by Hayes, Somer
I laughed.
Grace: Thor?
Beau: I’m sorry. I thought when I called her a ‘she,’ you would have realized she’s female. Try again.
Grace: LOL. I can’t think with you pestering me.
Beau: Let me know if you need any help with her today.
I smiled at my phone. It was nice to know I had a kitty sitter if I needed one. I sat the phone down and got myself ready, then went to the bedroom to get dressed. I flipped through my closet, bored. Gray suit, navy suit, black suit. My wardrobe was a sea of somber-colored business suits. Why had I never noticed that before now?
I chose a light gray color and put a blue pinstripe button-up under it. Once dressed, I went back to the closet. Black heels, brown heels, more black heels. I sighed. Maybe I was just tired, but I would have killed for a pair of flats at that moment. I slipped on a black pair, then dug around until I found what I was looking for.
I had optimistically packed the bag I used on the rare occasions I went for a run-slash-jog-slash-let’s be honest, I mostly walked. It was a nylon bag with several compartments reminiscent of a fanny pack, but this one slung over one shoulder and fit snugly to my body. I emptied out the random hair ties and lip balms, then loaded it with clean syringes and formula. Then I strapped it on backward, so the pouch rested against my chest instead of between my shoulder blades. When I was ready to go, I went to the kennel and got the kitten and her blanket out.
She let out a squeak and blinked her big, sleepy eyes. I nuzzled my nose into her fur then pulled her back to look at her. “What’s your name, little one?”
She yawned, then closed her eyes and went back to sleep. I carefully tucked her and the blanket into the bag, then zipped it far enough to be sure she wouldn’t fall out but left it open so I could see her and not worry about whether or not she was breathing. I took a few tentative steps and found that the bag worked great. She didn’t seem to notice she was out of her kennel.
My first success for the day. Now that I felt like I had a solution to what had become my biggest worry, I squared my shoulders and focused my mind on the day ahead. I’d done my research and felt good about going in for the asks I had prepared for each of the businesses I would be visiting.
The only part of my day I felt uncertain about was the planning committee meeting for the Fall Festival. I’d never been to one before, let alone planned one, so I hoped the other people on the committee knew what they were doing.
I went downstairs and poured myself one more cup of coffee in a travel cup, then went outside to my car. I deposited my briefcase in the back seat, then got in the driver’s seat and pulled my seat belt on, careful to strap it under where the bag and kitten rested on my chest.
I pulled up the map app on my phone and hit the first destination I’d saved during one of the feedings last night. It was a farm supply store which seemed odd, but it was on Beau’s list of prospects, so I’d scheduled an appointment. I found the place and pulled into the lot, then went in the front doors and was met with a world entirely new to me. I looked around and saw bags of soil, food for every kind of animal you could imagine, and racks of boots and jeans. To my right were some galvanized bins with heating lamps hanging over them. Curious, I went to take a look and couldn’t have been more shocked to find baby chicks and ducklings.
“Look, kitty, other babies,” I whispered to the pouch on my chest, but she was uninterested.
Unable to resist, I reached my hand into the bin, palm up. At first, they all scattered but after a few minutes, they went back to their business, and one of the more curious among them ran over and hopped on my hand. He beaked me a few times, maybe looking for food, and I laughed.
“They’re cute, ain’t they?” a voice from behind me asked.
I looked over my shoulder and found an older gentleman in overalls smiling kindly at me. “They’re adorable. I hope it’s okay to touch them?”
“Course it is. Are you Grace?”
I urged the duckling off of my hand so I could straighten and shake his hand. “I am. Mr. Williamson?”
“Call me Gary,” he said and accepted my hand. His were big, warm, and rough. I liked him immediately.
“Thank you for meeting with me today.”
“When a Maverick calls and asks you to take the meeting, you take the meeting.” He winked at me.
“I’ve only met one of them, but if he’s as stubborn as the rest, I can’t imagine what you all are up against.”
He began walking and gave me a small pat on the shoulder to indicate I should walk with him. “You have no idea. Beau is by far the most docile of the bunch.”
I laughed. “I find that hard to imagine. He’s been giving me trouble since the day I got here.”
He chuckled and opened the door to an office, gesturing me inside. “I don’t doubt it, but he’s good people.” He took a seat behind a desk filled with scattered papers and empty coffee mugs. I sat in a chair opposite him.
“I think so, too. Did he happen to tell you why I was coming?”
“Not specifically, but knowing him, you’re going to be asking me for money.” He winked.
“I was going to try to sugarcoat it a little more than that, but yes. We’re trying to revive the symphony and restore the theater.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair. “Look around you. What makes you think I’d be interested in something like that?” His eyes held the glint of friendly challenge.
I considered him, then his office and smiled. “Because you’re married to a woman who enjoys the finer things in life.” I gestured to his wedding ring which had a row of inlaid diamonds. “And she raised all those daughters and granddaughters to appreciate the same.” I pointed at the many pictures of him smiling with his family, no boys to be seen. I looked at him and grinned. “I think she’d love to drag you to a symphony with her friends and their grumbling husbands, and when she does, they’ll see the Williamson logo, and she’ll get to brag about what a wonderful man she’s married to.”
