“I just moved here, was looking to adopt a dog.”
She smiled, her blue eyes twinkling. “You’re the new owner of the house on Willow Lane.”
In Manhattan, I’d be getting a restraining order, but this was a really small town, so I was news. And so it began again, offering my hand. “I’m Cedar.”
“Natalie. I’m sorry but happy to say we don’t have any dogs at the moment, just a cat but Lucifer really isn’t a people cat.”
That turned my head to the black cat in the one cage. He was all by himself. Seemed wrong that he was alone. I knew how that felt. “Do you mind if I…”
“No, but be careful. He has been known to scratch people.”
We walked to the cage. It was like he knew what we were doing, looking at us with those golden eyes. “He’s all by himself here?”
“Yeah. I tried to take him home, but he didn’t like my other cat.”
I hated the thought of him alone. That wasn’t going to help with his attitude. “Can I take him home, see if he takes to it?”
She didn’t hide her surprise. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’ll bring him back if he doesn’t like it.”
“I’m not kidding, he does scratch.”
“Then I’ll scratch him back,” I said.
She laughed. “Okay, let me get the carrier. I have some food you can use. If he does take to your place, the feed store has the brand. You can get the litter box and litter at the general store.”
She disappeared, returning with the carrier and wearing gloves. He hissed when she reached for him, and he did scratch at her, but she managed to get him into the carrier. I was having second thoughts, because he really wasn’t friendly, but no one deserved to be alone.
She helped me get him into the car and gave me the food. I stopped for the litter and box before heading home. I got everything inside. Opened the carrier in the living room, but I didn’t try to get Lucifer out. I opened a can of food, put the dish near the carrier. Setup the litter box where he’d see it. Then I left him alone and got to work cleaning.
It took all day, but by the time I took another shower and put on my yoga pants and tee, my house was clean. The kitchen pleasantly surprised me. Someone had put money into it: the pine, glass paned cabinets and quartz countertop.
I’d run out a few times during the day. Purchased new appliances for the kitchen and arranged for delivery, ordered a washer and dryer too. Arranged to have a dish installed, which would be for both the television and internet. Bought some bread and peanut butter, plastic knives, a bottle of wine, a wine glass and a stadium chair. There was a back deck, but I was thinking about having it removed and a stone patio put in with an outdoor fireplace. Graham was coming out soon. I’d talk to him about my new ideas.
I stood in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, eating my bread with peanut butter. The sun hadn’t set yet, my raccoon friends weren’t out and about, so I setup my stadium chair on the deck and drank my wine outside. To the right and left of the deck, the view was spectacular. I liked the hill right up against the house in the back…it felt safe. The cabin sat on twenty acres, so as far as I could see, it was mine. I even had woods and a pond. I needed to explore and would, just as soon as I got settled.
I toasted myself, and my new life. My eyes burned from unshed tears. “I did it, Brock.” I took a sip of wine to ease the ache in the back of my throat. “I hope you find your cottage.”
Chapter Thirteen
Cedar
I stood in the tractor store; the man was very nice, but he was talking over my head. I wasn’t sure I needed a tractor since I was only going to mow the lawn near the house. The rest of the property I was leaving as nature intended. It had been a long time since I used a mower and tended a garden. The reminder caused a pain in my chest. It was the only part of leaving New York that hurt, but I didn’t need to visit their stone to talk to them. They were with me.
My eyes were beginning to cross with all the information the man was giving me.
“What about a push mower? I don’t think I need a tractor,” I suggested.
“Well, we’ve got the self-propelled mowers. Electric, but I don’t recommend them.” And it continued, the listing of details that most, I’m sure, wanted to know, but for me, just had my head spinning.
The door opened, and he walked through. It had been a few days, and I hadn’t seen him again, partly because I avoided the tavern. Both irritation and interest sparked to life because, despite our first encounter, the man really was hot as hell. He wore jeans the way they were meant to be worn, hanging on narrow hips with thigh muscles that had me biting my lip because damn. His black tee left little to the imagination; his arms were works of art, muscled and tanned. I saw ink on his right arm, but the design got lost under his sleeve.
The man who had been helping me smiled big. “Hey, Killian, what’s up?”
Killian, what a great name, it fit him, too. He glanced our way and I became suddenly very interested in the lawn mower the man had been showing me, looking at the ticket but not reading a damn thing.
“Hey, Pat.”
My hope was he’d walk away, but I wasn’t so lucky. There was no avoiding it, so I lifted my gaze and stared right at him. Recognition moved over his face, his eyes taking their time, moving down my body, and I felt that stare as fire ignited under my skin. I was in jeans and a tee, but I felt like I was standing there naked. That blue gaze collided with mine, his lips parted; I leaned in, curious about what he was going to say.
“You look different with clothes on.”
I felt more than saw the look Pat gave me. Of all the…
I turned to Pat. “Whichever mower you think is best, and the other items we discussed. I’d like to have them delivered. I’ll be back after you’ve helped…” I gestured with my hand to Killian.
“Of course. We can deliver tonight or tomorrow morning,” Pat said.
I started for the door, but called over my shoulder, “You better make it tomorrow morning because nighttime is my busiest time.”
It was harder than I thought digging a garden. I was putting one around the garage. Once the porch was done, I’d put one around there, too, but I was thinking maybe I needed a landscaper to dig the beds.
I reached for my iced tea, wiped at my forehead and took a step back to see what I’d done. It was just the bed; I had yet to add the flowers and mulch, but it looked good.
I had an extra room over the garage and the light that came through…if I was a painter, I would totally make that my studio. I was thinking about turning it into a kind of greenhouse, starting the flowers and vegetables from seed. I wanted a vegetable garden, and I had the room, though, I’d need to fence it completely off because of all the critters.