Another thought popped into my mind and scared the living daylights out of me.What if the kittens wanted to help with the P.I. business? Dealing with one cat already took a great deal of both patience and delicacy, but six?


No, thank you. I’d sooner work as an underappreciated paralegal for the rest of my days.


“We’re not keeping them,” I sputtered a couple minutes later, my mind more than made up. “But we will make sure each of them finds the perfect home.”


Nan crossed her arms over her chest and pouted while Charles nodded his agreement.“We’ll find them great homes,” he said, lacing his fingers through mine.


I looked to Paisley who lay dejectedly on my lap.“I guess all puppies have to grow up some day. I just didn’t know it would come this soon for mine.”


I had to bite my tongue to keep from reminding her that she’d only known her “puppies” for less than an hour.


The clock was ticking fast. Now I needed to protect both the kittens and their dog mom. Nothing else mattered until we could find a way to give everyone a happy ending.


Chapter Twelve


Once we’d made it home again, Paisley tended to the kittens in the living room while Nan prepared lunch for the humans.


Charles and I ventured up to my work library to work on posting an ad for the kittens online and to design a flyer for the vet’s office. Despite Pringle’s earnest advice, we were offering them free to a good home—provided the would-be owner could provide a great veterinarian reference.


“I’m sorry our big day together got ruined,” I told Charles while navigating the same free graphics program I’d used to create a simplistic logo for the Pet Whisperer P.I. website.


Charles moved behind me and rubbed my shoulders while I worked and we chatted.“What are you talking about? This is great. A real memory in the making.”


“I guess it’s better than watching TV,” I conceded, although I wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to cuddle and relax with my dashing other half. In truth, we never took it easy, such was the nature of our crazy lives.


A rapping at the big bay window broke my concentration. Our not-so-friendly neighborhood raccoon stood on the ledge, waiting to be let in. This happened somewhat frequently these days and was why I no longer kept a screen in the window.


“What’s up?” I asked after cranking it open.


“What’s… up?” Pringle asked, gasping for breath between the two words. “That all… you got? After I… tracked those… annoying little… furballs for… you?”


Oh, yes!In all the fuss, I’d almost forgotten that I’d sent him on a fact-finding/ raccoon-distracting mission. “Welcome back. What have you got for me?”


He hopped down and pressed a hand against the wall for support.“First refreshments… Then I’ll spill.”


“Be right back,” I told Charles.


“What?” he asked, taken aback. “Don’t leave me alone with that thing!”


“With thisthing?” Pringle raged.“With this thing? I’ll have you know that I’m the most pedigreed—” Suddenly his words gave way and he moved one furry hand to clutch his chest. “I mean… Please… Need food.”


“Nice try. I don’t like lying,” I scolded, returning to my desk chair and spinning in it to face him. “I’ll feed you, but you’ll talk first.”


Knowing the act was up, Pringle straightened his posture and cracked his neck to either side.“Fine.”


I waited for him to comb at his fur with his fingers as he gathered his bearings.


Finally he began.“I ran for miles but got nowhere with the case.”


“Did you even try?” I asked with indignation. He’d been gone for so long, I’d let myself hope he’d found something. No dice.


“You insult me,” he hissed and bared his teeth. “Of course I tried. I asked every animal I came across, but nobody knew nothing about no orphaned kittens.”


“When this is all over and done, we need to work on your grammar,” I muttered without thinking.


Pringle dropped to all fours and raised his back, making his body appear much larger than its usual size.“Really? I spend all morning doing your dirty work, and this is the thanks I get? I’m leaving.”


“Wait. I’m sorry. Let me get you some food first. Fancy Feast?” Even though Octo-Cat had switched to a new brand of cat food called Delectable Delights to support his girlfriend’s modeling career, I still had to buy Fancy Feast to satisfy the raccoon’s frequent cravings.


“Yes, and some steak, please,” he added while licking his chops.


“How much issome steak?”


“How much you got?”


“I’ll get it,” Charles offered. As he passed me, he leaned close and whispered, “That way you can’t be held accountable if I get it wrong.”


“I heard that,” Pringle complained to me once Charles had left the room. “And now you owe me double. Quality or quantity, it’s your choice, but I wouldn’t turn my nose up at some prime rib served medium rare. You never buy me the good cuts of steak.”


I never bought the good cuts for myself, either. And weren’t raccoons supposed to feed themselves?


Nope. I wasn’t falling for his sob story.


“Sorry. I don’t think so. Not after you’ve invaded my privacy left and right.”


“I don’t get humans’ obsession withprivacy.” He made air quotes around this last word.“It’s not like you give any to us.”


I refused to let him get away with that one.“What are you talking about? I never bother you. It’s always the other way around.”


“So now I’m a bother?”


“That’s not what I meant. It’s just—”


“Just what?” He widened his eyes in challenge while awaiting my response.


Reasoning with him never got me very far, and I was too busy with everything else to bother trying now.“Forget it,” I said with a deep sigh.


“Yeah, like I said, you owe me, but don’t worry. I already know exactly what I want, and it won’t cost you much at all.”


Oh, joy.Maybe if I didn’t respond, he would keep quiet until Charles returned with the raccoon’s ill-gotten gains.


“I love my Carla, but I think I’m ready to handle two of her kind,” he explained while he mimed taking aim at me with the gun. Thank goodness I knew Carla was what he had named his Nerf weapon, otherwise I’d be seriously offended for all womankind—human, raccoon, or otherwise.


“I’m not getting you another Nerf gun,” I said firmly. If I showed any signs of weakness, he’d pounce.


“It’s okay if it’s not name brand. I ain’t picky.”


“Great.”


“You can deliver it to my left treehouse by sundown.” And didn’t that say it all? The fact he had to specifywhich treehouse he wanted to receive the hypothetical delivery.


“I’m not doing anything until we figure out the deal with these kittens,” I said, more than fed up with his demands. “And if you’ll recall, you didn’t actually even help.”


“Hey, that’s not my fault! I tried!” he squeaked. Finally he’d begun to lose his cool, which meant he was also losing his leverage.


“Okay, who’s ready for some lunch?” Charles sang as he rejoined us. He’d brought up two plates with grilled gruyere and tomato sandwiches and a grocery bag stuffed full of assorted junk food.


“Nan wanted us to eat up here so she could have some alone time with the kittens,” he said in response to my unspoken question.


“And this, my man, is for you.” He handed the shopping bag to Pringle, who eagerly accepted it.


“Door, please,” he told me without so much as a backward glance my way.


I had no desire to keep him around, so I opened the door and watched him clamber down the stairs. The pet door was still closed, so I had to follow him down to assist.


“I’m starved,” I said upon returning.


Charles settled into the window seat and waited for me to join him.


I accepted the plate he handed to me and took a giant bite of my sandwich after mumbling a quick thanks—so warm, so gooey. I shrugged and took another bite.


We scarfed down our sandwiches in much the same way the kittens had inhaled their meal earlier.


“Any idea why Nan would need some alone time with the kittens?” Charles wiped at his mouth with a napkin. “You don’t think she’s going to pull something to try to make you keep them? Do you?”


I jumped to my feet and cried,“Well, I didn’t before! C’mon, we’ve got to hurry!”


I tugged Charles’s hand, pulling him into the hall and down the stairs. If we were fast, we could still stop her from whatever it was she planned to pull.


Oh, that nan of mine!


Chapter Thirteen


Sure enough, the only thing we found downstairs was a smug Octo-Cat sitting on the coffee table and quite obviously waiting for us.


“Missing something?” he asked with a cruel chuckle as a Cheshire grin swept across his face.


Well, that confirmed it. Nan had hit the road and taken the kittens along with her.“How long has she been gone?” I asked the still gloating cat.


“She left the very minute UpChuck headed upstairs with the food.” He yawned and stretched before settling back into a seated position. “By the way, nobody offered to feed me.”


Oh, boy. I could already tell this would take a while. Nan could make it all the way to Florida in the time it took me to convince my cat to help.


“You never have lunch,” I reminded him gently, all the while praying my instincts about this encounter were dead wrong.


“You only eat in the morning and night,” I added pathetically.


“It’s still nice to be asked. Especially since I know you promised the raccoon steak.”


“I definitely never promised anything.”


“Well, it seems we’ve reached an impasse then.” He turned around so that his back was to me. I could just imagine him laughing at my gullibility, but I didn’t have any time to spare if I wanted to protect Paisley’s feelings and discover where Nan had taken the kittens—and I definitely wanted to do both of those things ASAP.


“Do you know where she went?” I asked in a shaky whisper.


He flicked his tail twice and then slowly shifted back my way.“Maybe,” came his curt reply.


Maybe wasn’t yes, but it also wasn’t no. I’d have to play his little game, whether I liked it or not. I couldn’t hold back my sigh as I asked, “All right, what’s it going to take? A can of food?”


“Pffffshaw.It’ll take a lot more than that.” Octo-Cat’s eyes glowed as he licked at his chops. “Like steak, for starters.”


“Do you actually like steak? You’ve never even tried it.” Although I’d only just eaten, now my stomach rumbled, too.


“No, I haven’t. And honestly that’s the whole problem. You just don’t consider me and my needs as much as you should.”


I held my breath to keep from screaming. My whole life revolved around my crabby tabby and his wants and needs.


He sniffed and turned his nose up at me.“I will require at least nine steaks, one for each of the lives I was born with.”


I sighed and nodded along with his lengthy list of demands. The sooner we got this over with, the sooner he might actually help me.


“I will also need a lobster roll from Little Dog Diner.”


He paused to take a breath, and I jumped in with another objection.“But Little Dog Diner is all the way over in Misty Harbor.”


“I know where it is. I also know they make the best lobster rolls in all of the bay, so you’re going.”


I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists.“Fine. Anything else?”


“Yes. I saved the best for last.” His smile laced a knot of dread into my heart. Heaven help me.


“You see,” he continued, unaware of how anxious I’d become during our very one-sided conversation. “As much as I enjoy spending time with Pringleon occasion, he’s been rather insufferable lately.”


“Let me guess. Carla.” This, we actually agreed on. Maybe we could join forces to teach that raccoon a lesson.


Octo-Cat made a clicking noise and waved a paw my way.“Bingo.”


“So what? You want a Nerf gun, too?” I asked with a chuckle.


“Oh, Angela. Haven’t you noticed that I don’t have any opposable thumbs? Really, I thought you were more observant than that. I need a specialized weapon that doesn’t discriminate against those of us without thumbs.”


I sighed. Maybe we weren’t on the same side, after all. “Such as?” I asked politely.


My cat’s eyes locked on mine, trapping me within his gaze. “I was thinking a battle axe.”


“Are you kidding me?” I sputtered in disbelief. “There’s no way I’m getting you a battle axe. You’d chop my foot off the first time I forgot to feed you.”


“Maybe that’s a sign you shouldn’t forget to feed me.”


He let out a sinister laugh as phantom pain smarted in my ankle. There would definitely be no battle axe.


“I do my best. You know that. I’m not getting you a battle axe, though. So try again.”


He cleared his throat and tried again.“A sword.”


I shook my head.


“Mace.”


“Like pepper spray?” I asked. “I guess that’s not so bad. I can—”


“No, Angela. Not like pepper spray. Like a big spiky ball on the end of a chain.”


“Remind me again why you need all this heavy-duty medieval weaponry?” I managed to choke out. This wasn’t the first time I’d been afraid of my cat, but it was the worst. Talk about an unstable genius.


“To defend myself,” he answered as if this all made perfect sense to him.


“Against foam darts?”


Octo-Cat smiled and nodded.“Precisely.”


“I could get you a foam sword,” I offered with a sad shrug. “Or maybe a toy lightsaber. That would be fun. Um, wouldn’t it?”


He rose to his feet and paced the length of the coffee table.“Angela, really! Real problems require real solutions, not a cheap childproof standin.”


Rather than pointing out that Pringle’s weapon was also a toy, I remained quiet. It seemed every time I spoke, the rabbit hole I’d fallen down grew deeper and deeper.


The wheels in Octo-Cat’s brain, however, continued to crank. He started and stopped several times before finally saying something that made sense. “You seem to be biased against medieval weapons. How about we turn to the martial arts instead?”


Yes, martial arts. He’d only have as much power as he held within his own paws. That wasn’t so scary. It could actually work.


I nodded vigorously to show him how much I liked that idea.“I’m sure we could sneak you into a dojo so you can learn some self-defense moves.”


“That’s not what I meant, and I’m guessing you know that. I don’t want to dirty my paws on that feral beast. I need a weapon to do it for me, so how about nunchucks?”


“Nunchucks?” I squeaked.


“Yes, I can hold one end in my mouth and swing the other to hit Pringle with,” he explained matter-of-factly.


“Do you promise not to use them on me?”


He glanced toward Charles.


“Or Charles!” I added.


My cat shook his head as if his answer pained him.“Sadly, I can’t promise that, but I can promise I’ll cancel my plans to ransack your bedroom if you agree.”


Wonderful, another bribe.


“Okay, fine. I’ll get you nunchucks if it’s so important to you. Now, tell me, what do you know about Nan’s whereabouts?”


Octo-Cat gave me a Cheshire grin and hopped down from the coffee table.“I don’t know where she went, but I do know how you can find her. If you’ll just follow me please.”


I waved for Charles to come with us, too.


“Why were you and your cat just discussing all those weapons?” he wanted to know.


“Trust me, it’s not that unusual for us.” This was sad because it was true.


“Talking animals are weird.” Charles laughed, but I couldn’t bring myself to—the image of my crazy cat swinging a battle axe was still too fresh in my mind.


Chapter Fourteen


Octo-Cat led us to the backyard where Pringle sat holed up in one of his treehouses watchingSurvivor with the volume turned up to its max.


“Pringle. I brought you a client!” Octo-Cat shouted from the base of the tree.


“We are not clients,” I hissed at the tabby. “I’m more like his landlord.”


A few moments later, the TV clicked off and Pringle stuck his masked face out the window.“Have they brought payment?” he asked, ignoring me and Charles entirely.


“No, but they’re good for it.” Octo-Cat nudged me forward with his paw.


“Excellent,” the raccoon chittered and climbed down with surprising speed to join us on the lawn. He put on a phony grin and reached forward to offer his hand. “Pringle Whisperer, P.I., here. How can I help you today?”


I declined to shake it and instead nodded toward Octo-Cat.“I already paid him to help. I’m not paying you, too.”


“That was my finder’s fee,” the cat corrected. “Pringle Whisperer, P.I., requires his payments to be arranged separately.”


I threw my hands up in the air. How did we ever get anything done around here?“Can we stop wasting time, already? And can’t either of you ever do anything just to be nice for a change?”


Octo-Cat and Pringle laughed for a solid five minutes at that one.


“What’s going on?” Charles asked me, leaning close so I could hear him over the two guffawing animals.


“He wants another bribe, or he won’t help us.”


“Oh, no problem. I’ll take care of it.” Charles took out his wallet and began thumbing through a stack of folded dollar bills. “How much does he need?”


I knew my boyfriend made good money as the senior partner for the region’s busiest law firm, but it surprised me when he didn’t even hesitate to offer a giant wad of cash to our dear raccoon racketeer.


Pringle, however, refused to accept his generous payment.“Sorry, bro. Human money’s no good here.”


“But you can use it to buy things,” I pointed out.


He made a face.“That’s too hard. I’d rather not have to worry about the math. Besides, I’ve never once found a human shop owner willing to sell me what I needed. That’s speciesism, I tell you, and I’m not okay with it.”


“Okay, what do you want then?” And why had my entire day turned into agreeing to give everyone whatever they asked for? With the likes of Pringle and Octo-Cat around, this was a very dangerous proposition, indeed.


“Besides the steak you’ve already promised me and the new friend for Carla, I’ll need—”


“I’m getting nine steaks,” Octo-Cat stopped grooming his coat to brag.


“Cool, cool. Make it nine for me, too,” Pringle confirmed.


“And a lobster roll,” my cat betrayed me once more.


“Sure. I’ll also take that.” The raccoon rubbed his hands together in anticipation of all the tasty things coming his way.


“Stop helping!” I shouted at my cat.


Pringle chittered blissfully.“This is awesome. We should work together more often, my fine feline friend.” He stuck out his hand, and Octo-Cat gave him a high paw.


It was official. My life was over. Dealing with the two of them separately was already hard enough. Them joining forces fell into nightmare territory.


“I’ll also require a new plasma TV,” Pringle added as if it were one last small negotiation and not a gigantic expense.


“I’m out of here!” I stomped away, resigning myself to never finding Nan, Paisley, or the kittens again. There was negotiation and then there was extortion. I would have no part of that.


Pringle scurried in front of me and threw his hands up.“No, wait! It doesn’t have to be plasma, but I do need a television. I really do.”


“You already have one.” I crossed my arms and gave him the stink eye. I may have been a softie, but I was no fool. I’d already bought him his own TV not too long ago.


“What’s he asking for?” Charles wanted to know.


“A TV,” I spat, still reeling from the audacious request.


“Doesn’t he already have one?”


See, even Charles knew.


The raccoon put his hands together and begged.“Please. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t desperately need it.” He was an incredible actor, but he couldn’t summon tears on demand.


I wasn’t buying it. “Why the desperation?”


He hung his head and sniffed.“Because my TV-less treehouse is jealous of my TV-full treehouse.”


I rolled my eyes at that.“Sorry, no. Treehouses don’t have feelings.”


“Fine, fine, fine, fine, fine! I’d like to use my houses more equally but don’t want to spend time away from my show while I do it.”


“That means youdon’t need two treehouses, not that youdo need two TVs,” I explained just as a headache swarmed by brain.


Charles placed a gentle hand on my shoulder.“I know you’re worried about the kittens. Let’s just get to them, okay? I’ll pick up a TV for him later this week.”


Pringle raised his index finger in objection.“Actually, I need it—”


“Later this week,” I interrupted with the best scowl I could muster. “Take it or leave it.”


The raccoon’s whole demeanor softened. “You drive a tough bargain, Angie Russo, but sold! Now how can I help?”


“I need to know where Nan went with Paisley and the kittens.”


“I don’t know where they went, but I can find out.”


“How long will that take?”


“I’ll do it right now. Wait there.” He climbed back into his treehouse and returned with iPad in hand. That was another excessive luxury we’d given him. True, it was Octo-Cat’s old iPad, but why did either of them need their own personal tablet?


Sticking his tongue out while he worked, Pringle tapped the iPad several times, cycling through a number of apps until he found the one he wanted. He turned it toward me, revealing a flashing yellow dot moving along a map.“There. She’s on the highway. Good?”


It was good, but it was also suspicious.“How did you do that?”


“I’ve got high-tech trackers on all of you. If one of you goes somewhere, I can trace your phones to see where it is.” He puffed with obvious pride. “I actually have you to thank for giving me the idea and for letting me use your credit card to purchase the licensing I needed.”


Once again, my privacy had been unforgivably violated by this rascally raccoon. I didn’t know he’d used my credit card for this. Had he used it for other things, too? I clearly needed to keep a better eye on my expenses. I also needed to report my card stolen and to invest in a small safe. I could keep my wallet and electronics locked inside every night to curtail Pringle’s all too pervasive snooping.


Ugh. This was seriously getting out of hand.


Chapter Fifteen


We took a few minutes to set up a family plan on our devices. Once we had it in place, I was able to use Pringle’s sneaky app to track Nan’s location while Charles and I drove after her in pursuit.


“Stay here and call me on FaceTime if she comes back before we do,” I instructed Octo-Cat, who agreed without too much pressure. Hmm. Maybe he felt guilty about driving up Pringle’s payment by sharing what I’d agreed to give him—or maybe he just wanted to avoid the car trip.