His smile widened, and then he threw his head back and laughed. “Honey, you are good. Where’s my checkbook? You can have anything you want.”
I laughed along with him, then pulled a proposal from my briefcase. “I took the liberty of writing up an offer. All I’d need is your signature.”
“Of course, you did.” He winked.
We went through the paperwork together, and I explained my ideas and where we could place his brand for the biggest impact considering his line of business and who I thought would be attending symphonies. By the time I left, I had a smile on my face and a check for ten thousand dollars. It was a drop in the bucket toward our final goal, but it was a drop I didn’t have yesterday.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out to check it. It was the alarm telling me it was time for the kitten’s next feeding. I went to the car and unstrapped my bundle. I drew some formula into a syringe and pulled the kitten from her nest. It took her a few minutes to adjust to being awake and outside of her warm blanket, but once she did, she accepted the formula. I hoped it wasn’t my imagination, but I thought that she was doing better with each feeding.
I ran my finger up and down her back while she ate. I shifted, and the syringe moved from her mouth. She squeaked at me, and I laughed. “I’m sorry I underestimated you,” I told her, and when I said it, I knew what I wanted to name her.
22
Beau
I had just gotten through my round of morning appointments and thinking I should take Chip, who had been snoozing under my desk all morning, on a walk around the block when my phone buzzed.
I tried not to hope it was Grace in case it wasn’t, but it was.
Grace: Are you busy?
Beau: Not at the moment. What’s up?
Grace: I was hoping I could swing by for a quick kitten check-up.
Beau: Sure. Come on over.
Grace: Be there in ten!
I reached down to scruff Chip�
�s nape. “Hey. A kitten is coming to visit. I want to be clear that she’s not food. Got it?”
His ears swiveled forward, and his head cocked to one side.
“Good boy.”
The next ten minutes seemed to last a ridiculously long time. I had to stop myself from running out to the lobby to wait on her and catch her as soon as she came in the door. I was in a bad way.
Finally, there was a tap at my door, and Grace poked her head in. “The receptionist sent me back.”
I stood from my desk, and Chip joined me. “Come on in. How’s she doing?”
She let herself in and closed the door behind her, then came over to me, bending down to pat Chip. “I think good, but I wanted you to check to be sure.”
She pulled her suit jacket off to reveal a small bag strapped over one shoulder and under the other arm. She unzipped the pouch and pulled the kitten out.
I felt a chuckle bubble up from somewhere deep inside me. “You’re wearing her like a kangaroo?”
“You shut up. I can’t leave her alone in the car while I go to my meetings, so I had to think of something.”
“See? I told you you’d be a great foster mom.” I accepted the kitten from her hands and looked her over. “She already seems more alert,” I commented.
“I thought so, too,” she exclaimed. “But I wanted an unbiased opinion.”
I held her to my chest and rubbed the downy fur along her back. Chip took notice and hopped up on my leg to sniff at the newcomer. “She seems to be doing great, Grace.”
She smiled up at me, dark eyes sparkling, and I could feel her happiness radiating out of her. “I named her Claire.”
I glanced up at her, surprised and pleased. If she was naming her, she was feeling attached to her. “Why Claire?”
“It’s short for clarinet, one of the smallest and most underestimated instruments in the orchestra,” she told me with a sweet smile, her eyes back on the kitten.
“You are such a nerd.”
“I’m aware. Now give her back to me.”
“No. I’m not done snuggling her.”
“See? Spoiled.”
“Hey now. I’m not charging you for services rendered. The least you could do is pay me in kitty pets.”
Her eyes searched mine. “You really love your job, huh?”
I inclined my head. “Most days.”
“I imagine some of them are pretty tough.”
“Some of them are, yes.”
“I always wanted a pet growing up, but my dad claimed he was allergic.”
“To what?”
“Animals in general,” she said with a wry smile.
I shook my head. “So deprived.”
“Did you have pets?” she asked.
“You could say that,” I hedged.
“What does that mean?”
“I grew up on a ranch.”
“So that means lots of animals?”
“My dad has a few thousand heads of cattle, a few hundred horses, plus all his hobby farm animals like goats and sheep and pigs.”
“You grew up around thousands of animals? Literally?”
I nodded. “Literally.”
“I can’t even imagine what that would be like.”
I wanted to offer to take her to see the ranch, but that felt a little too serious too soon. Offering to take her to my family home, meet my dad, see the land and animals before I took her on a first date might scare her off, so I kept my mouth shut.
“When are you going to let me take you out?” I asked instead.
She looked to the ceiling and blew a strand of hair out of her eyes. “Not tonight because I have to start planning your ridiculous Fall Festival.” She winked. “And not tomorrow night because the kids have their first practice, and I want to be there.”
“How is it possible that I’ve lived here my entire life, you’ve been here a matter of weeks, and already your social calendar is fuller than mine?”
“And it’ll have to be something that I can bring Claire with me,” she continued as though I hadn’t spoken.
