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Everly set down her sandwich and leaned across the table, silver cat silhouette earrings swinging from each earlobe. “That brute has been trying to weasel his way into my condo for years. All he wants to do is catch me with kittens, then kick me to the curb.”
Alanna turned to Layla. “Drama translation please?”
“Everly’s lease agreement stipulates that she’s only allowed to have two small pets in the condo,” Layla explained. “But since she fosters kittens…”
“You’re living on the wrong side of the law!” Tess finished with a fake gasp of horror. “How depraved!”
“Kittens!” Everly exploded. “That bastard wants to kick me out over kittens. What kind of monster doesn’t love adorable, squishy, little meatball kittens?”
“So, they’ve been in a bit of a standoff for a while,” Layla continued.
“He’s hellbent on proving that I’m breaking the rules—” Everly began.
“—which you are,” Alanna noted.
“—but I’ve been able to endlessly outwit him,” Everly continued, “using my superior intellect, loads of guile, and Gertrude.”
“Gertrude?” Willow asked as she nibbled her sandwich.
Everly smiled proudly. “Gertrude is 90 years young, blinder than a bat, and my absolute hero. She hides my kittens in her place every time Lumber Jackass tries to spring a surprise inspection on me. Good thing his truck is a billion years old and I can hear it coming a mile away.”
Alanna reached over and gave Everly a fist bump of respect. “I’m seriously girl-crushing on you right now.”
Everly grinned at her. “In the battle of Man vs. Kittens, man doesn’t have a chance in hell.”
As the subs and watermelon disappeared, Everly regaled the group with stories of her ongoing battles with the “lumber jackass.” The saga was long, complicated, and filled with enough deception and intrigue to make Tom Clancy drool.
“Dede, you are a saint,” Everly declared as she put down her empty cup of iced tea.
“Your home is really beautiful,” Willow agreed. The young woman had been characteristically quiet throughout the lunch, nibbling through half a sub and smiling softly at Everly’s stories.
“Thank you.” Dede’s smile was full of pride of ownership. She really did love this old house, small and cluttered as it was. Alanna glanced around and saw the place with new eyes. The rose bushes lining the fence represented hundreds of hours of dedicated work. The soft song of the wind chimes, the mismatched patio furniture, and the brightly colored bird feeders and hummingbird feeders made this home one of a kind.
“Ladies, I’m so sorry, but I’ve got to head to Pet Palace to start my shift,” Everly said, glancing unhappily at her phone.
“I need to get back to my work, too,” Willow admitted.
“Yes, of course,” Layla jumped in. “We’ve walked the whole neighborhood. There isn’t a pole or sign without a flyer on it, so if anyone sees Petunia, they’ll give us a call. You’ve done all you can. Please don’t feel any pressure to stick around.”
Alanna felt a lump rising in her throat. Pushing back her chair, she rose. “I just, uh, wanted to thank you all for coming out and searching for Petunia. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Of course we did,” Everly said, waving her off.
“No. You didn’t,” Alanna insisted. “It means a lot to me. Really. I, uh…”Damn, why was this so hard?She licked her lips. “Look, I have employees. I have mentees. I have business partners. But I don’t have a lot of friends. So, thank you.” Her cheeks felt like they were on fire.
Tess stood up, pushing her chair back loudly. “One crazy cat lady for all…”
The rest of the women raised their glasses of lemonade and iced tea, “and all crazy cat ladies for one!”
Alanna raised her glass and sniffled. Spontaneous allergies, of course.
Ch. 28 Ch. Sully
“MEEEEEEEOW!”
Sully groaned and shifted onto his stomach, kicking at the sheets tangled around his legs.
“EEEEOOOOOW!”