Charles placed my phone into the clip on his dashboard and studied the map for a moment before starting up his engine.“She’s got close to a half-hour lead on us, and she’s still driving. “Wherever she went, it’s pretty far.”


I leaned closer to the dash to study the map.“She’s almost made it to Pineville. That’s all the way at the other end of the bay. Maybe she really is running away in a desperate ploy to keep the kittens.”


We turned onto the main road and began the trek toward Pineville.


Charles took a pack of gum from the cupholder and offered me a piece before taking one for himself.“Why would she run away? I mean she has to know she’d eventually need to come back. Right?”


“To bribe me, maybe?” I sat back in my seat and watched the trees pass by my window.


My mean old boyfriend laughed at me.“Man, you’re just letting everyone manipulate you today.”


“Don’t get used to it, and don’t try anything,” I warned in a growl.


He laughed again and turned on the car’s radio. An upbeat pop song danced forth from the speakers, and we sang along in a horrible, notalent duet. It gave us a nice break from all the kitten, cat, raccoon drama back home.


“Look!” I cried, just as we’d finished our third sing-along. “She’s stopping!” I unclipped the phone and zoomed in on the map. “A Donut A Day?” I read the address label aloud. “Why would she drive so far just for some donuts?”


“Maybe A Donut A Day is to donuts as the Little Dog Diner is to lobster rolls. Worth the long drive.”


My stomach growled at the thought of fresh cinnamon donuts straight from the oven. But no, this still didn’t make sense even if it seemed delicious.


I returned the app to navigation mode and clipped it back into the holder.“She prefers to bake her own desserts, though, and she’s never once mentioned this place to me.”


“I’m sure it was just an oversight. Your nan always has a million things going on. It can be hard to keep track.”


“Are you saying she told me and I forgot?” I grumped. “Oh, look! She’s moving again!”


Nan’s dot carried on for a few miles, then stopped again about five minutes later. I zoomed in but couldn’t see any nearby businesses. It seemed Nan had chosen a residential area as her destination.


This time she stayed put until Charles and I were able to catch up.


Charles parked beside the curb behind Nan’s gleaming red Audi. “I feel kind of out of place here,” he mumbled as we both surveyed the neighborhood. Everything was well-kept but tiny—a far cry from my palatial manor home back in Glendale.


We emerged from his luxury sedan while a rusted-up beater rumbled down the road ahead of us.


“Who does Nan know here?” he asked as we watched the other car disappear around the block.


“I have no idea.”


“Well, let’s go find out.”


We held hands as we walked up to the nearest house and pressed the doorbell. An exuberant cacophony of barks greeted us almost instantly—one clearly belonged to our Paisley, but the other was that of a much larger dog. Could this be the same Great Dane she’d bested in wrestling earlier that day?


It was Nan who opened the door. If she was surprised to see us there, she didn’t show it.


“You might as well c’mon in,” she said while a massive furry dog strained to push past her.


“Jasper, get back!” another voice called from inside the house, a much younger voice.


A woman about my age appeared and put the dog in a sit-stay.“Sorry,” she said with an apologetic grin. “We’re still working on Jasper’s doorbell manners. Anyway… You must be Angie.”


Who was this girl? And how did she know me?


“Mommy!” Paisley ran over the moment I stepped through the door and danced on her hindlegs. “Pick me up! Pick me up!”


I did as instructed, still confused out of my mind.


“Sorry. My name’s Sunny. I should have started with that,” the young woman said, letting go of her dog then wiping her hand off on her pantleg before offering it to me in greeting.


I let go of Charles’s hand to accept it.


“Your grandma is friends with my neighbor who’s kind of like a grandma to me and—”


“Just call me Nan, dear,” Nan interjected while fussing with her hair in the hallway mirror. “Everyone else does.”


“This is Charles,” I said, reclaiming Charles’s hand, so thankful we were in this together. “And you’re right, I am Angie. Angie Russo. Um, are the kittens here by any chance?”


“Oh, yes! I was just picking out which one I wanted. It’s so hard. They’re all adorable!” she gushed.


I glanced toward Nan for an explanation.


She just shrugged.“I called my old friend Tilly to see if she knew anyone in need of a kitten, and she put me on to Sunny here.”


As the girl nodded, a strand of dark hair shook loose from her messy braid.“Jasper needs a friend, but I’m afraid our place isn’t quite big enough for a second dog.”


“So you’d like to adopt a kitten?” I asked. How could such a tiny creature be a match for the massive, slobbery guy standing before me?


Sunny’s bright blue eyes flashed with worry. “That’s okay. Isn’t it?”


“Of course, it’s okay! I just wish Nan would have told me before disappearing on us.”


“Sorry about that. I was really excited, which is why she offered to come over straight away.”


“I didn’t even wait for Tilly,” Nan supplied with a wink. “Although I’m still hoping she’ll adopt one of our babies, too.”


Sunny laughed.“I’ll be sure to pass that on. Hey, now that you guys are here, could you help me decide on a kitten?”


“We’d be honored,” Charles answered.


“Do I smell donuts?” I asked Nan before joining Charles, Sunny, and the kittens in the living room. My rumbling stomach was more than ready for a treat.


Chapter Sixteen


We spent the better part of the next hour at Sunny’s. She ultimately chose the only gray kitten of the bunch and then immediately dubbed the little missPrincess Muffin.


While we were on the way out, Paisley confided in me,“I didn’t want to say goodbye to any of my cat puppies.”


I waited until Sunny had shut the door behind us to respond.“I know, sweetie. I am so sorry.”


Much to my surprise, Paisley wagged her tail so hard her whole body shook.“That’s okay, Mommy. I didn’t want to say goodbye, but it made me feel good that Sunny and Jasper are so happy now. Do you think Princess Muffin will like living with them?”


I smiled and reached down to pat Paisley on the back.“I know she will.”


“That’s all any good Mommy can do. Prepare her cat puppies for the world and give them the best opportunities they can.” The little dog’s capacity to love never ceased to amaze me.


“You’re a great mother, Paisley,” I told her.


“You are, too, Mommy.”


A wall of emotion crashed into me, and I couldn’t help but tear up after receiving those tender words from Paisley. Luckily, I always kept a tissue stashed in my pocket during cold and flu season. I drew it out now and used it to wipe at my eyes.


“What’s wrong?” Charles asked, concerned etched around the edges of his mouth.


“Nothing,” I lied. How could I tell him that maybe I was readier for our future than I thought? Yes. Maybe Icould be a wife and mother someday, because I already helped to raise one wonderful little doggie and one mostly okay cat.


“All right!” Nan waved to us from the driver’s side of her little red sports coupe. “See you crazy kids back at home.”


“Wait!” I trudged across the slushy road after my grandmother. “Why didn’t you tell us where you were going before you left? And why didn’t you answer your phone when we tried calling you?”


“Oh, sorry about that. I silenced it after the bootcamp instructor yelled at another gal for receiving a text alert. Seems I forgot to turn it back on after.”


“But you called Sunny,” I argued.


“No, I calledTilly, then she put me on to Sunny. And I used our landline, dear. Sometimes the simplest option is best.” She rummaged around in her giant handbag until she found her phone and waved it in front me. “See. It’s right here.”


Unsurprisingly, her phone had accumulated so many unread notifications the list of them fell off the screen.


“Give me that.” I grabbed the poor, neglected device from her hands and entered her highly secure passcode,1-2-3-4.


“It looks like you have several texts and missed calls from… um,Diamond Guy?”That was definitely a new one.


Nan blushed and took the phone back.“That’s private.”


“Who’s Diamond Guy?” I teased, unable to suppress the giant smile that spread across my face.


She fluffed her hair, but it did little to distract from the deep blush that had taken over both cheeks.“It’s just a new nickname we’re trying out. After all, he does sell diamonds for a living.”


“Oh my gosh. Is this how you and Mr. Gable flirt?” I broke apart laughing. Nan was usually so brazen with her friendships but acted completely different in her recent flirtations with the local jewelry shop owner.


“Hush up, you,” she clucked. “You and Charles were no better in the start.”


My smile had become stuck on my face.“Aren’t you going to see what he wants?”


She jammed her phone back in her purse while shaking her head.“You know I’m a very private person.”


I laughed right in her face.“Really? Since when?”


“Fine. I’ll call him back now. Happy?” She grabbed her phone again and pressed the CALL button.


“Why not just check your messages?” I suggested as the line continued to ring.


“I don’t have my voicemail set up. Don’t need it, because I have an answering machine—”


“On the land line,” I finished for her. “What about the texts?”


She ended the attempted call. Apparently Mr. Gable didn’t have his voicemail set up, either. Old people are so funny sometimes.


Nan showed me her phone again. She did, indeed, have six new texts from Diamond Guy, but every single one said the same thing:Hello, Dorothy. Please call me when you get the chance.


Jeez.Diamond Guy needed some serious advice on flirting for the modern age. For starters, didn’t he know that my grandmother preferred everyone call her Nan rather than her given name of Dorothy?


“There. That’s done. Now can we please go home?” Nan turned her key over in the ignition to punctuate her request.


“I think Charles and I will just stop by Diamond Guy’s on the way home.” I snickered. “You’re welcome to come with us.”


“Goodbye, dear.” Nan slammed the car door and sped off.


I returned to Charles with that same huge smile on my face.


“What’s got you so smiley?” he asked, before giving me a quick peck on the cheek.


“Nan and her boyfriend. They’re just so adorable.”


“I didn’t realize she was seeing anyone.”


“She’s not exactly, but remember all the flirting happening between her and Mr. Gable over New Year’s Eve?”


He chuckled at the memory.“Do I ever.”


“Good, because we need to stop by his store and see him, and I might need your help playing Cupid.”


“Aren’t we supposed to be focusing on the kittens today?”


I shrugged.“We’ve run out of clues as to where they and the blood came from, the vet declared them healthy, and both Nan and Paisley have agreed to find new homes for them. What more can we do at this point?”


He nodded.“But are you sure it’s right to push them? Shouldn’t we let those two get together in their own time?”


I scoffed at this.“Don’t you remember how she was to me before we got together?”


“Oh, right.” He winced, likely recalling how Nan had forced an awkward confrontation between him and my other potential suitor.


“With that in mind, then yes. We should definitely meddle,” he agreed. “Turnabout is fair play and all that. Um, could you give me the address to his shop? I’ve never headed that way from so far out and I’d hate to waste time taking the scenic route.”


“It’s downtown,” I reminded him. I knew he was still relatively new to town, but surely he couldn’t have forgotten that.


“I know, but the GPS likes it better when I give her an exact address.”


I raised an eyebrow in question.“Her?”


“Yeah. Her name is Carla,” he said as if naming his GPS was the most normal thing in the world.


“Hey, that’s the same name as…” As my raccoon’s Nerf gun. Awkward. “Never mind.”


“What?”


“Seriously never mind. Anyway, I have the address for you. Are you ready?”


“Shoot.”


“It’s 1385 Third Street. Oh my gosh!” I shouted, practically dropping my phone in my lap from the shock.


Charles glanced about in panic.“What? What?”


“Look at this,” I said thrusting my phone in his face. I’d pulled up the picture of the partially obscured address label and sure enough… we had a match.


Charles got it right away.“That looks an awful lot like the address you just gave me.”


My smile was back and wider than ever.“It does. Doesn’t it?”


“Let’s go.”


Chapter Seventeen


Charles and I completed the drive to downtown Glendale in record time. Of course, neither of us had ever come this way from Pineville so it was easy for us to set a new record.


No sooner had we parked than Nan pulled her little red sports car into the space beside us.


“I hoped you were only kidding about interfering in my love life,” she grumbled, getting out of her car and slamming the door behind her. “Luckily, I decided to come by just in case. You’ll have to make whatever you plan on doing quick, because I’m not leaving those kittens for more than a few minutes.”


I peered in the car window and saw the kittens waiting in the carrier on the passenger side seat. Nan had even left the car running, presumably to keep the heat going for them.


“Let’s go see what Diamond Guy is up to.” Charles offered Nan his arm, but she refused to take it.


“You should have chosen the other guy,” she mumbled in my direction as she stormed off across the parking lot.


Charles and I caught up with her in front of Mr. Gable’s jewelry store, and the three of us entered together with Paisley following close at our heels.


“Hello, Dorothy!” Mr. Gable waved from behind the counter. “Hi, Angie. Charles.”


We all said our hellos, and then the shopkeeper returned to his customers.


A mother-son pair stood before him examining engagement rings and occasionally asking to see one closer up.


“Congrats,” Charles told the son who had rusty red hair and appeared to be somewhere in his mid-thirties.


The other man’s skin turned a ruddy shade of red. “Not me.” He jammed a finger his mother’s direction. “Her.”


His mother beamed at me and Charles.“Isn’t it so great to finally find the one?” she asked us.


Charles pulled me to his side and gave me a kiss on the cheek, which made the newly engaged woman swoon with delight.


“We’re just finishing up here, if you could give me a few more minutes,” Mr. Gable said, his eyes focused only on Nan as they blinked an apology.


“I like it here,” Paisley barked, drawing the engaged woman’s attention.


“Oh my goodness. What an angel!” She dropped to her haunches and accepted excited kisses from the hyper Chihuahua.


“Mom,” the woman’s son nudged her impatiently. “That’s not what we’re here for.”


“Oh, stop. The ring will wait. Give me a minute to say hello.”


He sighed, but his mother didn’t seem too bothered by it.


Mr. Gable used this opportunity to extricate himself from behind the counter.“Hello,” he said to both me and Charles before saddling Nan with a giant hug. “What brings all three of you in? Is this about the kittens I left on your porch this morning?”


Ah-ha! I knew it!


Nan blinked in confusion. We hadn’t yet gotten the chance to catch her up on the address label match-up.“You left them?”


“Of course. I’m sorry I didn’t have the chance to clean them up. When I called, you didn’t answer. I was in a hurry to get back for a customer appointment. I figured if anyone would know what to do with them, it would be you two.”


“Wait.” The female customer stopped petting Paisley and rose back to a standing position. “There are kittens?” she whispered reverently.


“Mom, we need to focus on—”


“Oh, shush. You’re not the one who gets to make the rules.” She waved him off, then approached us with wide, shining eyes. “So about those kittens?”


“Would you like to meet them?” Nan asked with a chuckle. “I left them in the car for a minute. Didn’t expect to be here long.”


“It sounds like the perfect wedding gift. My fianc? John is quite the animal lover but hasn’t been able to keep any pets in his apartment.”


Her son tugged at her sleeve in a gesture reminiscent of a much younger child.“But, Mom, I’m allergic to cats.”


“Then I guess it’s finally time for you to move out and establish your own home,” she told him with a pointed glare.


“I’ll just go get them,” Nan said before sweeping back into the cold outside.


The woman followed after Nan and her son followed after her.


“Where did the kittens come from?” I asked Mr. Gable, eager to finally get the answers I’d craved all day. “And why were they covered in blood?


“A frightening sight. Wasn’t it?” He shook his head and spoke in the direction of his feet. “I found them in the alley when I was walking in to work.”


“The one just outside?” Charles asked, picking up Paisley and allowing her to lick his face.


“Not this one, no. I like to park in the far lot to get a bit of exercise. Plus the fresh air helps wake me up in the mornings. When I spotted the kittens, I picked up the pace, grabbed a box and left a note on the door to let my customers know I’d be a few minutes late opening today, then I went back to get the kittens and drove them straight over to your place. I tried calling Dorothy, but…” He shrugged again.


“I know. She’s had her phone off all day.”


“Speaking of Nan,” Charles edged in. “I’ve heard she’s looking for a plus-one on Valentine’s Day.”


The old jeweler’s breathing suddenly became labored. I half-expected him to a pull an inhaler from his pocket and take a hit. “Is that so? A plus-one for what?”


“Well, actually she doesn’t,” I began to explain.


Charles squeezed my hand to get me to stop.


He cleared his throat.“It’s a beautiful evening she has planned. It starts with an intimate hike along the coastline. After about half an hour, you’ll find yourselves at a secluded ice castle built especially just for the two of you. You’ll have just enough time for a quick snowball fight before a private chef will treat you to a freshly prepared meal suited perfectly to your individual tastes. Finally, the night will end with dancing under the stars to a string quartet playing only the greatest ‘80s hits.”


Mr. Gable looked like he might be moved to cry.“That sounds wonderful. She did all that for me?”


Charles squeezed my hand again.“She did, but I think she’s nervous to make things official by asking you to accompany her. You should do the honors.”


I gave an encouraging nod.“Yeah, I bet she’d say yes.”


“Okay, I’ll do that,” Mr. Gable promised.


We made small talk with Mr. Gable as we waited for Nan, Paisley, and the customers to return. I knew Charles had planned that date for me, and as amazing as that special evening sounded, it meant even more to me that he’d given it all up to help two elderly people start their own love story.


Boy, did I have a keeper or what?


Chapter Eighteen


The woman in the jewelry store ended up adopting two of the kittens, a boy and a girl. She and Nan exchanged phone numbers, and she also promised to text updates and pictures every single day.


That meant we only had two of the original five kittens left with us now, one boy and one girl. At the rate things were going, we’d probably have homes for them by nightfall.


“You wouldn’t happen to know anyone in need of their own personal feline overlord. Would you?” I asked Mr. Gable once mother, son, and kittens had departed.


He sighed.“I wish I could take them off your hands, but I fear E.B. would never forgive me.”


I’d met his pet rabbit, E.B., and knew Mr. Gable was definitely correct in his assessment. The poor little mite was afraid of any and everything, especially predators like cats.


“Well…” Nan shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “We should probably be off,” she told the ground.


Charles exchanged a meaningful glance with Mr. Gable, while I clasped my hands and waited for the magic to happen.


“Dorothy?” Mr. Gable said, causing her to look up.


She lifted Paisley from the floor and nuzzled the little dog to her chest, using Paisley as her own personal security blanket. All this shyness was so unlike my grandmother!


“Yes, Grant?” she mumbled into Paisley’s fur after taking one slow, steady breath.


His voice quavered as he asked,“Would you like to spend Valentine’s Day together?”


Nan jerked her head a little.“Sure. You mean, as friends?”


No, Nan! No! I wanted to shout but didn’t.


Mr. Gable shot an anxious glance Charles’s way, who nodded his encouragement.


“No,” the nervous shopkeeper said at last. “I meant as in a date. Our first date.”


Nan blushed as she continued to stroke Paisley for a couple silent moments. At last, a smile blossomed on her face.“I’d like that,” she declared just like the heroine always did in old-timey movies.


“Me, too,” Mr. Gable said. He looked as if he’d just won first prize in life. In a way, he had. As trying as my nan could sometimes be, she was still my very favorite person in the entire world. I couldn’t blame the besotted jeweler for feeling the same way.


“I should be going now, though.” Nan backed away, accidentally bumping into one of the jewelry counters in the process.


“See you soon, Mr. Gable!” I called while pushing my clumsy nan toward the exit. “Bye!”


Once outside, Nan straightened her back and ran her fingers through her hair.“Well, that was rather unexpected.”


“Was it, though?” I teased, making my voice high and sarcastic. “You were just telling me this morning that you enrolled in booty boot camp precisely because Mr. Gable—”


“Angie!” Nan shouted and gave me a light slap on the arm. “That’s private! Besides I don’t want Grant to overhear that.”


“What does booty boot camp have to do with Mr. Gable?” Paisley asked, tilting her head to the side.


“I’ll tell you when you’re older,” I whispered while scratching her head.


“Are we going home now?” the Chihuahua asked as we all moved toward the parking lot.