“Why don’t you come over to my house Friday night?” I asked. “I’m not a great cook, but I can make us something edible, then maybe a glass of wine by the firepit?” Yikes, I hoped it didn’t sound like I was just trying to get her into bed. I mean, I was, but I didn’t want it to sound like that.
“Yeah, that sounds good. Want me to bring anything?”
“Just you and Claire. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“Okay. We’ll be there.”
“Can’t wait,” I told her and gave her back the kitten.
I watched her tuck Claire back into her pouch, admiring her creamy skin, red lips, and thick eyelashes that appeared so long they seemed to rest against her cheekbones. She glanced up at me and gave me a shy smile. Then she leaned into me and pressed a kiss into my cheek.
“Thank you for checking on her.”
Her breath tickled my ear, and I almost groaned. Instead, I swallowed and forced a polite smile. “Any time.”
She pulled her suit jacket back on and with a little wave and left me standing in the middle of the room like a lost puppy. Her scent hung in the air, and it was dark and full of promise. It made me think of winter nights spent in front of a fire. I wanted to wake up with that scent soaked into my sheets. I shook my head. A simple kiss on the cheek had me feeling like I was back in junior high.
Nancy poked her head in my office. “Your one-thirty is here.”
“I’ll be right there.”
“Doctor?”
“Yes?”
“You might want to wipe the lipstick off your cheek first.”
23
Grace
I wrapped up my day with one more sponsorship sold and two solid ‘maybes.’ I made a mental note to put them both on my calendar for follow-up visits. I thought I could convince both of them that they wanted to give me their money.
I had some time before meeting with the Fall Festival committee, so I swung by the house to freshen up. I went upstairs, kicked my shoes into the closet, peeled my jacket off, then unzipped my pouch to let Claire out for a while. She had just eaten, so I thought she might want to stretch for a bit. I sat her on the fluffy comforter covering my bed, and when she realized she was somewhere new, she perked up and looked around, then yawned and stretched. She was still too wobbly to go very far, but I was encouraged to see that she wanted to try. I kept one eye on her and changed into a pair of dark jeans and a gray sweater, then pulled on my most comfortable pair of riding boots.
When I was ready to go, I strapped my pouch back on and tucked Claire into it. I left it mostly unzipped so she could look around, then I walked to the theater. Mid-September in Montana was beautiful. The air felt so clean here, always crisp, never humid. I breathed in deeply and marveled at how different it smelled here than it did back home. The air was fragrant with all the rich foliage preparing for fall. The purple mountains stood proudly against the backdrop of a cerulean blue sky. Even I had to admit I could understand how people fell in love with this place.
I stopped at a coffee shop and ordered a cinnamon latte and chocolate chip scone, then continued my stroll to the theater. I sipped from the steaming cup and broke off pieces of the scone while I walked, feeling an unusual sense of contentment. I popped another bite of scone in my mouth and looked down at Claire who was awake and peeking out of the bag. I balanced the scone on top of my coffee cup so I could pull out my phone and text Beau.
Grace: Can I share my scone with Claire?
Beau: What? No.
Grace: But it’s delicious, and I feel like she’d like it.
Beau: Still no. Let her tummy get used to the formula.
Grace: You’re no fun.
Beau: Honey, you have no idea how much fun I can be if given the opportunity.
A decadent shiver ran through my middle. I thought of Beau’s lips on mine, his hands on my body, and the reaction they’d elicit. I was both intrigued and afraid
of what else he could do to me. I had no doubt his body could do amazing things to mine, but that was also where my fear stemmed from. Some deep part of me recognized that Beau Maverick might very well ruin me if given a chance.
His draw was too great, the attraction too strong, the intrigue too tempting. I was only here temporarily. Was I playing with a fire that burned too hot? Should I stick to my original plan of avoiding him entirely?
Or was I overreacting and overthinking everything as per my usual modus operandi? That seemed the more likely scenario especially when I considered even my stuffy grandmother had encouraged me to try to have some fun and enjoy my time here. I grinned when I thought about the ‘nice man’ she’d always wanted me to meet. I doubted Beau fit much of her criteria.
When I got to the theater, I could hear cheerful voices coming from the boardroom, so I went to join them. Most of the people who had volunteered to be on this committee were women—surprise, surprise. When I stepped into the room, I was greeted with warm welcomes and friendly smiles.
Etta called out to me. “We’re so happy you reconsidered having this event. We already have a lot of good ideas.”
“That’s great,” I replied. “I’ve never been to a fall festival, but it sounds like a lot of fun.”
Silence swept the room, and roughly ten heads swiveled to stare at me. “How is that possible?”
I lifted and dropped one shoulder. “They’re just not that popular in the Northeast, I guess. And even if I’d known about one, I don’t think I could have talked my grandmother into taking me. She’s not the outdoorsy, active type.”
“Well, sister, you better get ready for the time of your life,” the woman next to me said, and they all cheered their agreement.
I smiled politely though I sincerely doubted that would be the case. “Have you all decided who will head up this committee?”
“That would be me,” the woman next to me spoke again and stuck out her hand. “I’m Beverly, and this is my granddaughter, Millie.” Next to her was a girl of about twelve who gave me a shy wave. “She’s going to be my right-hand man for this event.”