck in the wall behind the counter where Earl would sometimes hang his baseball cap. Perfect spot. She was going to put hers in the reading nook. When they finished lunch, Leo said he’d promised Charlie another ride in the Turismo on his lunch break. She was surprised since he hadn’t seemed to pay much attention to his sports car since Charlie fixed it. “It won’t take long. Half hour, forty-five minutes tops.”

“Go ahead.” She was already planning what she was going to work on next—the dreaded periodical section. Unless a magazine was unreadable, she insisted Earl would want them to keep it, and there were so, so many to go through. “I’ll be here when you get back.”

“You’re next,” he said, unlocking and opening the front door to head to Dipstick Depot. Then he paused. “If you want to ride in it.”

“I would like that.” She surprised herself with her answer, considering she never understood the big deal about cars. Then again, being around Leo Brewster had brought a lot of surprises to her life. “How about after the Harvest Fest?”

“Uh, sure.” Quickly he hurried out the door.

Via would have pondered his reticence if she didn’t have so many things to do. She spent the next twenty minutes picking through some really tattered magazines that were stained with things she probably didn’t want to know about.

“Yoo-hoo!” A male voice came from the front of the store. “Anybody home?”

Oops, she’d forgotten to lock the door after Leo left. Still, the Closed sign was displayed in the window. Guess whoever this was either didn’t see it or disregarded it. She made her way to the front of the store. A tall, older man with an obvious black toupee and graying sideburns stood by the counter, his hands on his hips, surveying the shop with intense interest.

“Hmm, thought there used to be a cat in here.”

Sir and Squeaks were spending the day at Pawsitive Vibes. Good thing, because Via was too busy to run after Squeaks, and Sir wouldn’t leave Leo alone. They were like children sometimes. “I’m sorry, sir, we’re closed.”

“Oh, I know.” He flashed her a big grin. “Heard Earl kicked the bucket.” Then as if he remembered he should have some respect for the dead, he added, “Too bad.”

This guy was beyond irritating and she’d only spent two minutes in his presence. “As I was saying, we’re closed—”

“Perry Percival.” He extended his hand. “Earl might have mentioned me.”

Chapter 22

Via felt the color drain from her face.