“You, Nan, and the kittens are,” I answered. “Charles and I still have a bit of work left to do here.”


“Okay, byeeeee!” she sang as Nan practically floated away.


Charles turned to me once we’d seen Nan and the animals off and asked, “The blood?”


I nodded.“Mr. Gable told us where he found it and the kittens. Now all we have to do is go take a look for ourselves.”


He motioned for me to go ahead.“Lead the way,” he said, placing his hand at the small of my back.


Downtown Glendale wasn’t very large, which meant it took us less than ten minutes to reach the other end. From the far parking lot, we headed toward the nearest alley.


“We probably should have kept Paisley with us,” I admitted, kicking myself for not realizing that earlier. “She’d have been able to sniff this out for us in a heartbeat.”


Charles paused midstep.“Should we go get her?”


“Nah.We just have to trace and retrace our steps until something turns up.”


“What are we looking for exactly? Bloody pawprints?”


I kept my eyes on the ground before me, studying it closely so I wouldn’t miss anything. “Yeah, that’s probably our best bet.”


“Look there.” He pointed toward a big green dumpster that hadn’t been properly sealed to keep animals out. Not only were there little red pawprints at the base, but something inside created an ominous rustling sound as soon as I locked eyes on the dumpster.


“Stay back,” Charles warned me, putting his arm out to stop me before continuing forward. It was nice he wanted to protect me, but Charles was forgetting one very important piece of information here—Iwas the one who could talk to animals.


“Who’s in there?” I called. It had already been a very long winter, and the local wildlife often got desperate as the cold months continued to bear down on the region.


For all I knew, there could be a fox, coyote, lynx, or some other kind of potentially dangerous predator in there. I’d never spoken to any members of those species, so didn’t know how easy—or how difficult—they might be to negotiate with. And that worried me.


“Hellooooo!” I called again. “You in the dumpster. Come out and nobody gets hurt.”


Of course, I would never hurt an animal, but I needed some kind of leverage if I were to protect Charles.


A large raggedy looking dog popped his head out of the dumpster. His wiry coat was also matted with blood around the muzzle.“Don’t hurt me,” he whined. “I was only trying to grab a quick bite.”


Relieved, I closed the distance between myself and the dumpster.“My name’s Angie. What’s yours?”


When the dog whimpered, his half-cocked ears went back against his head.“I don’t have a name. You need a home to have a name, and I’ve never had one of those.”


“I could give you one if you’d like,” I offered with a gentle voice. The poor thing.


“A home?” he squeaked in surprise. “I would love nothing more.”


“I meant a name, but I suppose I can find you a home, too. First can you help me with something?”


“Anything,” he barked excitedly, his tongue now lolling from the side of his mouth.


“What are you eating in there?” I asked, craning my neck but failing to see into the dumpster.


“I’ll show you!” he shouted, then dived back into the dumpster and tossed a bloody carcass in my direction. Luckily, it missed hitting me.


“Ewww. What is that?”


“Not ewww.Yum.” The stray dog licked his chops.“I hardly ever find something this good to eat.”


“What is it?” I asked in disgust. As much as I liked to be polite, it was hard to ignore the churning in my stomach at the smell and sight of his half-eaten meal.


“Looks like some kind of roadkill,” Charles said.


“Why is it in the dumpster?”


“Good question. Do you think this is what the kittens got into before Mr. Gable found them?”


“Kittens? You mean cat puppies?” the dog asked, tilting his head to one side and studying us with teary, dark brown eyes.


“Yes, cat puppies,” I confirmed with a smile.


“They were the ones who first found this delicious feast, but then some man took them away before they could finish, and I took over.”


There.


That was the last piece we’d needed to piece together the entire story of the mysterious doorstep kittens. No wonder they had been so hungry. Their first meal in who-knows-how-long had been interrupted.


“Thanks for your help,” I told the dog and then added, “By the way, how do you like the name Digger? You know, because when I first met you, you were digging in the trash?”


“It’s perfect!” he barked enthusiastically. “I’m part Airedale terrier on my mother’s side, and—boy—do our kind love to dig.”


A nameless stray no more, he jumped out of the dumpster and trotted to my side, his tail wagging mightily with each step.


“Then it’s definitely perfect.” I patted him between the ears as they appeared to be the cleanest part of him. “Hi, Digger. It’s nice to meet you. Now come with us, and we’ll see what we can do about finding you a home.”


Chapter Nineteen


Luckily, Mr. Gable had a tarp leftover from when he’d painted his shop that summer. He was also more than happy to lend it to us so that we could take Digger back to my house while avoiding the spread of blood, dirt, and trash all over the back seat of my car.


Paisley immediately took the new, much larger dog under her wing. She came running straight up to him and stood on her hindlegs to complete the requisite butt sniff.


“Hi. My name’s Paisley!” she shouted while allowing him to bend down and sniff hers.


“My name’s Digger,” the other dog answered proudly, finally having a name to share.


“I will teach you everything about being a pet!” Paisley promised, then she and Digger disappeared outside. Digger didn’t fit through our pet door, so I had to open the human door to let him out.


“Where are the kittens?” I asked Nan, surprised they weren’t in the living room with her.


“Upstairs with Octavius in the fish room,” she answered casually between sips of tea.


“Don’t let him hear you call it that,” I warned with a quick eyeroll. “Have you found any of the other kittens homes yet?”


“Not yet, but I may have a couple leads.” She smiled over the rim of her teacup before taking another slow sip.


“Think you could find one for Digger, too?”


“I’ll see what I can do,” she promised, setting her cup back on the table. “Would you like some tea, too, dear?”


I shook my head.“No, thanks.”


“Not you.” She turned to my boyfriend. “You. How about it?”


“I’m not really—”


“Oh, come now. You and I need to have a little chat,” she pressed, already up and heading toward the kitchen.


Understanding that I’d been dismissed, I headed up the stairs and let myself into Octo-Cat’s room. I needed to check on the kittens, anyway.


The vision that greeted me practically took my breath away. Our two remaining kittens lay snuggled up against Octo-Cat as all three cats napped.


I was just about to turn around and head out, when Octo-Cat’s wide amber eyes blinked open and he whispered, “Wait.”


He carefully extricated himself from his slumber companions without waking either.“I wanted to talk to you about something,” he told me once he’d successfully come to stand by my side. “Let’s go out into the hall.”


“What’s up?” I asked curiously


“Those little guys aren’t so bad, you know. It was hard when they first got here and were pouncing everywhere, but truth be told I’ve liked having them around,” he revealed with a wistful sigh.


“Are you saying you want to keep them?”


He hissed at this.“Eeeesh, no! Nothing so extreme. But having them here reminded me of my own kittenhood. Have I told you that I was one of seven?”


“You may have mentioned it a time or two.” Or twenty.


“Today has got me thinking about my own brothers and sisters. I haven’t seen them since Ethel adopted me all those years ago.”


“You must miss them.” I ran my hand along his back, hoping he’d appreciate the comfort of the gesture rather than attacking me for it.


He leaned into my hand and purred.“Yes and no. I’m definitely happier being an only cat, but I do wonder if they turned out as awesome as I have.”


“So you want to track them down?”


My cat nodded.“I think I do.”


“I guess it makes sense to use our P.I. skills to help ourselves every once in a while.”


He smiled and gave me a paws up.“Exactly.”


“Are you sure you don’t want to keep one of the kittens?” I tried again. I liked seeing this softer side of him. Maybe having a long-term kitty companion would help him mellow out.


He shuddered and turned his backside to me.“Completely.”


“Okay. Well, I’ll let you get back to your cat nap, then.”


“Thank you, Angela,” he said before running back through the door I’d just opened. I couldn’t blame him for wanting to find his long-lost family. After all, I was still trying to do the same thing for myself—and finally meeting my cousin Mags had definitely changed my life for the better.


Knowing now that the kittens were in good paws with Octo-Cat, I headed back downstairs to ask Charles for a quick favor.


“Would you mind heading to the store for me? I need large dog breed food and some steak.”


He took one last slurp from his tea, then asked,“How much steak?”


I made a tally in my head.“Um, twenty-two should do it.”


Charles laughed.“Time to pay your debts, I see.”


“Yes, and if you happen to find a TV, Nerf gun, or nunchucks while you’re there, you know what to do.”


“What about the lobster rolls?” he asked with one eyebrow raised.


“Those can wait for a few days. We’re having steak for dinner tonight.”


While Charles was at the store, I planned to give Digger a bath, but first I needed a short break so that I could catch my breath. I took a seat by Nan, who was busy typing into her phone and smiling like a fool in love.


“Let me guess. Diamond Guy?” I teased.


Nan clucked her tongue.“I have much more going on in my life than that,” she chided.


“Still it must be pretty exciting to have your first date on the calendar at last?”


Nan frowned for a few seconds before transitioning back into a smile.“I only wish I would have had a few more sessions of booty boot camp first, but—yes—I am very excited.”


“If you’re not talking to Mr. Gable, then who are you texting?” I said, trying to catch a glimpse of her screen. “You’re not cheating on him already?”


She looked sad rather than angry.“Oh, dear. I am many things, but a cheater, I am not. You should know me better than that.”


“Well?” I prompted when she still hadn’t answered my first question. “Who are you chatting with, then?”


She rolled her eyes.“You’re so nosey sometimes. You know that?”


“I learned it from the best.” I winked, and she winked back.


“That was my good friend, Gertie.”


Ahh, Gertie. I’d never actually met her, but I’d taken several jogs with her muttsky Cujo. Cujo had also helped to save my life last month, so he rated very high in my books and so did his owner, Gertie.


Nan continued along.“Remember how she was having trouble exercising Cujo since her grandkids went off to college?”


I nodded.


“I’ve just suggested she adopt a playmate for him. You and I will keep exercising Cujo as we do, but a second dog could give him some nice company during the day. Wouldn’t you say?”


I gasped with excitement.“Digger?”


“Digger,” she confirmed.


“That’s great,” I cried and gave her a tight hug.


“I also have a lead on a home for the last two kittens,” Nan revealed. Man, she was good at this. Perhaps she should volunteer at the local animal shelter for more than just fundraising events.


“Really? Who?” I asked, so happy for all the animals who’d found new homes that day.


She shook her head and wagged a finger at me.“I don’t want to say until it’s a sure thing, but I promise to tell you as soon as I can.”


I stretched my arms overhead, then forced myself to my feet.“I better get Digger in the bath.”


“Before you go, I take back what I said.”


I stared at her blankly.“Take back what?”


“I’m really glad you chose Charles. He’s a good man.”


“You know,” I stated, referring to the fact that Charles had so willingly given up his special Valentine’s surprise in order to offer it to Nan and Mr. Gable.


She nodded.“Thank you both for that. Although if it’s not too late, I might ask the string quartet to play something other than ‘80s covers.”


Chapter Twenty


After our twenty-two-steak dinner, Charles said goodbye and headed back to his house. I felt bad that our“relaxing” day together had become so hectic and that he’d also sacrificed his big Valentine’s surprise, but I vowed to make up for it by planning a few special surprises of my own.


By the time Friday rolled around, I had my work cut out for me.


I started with a quick good morning call to Charles, who would be working until early evening. I spent the morning with Nan and Paisley until they departed for one of her community art classes.


The last two kittens had gone to their new homes the night before, which meant Octo-Cat and I had the house to ourselves for the next few hours.


“Happy Valentine’s Day,” I crooned as I placed a giant box onto the floor in front of him.


His eyes lit up as he beheld the cardboard behemoth.“For me?” he gasped with obvious delight.


“Yup. And there’s even a surpriseinside the box.”


He raised a paw to his chest.“Double presents? I’m touched.”


It had been so hard to keep this surprise from him for the last few days, and I couldn’t wait another minute for the big reveal. “Well, go on and open it up,” I urged.


Octo-Cat jumped into the box, then popped his head back out with a satin blue swatch of fabric clenched between his jaws.“What is it?” he mumbled, unsure.


“It’s a bowtie,” I explained. “I figured you could wear it on your video date with Grizabella this afternoon.”


“It matches her beautiful sapphire eyes,” he said after setting it carefully on the floor.


“Yes, it does. And if you take another look inside, you’ll find a green bowtie as well.”


He narrowed his eyes at me, then cocked his head slightly to the side—a sure sign that Paisley was beginning to rub off on him just a little bit.


“Why green?” he asked.


I put a hand over my smiling mouth and waited for it to sink in.


Octo-Cat swooned with delight less than a minute later.“Green. Glorious green! Does this mean…?”


I picked up where he left off.“Yes, I’m taking you to visit Grizabella for St. Patrick’s Day. That is, if you still want to go.”


He zipped up and down the stairs in a rare show of kitty zoomies, then came back to rest at my feet. I reached out to pet him, but before I could, he licked my fingertips.“You are a very good human, and I love you, Angela.”


I stroked his soft back.“Awww, I love you, too. Now are you ready to FaceTime with Grizabella?”


“Yes! Yes! Yes!”


I fastened the blue bowtie to his collar and showed him what he looked like in the selfie mode of my phone.“I am a very handsome cat. Aren’t I?”


I nodded my endorsement.“Grizabella is very lucky to have you.”


“And I’m lucky to have you,” he said sweetly before zooming away to call his girlfriend.


My heart melted a little at that. Getting love from any cat—but especially Octo-Cat—was a rare treat, and I planned to savor every single second.


[Êàðòèíêà: img_3]


At five o’clock on the dot, I pulled into the parking lot outside Charles’s law firm. He wasn’t expecting me, but that was part of the surprise.


It felt strange being back in the location where our love story had first begun—and also where I’d almost died and then woke up with the strange ability to talk to Octo-Cat. Yes, Longfellow& Associates had given me so much during my brief tenure there—love, friendship, a cat, a home, and access to an impressive trust fund—and for all of it, I would forever be grateful.


But today wasn’t about the associates, it was about Charles Longfellow, III, and me.


When he saw me enter the office, he jumped up from his desk and wrapped me in his arms.“What are you doing here? I was just about to sign off for the day and come to see you.”


“Kidnapping you. Now let’s go.”


“Sure. Just let me turn off—”


“Nope. Just lock the door and come with me. There’s no time to waste.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him along.


We settled into my car, and I began the drive.


“Where are we going?” he asked me with an enormous grin.


I shrugged, keeping my eyes straight ahead.“It’s not as fancy as what you had planned, but it’s very us.”


“Tell me. Tell me!” he whined playfully.


I took a deep breath and shook my head.“I won’t tell you what we’re doing, but I’ll explain why.”


“Okay, hit me.”


I licked my lips before continuing. I’d practiced this a couple times but still worried it would come out wrong.


“Well, we first met at the law firm, which is why we started there today. A lot of people meet at work, but our relationship has always been a bit different as you so rightly pointed out last weekend. And even though you’d wanted to spend a relaxing, romantic day together, we ended up spending that day in a veryus way—by throwing all our plans out the window and then helping those who needed it most. Think about it. When we first became friends, we got Brock Calhoun acquitted for murder and reunited a lost, little dog with his human. When we first became more, we saved Octo-Cat from a kidnapper and protected his trust fund from angry relatives. Last weekend, we ended up finding five abandoned kittens and one stray dog their forever homes.”


Charles nodded along, then frowned.“Yes. I guess you’re right about that. Do you ever wish we spent more time doing normal boyfriend-girlfriend stuff?”


“No way!” I protested. “I love you, and I love us. Exactly as we are.”


“I love you, too.” He squeezed my shoulder and leaned in to plant a kiss on my cheek, then asked, “So what are we doing for Valentine’s Day?”


“Haha, nice try,” I teased. “Don’t worry, though. We’re almost there.”


Ten minutes later, we arrived at our very favorite restaurant, the Little Dog Diner all the way over in Misty Harbor.


“This restaurant has always been special to us, too,” Charles observed as we approached the entrance hand in hand. “Remember when we came here after catching the real Hayes murderer?”


“I do. And do you remember who came with us?”


Just then we caught sight of Nan, Mr. Gable, and my parents as they waved from a big booth by the window.


Charles turned to me with a curious look.“I thought Nan and Grant were going on the date I’d originally planned for us.”


I squeezed his hand and rested my head on his shoulder for a moment.“Remember about helping people in need? Those two are still too nervous to be alone together, so we’re going to help break the ice. And you know another thing about us? We love to be with the people we love, so why not be with them on Valentine’s Day? Well, for a little while, at least.”


“We’re just staying for a quick drink.” My mom looked ravaging in a pink cable-knit sweater. I swear, only she could look glamorous in such simple winter attire. She gave me a tight hug and then kissed me on either cheek.


“Thank you again for setting up the ice castle dinner for us,” my father said, giving my boyfriend a manly hug and several fast pats on the back.


“We’re sharing,” I revealed the favorite part of my plan with a smile. “My parents are doing the dinner, and you and I get the string quartet.”


Charles laughed, and I jabbed him in the ribs.


“What? You think I’m going to pass-up a romantic starlight dance to all my favorite ‘80s classics?”


“No, I know you better than that.” After a moment, he asked, “You said that we were sharing the date I’d planned. What part do Nan and Grant get?”


“They’re going to have the snowball fight, of course. They need something more light-hearted to help them get comfortable dating again. It’s been a long time for both of them.” I eyed the new couple, glad to see they were holding hands across the booth. Maybe they didn’t need quite as much help as I’d expected.


“Take a seat, you two,” Nan urged, motioning for Charles and me to slide into the large booth with one hand while still hanging tight to Mr. Gable’s hand with the other.


The waitress came over and handed out waters all around.“I see the rest of your party has arrived. Are you ready to order?”


“Four lobster rolls for here and two to go,” I said as my mouth began to water in anticipation.


“Oh, that’s nice, sweetie,” Mom said, “But your dad and I don’t need anything to take home.”


“So just four for here?” the waitress asked, her pen raised over the little Steno pad in her grip.


“And two to go,” I confirmed with a sharp nod.


After she’d left, I whispered to Mom, “They’re not for you. They’re for paying the rest of my debts to a certain cat and his raccoon friend.”


12. LEGAL SEAGULL


Chapter One


It all started with a coffee maker that should have been tossed into the dumpster years ago. One fated zap from that thing, and I reawakened with the strange ability to speak with animals.


Ever since then, my life has been full of four-legged chatter. You’d think being able to understand animals would mean that I’d know more about the world around me, but instead I find myself knowing less and less as I’m tossed into one mystery after the other.


I guess that’s why I set up shop as a private investigator…


Oh, hi. My name’s Angie Russo, and I’d be remiss not to mention that my partner in solving crime is none other than my tabby cat, Octavius Maxwell Ricardo Edmund Frederick Fulton Russo, Esq, P.I. And much to his chagrin, I’ve taken to calling him Octo-Cat for short.


When Octo-Cat entered my life, he brought the first of many mysteries and a giant trust fund from his previous owner, for which I am now the guarantor. It pays our monthly bills and then some—including the giant Blueberry Bay manor house that he tricked me into buying. It’s a good thing his previous owner hooked us up because we’ve earned exactly zero dollars for our investigative efforts to date.


My grandmother, Nan, lives with us and uses her retirement funds to pitch in, even though I tell her not to. She keeps our kitchen stocked with fresh baked goods and our walls decorated with all kinds of quirky homemade art projects—yeah, she’s worked in everything from metal to hand-spun silk. She’s a bit of a character, but we can always count on Nan to keep things interesting for us all.


Another roommate of ours is Paisley, the mostly black tricolor Chihuahua Nan rescued from the shelter last year. Paisley is an unfailing optimist and eternal source of joy. She makes a strong contrast to our backyard neighbor, Pringle the unrelentingly irritating and frequently villainous raccoon.


