by Emmie Lyn
Welcome to Pineville, Maine, I reminded myself. Where the unexpected has become my new normal in this small coastal town that survives by catering to tourists. A cluster of small souvenir-filled shops, neighboring gift emporiums, and one of a kind craft stores lined Main Street. After shopping, the visitors relaxed and refueled at my business, Shakes and Cakes, with a delicious shake and sweet treat. At least, I hoped that was part of their destination.
“What was that all about, Sunny?” Tilly, my seventy-year-old neighbor, friend, and enthusiastic helper at Shakes and Cakes asked as she stared down the driveway. She’d just finished loading my donut order in the back seat of her chili pepper-red VW bug.
Tilly Morris, not one to fluster easily, peered over my shoulder into the box. Her colorful scarf fluttered around her short gray hair.
“Oh, my lord. At least their eyes are open. Do you think they’re even three weeks old yet?”
Tilly’s choked-up voice and misty eyes were a stark contrast to the nothing-bothers-me persona that she usually wore. “We might have to bottle feed them, you know.”
As if I had no clue about kittens.
Tilly had a point, of course, but first I had to find out where they’d come from. Maybe the mother cat was still around, which would be the ideal solution. But until I found her, if I could find her, the little darlings needed a clean space and possibly a bottle every three to four hours. I wondered how I’d manage a schedule like that for these three tiny tabby kittens while also serving customers at Shakes and Cakes.
To be clear, I had a business partner. Even though Ty Hitchner had financed the whole operation, I was an equal partner. But I was determined to pay my fair share eventually. And, he’d never blinked an eye when I suggested we turn the attached greenhouse of the previous old nursery business into a kitty jungle for strays. The combination of shakes, cakes, and kittens had already become a major attraction here in Pineville, Maine, on beautiful Blueberry Bay. I mean, who wouldn’t love to relax amidst a tropical-like jungle with an exotic shake in one hand and a kitten or two in your lap?
You’ve got to love a guy like Hitch whose heart is bigger than the moon when it comes to kittens in need. And, I reminded myself, it didn’t hurt that he had those heart-stopping sea green eyes, a chiseled chin, and dimples when he smiled. But that was a whole different story. One I didn’t have time to dwell on at the moment.
“What will Hitch say about this?” Tilly asked. Apparently, we thought alike as she mentioned the very same person I had on my mind.
“We’ll find out soon enough. He’s already at Shakes and Cakes getting all the ingredients chopped, labeled, and organized for our breakfast smoothies.” Our task was picking up the donuts. I hadn’t dreamed I’d be bringing more than our regular order back to the shop. I took another look at the kittens and my heart about melted from the cuteness.
Before we’d even stepped away from the doorway of A Donut A Day, the owner, driving her white delivery van, rolled into the driveway and pulled up in front of us.
“Morning,” Ruby Todd said as she slid from the driver seat. She adjusted her old lady reading glasses (not that she was old, only mid-forties) on top of her head to hold her curly hair in place.
“I hope you found your donut order without any trouble. I would have been here sooner to help, but boy oh boy, what a morning I’ve had,” she said, And not in a good way. The morning sun picked up a few brassy glints in the new shade of red she sported this week.
“We found the donut order without any trouble,” I said. “But look at this surprise Isabella brought over. I certainly wasn’t expecting anything like this in addition to your dozens of donuts today.” I hoped my tone wasn’t harsh, but my day hadn’t started well either.
“Jessica’s daughter? That little scallywag was supposed to wait next door for me to get back from my delivery. Jess called me in a panic when she couldn’t find Izzy this morning. She had to get to her dog walking job, so I offered to look for the little imp and found her at the end of Ron Silva’s driveway.” Ruby rolled her eyes. “What did she do? Dump the kittens here and run? By any chance, did she tell you where she was going?”
“Nope. She took off like she was running the fifty-yard dash, and yes, she left this box of kittens.”
“I hope she’s headed back next door. Jess is housesitting there.” Ruby glanced at her watch. “Jess won’t be back until she finishes her dog walking job.” She reached for the box with the kittens. “Let me take a look at the little fur balls.”
When Ruby took the box from me, faint mews came from inside. Her expression softened as soon as she peeked in the box. She wrinkled her brow, showing concern. “They’re so tiny.”
