Блейз Клемент - The Cat Sitter's Nine Lives

He sat back and folded his arms over his chest, then added, “Thus concludes my speech.”

I smiled. “Thanks for that.”

He winked. “Sure, babe.”

Then I slid Guidry’s letter onto the table between us. “Because I thought we should open it together.”

His jaw dropped open and he pushed his chair back, holding his hands up in the air. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. I’m totally not ready to be that mature!”

I laughed. “Oh, come on! You have to help me.”

“Why do I have to help you? That letter’s for you, not me!”

I said, “Because we’re a couple and that’s what couples do. Now grow up and open it with me.”

He shook his head. “No way.”

“What about that speech you just gave me about not being jealous and taking the mature route?”

“That was all bullshit.”

I cocked one eyebrow and stared at him.

He grinned uncomfortably. “Really?”

I said, “Ethan, I don’t want to read it alone. I want to read it with you.”

He sighed. “Ugh. What if he wants you back?”

“We’ll say no.”

“What if he wants you to come visit him?”

“We’ll say no.”

He picked up the wine bottle and split the last remaining drops equally between our glasses. “Okay, let’s open the damn thing already.”

I picked up the letter, hoping Ethan wouldn’t notice the slight tremble in my hands, and slid a fingernail along the edge of the envelope. I lifted the flap and looked inside. There was a single piece of paper, handwritten and folded into thirds.

I spread it open on the table, took a deep breath, and read it out loud:

Dixie,

I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately. I know you might find that surprising, but I do think about you a lot and hope you and Ethan are good (yes, the guys down at the station keep me up to date on all the gossip). I’m writing because I have something to tell you. I’ve picked up the phone a hundred times to call, but every time I do, I can’t quite figure out how to say it. So I thought I’d just do the old-fashioned thing and write you a letter (or is it the cowardly thing?) Well, anyway …

I’m engaged.

I can tell you all about it later, if you want to hear it, but I didn’t want to take the next step without letting you know first. Probably dumb, huh?

Guidry

I looked up to find Ethan staring at me, his eyes as big as an owl’s. He said, “Whoa. Did not see that coming.”

I had to admit, I hadn’t seen it coming either, and to be honest I didn’t know how I felt about it. Part of me was grateful Guidry had told me first—it would definitely have been strange to find out any other way—and part of me was just plain shocked. How was it possible he could so quickly have met someone, fallen in love, and decided to get married? It seemed like only yesterday that he’d left for New Orleans. Had I opened that letter alone, I would probably have sat down and cried for myself for a couple of hours, but with Ethan there with me, my ultimate reaction was entirely different, not to mention a little surprising.

Ethan downed the rest of his wine in one gulp and sighed. “So … what are you thinking?”

I picked up my glass, “I’m thinking … One, good for him. Two, I’m glad that’s over with, and three, let’s go inside, it’s getting a little chilly out here.”

He grinned. “That’s it?”

I didn’t think it would be quite so simple, but it was. I nodded. “Yep. That’s it.”

Looking a little relieved, Ethan stood up slowly and came around to my side of the table and pulled my chair out for me. Then we took our time and walked hand in hand back up to the house. When we got to the courtyard, Michael and Paco were in one of the chaise lounges my grandfather built, wrapped in each other’s arms and sound asleep. We tiptoed up the stairs and closed the French doors behind us.

I wasn’t sure what was coming next, but I didn’t get a chance to find out. We hadn’t been inside ten seconds when my cell phone rang.

I said, “You’ve got to be kidding me. Who in the world would be calling me at this hour?”

Ethan glanced at his watch. “Uh, it’s nine o’clock, Gramma.”

With the day I’d had, not to mention the miles of territory covered in Guidry’s short letter—he was never a man of many words—I’d just assumed it was around three in the morning. My cell phone was on the coffee table in front of the couch, and when I read the caller ID, I turned to Ethan and frowned.

“It’s Village Meats.”

“Who?”

“The butcher up the street from the bookstore.”

As I flipped my phone open, Ethan whispered, “How the hell does he have your number?”

I held up one finger and said, “Hello?”

“Dixie, this is Butch from the butcher shop. I’m really sorry to call you, but this old guy just knocked on my window. He doesn’t have a cell phone—that’s how old we’re talkin’ about. He says he got that cat cornered out back in the alley. I said I’d give you a call.”

I said, “Mr. Silverthorn?”

“Yeah, that’s him. Old guy with gray hair. He said you’re good at catching cats.”

“Huh. Okay, thanks, Butch. Tell him I’ll be right there.”

Ethan’s eyes widened. I flipped the phone closed and said, “This will take twenty minutes tops.”

“Who is Butch? And where are you going?”

“He’s the butcher. He said Mr. Silverthorn is there and he’s got Cosmo cornered in the alley.”

“He’s Butch the Butcher?”

I picked up my backpack. “Would I make that up?”

“So what does Mr. Silverthorn need you for?”

“Ethan, he’s an old man and that cat is fast. There’s no way he could catch him.”

He sighed. “But what about dessert?”

I laughed as I kicked off my sandals and pushed my feet into a pair of Keds. “Oh, so that’s what you’re worried about!”

“Babe. It’s Michael’s key lime pie.”

“I know, I know. We’ll have it when I get back.”

He followed me out to the balcony. Michael and Paco were still sound asleep on the deck. He said, “Well, I guess I better bring in that table anyway. If the tide comes in we’ll never see it again.”

“Okay. I’ll be back before you know it. I promise.”

He gave me a quick kiss at the top of the stairs and then watched me bound down the steps. As I hopped across the driveway I shouted, “If you eat all that pie I’ll kill you!”

He grinned. “You better hurry, then.”

28

I sped along Midnight Pass, thinking proudly that everything was falling perfectly into place. I had decided that once we had Cosmo safely ensconced in the cat carrier, I’d suggest we take him to the vet right away, and I’d call Dr. Layton to see if she could come in for an emergency checkup. Even though I’d left plenty of food for him, there was no telling what Cosmo had been eating these last few days, and I didn’t want to take any chances.

Then I’d offer to pick Cosmo up in the morning and deliver him right to Mrs. Silverthorn’s arms. I figured it wouldn’t be hard to convince her to adopt him, and that way I’d have the perfect opportunity to visit the mansion one more time, and I could draw Janet aside and tell her where Baldy was. I’d do my best to persuade her to turn herself in, and I’d even drive her to the police station if she needed moral support.

My timing was excellent. I sailed right through all the lights, and in no time at all I was pulling into a parking place on the deserted street right in front of Beezy’s Bookstore. There was a chill in the breeze off the water, so I grabbed Ethan’s black hoodie from the backseat and then went around to the back of the car and took out one of my plastic cat carriers. I was just about to make my way to the alley when I remembered the cat treats.