You probably won’t believe me, but everything I’m about to tell you is true about Pringle. He has two treehouses with two big-screen TVs. He also has zero regard for anyone’s privacy, especially mine. I’ve recently caught him snooping on my phone and even recording a video of me for submission to his favorite reality show. Ugh, I know. Here’s hoping I don’t get selected for that particular unwanted privilege.


My parents work in news, and my boyfriend Charles is the senior partner at the law firm where I used to work before giving up the glamorous paralegal life to become a full-time P.I… Or if you were to ask Pringle, “full-time unemployed.”


I realize the raccoon must seem like an all-around horrible neighbor based on my descriptions so far, but in truth, I just think he’s cranky. After all, he’s the only one around here who hasn’t found love.


That’s right.


Nan is now seeing the local jeweler, Grant Gable, and they are just adorable together. Meanwhile I’ve got Charles, and my parents have each other. Even Octo-Cat maintains a very serious long-distance relationship with minor Instagram influencer and former show cat Grizabella the gorgeous Himalayan.


True, Paisley is without any romantic attachment, but that doesn’t bother the spritely pup one bit. Mostly because things rarely ever do.


Even though Pringle won’t admit to being lovelorn, he has taken to calling his Nerf gun “Carla” and stroking it lovingly whenever he thinks no one is looking.


Things have gotten so out of hand with that Nerf gun of his that I’ve now inadvertently agreed to let my cat wield nunchucks to protect himself—and, in theory, me. This has only led to more slapstick violence and a fair number of bruised shins on my part.


He’s really not good with them.


Probably because he has to keep one part in his mouth while swinging the other as he stands on his hind legs and awkwardly twists his neck to the side. I think he’s actually hurt himself more than he’s managed to get me and Pringle.


I also don’t think either of them needs a weapon to navigate our daily suburban life, but maybe that’s just me.


Thankfully, I’ll be getting a break from trigger-happy Pringle this week as I take Octo-Cat on a cross-country road trip to visit his beloved Grizabella in Colorado. Yes, it’s a long drive from Maine, but Nan is coming along to share it with me, seeing as Octo-Cat still refuses to get on a plane.


Also, the last time we took a train, we wound up with a murder on our hands, so driving just felt like a better way to go this time around.


We’re leaving bright and early the day after tomorrow, and as much as I initially didn’t want to take this trip, I’m looking forward to the reprieve from everyday life.


Let’s just hope nothing too crazy happens before then…


Famous last words. Am I right?


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I’d just settled into my favorite window seat with a steaming mug of coffee in one hand and my eReader in the other when Octo-Cat came sauntering into the room, a single sheet of lined paper hanging from his mouth.


“Eeeh muh et,” he mumbled in my direction, his tail already flicking wildly even though I’d not yet done anything to disappoint him.


“Whatever it is, can it wait until later?” I asked. Unfortunately, I already knew what his answer would be.


He spat the paper onto the floor and glared at me with those unsettling amber eyes of his.“No. It can’t wait. We’re almost out of time as it is. Pick that up,” he commanded with a sneer.


I set my eReader down on the bench seat and walked my coffee over to my desk, then returned to grab the paper my cat had presented to me so unceremoniously.


Octo-Cat plopped onto his butt and watched with obvious disdain, but that was life with a cat for you.“That’s my list of necessities.”


I turned the paper over in my hands, then shook my head.“But it’s blank.”


“You better get writing then,” Octo-Cat said with a triple flick of his tail before launching into his long-winded soliloquy. “First I’ll need my bowties, both green and blue. I also need a new one that’s gold to match my eyes.”


“But your eyes aren’t—”


“Are you writing this down?” he snapped with a scowl that brooked no further argument.


Right.


I raced to my desk as he continued to rattle off his demands. With a red ink pen now in hand, I scrawled furiously but just couldn’t keep up. “A copy of Dr. Roman’s Guide to… um… Could you repeat that, please?”


My cat groaned, proving I’d disappointed him yet again. “Dr. Roman’s Guide to Romance. In audio. Pay attention.”


Ten minutes later, Octo-Cat had finally finished dictating his list. It filled both sides of the paper he’d brought me, and I’d even had to resort to scribbling the last few items on the back of my hand.


Well, it looked like I had my work cut out for me—and my day stolen from me.


“Are you sure you need all of this for our trip?” I asked in disbelief. “Some of this isn’t exactly easy to find.”


Octo-Cat nodded pertly.“I’m sure.”


“But—”


“I’ll be in my room if you need me.” He turned tail and sauntered away.


Remind me again why I was doing this huge nice thing for him when he couldn’t even bother to be the tiniest bit grateful?


It was like the more time I spent with my cat, the less I actually understood him. Maybe this road trip wouldn’t be so relaxing, after all.


Chapter Two


Fortunately, Nan agreed to take half of Octo-Cat’s giant list off my hands, which meant I’d actually have a few hours to get things packed and ready for myself before falling into bed in an exhausted heap that night.


As it was, I’d already been out running errands for several hours. And since nothing could ever be easy when it came to Octo-Cat, his requirements took me to shops scattered all around Blueberry Bay.


I’d saved Dewdrop Springs for last, seeing as it wasn’t exactly my favorite place to visit. In fact, it seemed every time I set foot in that wretched little town, somebody got murdered or robbed or bribed or embezzled. Fun.


Me? I just wanted to get my cat his audiobook and get home.


Of course, the title he’d requested had proven to be this season’s hottest new release. How had I not heard of it before now? Probably because I didn’t need any help in the romance department.


I was surprised Octo-Cat believed that he did. Normally he thought of himself as perfectly infallible. Further proof this upcoming visit with Grizabella meant the world to him. They hadn’t seen each other in-furson since they’d first met on the train in late November. How would they feel when they were together outside of their usual video chat setting?


As much as he annoyed me today—and, let’s be honest here, every day—I really hoped things went well for him… Even though I was now at my third bookstore.


As it turned out, both of the big box bookstores I’d tried had been sold out of Dr. Roman’s hot new release, meaning I needed to hop over the nearest independent bookstore and pray they had a copy.


When I’d called home to suggest an Audible subscription, he hung up without even speaking to me. When I called back, he groaned and slowly explained that he must absolutely have his book on CD because he didn’t trust an MP3 download not to “disappear from his device when he needed it most.”


Again, this was a self-help romance guide. What emergency could it possibly aid in? I knew better than to ask any clarifying questions, though.


Instead I swallowed any last vestiges of pride I’d once had and vowed to do whatever it took to keep my spoiled cat happy. That brought me to Tattered Pages, a hole-in-the-wall indie shop that had recently changed hands in favor of a much younger proprietress. I hadn’t been into the shop for years, preferring my eReader to page-and-ink. I was surprised to see how much it had changed since my last visit. With a comfy lounge area, cafe, and beautifully organized shelves, I had to hand it to the new owner—the place looked great.


Maybe I would be back to get something for myself once this big road trip was over.


“Hi. I’m Dakota. Can I help you?” a woman with bright probing eyes interrupted my thoughts by offering a huge smile as she marched my way.


“Oh, hi. I’m looking for an audiobook?” My voice went up at the end even though I hadn’t meant to ask a question.


Dakota scrunched her nose as she thought, then raised one index finger and pointed two aisles down.“I’ve got just the thing for you.”


I followed her wordlessly to a selection of Jeffrey Deaver books.


“You look like a mystery reader,” she informed me. “Am I right?”


Impressive.


“Normally, yes, but I’m actually here to pick up something for my, um, friend. Do you have Dr. Roman’s Guide to—?”


“Romance. Yes, I think we have one copy left.” Dakota led me to the opposite side of the store and began to rummage through a spinning wire rack. “It was here just a… Ah! Gotcha!”


She grabbed the requested audiobook out from behind another.“Messy, messy. Good thing I knew it was still here.”


“Thank you so much,” I said with a huge sigh of relief. My go-for work was now officially done.


Dakota waved goodbye from behind the counter after checking me out.“Make sure to come back another time and get some books for you!”


Yeah, I’d still try to avoid Dewdrop Springs as much as I possibly could, but now I could at least treat myself to a quick book shop visit next time I was in town.


Pleased with my ability to find the silver lining, I pushed through the door and out onto the street.


“No! I almost had him!” someone cried from beneath me.


I whipped around to find a fluffy orange Persian staring up at me with angry eyes.“Sorry,” I murmured as I paced down the block in search of my car. I hadn’t parked far, but—


“Wait, wait, wait!” that same voice followed me, growing closer with each syllable.


I stopped and turned toward her.


“You can understand me?” the cat asked, her mouth hanging open in awe. “Why can’t my useless human understand me, then?”


“Yes, and I don’t know,” I murmured, hoping nobody was around to see me talking to this strange cat in the middle of the very public street.


“My name’s Poppy, and I have some demands,” the Persian informed me.


Boy, was this familiar. Octo-Cat had said almost the exact same thing to me when he first learned I could talk to him, and he hadn’t stopped giving demands since.


I had no time to cater to the whims of an unfamiliar cat, so I mumbled my apologies and resumed searching for my car.


“Wait!” Poppy yelled at the top of her lungs. “Don’t leave yet!”


Her pleas weren’t enough to stop me a second time, though.


She growled and threw a hissy fit, but I still didn’t stop. “I’m not done with you. You better come back!”


I finally reached my car and slammed the door behind me. Just as I was frantically jamming my key in the ignition, something big thumped into the windshield right in front of me.


Ergh. That cat had better—


But, no, it wasn’t Poppy. Instead I was met with a wiggling white blob.


A bird.


Oh, no.


The orange Persian jumped onto the hood of my old sedan with a thud and stalked toward her disoriented prey.


Panicked, I did the first thing I could think of. I hit the horn on my car, which sent the feline running for cover.


The bird—who turned out to be a seagull—righted himself and then tapped on my windshield with his beak. “Might I have a quick word?”


Even though I still didn’t have time for any distractions, I rolled my window down and allowed him to join me in the car. Maybe I could drive him somewhere safer, somewhere far away from the overly worked-up feline.


“You are a tough one to track down,” the bird said once he’d settled himself on my passenger seat. “I’ve been all over the region chasing after you today.”


“Chasing after me? Why?”


“I’ve always kept tabs on you. Ever since the beginning.”


I felt a headache coming on.“The beginning of what?”


“Of you being able to understand us. We watch humans like you in case we ever need to call on a favor.”


My mind swirled with this new information. Yes, a bird needed a favor from me, but more importantly, there were others like me. I’d always hoped, but I’d never known for sure.


“Can you take me to meet the others?” I asked, my voice shaking. I didn’t have time for this, but then again, how could I possibly turn him away after the info he’d just shared?


The gull cocked his head to the side.“That depends.”


“Depends? On what?”


“If you help us, we’ll help you.”


“And if I don’t?”


“Are you really going to force me to go straight to the nuclear option?”


I nodded, afraid to speak.


The bird shook his head and wings, giving himself a ragged appearance.“Look. If you don’t play nice, we don’t play nice. Let’s just say we have an army of woodpeckers ready to peck your house into the ground. You got me?”


“So either I help you, or you destroy my home?” I squeaked. A part of me wished I had left him to Poppy outside, but only a very small part.


“Hey, now you’ve got it.” He spread one wing to the side and took a bow.


“I’m kind of busy. I mean, I’m supposed to go on a road trip tomorrow. I’ll be gone all week.”


“Then un-busy yourself,” the seagull suggested rather unhelpfully and turned his back to me. Twisting his neck in a nearly ninety-degree arc, he eyed me head-on, his little eyes boring into me. “Unless, I guess, you don’t want to meet your long-lost grandmother.”


Chapter Three


I stared at my pushy seagull visitor, unwilling to blink my eyes for fear he might disappear.“Did you say…? M-M-My long-lost grandmother?”


The bird nodded, a smug expression on his beak.“We seagulls always have our eyes on the ground. In fact, I knew who you were even before you became my assignment.”


“But how?”


He shook a wing at me.“Now, now. That would be giving you the payment without first completing the job. So what do you say? Will you agree to help us?”


“Yes,” I answered without hesitation. Ever since Pringle had unburied Nan’s secret letter, revealing the fact that my real grandfather had orchestrated my mother’s kidnapping, I’d been dying to meet the family I hadn’t known existed. My grandfather, William McAllister, had already died by the time we discovered his existence, but Mom and I had been able to connect with a number of other relatives who still lived down in Larkhaven, Georgia.


No one knew where my biological grandmother had ended up, though. No one except this seagull, apparently


“Good,” he said before settling himself on the dashboard. “Since you haven’t got wings, we’ll drive.”


I turned the key in the ignition.“Where are we going?”


“To the flock, of course. Head south by southwest.”


I’d never quite mastered navigating by cardinal directions, so I simply drove straight. When I started up the car, the bird clumsily fell back onto the seat, where he occasionally hopped up to get a view through the windshield and criticize my driving.


“Not that way. South by southwest!” the seagull shouted.


I turned to the left, which seemed to satisfy him.


“What’s your name?” I asked after we’d been driving for a while.


“Me? I’m Bravo. Second in command for Flock 82.” Wow, this was all so official. I had no idea birds were so well organized or that they organized themselves in a vaguely militaristic way.


“If you’re second in command, why were you assigned stalker duty? That doesn’t seem like a job for a high-ranking bird.”


Bravo clucked in disgust.“That’s what I said, but Alpha wasn’t having it. Said you were too important to trust to a rookie. You do your job now, and I’ll be everyone’s hero. Maybe score myself a new nest or even rise to challenge Alpha.”


“I don’t really understand how any of this works,” I confessed. “Birds are usually too afraid to talk to me.


“Not too afraid,” Bravo corrected. “We just find you wingless folk a bit tiring.”


Perhaps I should have been insulted, but if I could fly, I’d no doubt want to see more exciting things as well.


“This is the place,” Bravo said after a few more awkward minutes had passed. He motioned for me to park next to a row of dumpsters behind a strip mall.


“What now?” I asked after exiting my car.


Bravo let out a horrible shrieking caw, and suddenly an army of white descended from the skies.


The plumpest of the gulls landed right between me and Bravo and studied me with a frown curled on his beak.“Is this her?”


“Hi. I’m Angie.” I offered a hand in greeting, but then immediately withdrew it when I realized he had no way of shaking hello.


“You don’t look like a lawyer to me,” the seagull, who I now took to be Alpha, spat and lifted one foot into his under-plumage.


I chuckled uncomfortably. Maybe it was a good thing birds didn’t normally choose to chat with me. Let’s be honest here, they were pretty weird. Not only that, it seemed fully possibly that even the slightest misunderstanding could send Alpha pecking toward my eyes with hostile intent. Suddenly, my demanding tabby didn’t seem such a burden.


I shook my head and forced a smile.“I’m not a lawyer. I’m a private investigator.”


Alpha whipped his head to the side without moving his body an inch.“Not a lawyer, huh?” he addressed me while staring daggers at his second in command.


Bravo tittered nervously.“Of course you’re a lawyer. I found you at the law firm, remember?”


“I used to be a paralegal, but—”


“Stop helping,” he yelled through a gritted beak.


“This is why you’ll never be Alpha,” the seagull leader declared.


A few ill-spirited jeers rose up from the flock, and Bravo buried his face beneath a wing. Poor guy.


“I’m not a lawyer, but I can get you one. At no charge,” I sputtered, suddenly desperate to help the poor guy and not just because he knew where I could find my missing family.


Alpha stretched both wings overhead and opened his beak wide in a yawn.“Go on.”


“He’s my boyfriend. I can call him right now.”


“Stop squawking and start walking,” he told me with a stony gaze.


I took this to mean that I was to call Charles now. Dutifully, I pulled out my phone, noting it was still the early afternoon and praying Charles wouldn’t be in court or with a client.


He answered on the third ring.“Angie. Is everything okay?”


“I’m fine, but I have a bit of an emergency on my hands,” I mumbled into the receiver.


“Where are you?”


I walked around to the front of the strip mall and gave him the name of the first shop I saw.“In Dewdrop Springs,” I added.


“I’ll be there as fast as I can,” he promised without asking for any more information.


“Thank you. Love you,” I said before ending the call. I could explain once he arrived. That is, if I could figure out how to explain what I still didn’t understand myself.


“Well?” Alpha asked, hopping over to stand directly at my feet.


“He’s on his way,” I said, and Bravo released a giant sigh into the wind.


“Told you I had the right one,” he clucked.


“Can you maybe explain to me what’s going on?” Unfortunately, I couldn’t leave now that Charles was coming over to handle things—namely, because he still needed me to translate the animal-to-human communications.


“Why should we tell you anything?” Alpha demanded. “You’re just the go-between.”


Bravo chose that exact moment to fly to my shoulder and grab the soft fabric of my shirt as a perch. Naturally, I screamed and started waving my hands around wildly to unseat him.


“Jeez, relax,” he huffed. “This isn’t a Hitchcock movie, and I’m not a Hitchcock kind of bird. So relax already.”


Alpha laughed and flew onto my now free shoulder.“I like you. You’re funny.”


It took everything I had not to frantically bat him off. At least he liked me, right?


“That movie did wonders for us, you know? All these generations of gulls later, and good ol’ Hitchcock still has humans running from us in terror. We used to have to run from them, you know. Back in the dark ages of avian history.”


I nodded solemnly, amazed that any creature could be more ridiculous than my cat—let alone a whole society of them. “Is that what this is about?” I asked, too curious not to try to pry it out of him once more.


“No, no, no.” Bravo flew over and took a spot on my other shoulder, which meant I was now sandwiched between him and Alpha and feeling incredibly exposed. “This isn’t about humans at all. Well, except for the fact we needed your help.”


“You needed a lawyer,” I reminded them. “Why?”


“When dealing with an inferior opponent, sometimes you need an inferior judge. No offense. That’s where you and your lawyer friend come in.”


Ouch.


“An opponent, huh? Is somebody suing you? Charging you with a crime?” Both options seemed equally likely—and equally ludicrous.


“Don’t be silly. This isn’t about silly laws.” Alpha leaned forward menacingly and a mighty cry rose up from his flock. “This is war.”


Chapter Four


While waiting for Charles to join me in Dewdrop Springs, I texted Nan to let her know I’d be even later coming home than I’d originally suspected. Normally I would have called her for a quick chat since she was a notoriously bad texter, but Alpha’s declaration of war sent his entire flock into a cawing pandemonium. I could barely hear myself think, let alone speak. Yeah, even though I was still only in my late twenties, I would probably need a hearing aid after this one. Hopefully, Charles could help them with whatever they needed quickly, and we could all go about our separate lives again.


As scattered street lamps began to pop on and neon store signs lit to illuminate the growing darkness, I became very aware that I was standing alone and exposed in a crime-ridden commercial district with only a strange flock of seagulls to protect me.


When his sedan pulled into the strip mall parking lot, I jogged over to greet him. I did that a lot these days—jogged when I could just as easily have walked. I had Nan and our new morning exercise routine to thank for that one. I loved that I now felt strong and quick, secure in my body… Well, almost. Still couldn’t outrun my grandmother, though.


Charles parked and swung the door open, making a hasty exit. As soon as he was standing on solid pavement, I threw myself into his arms. Yes, it was definitely overdramatic, but tomorrow I’d be leaving on a lengthy cross-country trip and I was really going to miss him.


“What’s wrong?” he asked, pulling back to study my face.


I wiped at a tear I hadn’t realized I’d shed. Definitely overdramatic. “I’m fine. It’s just that—”


Before I could finish, the flock came rushing over with quickly flapping wings and ear-piercing cries.


