“Yes.” No matter what happened with Steph, however the charges against her played out, Jon would never allow Emmy to go back and live with Steph. It would be a travesty if the court didn’t side with Jon now.
“Are you going to stay here with us?”
“Trinity,” Tate called, and waved for her to join him in the kitchen.
“I’ll be right back.” She hated not answering the little girl, but Tate stood just outside the kitchen staring her down, imploring her to hurry up with his intense gaze.
It took her a second to get up off the couch and be sure she had her balance, but once she made it to the kitchen, Tate took her arm and frowned.
“So the cat situation is tricky. I called Jon. He had no clue what happened with the cats and gave me the manager’s number at the apartment complex.”
Trinity rolled her eyes and wished she hadn’t. It sent her brain and vision into a tailspin. She closed her eyes for a moment, then refocused on Tate.
“You good?”
“Yeah. Fine. My head,” she said by way of explanation. “So the manager has the cats?”
“No. He knew that an older woman in the building had recently lost her dog, so he asked her if she’d like to take the homeless cats.”
“Okay, can we talk to her and get them back?”
“Well, here’s the thing. She took two. The gray-and-white and the black one.”
“Puff and Dot.”
“The orange one went to a single mom, who has a little boy.”
“Crap. That’s Razzle. Emmy’s favorite.”
“I have the number for both tenants, but it sounded like Emmy really only wanted her cat back. I mean, the older lady lives alone. She’ll probably spoil those two cats rotten.”
Trinity agreed, but if Emmy really wanted all of them back, she needed to try. “Call the single mom. Tell her that Emmy really loves her kitty and wants her back and because of the circumstances the other night, Razzle was rehomed without us knowing. See if the mom is willing to give the cat back. If we can make that happen, then maybe Puff and Dot can stay at their new home. But if Emmy wants them, too, we can always call the lady tomorrow and work that out.”
“Okay, give me a few minutes. I’ll see if I can get in touch with her.”
“Thanks, Tate. My brain just isn’t functioning on all cylinders today.”
“I got this.”
While Tate went back down the hall to make the phone call, she rummaged through Jon’s kitchen, taking inventory of what he had on hand. Cooking always relaxed her, and she thought maybe she and Emmy could make something together. That would get both of them out of their heads and stop them from obsessing over what happened.
Unlike Steph’s place, Jon kept the refrigerator stocked with Emmy’s favorite fruits and veggies. She took out a package of chicken thighs from the freezer to cook for dinner later. In the pantry, she found a box of rotini. She could make some Parmesan butter noodles to go with the chicken. Emmy would love that. She smiled at the sweets Jon kept on hand to bribe Emmy and reward her for being good. Next to the jar of mini chocolate bars she left in his pantry sat a bag of miniature peanut butter cups and a bag of gummy worms. Behind them were two boxes of vanilla cake mix, three tubs of chocolate frosting, and three boxes of brownies.
She grabbed one of the brownie mixes.
Tate caught her before she called Emmy into the kitchen. “Okay. Single mom, Savannah, agreed to return Razzle, even though her son fell in love with her. She felt bad for Emmy. Liz is off work in thirty minutes at the spa. She’ll swing by the apartment complex. I told the manager Liz is pregnant and can’t be around the cat litter box. He said he’d go over to Steph’s, clean it out, find the food, the cat cage, and have everything ready for Liz to pick up when she gets there.”
“We owe him a nice thank-you and something for his trouble.”
“I’m sure Jon can take care of it when he deals with Steph’s place. Liz will get the cat from Savannah and bring it here.”
“Thank you. I think this will make a huge difference to Emmy.”
“I’m supposed to bring the horses over tomorrow. Maybe I should postpone with everything you two have going on.”
“No. Bring them. It’s another distraction for Emmy. She’ll love it.”
“Okay. Then that leaves you.”
“Me?” She had no idea what he was talking about.
“You accused Jon of cheating on you.”
She shook her head, setting off another round of dizziness, and silently scolded herself for not being more careful. “That’s not what I meant. My brain . . . I have trouble finding the right word sometimes.”
“You’re doing well now.”
“I slept a long time. My brain got the rest it needed, but I can tell the longer I’m up and doing things, the slower I start to feel.”
“Then maybe I should hold off telling you what I found.”
She gave him a dirty look. “Well, now you can’t, can you?”
“Yeah, your mind is sharp enough to hear what I have to say. Come with me.”
She followed Tate down the hall to the office Jon redecorated. “We shouldn’t be in here. This is Jon’s place. We should respect his privacy.”
Tate ignored her. “Do you love him?”
“Yes.”
“Do you want to make a life with him?”
“Yes.”
“Did you believe him when he said he never wanted Almost Homemade, he just wanted you?”
“Yes.”
Tate picked up a bound set of papers. “This is the proposal Jon was telling you about. I found it and this folder”—he tapped the file on the desk with his index finger—“in the trash, just like he said.”
“Okay. He told the truth. I didn’t think otherwise.”
“But he never told you what he proposed.” Tate waved the business proposal.
“No. We never got a chance to discuss it.”
“I’m no businessman, but even I can see the genius in this plan. You know what else I see in these papers?”
“What?”
“That he really, truly means it when he says he wants you more than anything else.”
Her eyes glassed over. “I know that, Tate.” Her heart burst to overflowing with how much she loved Jon.
“Then you should accept both of these proposals.”
She looked at them, but her vision still had floaters and stars and it was so hard to focus on the printed pages. “I can’t read them right now. My eyes . . .”
“That’s why I read them for you. I’ll start with the business proposal. He didn’t want to buy Almost Homemade. He wanted to expand it with you. He proposes giving AH an influx of cash to open new stores and sell your products at grocery stores. Some he owns. A couple he plans to buy, including the one right here in town. You will be partners. You and Adria own Almost Homemade. He owns the groceries and markets.”
“Really?”
“You know your business. He knows his. The money he loans you will be repaid over time with a modest interest rate. If you pay it off early, your profits will soar way beyond what you’re making now.”
“We’d be working together.” She liked that.