Hannah Bernard - The Dating Resolution

“Of course it does! It’s huge. It has to have a coast.”

“A real coast, or just a frozen chunk of ice?”

There was an awkward silence filled with mutual embarrassment over their geographical shortcomings. “Sure it has a coast,” Hailey said uncertainly. “I mean, of course it doesn’t have sunny beaches, but it has to have a coast!”

“A husband in Siberia. How convenient. He’ll be right next door. All you have to do is cross the North Pole. But let’s get back to the important issue. Me.”

Hailey chuckled. “I’m going to miss you too, Ellen.”

“Who’s going to watch black-and-white movies with me Sunday evenings? Huh?”

They went a few more rounds before Hailey hung up, breathing a sigh of relief. Everybody would know soon, even those she hadn’t e-mailed.

CNN had nothing on Ellen when it came to broadcasting news.

The sticky notes were all over the house, everything from explaining eccentricities of the dishwasher to a motherly reminder to wear sunscreen in the winter sun. Hailey gathered them together as she came across them, smiling as a mental picture of Jane came together in her mind. She knew Jane was about her age, but with all the maternal advice littering the house she couldn’t help but picture a gray bun and pince-nez glasses. Maybe her suspicions about Jane and Jordan were way off base.

She plucked a note off the kitchen faucet and stuck it under a refrigerator magnet with a bunch of other kitchen messages. She’d probably be coming across additional ones for weeks to come.

The phone rang again, only minutes after she’d finished unpacking and was in the process of choosing a yellow note—marked frozen dinner to zap.

“Okay, you’ve had two hours. Ready to come home now?” Ellen asked without preamble.

Hailey laughed. “No.”

“Do you know the male to female ratio up in Alaska?”

“Um…no.”

“I just looked it up for you. It’s not in your favor. You’re much better off back here where there aren’t enough men to go around.”

“There may be more men here, but I’m not available here, and there is no one to contradict me on that. This is perfect.”

Ellen snorted. “This isn’t going to work. You must know, Hailey, that if you swear off men, you’re going to have Mr. Rights lining up on your doorstep. It’s a cosmic law.”

“Cosmic laws are meant to be broken.”

“Just remember, don’t walk away from true love if it comes knocking.”

“True love again?”

“I’m serious. Principles aren’t worth such a sacrifice. If the right guy comes knocking—don’t send him away without a test drive. Promise?”

There was a sound at the door. Hailey raised an eyebrow, for a second wondering if Ellen could have staged this. “Hold on, I think True Love may be knocking on my door right now.”

“I’ll hold,” Ellen replied, but Hailey took the cordless phone with her. She checked the peephole, but didn’t see anything. She opened the door, irritated to notice the lack of a security chain.

“Meow,” said someone politely, and she lowered her gaze to meet a green gaze from about ankle level. It was a tiny kitten, adorable with its narrow orange and white stripes. It squeezed through the opening and bolted into the house. Hailey peered around outside, but saw no one, so she closed the door again.

“Well, we seem to have True Love,” she told Ellen. “A kitten just came asking for asylum and I have no idea where it went.”

Ellen oohed. “Great. Boy or girl? Is it a stray looking for a home? I hear they make great self-cleaning litter boxes these days.”

“I can’t keep it,” Hailey protested, walking from room to room looking for the cat. “I don’t know anything about animals. And I can’t take it with me when I go back home. Pets aren’t allowed at my apartment.”

“Don’t panic. You probably won’t be able to keep it anyway. Most likely it’s a neighbor’s cat.”

Hailey squeezed the phone between ear and shoulder and dove after a swinging tail into a kitchen cupboard. “Out of there, you little thief,” she muttered. “How can you smell the tuna inside the can? And how did you manage to open the cupboard?”

“The cat opened a cupboard?”

“Well, I didn’t leave it open, and now he’s inside.” Hailey grabbed hold of the cat by the middle and pulled it out of the cupboard. A small tail flicked in anger, and then the kitten hissed at her.

“It’s a he?”

“I don’t know.” She held the cat up and tried to check out the relevant body parts. “I have no idea. Is there an easy way to tell?”

“Hmm. Pink or blue collar? Or a name tag?”

“No collar. Hold on—someone’s knocking again.” She flung the door open, phone cradled between her ear and shoulder, cat digging its claws into her other shoulder. This time, there was a human on her doorstep. A hot, scruffy one.

Of course it would be his cat.

“Hi again. Did you get a feline visitor recently?” Hailey shifted, and Jordan caught a look at the cat hanging from her shoulder. “I see you two have met.”

“This your cat?” Hailey tried to remove the kitten, but the claws were stuck to her sweater—and a few embedded in her skin. “Ouch! Is it a boy or a girl?”

“Female.”

“Are you sure? She’s behaving an awful lot like a boy.”

“I’m a vet, I should know. She’s female.”

“And she’s yours?”

“No, she’s not my cat. That’s Helena. And she seems to be stuck to you. Can I help?”

Helena meowed, digging her claws in deeper. Hailey yelped. “Yikes! What’s she trying to do, give me a paw-shaped tattoo? Get her off me!”

“I’m trying.” Jordan leaned closer as he dug Helena’s claws one by one out of Hailey’s shoulder. After a small eternity he finally straightened up with the tiny kitten in his arms. Hailey noticed she didn’t dig into his skin with her lethal little claws.

Instead she was purring.

Typical female.

“You okay?” Jordan asked.

“Huh?” Much like Helena, she’d gotten distracted. It was the way he smelled. No sophisticated cologne, of course, it wouldn’t go with the rest of him—but something even better. Outdoorsy scent. Natural and fresh. Primitive. Masculine. Undeniably sexy.

Okay, Hailey, for that thought you spend an extra half hour on the treadmill.

Dammit! This wasn’t boding well.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I think.” She rubbed her shoulder. “No lasting damage. She’s so cute! Orange cats are so cute. Does she live nearby?”

“She’s nobody’s cat. She showed up a couple of weeks ago and begs food from everybody in the street.” He stroked the kitten and she meowed on top of her purr, butting his palm with her tiny head. “She’s used to hanging out with Jane, so you’ll probably be seeing a lot of her.” He put the cat down on the doorstep, and she sped back inside, with only a short pause to rub against Hailey’s legs, leaving another fine layer of soft orange hair.

“She found a can of tuna in the kitchen. A whole pile of cans in fact. She seemed to know the way.”

His lips quirked. “That would explain her love for Jane. And her sudden love for you.” His shoulders lifted in a shrug, drawing her unwilling attention to some excellent hidden physique under that sweater, and then he started to turn away. “Anyway, I just wanted to tell you about her, since I saw her heading your way.”

Hailey looked back. The cat was prancing back and forth by the kitchen cabinet, impatiently waiting for her to come and dish out the tuna. “What do I do with her?” she called after Jordan.

He turned back, shrugging again, his hands in the pockets of his worn—but damn well-fitting—jeans. “She’s a house-squatting stray. Let her stay if you like, else just show her the door. She’ll get the picture if you don’t feed or pet her, and find another prey.”