“Is this the guy? Is this our lawyer?” Alpha demanded as he circled low.


Charles threw one hand over his head protectively and used the other to hold me close to his chest. He didn’t say anything, but I could feel his heart thumping wildly beneath my cheek, his breaths coming out fast and short against my hair.


Bravo laughed as he at last landed on the hood of Charles’s car. “The Hitchcock maneuver, haha. Gets them every time.”


Okay, that was it!


I wriggled my way out of Charles’s protective grasp and turned to face the flock, wagging a finger at Bravo since he was closest. “If you want our help, there will be no more of this Hitchcock nonsense. You got it?”


“They’re just messing with us?” Charles’s voice came out choked. “For fun?”


I continued to glare at the birds as I nodded.“They threatened me, too. Said they’d send their woodpecker friends in to mess up my house if I refused to cooperate with whatever plan they have for us.”


“I don’t like this.” Charles glanced from me to the birds and back again. It was always awkward for him, taking part in these conversations with animals when he could only hear my side of things, but he still gave it his best. “I’m not sure we should help them if this is how they’re going to behave.”


Ahh, Charles. He’d make a great father one day. He already had the tough love thing down pat.


“What?” Alpha squawked. “But you said he’d be our lawyer. He can’t just say no. You already promised.”


I sighed to buy myself some time, then finally responded with,“Yes, we’ll help you as long as you promise to be civil from here on out.”


Alpha raised both wings overhead and bowed.“Bird’s honor.” I wasn’t sure how much I could trust his—or any other bird’s—honor, but I hoped for the best.


“Angie,” Charles said between gritted teeth, apparently far less appeased by Alpha’s promise. “Can I speak to you in the car for a moment?”


“Be right back,” I told the flock as I settled into his passenger seat. He’d turned on the seat heater for me on his way over, knowing I’d appreciate having it toasty warm when I got in.


As soon as the door clicked shut behind me, Charles spoke in a hasty whisper. His eyes reflected concern, worry—not anger or irritation. “Don’t you have to leave early tomorrow morning on your road trip? Why are you taking this on now?”


He was right, of course. The timing was dreadful, but what could I do?“I didn’t have much of a choice,” I answered in a small voice even though I’d hoped it would come out confident to allay his doubts.


“There’s always a choice. Whatever squabble these seagulls have they can solve themselves. You need to be well-rested so that you can focus on your trip and driving safely. Nothing they need could be more important than that.”


I loved that Charles always had my best interests at heart, no matter how inconvenient they were for him. Unfortunately he didn’t have the whole story yet. I didn’t either, and of course it was fully possible Bravo had lied to get me here.


Still, I had a chance—maybe a small one, maybe a big one—to finally fill the fissure in my heart that had opened wide when Pringle revealed our family’s hidden past. A part of me was missing, and these birds potentially knew how to find her. I needed to take the chance, not just for me but also my mother. She’dnever known her true biological parents, and she deserved to meet the one that was still alive, to find out why she’d been shucked off under a strange veil of secrecy in the first place.


I swallowed hard, then finally raised my eyes to meet his.“They said they know where my grandmother is,” I revealed, then let out a slow, shaky breath.


He cocked his head to the side, clearly confused by this proclamation of mine.“Yeah, she’s back home preparing for the trip. Probably baking her fourth batch of cookies for the day.”


I held his eyes, placed a hand on his shoulder, and tried again.“No, the other one.”


“Your biological grandmother?” He gasped, unable to keep his voice down any longer. “But nobody knows what happened to her or where to find her.”


I motioned my chin toward the window.“They say that they do.”


“And you believe them?” Charles raised one skeptical brow. I couldn’t tell whether he thought I was crazy for choosing to trust them when his brief encounter with the gulls had already proven they played by their own set of rules. But I’d already made my mind up. Now it was time to choose my attitude. I could pout and question everything—or I could make the best of it, no matter how awkward.


“I think I do,” I answered after a brief hesitation. “But even if I’m wrong about this, I still have to try.”


He grabbed my hand and gave it a kiss. A giant smile lit his handsome face as he let my hand go and turned toward the driver-side door.“Then let’s go help some seagulls.”


Chapter Five


I clutched tight to Charles’s hand as Alpha and the rest of Flock 82 led us around the back of the strip mall and into the brambles behind the pavement. Once clear of the overgrowth, we reached a clearing filled with an oversized patch of dead grass that had likely only just been exposed again after months being covered insnow.


Alpha stopped and signaled for the rest of us to do the same.“Now that we have a bit more privacy, let us begin,” the leader gull announced, then flew up to perch on my shoulder.


Charles flinched but remained in place at my side, although now with a death grip on my hand.


“Go ahead. Tell us what you need,” I said with a very slight nod, not wanting to startle the wielder of the sharp beak that was currently far too close to my face for comfort.


Alpha turned his head at an odd angle to stare at my face, bringing that weapon-like beak even closer.“As I mentioned earlier, this is a most urgent matter. Flock 84 has declared war, and we have ten days to secure a peaceful resolution before that declaration becomes official. We want to avoid war at all costs, because—”


“Hang on,” I mumbled. “I need to be able to translate for Charles.”


Alpha let out an irritated cluck but waited for me to share what I’d learned so far.


“Okay,” I said once the other human was caught up. “Just pause every couple sentences as you keep going.”


The bird shook out his feathers, clamping his talons into my shoulder a bit too firmly in an effort to keep his balance as he did so.“Like I was saying, we want to avoid war at all costs, because Flock 84 is much larger and better equipped for battle.”


“What does a war between seagulls entail?” I asked, trying not to laugh as I pictured a pair of angry white birds fighting over a fast-food wrapper. It was a scene I had witnessed more times than I could count, growing up on the Bay.


“Silence.” Alpha gave me a sharp peck on my collar bone. He hadn’t applied much force, but it still really, really hurt.


I shook him off my shoulder and rubbed at the sore spot above my chest.


As I did that, Charles jumped into protective boyfriend mode.“If you hurt her again, I’ll end your war before it even begins by feeding all of you to my cats!”


A panicked caw rose up, and several of the gulls took flight in an attempt to add some distance between themselves and this new guy who was aligned with their biggest predator.


“If we must respect you, then you must respect us,” the gull told me. “You laughed at the thought of dozens in my flock getting slaughtered.”


I knew instantly that he was right. I’d been far too insensitive given that lives were on the line. “I’m sorry,” I said, my voice ringing out in the night like a bell. “Please do go on. We want to help however we can.”


“We have ten days to seek a peaceful resolution, and it’s up to us—the flock under attack—to declare the governing law. We chose human law, and that’s where you and your foul-mouthed little friend come in.”


I translated for Charles, leaving out the insult.


“Why would they choose human law?” he asked with a scrunched brow.


It was a good question. I wanted to know that, too.


“As I’m sure my second has already informed you, we keep tabs on you humans. Especially those of you who are gifted with the voice. All birds watch, but 82 watches closest of all. We knew we could reach out to you, a human with the voice and legal expertise. 84 will have a hard time finding someone to defend them within the allotted waiting period. Let alone to build a case.”


“Makes sense, but what are you fighting for?” I asked, hoping his answer would be the final piece needed to make sense of the flock’s needs and how Charles and I fit into it all.


“Land,” he said simply.


When he didn’t elaborate, Bravo spoke up. “Our neighboring flock, number 83, went missing several weeks ago. Assuming they’d abandoned their territory, we moved in to secure it for 82. But then 84 got it into their bird brains that the land should be theirs since they have a larger population.”


“Why do you think it should go to 82?” I asked, not letting it slip that I thought the warring flock had sound logic here.


Alpha narrowed his eyes at me—at least I think he did. It was kind of hard to tell with birds since their eyes were set on either side of their head instead of straight above their beaks. “Because we were here first. Also, 83’s former land sits nicely with ours.”


“Here?” I asked with a squeak as Alpha flew back to claim his place atop my shoulder. This couldn’t possibly be about some strip mall on the shady side of Dewdrop Springs. The rental prices here were practically free because so few ever wanted to step foot anywhere near this beaten-up town.


Alpha hopped from my shoulder onto Charles’s upper arm and used his beak to climb the rest of his way up to my boyfriend’s shoulder. “This is only a small part of the territory. We birds cover a lot of mileage in a day, so naturally our domains are large and encompass several human cities.”


“Does your flock cover Glendale, too? That’s where we live.” I had no idea birds kept their own maps and territory lines, but now that I thought about it, this made perfect sense. Just as their flock hierarchy and lack of a formal judicial system also made sense.


“Yes,” Alpha stated simply. “The entire bay is now ours with this new acquisition. Though, we need to avoid the war to keep it.”


“And you know where I can find my grandmother,” I reminded him since my involvement hinged largely on this one fact. “Does that mean she’s close? Somewhere near the bay?”


“She is closer than you know,” Alpha said in a maddeningly cryptic way. He shook out his feathers again, giving Charles quite the start. “Also closer than I know. Bravo is the one who tracks these matters.”


“But you’ll take me to her if we help?” I practically begged, needing this confirmation more than anything else in that moment.


“If you win our case, then yes.”


“We will,” I promised, because it seemed like the only option. “We’ll win it for you.”


He nodded.“Good.”


“Angie,” Charles whisper-yelled. “You never promise the client you’ll win, only that you’ll fight your hardest for them.”


“I doubt you’ll get disbarred over how you represent some flock of seagulls out in Dewdrop Springs,” I responded with a nervous chuckle.


“If your partner has doubts,” Alpha warned, giving me some serious side eye, “then we can call this whole thing off now. It’s only the lives of my flock on the line.”


“No, no, no!” I cried. “We’ll help, and he’s just being modest. He’s the best lawyer in all of Maine. I promise you that.”


“Angie—” Charles started again.


This time Alpha cut him off.“If you’re worried about your payment, worry not. The flock will arrange something worthwhile to thank you for your efforts.”


I quickly translated.


“It’s not about money, or whatever passes for money with birds. I just can’t make a promise I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep. I will definitely give your case my all, though.” Charles risked craning his neck to look Alpha in the eye. “I want to save your flock and prevent the war,too. And I think you have a very strong case in your defense. I’ll represent you to the very best of my abilities. I don’t often lose in court, and I don’t plan on losing this time.”


“Then I am satisfied,” Alpha said with a curt nod. “We’ll meet again tomorrow to discuss your progress. I’ll send Bravo.”


With that, the gulls let out a collective caw and rose into the night sky, leaving Charles and I to make our own way back to the parking lot.


Ten days.


If all went to plan, I would meet my long-lost grandmother in just ten short days. I still couldn’t believe it.


Chapter Six


After being summarily dismissed by Alpha and his flock, Charles and I drove our separate cars to a little diner just outside the Dewdrop Springs city limits. He ordered a coffee, but I sprung for a hot fudge sundae with an extra cherry on top.


“So what’s our plan?” he asked casually, holding the steaming mug between his hands.


Not even the sweetness of my dessert could mask the bitterness of what I realized had to happen next. I pushed my long-handled spoon as far down as it would go in the soda shop style glass and heaved a giant sigh.


“I’ll tell Octo-Cat I can’t take him to see Grizabella. He won’t be happy, but I can take him another time. Soon, even. It’s just that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I refuse to let it slip by. I might never meet my bio grandma otherwise.”


Charles sucked air through his teeth, then regarded me with a frown.“You can’t change your travel plans. It’s too last minute for that. And I know you don’t want to deal with how cranky Octo-Cat will be for the rest of his nine lives if you do.”


I pressed my back against the firm vinyl of the booth. Charles was right, as always. There would be hefty penalties to pay for disappointing Octo-Cat, but I just couldn’t see any way around it. “What choice do I have, though?” I asked.


“You go as planned. I’ll work on things here.” With that, he pulled my sundae to his side of the table and stole one of the cherries from the top.


“You can’t talk to them,” I pointed out, leaning over the table to reclaim my sundae and popping the remaining cherry into my mouth.


Charles smiled.“You use FaceTime with Octo-Cat, right? Can’t we use it for the seagulls, too?”


“But what about your caseload? You’ve been so busy lately. I’d hate to add another thing when—”


“Angie, relax. It’s okay. I want to help. Besides, my girlfriend is going out of town for the week. I’ll need something to keep me busy on my off hours. Might as well be this.” He shrugged and took a slow sip of coffee.


I waited for him to set the mug back onto the table.“Are you sure?”


He reached forward and grabbed both my hands, then wedged his fingers between mine.“Completely. You need this trip, and so does your cat. Besides, I already have a few case precedents in mind that should make winning this thing a cinch.


“You’re too good to me,” I said with a happy sigh. Especially considering he seemed to be quite afraid of the flock, but I didn’t mention that part aloud.


“It’s no big deal. They said they have ten days, and you’ll be back by then. We can deliver the big case together.”


“Sounds perfect.” And it did.


Charles’s features pinched as he leaned back against the red and white vinyl booth. “There’s just one part I’m not sure about. They mentioned that Flock 83 disappeared, but they never said why or where they went.”


I spooned a massive heap of hot fudge into my mouth and moaned with pleasure.“They’re birds. Birds migrate. I’m sure it’s no big deal.”


Charles bit his lip and nodded.“Probably not. Still, I might feel better if I knew for sure. It could help the case, too.”


“I don’t know much about that, but I bet if you could get Bravo to talk to you alone without Alpha there, he’ll be more forthcoming.”


“I’ll keep that in mind. Now tell me about what you did today before the run-in with those birds.”


We laughed and chatted until I scraped the last smudge of gooey sweetness from my sundae. It was far shorter than I would have liked, but we both had big days ahead of us tomorrow.


Charles stood and extended a hand to me to help me out of the booth.“I’m going to miss you so much,” he said before giving me a goodbye kiss that would need to last almost a full week.


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Despite leaving early that morning with my human-do list, I arrived home after Paisley’s self-prescribed bedtime of eight o’clock. The little dog, who lay snoozing by the front door, lifted her head groggily and thumped her tail against the hardwood floor.


“Are you home now, Mommy? I couldn’t sleep without knowing you’d made it back safe and sound.”


I set my bags on the floor and then scooped her into my arms and gave her a kiss on her forehead.“I’m home, sweetie. Go get some sleep.”


She licked my hands as I bent to set her back down, then raced upstairs to find Nan, her little tail swinging back and forth the entire time.


I could always count on our Chihuahua for a warm welcome. Octo-Cat, on the other hand, did not look pleased to see me.


“Took you long enough,” he spat from his perch about halfway up the staircase. “Did you at least get everything on my list?”


“Other than the stuff Nan picked up, yeah. You’re welcome, by the way.”


“Stuff,” he said with a yawn. “I don’t like you calling my things that.”


He’d demanded everything from a specific brand of shrimp cocktail to that infuriating audiobook. I didn’t know what else to call that odd grouping other than “stuff.”


“Why are you so late?” he asked, running up the stairs in front of me as I trudged slowly after him.


“Something came up. Something with seagulls,” I muttered, really not wanting to get into all that right now.


Octo-Cat arched his back and had the audacity to hiss at me.“You’re not backing out on me. Are you? Because that is the lamest excuse you’ve come up with yet.”


Oh, if only he knew how close I’d been to packing it in. He was lucky I loved him so much and that Charles loved me so much.


“Bright and early tomorrow morning. I’ll be ready.” I really should have lectured him on his poor manners or hurtful lack of gratitude, but I was just too tired to deal with him anymore that night.


“Good,” he said, sashaying down the hallway to his bedroom and slipping through the slightly open door.


I shook my head and continued up another flight of stairs to my tower bedroom.


I was in for a very long week. Our road trip would take us thirty hours of driving each way—and that was without any breaks to eat, sleep, or stretch our legs. Thankfully I’d have Nan to split driving shifts with me, though I didn’t love that she had wanted to take her tiny Audi coupe cross-country rather than my roomier old sedan.


Besides the drive itself, I knew I was in for an awkward time visiting with Grizabella’s owner, Christine. She didn’t know I could talk to animals and I preferred to keep it that way. This meant I’d needed to come up with a farfetched excuse that I’d already planned to be in town and would love it if she could watch Octo-Cat for me while I was off at my fake conference.


She’d bought it hook, line, and sinker. Really, she had no reason to suspect my cover story was a lie. Even though it was a harmless one, I still felt bad. Not bad enough to risk exposure of my freakish—and often troubling—ability, but still.


Despite today’s hiccough with the seagulls, everything would still happen to plan with this trip, whether I spent time agonizing over the details or not. And I definitely preferred not.


I quieted my thoughts, promising myself I’d deal with each new thing as it came. The last thing on my mind before I drifted off to sleep was that I really hoped my cat knew how much I loved him, and that he would at least try to be nice to me for the duration of the trip.


Yes, I still believed in miracles, it seemed.


Chapter Seven


I awoke to the sound of four little feet charging rapidly up and down my private staircase. The stomping rose to the top of the stairs then paused.


“Reo-reow!” Octo-Cat cried from the other side of my door, a cat possessed. His point apparently now made, he raced back down the stairs and up again and down before letting out another echoing cry. “Reowowoweoeoweoew!”


I couldn’t help but chuckle. He so rarely got the zoomies, but when he did, my sides usually ended up aching from all the unexpected laughing at his antics.


“Seems like someone’s more than a little bit excited about our big trip,” I called after flinging the door open.


My cat rushed into the room so fast, he appeared as little more than a brown blur. Slowing himself only slightly, he hopped onto my unmade bed and pounced on my pillow, hopping up and down on his front paws.“It’s morning. Can we go now? Reo-reow!”


And he was off like a shot once again.


I glanced toward the window, which hung dark without even the slightest hint of sunlight yet peeking through. We had planned on being up early, but…


A quick check of my phone confirmed that it was hardly past four AM. The plan had been to set out at six…


Oh, well.


There really was no point bemoaning my lost sleep, nor was there any sense in trying to nab any additional shuteye before we headed out. Octo-Cat was simply too excited to accept any kind of delay.


I got dressed quickly, choosing a pair of blue polkadot sweatpants and a T-shirt featuring a cartoon cat with his face pressed through a slice of white bread. The first time I’d worn it, Octo-Cat had insisted that the pun on “purebred” not only didn’t make sense but was also offensive. Considering his past reaction to the harmless T, today seemed the perfect day to wear it. Not only would it help me stay comfortable during the long drive, but it would also enable me to exact a modicum of revenge for the early wake-up call. I smiled to myself as I swept my hair back into a messy bun and smeared Chapstick over said smile.


When I padded downstairs lugging my haphazardly packed suitcase behind me, I found Nan up and full of pep. She held out a shiny metallic travel mug, which I graciously accepted.


As I took my first glorious sip, Paisley ran into the room, singing,“Oh, what a beautiful day for an adventure!”


She yipped when she saw me, stood on her hind legs, and placed her front paws just below my knee—her signal that she wanted to be picked up.


I lowered my mug and took in the sight of her for the first time that morning.“Nan,” I cried in shock. “What have you done to her?”


“That’s her travel look. Don’t you like it?” My grandmother patted the swirly pink scarf on her own head. It matched the one wrapped around the Chihuahua’s neck perfectly. A paisley print, I realized.


On top of that, Paisley the dog also wore a pair of hot pink goggles—to help with wind-burn Nan later explained, which I guessed meant we’d be driving with the windows down for at least part of the trip. Octo-Cat would love that.


And, sure enough, after we all piled into the car—Nan in the passenger’s seat, me driving, and the pets and luggage crammed into the sports coupe’s tiny back seat—my grandmother immediately rolled down both windows.


“I should have sprung for the convertible when I had the chance,” Nan remarked, much to the horror of Octo-Cat, who’d finally shaken off his zoomies and was now back to his usual crabby self.