“Three teeny tiny tabbies, Ruby. Izzy took off when I asked her where they came from.”
“I know exactly where they came from. Izzy left a note for Jess that she was riding her bike to Ron’s barn even though she knows she’s not allowed. Izzy and Ron struck up quite the friendship when Jess was dating him, and now Izzy sneaks over on a regular basis, completely ignoring her mother’s rule. She wouldn’t tell me why she took the kittens, though. Want me to take them back to Ron?”
The kittens mewed pathetically, which practically broke my heart.
“These little fur balls are hungry.” I formulated a plan as I walked over to Tilly’s car. “I’ll take them to my Kitty Castle, feed them, and make them comfortable. Ruby, you track Izzy down and bring her to Shakes and Cakes. Bribe her with her favorite milkshake and cupcake if you have to. No ten-year-old can resist that,” I said, hoping I was right. I wanted to have as much information as possible about the kittens before I dropped in on Ron to accuse him of being irresponsible. I hoped that wasn’t true.
“Sure, Sunny. If she’s where she should be, I’ll say this is my lucky day and you’ll see us in thirty minutes. I love that kid to pieces, but I don’t envy Jess. Izzy is smart, stubborn, and pushes every limit there is. And it’s worse since Jess broke up with Ron because of that guy that’s been staying in his barn.”
That description of Izzy, especially the stubborn part, reminded me of someone I knew who drove a chili pepper-red VW bug, but I wasn’t naming any names.
“Perfect.” I slid onto the passenger seat of Tilly’s bug. I’d just reached up to tuck some stray hairs into my French braids when she hit the gas. “Whoa!” I held onto the box of kittens with both hands and hoped my seatbelt was tight enough. “Be careful. We’ve got all the boxes of donuts in the back plus these babes.”
“Oh, right. I was only thinking of getting the kittens to the Kitty Castle as quickly as possible,” Tilly said. “Do you think someone dumped them and Izzy just happened to stumble on that box?”
“I don’t know, Tilly. Ruby said they came from Ron’s barn. Let’s wait to hear what Izzy has to say for herself.”
“If she’s not at Shakes and Cakes in a half hour, I’m going to talk to Ron myself,” Tilly said with that don’t argue with me tone.
Great. Now, I had to worry about Tilly, angry and going off half-cocked. “Let me know before you do that,” I said.
Tilly glanced at me and grinned. “I knew you’d see it my way.”
“Watch out!”
Tilly swerved back into her lane and laughed. “Isn’t life exciting?”
That wasn’t exactly how I’d describe spending time with Tilly Morris. It was more like trying to outswim a white shark with an anchor tied around my ankle… always on the verge of drowning under one problem or another.
What the heck was in store for me today?
2
Tilly screeched into the Shakes and Cakes parking lot, sending a cloud of dust around her car when she slammed on her brakes. Hitch, arranging colorful pots of fall mums along the path to our shake shop, turned and waved. Even from twenty feet away, the twinkle in his green eyes made my heart flutter. I couldn’t be luckier with him as my business partner, I realized, not for the first time.
He arrived at the passenger door an
d opened it for me while I was distracted checking that the kittens had arrived without mishap. “What happened to that box, Sunshine? It looks like something you picked up on the side of the road.”
Jasper loped over to greet me with a woof. Because of her name, many people assumed that my big Newfoundland mix was a he. Nope. She came with her name and it stuck. She pushed between Hitch and me and stuck her head in the box. Her fluffy tail wagged furiously.
“Kittens?” Hitch asked looking at me with a shocked expression. “Jasper doesn’t get that excited about much of anything else.”
“Yup,” Tilly said before I could explain what had happened at A Donut A Day. “Three very young, cuter than cute, tabby kittens.”
Hitch finally moved Jasper out of the way and got a chance to peek at the fur balls. “With the other kittens either adopted or about to be, Jasper was getting a little mopey around here. This will cheer up our Chief Kitty Nanny.”
Jasper took her job seriously. And, kittens loved her.