“Are you sure we can’t take my car?” I asked one last time while waiting for the engine to warm up a bit.


Nan turned to me, aghast.“Of course not. What’s the point in having a nice car if you never use it?”


Well, I wasn’t the one with the fancy sports car, but we would be sharing shifts, so I let that go. Our goal was to drive straight through to Colorado by alternating driving and sleeping shifts and consuming lots and lots of caffeine. I’d have preferred to actually stop at a motel for some rest along the way, but once Nan suggested making the trip a straight shot, Octo-Cat refused to have it any other way.


Tired but determined, I transitioned to drive.


Paisley let out a happy bark from right behind me, returning to her earlier song with even more volume than before. Frigid morning air rushed into the car as we picked up speed, and Paisley leaped over the center console, then scrambled onto Nan’s lap, using that extra bit of height to stick her goggled face out the window.


“See,” Nan clucked. “And you thought the goggles were too much.”


“Can we please close the window and turn on the sun now?” my cat moaned. He’d never liked car trips, but at least now he could take them without needing to keep his claws dug firmly into my thighs for added comfort—his, obviously, not mine.


“You woke us all up two hours early. It’s going to be dark for a while,” I reasoned.


“Dark, fine. But does it need to be so cold?” I glanced at him in the rear-view mirror and found his unhappy amber eyes boring into mine.


Paisley let out another excited yip in response.


“Maybe we can take turns with the window the same way we’re doing for the driving,” I offered with a small shrug, willing myself to focus on the road ahead of me and not at the angry animal behind me.


Then something strange happened. In fact, if I hadn’t been there myself, I never would have believed in.


Octo-Cat laughed. He actually laughed!


“The important thing is we reach my dear Grizabella as quickly as possible,” he said with a blissful sigh.


“Yeah,” I answered with a smile, hardly believing how reasonable he was being.


“Now drive faster please,” he commanded in a perfectly pleasant way.


I checked my speedometer and shook my head.“I’m already a few miles above the speed limit. Sorry.”


“Why sorry? You and I both know this car can go a lot faster.”


A quick look in the rear-view mirror revealed he was being perfectly serious, and if I didn’t comply with his demands, he’d start nagging at me again. I groaned and pressed down on the accelerator with a slight bit of added pressure before easing back again.


Oh, boy. This was going to be a long, long drive.


Chapter Eight


A couple hours into our trip, the sun had finally begun to peek over the horizon. Nan had spent most of that morning dozing softly beside me. Paisley had settled in her lap and was making cute whimpering noises as she rested. Octo-Cat, on the other hand, remained in the back seat endlessly droning on about all his plans for his week with Grizabella.


I nodded along saying nothing as was expected, since when Octo-Cat spoke, he usually did it for his own benefit rather than anyone else’s.


“Mommy,” a small voice rose up from beside me. I quickly turned to see Paisley had lifted her head and was staring at me with wide, sparkling eyes. “I have to go potty.”


We’d just passed the perfect exit for a quick pit stop not even two minutes ago. We were also on the portion of our trip that took us through rural countryside, which meant the options would be few and far between.


“I’ll keep an eye out,” I said, since that was the best I could do. “I promise.”


“Excuse me, I’m talking here,” the tabby in the back seat growled and then continued with his long-winded soliloquy.


“I don’t think I can hold it,” the little dog squeaked, standing now and raising one paw after the other in excitement.


Nan awakened with a snort and glanced around the car with bleary eyes.


Paisley whimpered again, louder and more persistent.


“I promise we’ll stop as soon as the next exit pops up. It won’t be too much longer, okay?” I hoped this little white lie ended up being true.


“I can’t hold it. I can’t hold it,” Paisley squealed.


I knew better than to push our luck, lest Nan land herself with a lap full of doggie pee. So I pulled the sports coupe to the side of the highway, grateful there weren’t many people out at this early hour. Rush hour hadn’t even begun yet.


“Be very careful,” I explained before opening my door and allowing Paisley to trot after me. “And don’t go where I can’t see you!”


Nan had already fallen back asleep in her seat, which meant it was up to me to keep track of both animals.


Octo-Cat sauntered out and began to walk up the shoulder of the highway. I let him do his thing. Mostly because if I corrected him, he’d be extra sure to do the exact opposite of what I wanted.


Instead, I turned back to watch as Paisley squatted and sighed with pleasure upon relieving herself.“It feels so good.”


“Dogs are such disgusting creatures.” Octo-Cat marched toward me with his tail standing straight and tall. “Well,” he said, cocking his head expectantly.


“Well, what?” I responded with a sigh.


“Where’s my litter box?” He stopped and plopped his rear on the pavement, regarding me with a sneer. “You can’t expect me to use the litter box without the litter box.”


“I am not assembling your box for a pit stop. It doesn’t come out until we reach Colorado.”


“So you expect me not to relieve myself in all that time? Impossible.”


“You can relieve yourself. Just not in the box. I have nowhere to throw the litter once you’re done, and it’s incredibly wasteful to get it out for a single use. And I’m not driving with an open litter box in the car, so forget that right now.”


“And what do you expect me to do?” he asked with a huff.


Paisley trotted back over and gave Octo-Cat a big lick on the face. “I can teach you how to potty outside, Octavius. I don’t mind at all.”


“No, thank you,” he said with a shudder.


I crossed my arms and stared at him down the bridge of my nose. “Are you going to go or not?”


“Not,” came his terse reply.


“Fine. Then let’s get back in the car.”


Once we’d all piled back in, Octo-Cat’s excited talk of his plans with Grizabella turned to bitter complaints about my unwillingness to accommodate his litter box needs.


“Will you just stop it already?” I asked after a solid ten minutes of this. “I’m sorry I upset you, but there’s nothing we can do about it now.”


“I would think you had a little more respect by now,” he scoffed.“After all we’ve been through! After all I’ve done for you. You can’t just—”


“Oh!” I interrupted, having landed upon an idea I rather liked. “That audiobook you sent me all over Blueberry Bay looking for… Let’s listen to it.”


His voice softened. “Oh, yes. Shockingly, that is a good idea from you.”


I rolled my eyes as I shoved the CD in and turned up the volume.


“Dr. Roman’s Guide to Romance,” the narrator said in a deep, authoritative voice that felt completely wrong for this kind of book. “Chapter one. Learning to Love.”


“Love is a beautiful agreement between two souls, and it’s also one of the best things life has to offer,” the narrator droned. “Romance is but a small part of the broader picture of love, although many find it to be the most rewarding.”


“He’s right about that,” Octo-Cat said with a happy sigh.“I am a cat forever changed by the love of my darling Grizabella.”


I rolled my eyes again. Thank goodness Charles and I weren’t like this.


“Romance is all about celebrating love, and to do that you first need to have love in your life.”


I groaned. “Do you really want to listen to this guy?”


“Ssshhhhhh,” Octo-Cat hissed. “This is good stuff here.”


I tightened my grip on the steering wheel and gritted my teeth as the speaker—Dr. Roman himself, it turned out—continued to prattle on about how love was a many splendored thing and other such clich?s. Seriously, how was this book a bestseller?


Before long, Nan perked up. “What are you listening to?” she asked.


“Only the single most intelligent human to ever live,” Octo-Cat answered even though Nan couldn’t understand him.


I translated this as,“Octo-Cat’s new audiobook.” Injecting as much sarcasm into my tone as I could manage while still paying proper attention to the road, I added, “Dr. Roman’s Guide to Romance. Apparently he’s the single most intelligent human to ever live.”


Unaware of the compliments and insults we were bandying about, Dr. Roman continued,“Unlike love, romance is not ever a noun. It’s always meant to be a verb. Romance doesn’t just happen. It’s something you must work to actively create in your life.” He paused to let this great wisdom sink in.


“Can you believe this guy?” I asked quietly, hoping the cat wouldn’t overhear.“He doesn’t even have a basic understanding of the parts of speech. How can you believe a word that comes out of his mouth?”


“He’s right, actually,” Nan said, nodding thoughtfully. “I never thought of it exactly like that, but it’s true. Why just last week, Grant and I—”


“Ssshhhhh,” Octo-Cat hissed again, and we all fell silent listening to Dr. Roman’s words fill the car.


Was I being unfair to this book, or was I simply cynical about romance? Charles had always been the more romantic of the two of us, and I’d always been more than happy to let him take the lead. Did I owe it to him to try harder?


Ugh.


Whether or not I liked Dr. Roman, the truth was we were all going to be stuck in this car together for quite some time. I could at least listen to what Dr. Roman had to say. Especially considering Nan and Octo-Cat now hung on his every word. Even little Paisley sat with both ears erect as she happily squinted her eyes in that special way Chihuahuas do when they are completely content with life.


I listened without complaint as Dr. Roman delivered his list of seven must-haves for creating romance, and I said nothing when he launched into his guided meditation for romantic mindfulness. But by the time he started in on the aphrodisiac effect of certain foods and beverages, I’d had enough.


“Let’s stop for coffee,” I said, then let out a giant, demonstrative yawn.


“Shhhhhh,” all three of the others hissed at me.


Even though they were talking to me, it was Dr. Roman’s voice that quieted as a ringing sound poured out of the car’s speakers.


Nan pressed a button on the radio and Charles’s voice filled the car. “Hey, how’s the drive going?” he asked.


“I hope you don’t mind, dear,” Nan said, “but I hooked your phone up to the Bluetooth because I knew your fellow would be calling before too long. Looks like I was right.”


I smiled, so incredibly grateful for the distraction I could have cried. “Totally fine,” I told both Nan and Charles since it applied to both of the things they’d said. “We’re making good time. How are things there?”


Charles sucked in a sharp breath.


And that was all I needed to know good news wouldn’t be coming.


Chapter Nine


“The flock is here,” Charles whispered into the phone.“They’re in my front yard. Dozens of them.”


“What?” I shouted, eliciting a fresh string of complaints from the crabby tabby in the back seat.“Why?”


“I don’t know. I can’t exactly talk to them on my own,” Charles pointed out, and of course he was right.


“Do you want me to turn around? We’ve only been at it a few hours. I can come back. You don’t have to deal with this on—”


Even before I finished that offer, Octo-Cat flew forward from the back seat, scaring the life out of me. When he landed on my lap, claws and all, I swerved into the next lane. Thank goodness, the road was still mostly empty on this stretch.


“Easy there, girl,” Nan said, stroking the dashboard of her car lovingly.


“Is everything okay?” Charles asked, his worry echoing around the car’s cushy interior.


“No, we’re fine. But I guess I’m not turning around.”


“You better not be,” Octo-Cat warned, digging his claws into my thighs once again to emphasize his point.


“Do you want to put me on FaceTime or something?” I offered meekly.“So that I can talk to the seagulls for you?”


“It’s okay. I mean, it’s definitely unnerving, but I think they’re just keeping an eye on me,” he said.


The tap turned on, and the sound of fresh water rushing into his empty coffee pot gave me a wicked craving for my favorite caffeinated beverage. Oh, how I wished I was there with him rather than on this obnoxious road trip.


“They must’ve followed me home last night,” Charles continued. “I’m getting that they don’t trust me.”


“I don’t know much about birds,” I admitted as we passed a semi-truck on the left. “They’ve never been willing to talk to me before now, but my guess is they just want to make sure you don’t forget about them.” I shrugged even though he couldn’t see the gesture.


“Well, it makes me uncomfortable,” he informed me. “Whenever I look out the window all their beady eyes snap to me. They’re sizing me up. It’s unnerving, really.”


“I’m sorry.” And I truly was sorry. “I shouldn’t have asked you to—”


“No,” he cut me off. “I want to do this for you. For your family. I’m just not sure I totally understand what’s expected.”


I opened my mouth to argue, but Charles still had more to say.


“I researched case precedents last night before going to bed. You know, just in case those things matter to seagulls, and I did find a few cases that could work. Winning this for the flock should be pretty simple, but whether or not we can win isn’t what concerns me here.”


“It’s having the whole flock camping out in your yard,” I finished for him.


“Yeah. It doesn’t seem right. Why don’t they trust me? What do they expect me to find?”


“You don’t think they told us the full truth about the war?” I asked.


“Or the disappearance of the other flock,” he confirmed. Coffee now gurgled and brewed on Charles’s side of the conversation.


“Do you think there’s something important we’re missing here?” I prompted while my mouth salivated for the hot bitter rush of that coffee.


“I definitely think it’s worth checking out,” he agreed. “I know they’re just birds, but still I’d like to know the truth.”


“I wish I were there to help,” I moaned. “It feels wrong to be so far removed from the situation, especially since you wouldn’t even be doing this if it weren’t for me.”


I still hadn’t told Nan about Bravo’s offer to introduce me to my long-lost bio grandma, so I chose my words carefully while speaking to Charles now. “I’ll be back before you have to go to trial.”


“These birds are definitely going to keep me on task until then. I honestly worry about what they’ll do if they think I’m ignoring their case. It almost feels like they’re some kind of avian mafia here. Ugh. If only there was some way to find that missing flock,” he said thoughtfully.


“Actually, there is a way,” Octo-Cat piped in from the back seat.


“Hang on,” I told Charles. “It seems Octo-Cat has an idea.”


“Not an idea,” he corrected with a haughty snort. “The solution.”


He wasted no time in continuing, “I don’t know all the details—or really any of the details—about this seagull stuff. You know, since somebody didn’t deem this new case important enough to tell her partner about.”


I held my tongue to avoid another pointless argument. But when had there been time to tell him? I was out until all hours working on his honey-do list last night, and today I’d been focused on driving while he filled every spare moment with either talk of Grizabella or lackluster advice from Dr. Roman.


“Anyway, as much as I hate to admit it,” Octo-Cat continued. “Our top spy stayed home.”


“Our top spy?” I asked. It was rare Octo-Cat admitted that anyone could do anything better than him, especially a task he enjoyed as much as spying.


“Yeah, the raccoon.”


“Oh,” I mumbled. “That’s not a bad idea.”


“Of course it’s not a bad idea. It came from me.”


“What?” Charles asked. “What did he say?”


“Pringle,” I explained in one single word.


“What about him?” Charles wanted to know.


“Well, he can talk to the birds for you and he loves gossip. I’m sure you don’t even have to ask for his help. You just have to talk about the problem near him and he’ll go explore it on his own.”


“Is that what you want me to do?”


“Yeah, I think it’s a good idea. Especially if it puts these questions to rest for you.”


“Okay,” he agreed, taking a slurp of coffee that made me incredibly antsy in my coffeeless state “I’ll go over to your place after work and see what I can do.”


“Great. If you want, you can FaceTime me once you’re there. I’ll tell Pringle what we need him to do.”


“I love you,” Charles said before taking another noisy sip.


I told him I loved him too and said goodbye. When we hung up, Dr. Roman’s voice immediately came bursting back through the speakers. No, no more. I needed at least some kind of break from him, so I turned the radio off.


“Hey,” Octo-Cat protested.


“Hey yourself,” I said. “I just need a minute so I can focus on finding an exit.”


“Does this mean you’re finally going to set up my litter box? Because I’ve been holding it, and I hate holding it.”


I refused to dignify that question with a response since I’d already made my position on the travel litter box more than clear. And a few miles later I found an exit that boasted a gas station, if not much else.


Hey, gas station coffee was good enough for me, especially since I didn’t know how quickly Nan’s car ran through fuel and didn’t want to take any chances there.


“Can you top us off?” I asked Nan after pulling in beside the pump closest to the door. I was out of the car and rushing inside before she could even answer.


A few minutes later, I returned with a steaming Styrofoam cup full of the good stuff clutched greedily in my hands.


“We should stop for some breakfast,” Nan suggested, finishing up at the pump.


“I’m not sure there’s anything on this exit.”


“Well, something will turn up eventually,” she said with a smile, and so we took a twenty-minute detour until at last we found a small diner that looked like it had been converted from a mobile home.


We ordered scrambled eggs and sausage to go, then sat outside with the animals in the parking lot as we tried to enjoy our meal.


“So what’s going on with those seagulls Charles was talking about?” Nan asked when we’d both eaten through about half of our containers.


“Oh, they need help with a territory dispute.” I tried to wave her off and changed the subject.“How about Dr. Roman, though? Do you really like his guide to romance?” I asked with a giggle.


“It’s as good as any other guide out there, I’m sure,” she said. “But why are you going out of your way to help these birds now? Couldn’t this have waited until you were back from the trip? Is there some kind of deadline?”


“According to their laws, we don’t have much time before a war starts up,” I explained casually. “So I agreed to work on their terms in hopes of preventing that war.”


“But why?” she said, studying me with glistening eyes.


“I…” my words trailed away.


“It’s okay, dear. Whatever it is, you can tell me. I’m a big girl. I can handle it,” Nan said with a half-cocked grin.


“It’s just, they said they know where…” I didn’t know how to word this, exactly. Nan was my grandmother. And yet I longed to know the woman our family had lost so many years ago. “Well,” I started again, taking a different approach. “You know how birds are. They see everything, and they know the lay of the land, and…” I continued to sputter nervously, getting nowhere fast.


“Is this about your other grandmother, dear?” Nan said softly, reaching over to squeeze my hand. “It’s okay if it is.”


I nodded but said nothing.


“Well then, we better help these birds because I’d like to meet her, too.”


Chapter Ten


The rest of the day eked by at a snail’s pace. I also felt like an ant who’d had its legs trapped in molasses. Well, whatever kind of insect I’d become, I was moving and moving and yet getting nowhere.


By this point, we’d more than half finished Dr. Roman’s audiobook. Nan had taken over the wheel about an hour ago, but still I couldn’t sleep. Somehow, against all odds, Octo-Cat had also stayed awake this entire time. His eagerness to reach our destination was far past being cute… and dangerously close to the point of me putting him in his carrier just to calm him down and give the rest of us a break.


When my phone rang, I jumped in my seat at the chance to answer it. I’d have liked to read a book or play some games, but I always became carsick when I focused my gaze anywhere but on the road ahead.


“Angie?” Charles said when I forgot to offer a hello.


“Yes, I’m here. Sorry. What’s up?” I leaned forward in my seat eager to hear his report.


“I’m just about to leave the firm and head to your place.” He hesitated. “That is, if you still want to speak with Pringle.”


“Yeah, yeah, of course I do. How was your day? Better than it started out?”


He hesitated again, sending my worry into high gear.“Kind of. At least the entire flock didn’t follow me to work.”


“But some of them did?” Why had I ever agreed to help these annoying birds? Yes, they had some serious leverage over me, but I hated that they were practically stalking Charles while I was too far to do anything to put a stop to it.


“Yeah. Well, one of them, anyway.”


“That’s probably Bravo. He’s kind of in charge of this whole legal thing.”


“He’s been sitting at my window all day. Watching. Waiting. I don’t like it, Angie.”


I didn’t like it, either, but Charles needed me to remain calm and handle the situation. “Put him on, please.”


“Just a second.”


I listened as Charles wrenched the window open and whistled for the bird to join us.


“You’re on speaker,” Charles informed me a few seconds later.


“Bravo?” I asked, doing my best to keep my voice calm and even. Authoritative.


“The one and only,” the seagull confirmed.


Okay, the flock worked according to rules and hierarchies. If I could appeal to that, perhaps I could get him to back off.“Why are you stalking Charles?” I demanded. “You hired us to help, and now you have to trust us.”


“No can do. Alpha has given me express instructions to keep a close eye on everything, and that’s exactly what I plan to do.”


“And I’m asking you very politely not to. Charles will work better if you cut him some slack.” I took a shallow breath, resisting the urge to sigh heavily into the phone.


Unfortunately, Bravo remained steadfast in his refusal.“Alpha’s orders are final. Your mate’s going to have a white shadow until it’s go time.”


A white shadow? I didn’t like the sound of that at all and was starting to understand why Charles was so suspicious of what had led to this whole territory dispute in the first place.


“Okay, well, I tried,” I told the bird, and then, “Charles, take me off speaker.”


“Okay,” he said with a huff. “So, what now?”


“Close the window,” I whispered into the phone. “I don’t want Bravo to hear this next part.”


I waited as the window slammed shut with a thump.


“This is getting weird, right?” Charles whispered back.


“I think it started that way, but it’s definitely weird.” I paused and took a moment to figure out a plan. “I’m going to call you back. Let it go to voicemail. I’m going to leave a message for Pringle. Make sure Bravo’s not around when you let him listen to it.”


“But how can I do either of those things? Getting Pringle to listen to me and keeping Bravo away?”


That was a good question. I ran through my options, silently wondering just how well birds could hear. Would Bravo be able to listen in through a closed window? I didn’t know, but I still had to take a chance with this. After all, the alternative was doing nothing to help poor Charles through this mess.


“Um, I’ll call back twice and leave two separate messages,” I decided. “One to get Pringle inside, and one to tell him what we need. As long as you don’t let Bravo into the house, that should give you the privacy you need. You still have the key I gave you, right?”


“I do,” he answered.


“Good. Head straight to my place. Pringle is probably in one of his treehouses, but he might be off collecting secrets from the neighborhood. Can you call me back when you find him?”


“What about the voicemails you’re planning to leave?” Charles wondered.


“Those are just a fail-safe. Call me, and I’ll make sure to stop whatever I’m doing—be it driving or sleeping or whatever—and I’ll give you my full attention. Hey, do you mind hanging around my house for a while if he’s out?”


I could practically hear the cringe in his voice as he said,“Better your place with one seagull than mine with the whole flock.” I really wished I was there with him, and not just because this road trip was driving me crazy.


“Good point. You know you can stay at my place if you need to.”


“Nah. They’ll just move bases, plus Jacques and Jillianne will be furious if I’m not home by bedtime.” He was right, of course. His two Sphynx cats were even more strangely entitled than Octo-Cat.


“Okay, I’ll call right back,” I promised, hating to let him go but also knowing I needed to move things along here. “Remember not to pick up. Love you. Bye.”


We hung up, and I took a few deep breaths before hitting redial. When his voicemail picked up, I raised my voice just south of a shout.“Pringle! Pringle! Charles is looking for you. Come over and talk to him. I’ve left you a top-secret message that will self-destruct in ten minutes whether or not you listen to it. So hurry up and follow him inside. Further instructions await you there.”


Click.


There. I’d appealed to his sense of drama. He wouldn’t be able to resist that.


I texted Charles between calls:“One down, one to go.”


When my second call was routed to voicemail, I laid out the basics of my plan and how it would involve the nosy trash panda.


“Agent Pringle, thank goodness you’ve accepted our call for help.” I reached deep down and pulled out every spy movie cliche I could think of. The raccoon had once thought of himself as a noble medieval knight, but his predilections tended to change based on whatever TV shows and movies he preferred at the time. Right now, he was on a Tom Cruise/ Arnold Schwarzenegger/ Bruce Willis binge, so spy tropes it was.


“We fear our mission might have been compromised and that our supposed allies aren’t giving us all the information. We’ve got a dirty flock and the impending threat of war. Already one flock has gone AWOL, and we need you to find these key witnesses and extract the true nature of their disappearance.”


As I continued to rattle off everything we knew in the most dramatic way possible, I started simply throwing in the names of popular action flicks. The cornier I could make this, the more our little raccoon spy would like it.


“It’s going to be Sum of All Fears around here if we don’t stop this Lethal Weapon from detonating. I’m counting on you to be The Terminator of these lies before somebody Dies Hard. Are you ready to join us on this Mission Impossible, Agent 007? Good, then await my next call for your assignment.”


I hung up quickly. If either Nan or Octo-Cat was paying attention, it was only a matter of time until one of them burst out laughing and spoiled the ruse. Yes, I knew that last part of my plea had made very little sense, but I also knew it would get the raccoon excited and ready to do whatever it took to solve the case.


Operation Raccoon Spy, here we come!


Chapter Eleven


Charles texted half an hour later to say he couldn’t find Pringle anywhere, but that he’d stay as late as he could without upsetting his two feline overlords back home.


While waiting to see if he would need me, I eventually nodded off.


I didn’t wake up again until the dead of the night.


Nan was wide awake as she took her turn behind the wheel, and she was listening ahead in Dr. Roman’s audiobook while the pets napped curled up together in the back seat. Octo-Cat would not be happy about that.


“Oh, you’re up?” my grandmother asked, turning her head to glance at me briefly as she clicked the stereo off.


I stretched what little I could belted into my seat, then wiped the sleep from my eyes.“Did Charles call?”


“He did, but I let him know you were dead to the world.”


Wow. I really must have been if I hadn’t heard the phone ring.


“Do you want me to take over for a while?” I offered despite still feeling quite sleepy. We could always find some coffee to activate my awakening sequence, if needed.


“I’m fine, dear. I don’t need quite as much sleep as I did when I was young.”


I smiled instead of pointing out that she’d slept clear through most of the day. “Okay, then I guess I’ll try to grab some more rest of my own. Wake me up when you’re ready to switch, okay?”


“Not a problem,” she promised and hit play on the audiobook again.


It only took a couple of minutes for me to drift back into a deep slumber—well, at least deep considering I had to do it while sitting up and buckled in. Driving was just about the most exhausting activity you could do while sitting on your butt the whole time. If I dreamed, it wasn’t something worth remembering because the next thing I knew somebody in the car was screaming.


“Oh my whiskers! I’ve never seen such a beautiful place! We have to go! We have to go!” Octo-Cat crooned as I opened my eyes and blinked hard.


Noticing I was now awake, my cat doubled down.“Angela, tell the old woman to get off at this exit!”


Paisley barked in an extra hyper, extra high pitch, the way she did whenever she was too excited to form actual words.


My head pounded as I tried to figure out where we were and what time it was. The night sky still hung dark above us, the road empty, and yet all of my companions seemed to be wide awake.


“Angela, take the wheel! We’re almost to the exit! We can’t miss it!” my cat continued to caterwaul.


I glanced over to Nan who appeared to be flagging behind the wheel. Her hands hung loosely over the steering column as she drove with her wrists at ten and two.


“Nan!” I cried. “You should have woken me up!”


“Huh? What?” She turned to look at me for just the briefest of moments, but it was enough.


Thump, thump! Thump!


The car jerked off the road and into the ditch at the shoulder.


Paisley let out a panicked yelp.


Octo-Cat hissed.


And I held on for dear life.


Then the airbags deployed, waking up my senses and grounding me in our terrible new reality. We’d crashed!


Nan sobbed beside me.“My poor, poor baby. What have I done to you?” Once again she was talking to her car.


It would be up to me to take stock and make sure nobody was hurt.


“Paisley?” I called, knowing instantly that she was most at risk given her less than five-pound frame.


“That was scary,” she whimpered from behind me. “I fell on the floor, but it only hurt a little.”


I breathed a sigh of relief, then took another deep breath before asking,“Octo-Cat? Are you okay?”


“I am not happy about this turn of events, Angela,” he growled. It wasn’t his usual peeved-off growl, but rather something low, deep, and incredibly intimidating. Oh no. What now?


When I turned around, my neck twinged in pain, but I was able to see that he was still sitting on the seat with his claws sunk deep into the leather upholstery.


Bits of cushion popped through where his claws had snagged the seating. I picked up a blanket from the floor and tossed it over the seat so Nan wouldn’t notice. She was already worked up enough without seeing this particular display.


“I am outraged!” my cat informed me from beneath the blanket before popping his head out a moment later. He left his body covered as he lectured me for this latest indignity. “When I requested we make a pit stop, it was so that we could see the largest aquarium in the state. Not for whatever this was.”


“The largest… in the state? Where are we?” I wondered aloud. I knew we were somewhere between our home in Maine and Grizabella’s in Colorado, but where?


“Michi-bun,” Paisley provided. “At least that’s what Nan said when we passed a big sign a while ago. Welcome to Michi-bun.”


Michigan. That put us a little less than halfway into our journey, which also meant that despite our best attempts, we were making terrible time.


I shot daggers at my cat, realizing that for all the anger he had toward me right now, I had far more reason to be upset with him.“All this screaming and fuss was about an aquarium which wouldn’t even be open at this time of night. Seriously? You have an aquarium back home!”


“It’s not the largest one in the state, though. I want to see this one.”


“Not a chance.” I whipped back to face front. Ouch, my poor neck. “You’ll be lucky if we even still get to see Grizabella at this point.”


“Nooooooooooo!” he screamed, launching himself into my lap, claws still extended. “You can’t do that to me.”


“Ouch. Bad kitty!” I spat as I grabbed him off my lap and returned him to the back seat. My neck twisted in pain.


“Nan,” I nudged, noticing her still hunched over the deployed airbag, stroking the car’s dashboard. “Are you okay?”


“I’m fine, but my poor girl is a wreck.”


“It’ll be okay. This is what insurance is for,” I offered with what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “We need to focus on getting some help. Should I look up a tow place on my phone?”


“No,” she said with another sniff and a sob. “I have a friend in the area. She’ll come and get us.”


“Okay, but you should probably call now. We don’t know how much damage has been done to the car or how long it will take to get it road-ready again.”


She shook her head and a fresh rivulet of tears ran down both cheeks.“I’m so sorry about this, dear. I should have asked you to take over, but I didn’t think I was that tired.”


“It’s okay. Really. Accidents happen,” I said, although I couldn’t ever remember when one had happened to me. “We’re all fine. That’s what counts.”


Nan unbuckled her seatbelt and got out to observe the damage.


I followed suit, my feet sinking into the spring mud with a squelching sound.


“I don’t know what happened,” she muttered, staring at the immobilized vehicle with a dumbfounded expression. “I wasn’t even that tired. I—”


What had happened couldn’t be changed. Now it was up to me to keep Nan from descending into a vicious spiral of guilt.


“You don’t have to explain,” I assured her, coming to stand at her side. “I understand, and it’s going to be okay. But we need somebody to come get us. Here. Give me your phone.”


She reached into her front pocket and took it out, then handed it over to me.


“Thank you. Now what’s the name of your friend who’s going to come get us?”


“Melissa,” she said with a small sigh. “She usually goes to sleep pretty early, but she gave me her night owl husband’s number for emergencies.”


“Well, I’d definitely say this qualifies.” I thumbed through the contacts until I found Melissa and then Melissa’s Husband.


I’d wait until later to ask Nan why she had the number of some guy way out in Michigan as an emergency contact. Because whatever her reason for taking such a strange precaution, she’d definitely been right to do it.


Chapter Twelve


Nan’s friend appeared about forty minutes later with her whole family in tow. “Climb in,” she said, pointing to the cluttered back rows of the giant SUV. “Sorry about the mess.”


I got in beside a little girl who was fast asleep with a glistening bead of drool dribbling off one pouty lip.


“Couldn’t leave her at home,” Melissa said, watching me while Nan stood with Melissa’s husband inspecting the damage from the accident. “Nan called me, but I don’t actually drive, so we all had to come.”


“I’m not getting in there. It smells like dog,” Octo-Cat informed me from outside. His nose wrinkled in disgust, and once again, I was more than a little relieved that other people couldn’t understand him.


I sighed instead of answering. He knew I couldn’t talk to him in front of people who didn’t know my secret, but that never stopped him from complaining, endlessly complaining.


“Aren’t you worried your cat will run away?” Melissa asked, glancing from him to me with a worried expression. Both tall and thick, she was a big woman, but the biggest part of her was the earnest smile she wore as she greeted me.


“He’ll be fine,” I said for both of them.


That was when Paisley ran over, tail wagging wildly, to say hello to the new arrivals.


“Oh my gosh!” Melissa cried in such a high-pitched voice it made my ears rings. “Who is this sweet angel baby?”


“That’s Nan’s dog, Paisley,” I supplied.


“Well, of course it is.” Melissa scooped the happy Chihuahua up into her arms and let Paisley lick her face. I noticed that her baggy T-shirt read Crazy Chihuahua Lady in big blocky letters. No wonder she and Nan were friends.


“Oh, you are the sweetiest-beatiest,” she squealed. Both she and Paisley seemed to shake with happiness. Was this woman so obsessed with Chihuahuas that she had even started to act like them? Funny.


“I like her,” Paisley said with a happy bark.


“She looks just like my Sky Princess,” Melissa informed me with that ever-present smile. “You’ll meet her when we take you back to our place for a rest while your car is being worked on. See…” She motioned toward the banged-up sports car. “This is why I don’t drive.”


Nan returned with Melissa’s husband, and they climbed into the SUV.


“C’mon, Octo-Cat,” I called and clicked my tongue.


Thankfully, he decided it was better to listen to me than to be left alone on the side of the road and complied.


Melissa leaned forward from the back row and bumped my shoulder.“Wow, he really listens. Almost like a dog.”


“A dog!?” Octo-Cat shrieked. “That’s it. Let me out of here. I don’t want to spend another second with this crazy woman.”


“Hush. It’s fine,” I murmured, the weight of my fatigue weighing heavily now that I was sitting back down.


Melissa gasped but said nothing for the rest of the drive back to her home more than half an hour away.


When we arrived, we were greeted by the loudest chorus of barking I’d ever heard in my life. A moment later, five dogs ran outside to say hello.


“You have five dogs now?” Nan asked with a chuckle, scratching some kind of mixed breed with multi-color eyes behind the ears.


“Seven, actually,” Melissa corrected. “The Chihuahuas are inside because they’re not strong enough to push through the dog door on their own.”


“She’s insane,” Octo-Cat choked out. “Certifiably insane. I refuse to step paw into that house.”


“It’s already the middle of the night,” Nan said with a sigh. “I do appreciate you coming to our rescue, but I hope we don’t have to wait until morning to get someone to look at the car.”


“C’mon, there’s at least twenty mechanics within ten miles of us. I’m sure someone will be open and able to take us,” Melissa’s husband said after he’d returned from taking his daughter to bed.


“I’ll be back,” Nan told me before climbing back into the front seat of the enormous SUV and disappearing.


“So…” Melissa said, her eyes wide and mischievous. “You’re Nan’s granddaughter, right?”


Leave it to Nan not to properly introduce us.“That’s me. My name’s Angie.”


She dropped her voice to a whisper as we climbed the twisty steps toward the front door.“Are you the one who can… you know? Talk to… well, you know?”


Anger flared in my chest, but I did my best to swallow it back down. Was Nan seriously entrusting random people across the country with my biggest secret? It seemed like she wasn’t even all that close with Melissa, given how surprised Melissa had been to meet Paisley and how Nan couldn’t even remember exactly how many dogs these people had.


“You don’t have to say anything,” Melissa said with a conspiratorial grin. “Your secret’s safe with me, by the way. I would never tell anyone. Well, except for my husband and daughter, of course. I tell them everything.”


Great. So at least three other people knew, and one of them was just a kid. First or second grade, tops. Kids had no filters. Not exactly the best people to trust with secrets.


Melissa flung the door open with a“ta-da,” and I glanced into the dark house, expecting to see her dogs lined up to greet me.


What I actually saw was far, far worse…


Octo-Cat must have crept up the stairs behind us because he now let out a mighty growl and jumped—literally jumped—into a thin tree that lined the front stairs.


“It’s my worst nightmare come to life,” he howled.


I wanted to tell him that we wouldn’t be here long, that he had nothing to worry about, but I honestly didn’t know how badly busted Nan’s car was or whether Melissa’s husband was right about being able to find a mechanic at this hour. So instead I left him clinging to the tree as Paisley and I followed Melissa into the houseand shut the door behind us.


Hopefully his worst nightmare wouldn’t also prove to be mine.


Chapter Thirteen


“What are you doing in my houssssse?” hissed a Maine Coon cat, who looked a lot like Octo-Cat except he was at least twice as big, twice as fluffy, and twice as intimidating.


After demanding I explain my presence, he marched straight up to Paisley and batted her in the face. He didn’t growl or take out his claws, but the maneuver still felt extremely aggressive.


“Ttccch!” Melissa said, and the cat skittered away, choosing a place midway up the staircase to keep an eye on us.


“This is my house. I am the king!” the cat said, wagging his tail wildly.


I watched him wearily, worried he might make another move to dominate Paisley if we weren’t careful. Thank goodness, Octo-Cat had chosen to stay outside. This was one fight I knew he wouldn’t be able to win.


“I decide who comes and goes, and I did not approve your entry,” he meowed. “If you want to stay, you must give me a treat stick.”


“Oh my gosh,” Melissa said with a gasp, raising a hand to her heart. “He’s talking to you, isn’t he? Merlin’s talking, and you’re understanding! What is he saying? What does he want?”


I was hesitant to admit that her cat was coming off like a major jerk, but I was even more hesitant to talk about this at all. This person was still little more than a stranger to me, and yet she knew the most intimate, private thing about me. This wasn’t right.


“Well?” Melissa asked with that wide smile of hers.


I sighed.“He wants a treat stick.”


She chuckled.“Well, of course he does. Come with me, and I’ll show you the procedure.”


She then walked me through the exact way Merlin preferred to be offered his special treat sticks, including where to stand when I was opening it, how fast to walk toward the cat tower where he preferred to take the treat, and precisely how long to hold it in my hand before dropping it for him to do the rest of the work.


Man, for not being able to speak to his humans, this Merlin sure knew how to communicate his needs.


“I’m going to let the dogs in now, okay?” Melissa announced, once we’d completed the offering to her cat.


I hadn’t realized they weren’t with us, but the second she opened the sliding glass door, I realized just how quiet the house had been without them.


Paisley immediately rolled onto her back and let the others sniff her as she wagged and wiggled. A fat corgi sniffed her so vigorously that he flipped her over by accident.


“This is great,” Nan’s little dog cried. “I’ve always wanted to go to doggie daycare.”


I sighed. Well, seeing as my secret was out anyway, I may as well talk back to her.“It’s not daycare. It’s just—”


Paisley jumped to her feet with a bark so loud, I took a step back in shock.“It’s the dog from the mirror! Bark, bark, bark!”


Sure enough, a nearly identical mostly black tricolor Chihuahua came galloping over. She barked once and then began to kick up her back legs in a comical display of scratching and snuffling that was most likely meant to be intimidating.


“No, you’re the dog from the mirror!” she barked at Paisley.


“Sky Princess,” Melissa scolded. “Come here.”


The little dog whined and struggled for a moment before settling into her human’s arms.


“Pick me up! Pick me up!” Paisley begged, standing on her hind legs and pawing me while she whimpered.


The moment I did, both dogs resumed barking and accusing each other of being mirror dogs again.


“Oh, boy. It’s a good thing my daughter is such a deep sleeper, otherwise I’d be afraid they’d wake her up,” Melissa said with a roll of her eyes. “It’s way past bedtime for this crew, too. Let me tuck them into their crates, and then we should have some peace and quiet.”


Once that was done, we settled in across from each other at the kitchen table. Melissa offered me a cold can of Diet Coke from the fridge, which I gratefully accepted.


“So how are things with you?” she asked as if we were old friends. “I can’t imagine it’s easy living with someone as colorful as your nan.”


I chuckled at this. Even though her prying made me uncomfortable, it didn’t seem nice to respond by saying that I couldn’t imagine living with a small zoo in my house the way she did.