“These kittens might not be staying with us for long,” I told Hitch. “Jessica’s daughter brought them to A Donut A Day and handed them off to me to take care of. Ruby says they belong to Ron Silva. We’ll get them comfortable while I wait for Ruby to bring Izzy here so she can give us all the details. I’m thinking that a shake and a cupcake will get her to spill her story about the kittens.”
“Ahhh, bribery, good strategy. But, if I was a ten-year-old with Izzy’s love for our sweets, I’d be a lot more cooperative with two cupcakes,” Hitch said, giving me a wink that reminded me of his mischievous younger days. He lifted one of the kittens out. “You sure are adorable. Let’s get you cuties inside and out of this old box.”
How many men would dare to sweet talk kittens out loud like Hitch just did? His tender side had no limit.
I carried the box while Jasper led the way along the path and under the arch to our shop. Pumpkins and fall mums with deep crimson blooms popped against our weathered gray-shingled shop. The beauty around me from our hard work calmed my jittery nerves.
A car turned into the parking lot sending gravel flying. I grabbed Hitch’s arm to slow him down. “Ruby’s here. I hope that’s Izzy in the passenger seat, but it’s hard to tell. Here.” I handed him the box. “Take the kittens inside, put them in a clean basket, and then whip up a strawberry smoothie for Izzy. Wrap up a couple of cupcakes for her, too. From the way she ran off after she dumped these kittens with me, I suspect she’s hiding something. We have to loosen that tongue of hers if we hope to find the mother cat.”
Tilly hurried over to Ruby’s delivery vehicle, arriving first. She opened the passenger door and held her hand out for Izzy. “Hi. I have a surprise for you. Hop on out.”
Izzy sat staring forward, arms folded and her head down. “I’m not talking to you,” she said, sulking. “Only Sunny.”
That surprised me, but I’d take it. Well, maybe not the attitude. “I’m right here, Isabella.” I smiled even though she wasn’t looking my way.
“Isabella is an old person’s name. Call me Izzy.”
“Okay. Izzy.” This was harder than I’d expected.
“Ruby promised me a milkshake. Where is it?”
When she finally lifted her head and looked at me, the scowl on her recently scrubbed face would scare off a charging rhino. Her two pigtails, now neatly braided, framed a face filled with unhappiness. Ruby had performed a miracle to make her presentable on the outside, but I was under no illusion that turning her scowl into a grin would be easy.
“That’s right, Izzy. Hitch is whipping up a delicious smoothie right now.”
“A smoothie? I want a milkshake. Ruby said if I came with her, I’d get a milkshake. I don’t want some healthy drink with tofu in it. My mom is always trying to get me to eat that stuff.” She scrunched her face into a grimace.
“Let me tell you a secret, Izzy,” Tilly said. She took her time to get comfortable leaning on the open car door frame. “When I was your age, which was at least, oh I don’t know, a hundred years ago, I created a delicious breakfast drink. It was filled with fruit and yogurt and sweetened with maple syrup, but my friends turned their noses up at my new concoction. I called it Tilly’s fruity tutti. They wouldn’t even try it.” She paused for effect. “All, but one.”
Izzy took a tentative glance at Tilly. “Did that friend like it?”
“She sure did. She loved it and begged for more. But you know what?”
Izzy relaxed her arms and turned completely around and gave Tilly her undivided attention. “What?”
“My other friends made up their mind that they wouldn’t like my drink before they tried it and,” Tilly held her hands up and shrugged. “There wasn’t even one drop left for them to taste. Sometimes, Izzy, if you go outside of your comfort zone, a whole new wonderful experience arrives. Just sayin’.”
Hitch arrived with the smoothie and a paper bag. “Who ordered—”
“Izzy decided she’s not a fan of smoothies,” Tilly interrupted with a shoulder shrug and a play-along-with-me-here look at Hitch.
“You’re kidding!” Hitch said. “I even put chocolate sprinkles on top. I never heard of anyone, especially a ten-year old tomboy, who didn’t like chocolate sprinkles on a strawberry smoothie. I know it’s my favorite.” He shook his head and tut-tutted like an old lady instead of a take-your-breath-away hunk. “Such a shame.”
“I’ll drink it,” Tilly said and took the drink from Hitch.