Just then, a loud thump whomped into the window, and I jumped in my seat.“What was that? I thought you put all the dogs to bed?”


Melissa pushed her chair out behind her and stomped over to the kitchen window.“Seriously, dude! At this time?” she practically shouted. Looked like her cat wasn’t the only one around here who’d gone crazy.


She groaned and returned to me with a bemused expression.“That was Murder Robin,” she explained as if that clarified everything. It didn’t.


I stopped myself before taking another sip from my soda, just in case she was about to tell me something so shocking I wouldn’t be able to swallow properly.


Finally, she offered more.“He’s been coming here every spring and summer for the last several years. He spends all day thumping up against our kitchen windows, and all night hurling himself at our bedroom window.”


“What? Why would he do that?”


She shrugged.“Birds are weird. You’d think he’d just find somewhere new to roost, but you know how territorial birds can get.”


I nodded as I considered this. So, this crazy bird would rather sustain an injury by fighting a battle there was no way he could win than to… simply migrate into a new home?


That was weird, but it also made me think.


If birds were this crazy territorial, then why would the flock that previously held the Dewdrop Springs territory back home just up and disappear? Alpha, Bravo, and the others had seemed totally unbothered by the fact that they’d gone, but it wasn’t normal for birds to leave their homes without a very good reason. And judging by Murder Robin’s actions, “very good” was definitely relative.


This suggested that Charles’s suspicion was right. Something fishy was going on with the seagulls. Hopefully Pringle could uncover the truth before time ran out.


Now all we needed to do was find him and convince him to help…


Chapter Fourteen


About an hour and a half later, Nan returned from the mechanic with Melissa’s husband in tow.


“They fixed my girl up as best they could,” she said with a far-off glance that may or may not have hid tears threatening to spill. “One of the tires blew out, but the engine is fine. They swapped it out and said I’ll have to get the upholstery in the back seat fixed once we’re back home again.”


“That’s good, right?” I asked, more than ready to be on our way. Melissa was nice and all, but she was Nan’s friend—not mine. Besides, I was worried about Octo-Cat skulking off by himself in the unfamiliar woods outside.


“It’ll drive fine,” she said with a dejected sigh. I knew how much that little sports coupe meant to her, but it would be completely fixed soon enough. Besides, maybe now she’d agree to stop off at a hotel so we could both rest properly between shifts.


“Then let’s go. I’m wide awake now.” I smiled back at Melissa, hoping she wouldn’t find my eagerness to get back on the road offensive. “Thanks so much for your hospitality and for the company.”


She gave me a quick hug, which surprised me as I was not exactly the hugging strangers type.“I’m so jealous of you,” she whispered into my ear. “What you can do is so cool. I’d love to talk to you about it more sometime.”


And then pulling away, she finished at full volume,“Nan knows where to find me online. Oh, before you go, let me load you up with some treats for you and the pets.”


And about twenty minutes later, we were back on the expressway.


“Are you sure we shouldn’t just head home?” I asked as I took a swig from one of the cold brew coffees Melissa had sent with us. “We’ve been through a lot already and we’re still only halfway there.”


“You may think you’ve been through a lot,” Octo-Cat shouted. “But you didn’t have to wait around outside back there. Consider yourself lucky that the other guy wasn’t an outdoors cat, otherwise things would have gotten really ugly.”


“Stop complaining and have a treat stick,” I said with a smirk. “Um, can you toss him one, Nan?”


Unsurprisingly, Octo-Cat enjoyed this strange Slim Jim like treat just as much as Melissa’s cat Merlin had. And it took him a bit longer to eat this thing than one of his smaller treats, which meant it gave us a few minutes of blessed silence every time we tossed him a new one. Honestly, this discovery alone was worth the unplanned detour.


“We may as well keep going, seeing as we have a long drive ahead of us either way,” Nan said after unwrapping the kitty treat stick and chucking it into the back seat.


“Get some sleep if you can,” I told her, setting the bottle of coffee into the cup holder and returning both hands to the wheel. “I’m wide awake for now, but I promise I’ll get you up the moment I feel too tired to keep going. We can decide then if you’re going to take over or if we should stop and rest for a while.”


“Fair enough,” she agreed, then leaned her seat back as far as it would go and left me to my own thoughts.


I had enough to think about to keep myself occupied for a while. Not only was there the seagulls’ original case but also the mystery of what had happened to that other flock. And we still needed to find Pringle and convince him to spy on our behalf.


On an unrelated note, Nan and I needed to have a very long talk about her revealing my ability to talk with animals to anyone really, but especially to strangers over the Internet. I shuddered to think of the dangers her loose lips could mean for me in the future. Sometimes my octogenarian grandmother acted like a little kid, I swear.


How could she not know that random people on the Internet weren’t to be trusted with the intimate details of our lives?


Yes, we’d gotten lucky this time, seeing as her friends in Michigan had proven to be helpful—and while a little animal-crazy, at least they weren’t full-on psychopaths.


But how many others had she also told?


As much as I wanted to jump into this topic with Nan right now, I also knew it would be better to wait until we’d finished our trip and were back home. We already had one accident under our belts, and I wasn’t eager to add another.


Because Nan had already hooked my phone to the Bluetooth in her car, I was easily able to pull up my favorite 80s love ballads playlist and send it piping through the speakers. The emotional, up-tempo songs kept me company while the others slept in bursts and fits, each occasionally waking up to chat with me for a few minutes before drifting back to the sandman.


When the sound of my phone ringing drowned out the music a couple of hours later, I was so surprised I almost didn’t realize what was happening.


Nan snorted in her sleep, leaned forward to press a button on the stereo, and then settled back in her seat.


“Hello? Angie?” Charles’s voice called out, unsure.


“Yes, it’s me. Hi!” I tightened both hands on the wheel.


“It’s not too early. Is it?”


“No, I’ve been up for hours.” I considered telling him about our accident and the detour that had followed, but I didn’t want to worry him when there was nothing he could do from back in Maine. I’d catch him up on our random Midwest adventure later. We had enough to focus on right now as it was.


Charles let out a soft sigh.“Good. Well, I decided to wake up early and swing by your house before heading to the firm, and it’s a good thing I did, because I found Pringle.”


My heart sped up a little at this announcement. At least one thing was now going our way.“You found him? Did he listen to my message? Is he there now?”


“Yes, yes, and yes,” Charles responded with a laugh that made me yearn for him. It was strange how someone I hadn’t even known about a year ago had now become such an integral part of my world. “Do you want to talk with him?”


“Yes, but hang on. I’m going to pull over to the side of the road. Can you wait a few minutes then call me back on FaceTime?” It was always easiest to talk to animals if I could also see them, and I definitely needed every advantage I could get when it came to negotiating with the greedy trickster of a raccoon.


Yes, we needed his help, but I also knew that it would come with a price. His help always came with a price, which is why he had two custom treehouses, two big-screen televisions, two rapid-firing Nerf guns—one of which was named Carla—and countless other doubles of the types of belongings you would never think a raccoon even needed in the first place.


He had two of practically everything because, in Pringle’s mind, if it was worth doing, then it was worth overdoing. I was definitely thankful he and Nan couldn’t speak directly to each other, at least not without looping me in as a translator. Together, they’d not only live the most charmed, extra existence possible, but they’d also blab my secrets to the whole entire world…


That is if they hadn’t done so already. And that was a massive if.


My stomach churned at the memory of how cavalier Melissa had been in discussing facts she shouldn’t have even been privy to. One thing at a time, I reminded myself and let out a ragged breath.


We hadn’t even made it to Colorado yet, and already I couldn’t wait to be back home.


Chapter Fifteen


I had to wait a couple minutes for Charles’s return call after pulling over to the shoulder of the highway. Nan woke up and offered to take the wheel, but I figured it would be best to have this call while fully stopped. I’d have hated for her to get distracted and crash the car a second time.


When at last he called again, Charles seemed to be out of breath.“Sorry… for the… wait,” he said between gasps for air. His face was red from exertion and he wore a pained expression.


“What’s going on? Is everything okay?” I tried to keep the worry from my features. After all, he could see me, too.


“Yeah, it is now. That bird caught up with me, and I had to fight him off with a broom.” The redness began to fade from his face and he smiled, but I still had concerns.


“What?” I shouted.


“Eck, too loud!” Octo-Cat moaned behind me, but I pointedly ignored him.


“He tried getting in through the pet door, but not to worry. I got him back out again.”


I was most definitely worried but also knew I needed to speak with Pringle before he grew impatient and scampered off to do something else. If he got away now, who knew when we’d be able to find him again? Charles was already working at a disadvantage not being able to speak to the raccoon or seagulls directly, after all.


“If you’re sure you’re okay,” I said with a frown, and then, “Hand the phone to Pringle. He’ll know what to do.”


The camera maneuvered quickly, showing me an impromptu tour of my own living room from odd angles. A few seconds later, a masked face with beady eyes filled the screen.


“Commander, that you?” he asked with a voice that sounded more 1940s gangster than it did spy operative. My gimmicky presentation had clearly resonated with him, which meant it would be far easier to get him to follow orders.


“Affirmative.” I leveled my eyes and pushed my mouth into a straight serious line.


“I got your message before it could self-destruct,” he said in a garbled whisper, then glanced to both sides before turning back to me. “You said you had an assignment for me?”


“10-4.” I didn’t know what that meant, but it sounded right. “Uh, are you ready to hear the details?”


Pringle winked.“Darling, I was born ready… Hey, don’t roll your eyes at me!”


Drats. That was the one downside of FaceTime. I couldn’t keep playing this ridiculous role while also keeping a straight face. “Permission to speak plainly?” I asked in a desperate ploy to keep us on task, then held my breath as I waited for him to acknowledge my request.


The raccoon sighed, then nodded.“Granted.”


“We need your help finding out what happened to that missing flock.”


A slow, wicked smile stretched across the raccoon’s face. “So I hear. I can help, but it’ll cost you.”


Of course it would. Pringle had never done something out of the goodness of his heart. Not once. But at least he was relatively easy to convince if the price was right.


“Fine,” I said, but I wasn’t in much of a place to negotiate with him from the side of the road, mid-trip. “We’ll figure out your payment when I get back. Okay?”


He jerked his head sharply to the side and thrust his nose into the air.“Not okay. If you want my help, we make our contract now.”


I sighed and rubbed at the bridge of my nose.“What do you want?”


Again he smiled wickedly.“Actually, I was hoping for—”


“Wait!” Charles interjected and then presumably foisted his phone from the raccoon’s grasp because a moment later his face filled the screen. “He’s asking for payment, right?”


Whether he figured this out from my end of the conversation, our previous dealings with Pringle, or both, Charles clearly understood that I was in the midst of negotiating.


“Yup. Got any ideas?” I sure hoped he did because I had nothing.


Pringle’s fingers writhed in front of the screen and he shouted, “I already know what I want. Give it back!”


Charles, of course, didn’t know what he was saying, and even if he had, probably wouldn’t have agreed to it, anyway. He rose to his feet, out of reach of the raccoon, and continued, “The seagulls offered to arrange something as a thank-you. Remember?”


Oh, that was right! Seeing as neither Charles nor I were even remotely interested in whatever dumpster fire the birds gifted us, it made sense to offer it to Pringle. It might just save us from having to agree to something pricey that a raccoon had no business ever owning, like a motorcycle or a robot. And given his odd predilection for doubling up whenever possible, he’d likely demand two, if given the chance.


“Good idea,” I said with a smile. I loved how my boyfriend not only accepted my strange ability but was a true champ at rolling with the punches. “Give the phone back to him now.”


Pringle appeared a few seconds later with a huff.


“Now as I was saying before I got so rudely interrupted…” He paused and glanced up with a scowl—at Charles, I guessed.


“Hold it right there,” I said before he could continue, then waited for him to clamp his mouth shut to deliver my offer. “A secret spy mission calls for something extra valuable. Wouldn’t you say?”


I had his attention now.


“Go on.” The words rolled out smooth and glib.


“We’ve been promised a secret treasure.” I widened my eyes to punctuate this revelation.


“A secret treasure. Interesting.” Pringle rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “What is it?”


“Nobody knows. That’s what makes it so exciting.”


The raccoon narrowed his eyes at me.“Hey, you’re not trying to pull one over on me, are you?”


I shook my head adamantly.“No, of course not!”


“Hmmm…” Pringle rubbed at his chin some more. His lips began to move as he mouthed words, but no sound came out. Finally he smiled and said, “Okay, sold.”


“Excellent.”


He switched from business mode to action mode so quickly, the change was almost visible on his face.“Now where can I find that flock?”


I filled him in on all the details—or at least as many as I could without losing his attention—and suggested he start by heading over to Dewdrop Springs. “I’m on it,” Pringle promised before dropping the phone to the ground and scampering off.


Crash! The sound of the phone colliding with the hardwood floorboards sounded like a peal of thunder on my end of the call.


“My phone!” Charles cried from his side.


I couldn’t help but laugh as he retrieved the fallen gadget and searched it for any signs of damage.


“Not funny,” he said but laughed along with me. “I sure do miss you. Have a great time, but hurry home, okay?”


I agreed, and we said goodbye. A huge part of me wished I’d never agreed to this trip in the first place. But I saw Charles live and in person several times each week. Octo-Cat only ever got to speak with his girlfriend over the Internet. They needed this trip to keep their relationship strong. As obnoxious as my cat had been this entire trip, at leasthe was happy. That made my short-term discomfort worth it, especially if the two cats had a great time this week.


“I’ll need a payment, too, and you can’t trick me like you did the raccoon,” Octo-Cat informed me from his place in the torn-up back seat, proving that he couldn’t go longer than a few minutes without complaining about or demanding something.


I didn’t turn to look at him, because I knew it would send a new pain twinging down my neck. Stupid car accident. Maybe Grizabella’s human could recommend a good chiropractor while we were in Colorado because I needed to do something to treat this pain, and I really didn’t want to have to endure another long drive and a whole week of waiting before getting it.


“I’m not paying you anything,” I muttered and stretched my arms out in front of me with a yawn.


He tsked and declared,“Ah, ah, ah. Finder’s fee. It was my idea to bring him in, wasn’t it?”


Darn it. I really couldn’t argue with him on that one.


Chapter Sixteen


Somewhere amid the rolling hills of Iowa, we finally settled into our drive. In fact, I didn’t even argue when Octo-Cat asked to listen to his audiobook a second time.


“I just want to make sure I’m one hundred percent prepared to woo and wow my love, Grizabella,” he explained with a contented sigh.


And it could have been a byproduct of just how boring it was to drive on the expressway for thirty-plus hours at a stretch, but the things Dr. Roman was saying actually started to make sense the second time around.


Romance is a verb because it requires action.


On the surface level, Charles battling the seagulls on my behalf wasn’t exactly romantic. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was the best gift he’d ever given me. In just about a week’s time, I could be standing face to face with my long-lost biological grandmother, and it would be because Charles had stepped up to help.


I owed him one heck of a souvenir from Boulder, although I already knew nothing could come close to what he’d already freely offered me and my family.


“Nan,” I asked after internally debating whether I should broach this topic at all. Ultimately, I knew it would eat at my insides until I finally let it out. “Are you sure you’re okay with me reaching out to my other grandmother?”


She was the one driving now, and as much as I didn’t want to upset her by talking about difficult topics, I just couldn’t get this particular one off my mind. If anyone could understand the need to let it all out, it was my nan. She had a habit of letting it all hang out—for better or for worse—and her choosing to share my secret with her online friends was even more proof of that. Still, as angry as I was with her for that, I would never voluntarily hurt her feelings. I needed to know I had her blessing for whatever happened next with my bio grandma. I needed to hear her say it was okay and to believe her when she said it.


Nan clenched the wheel so hard her knuckles turned white. Not a good sign.“It was wrong of me to keep her from you for this long. I just hope you and your mother can one day forgive me for that.”


“We already have,” I promised, placing a hand on her shoulder so she could feel all the love I had for her, still and always.


She sighed and adjusted her grip on the wheel, returning her knuckles to their usual pale flesh color.“You, maybe. But it will take your mother a bit longer, I’m afraid.”


“I’ll talk to her,” I insisted, my voice strong and sure.


“No,” Nan snapped, which startled me.


“No?”


“She’s right to be angry. In fact, I’m surprised you aren’t more upset with me, dear.”


“You did a bad thing, but you did it for the right reasons.” The truth was I just didn’t have it in me to be angry with her. At least not for the long term. I’d already worked through all those feelings and was ready to move forward. Nan, however, seemed to carry a heavy burden of guilt that had only gotten heavier as the years passed.


“Maybe at first,” she agreed, tightening her grip on the wheel once more, “but I acted selfishly all the same. When she came searching for Laura in New York and your grandfather and I chose to run away rather than meet her face-to-face.”


“But how could you know what she wanted? Or whether she’d press charges? Heck, even why Grandpa McAllister lied to you in the first place?”


I still remembered that autumn evening when Pringle had offered the stolen letter that revealed Nan wasn’t my grandmother by blood. She’d been tricked into taking my mother at her oldest and best friend’s request. Once I learned about this, Charles and I tried to track the old man down, but it was too late. He’d already passed, leaving the reason behind his actions a mystery that only the wronged mother—my real grandmother—could illuminate for us.


While terrible, none of these revelations made me love Nan any less. She’d raised me. She’d given me nearly thirty years of true unconditional love, had always been my biggest support and my closest friend. Maybe our family started as a lie, but it had grown into something much more.


I longed to meet the missing woman who shared my DNA, to give her some kind of closure and offer back a small part of what had been stolen from her, but not if it hurt the one person who mattered most in my world—Nan.


“I didn’t know,” she said hardly above a whisper. “But I also didn’t try very hard to find out. I fell in love with your mother from day one, and that was that. I would have done anything to keep her with us.”


“We’ll find out soon. Bravo will make sure of it. He says he’s been following her for even longer than he’s been following me, and he’s had his eyes on me ever since I first met Octo-Cat. When he leads us to her, we can ask why William would have done what he did. I’m sure he had his reasons, whatever they were.”


Nan shrugged, but the tension in her form remained.“I accept whatever happens next, and I’ll support you and your mother as you repair your family.”


“She can’t replace you. That’s not why we want to meet her.”


“I know.” Nan flashed me a sad smile, then returned her focus to the road. How I wished I could hug her right now, but my words would have to be enough until we made our next pit stop.


“I love y—”


“I’ve gotta make!” Octo-Cat yowled at the top of his lungs, completely ruining the emotional, heartfelt moment. “I’ve gotta make! Pull over, pull over! I need my litter box, and I need it now.”


I groaned and rolled my eyes. Leave it to the cat to make everything about himself every second of every day.“Nan, can you stop?”


She chuckled.“I may not know what he’s saying, but I can definitely tell it’s urgent.” She changed lanes and pulled to the shoulder without delay.


“Do you need the pee pad?” I asked as I unbuckled myself.


“No, I need my litter box,” he insisted, his voice cold with fury. “And if you don’t give it to me, I’ll go right here in the car, and you’ll have to smell it the rest of the trip.”


Wonderful. While I normally wasn’t one to negotiate with terrorists, Nan’s poor car had already been through enough.


I was also emotionally drained from the tender conversation we’d just had.


So I gritted my teeth and set up Octo-Cat’s box with a thin layer of litter. We could toss the soiled bit at the next rest stop and pick up a fresh bag once we reached Colorado if needed.


At least we were more than three-quarters of the way there. Then again, we were only three-quarters of the way there! We still had several more hours to go, even though it felt like it had been at least a week since we set off yesterday morning. Seriously, we hadn’t even reached our destination, and already I’d had more than enough of this road trip.

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