Izzy looked at Hitch out of the corner of her eye, sizing up this big strong guy who’d just offered her his favorite drink. Competing emotions flashed across her face. Should she accept it? Or should she stick to her guns for the milkshake she’d been expecting and maybe get nothing?
After several long seconds, her face relaxed into an expression that resembled interest. I breathed again.
“Can I please try it?” Izzy asked politely, her rudeness hidden somewhere else for now. “I think I might like it.”
Tilly looked at Hitch. “What do you think? Is it okay with you that Izzy changed her mind?”
“Of course,” Hitch said. He took the drink from Tilly and handed it to Izzy. “Give it a try. You know what? If you don’t like it, I’ll make you something else. What have you got to lose? Deal?”
Izzy’s face broke into a grin. “Deal.” She took a tiny sip through the straw. Her eyes widened. She drank deeply this time, and before we could count to twenty, the strawberry smoothie had vanished.
Hitch handed her the bag he’d been holding.
Izzy looked inside. “Two cupcakes? Thank you!”
I jabbed Hitch in the side and whispered, “You just made a new best friend, you know.”
“Yup,” he said. “Hey, Izzy. I have those three tiny kittens inside where they’re safe and sound, but they’d sure like to see their mom. Can you help us with that?”
Izzy could only nod since her mouth was full of chocolate cupcake with frosting smeared around her lips. After she’d swallowed and mopped up the frosting with her tongue, she said, “She’s at Ron’s barn. Want me to help you catch her? She’s kind of shy.”
“That’d be great,” Hitch said. “Can you show Sunny, so I can stay here with the kittens while I get ready for Shakes and Cakes to open?”
“Okay. Everyone knows that Sunny loves cats and kittens. That’s why I gave those kittens to her. I didn’t know what else to do.”
Hitch tweaked one of her braids in a friendly, we’re best buddies now kind of gesture. “You did the right thing, Izzy. Ready to go to Ron’s barn now?”
“Okay,” she said without much enthusiasm. “But I’m staying in Ruby’s van. I’m not allowed in his barn.”
That didn’t explain how Izzy found the kittens in the first place or knew the mother cat was in the barn, but those minor details weren’t important at the moment.
I climbed into the back of Ruby’s van. “Are you ready to drive us to Ron Silva’s farm?” I asked. She gave me a thumbs up and we left T
illy and Hitch behind to get everything in order to open the shop.
I hoped I could find the kittens’ mother and get back pronto.
3
Before we left, I’d debated with myself about bringing the kittens to reunite with the mother cat. In the end, I decided to leave them behind in case we didn’t find her.
Ruby chatted with Izzy in the van, but that was just background noise for me. I needed a plan to take care of the kittens if the mother didn’t show up. I had kitten formula for this type of emergency, but I needed a schedule, and help feeding them. I knew I’d manage one way or another. I had to.
“Ron’s my friend,” I heard Izzy say to Ruby. She had a finality in her voice, and I guessed she wouldn’t change her mind. “Just because mom doesn’t like him anymore, doesn’t mean I can’t still be his friend.”
“Honey,” Ruby said in a soothing tone. “I didn’t say that.” I glanced over but couldn’t tell if Izzy bought it. “But you should respect your mother’s wishes, and she said you’re not allowed to go in his barn. She worries about you. Something could happen and then what would she do?”
“Yeah, well,” Izzy said with that I-don’t-have-to-listen-to-you tone that kids have perfected so well. “Ron’s nice to me. He teaches me stuff. And he lets me help with his animals.”
“I have an idea, Izzy,” I said. Her deep love for animals came out loud and clear in her words. I could relate. “I need help with the stray cats and kittens in my Kitty Castle. How would you like to help me once in a while?”
“Really?” She turned around in the front seat to look at me. “That’d be cool. What would I have to do?”
“You’d have to help Jasper, my dog. Do you like dogs, too?”
She rolled her eyes. “I love all animals. They don’t tell me what to do.” I noticed she snuck a glance at Ruby, but I wasn’t going to touch that issue. “What do you mean, help your dog?”
“Jasper keeps an eye on the kittens but sometimes she needs help. Like feeding them and changing the kitty litter. Mostly, though, it’s just being there to play with the kittens, so they get used to people and aren’t shy when they get adopted. How does that sound?”