Todd kept talking quietly to the kitten. Before Dylan worked out what he was doing, Todd pulled the kitten to safety and sat her in his sling. “Don’t pee on me,” he whispered, “or you and I will have to have a serious conversation.”
A loud purring filled the basement. Todd smiled for the first time since he’d arrived and turned to Dylan. “All yours. She must be one of Boxer’s sisters.”
Dylan picked the kitten up. “It’s Blinky. Boots won’t be far away.” Sure enough, another meow sounded from under the furnace. Dylan put Blinky in the cat box the shelter had loaned him and shut the door. “One down, two to go.”
Todd dropped to his knees and sent the beam of his flashlight low. “Does Boots have white paws?”
“Yep. You’ve found her.”
“I think I’ve got Boxer, too.” Todd pulled two cloth mice out of his sling and slid them halfway between where they were standing and the furnace. “Here, kitty, kitty…”
Boots jumped toward one of the mice. Boxer, not to be outdone, jumped on Boots. They ended up rolling around together in a multicolored ball of fur. Dylan moved fast, picking the kittens up before they got tired of each other.
He opened the cat box and put them inside. “Time for us to leave.”
Todd looked around the basement. “This isn’t a bad space. There’s plenty of room down here.”
Dylan was already at the top of the stairs. “I don’t care about its potential. I’m moving out at the end of the week.” He opened the door into the house and took a deep breath. “Are you coming upstairs or staying down here?”
Todd picked the catnip mice off the floor. “I’m coming. I heard someone from Angel Wings Café has been leaving food for you. Do you feel like sharing?”
“I can do better than that,” Dylan said. “Annie’s going to lease the commercial kitchen in the building I’ve bought. Apart from the rent, there were two conditions.”
Todd followed Dylan into the kitchen. He washed his hands under the faucet and looked around for a dish towel. “If your conditions have anything to do with a lack of female company, then I don’t want to know about them.”
“You will if you want some of the best meals I’ve ever tasted.” Dylan opened a drawer and threw a clean dish towel at Todd.
When Todd looked at him blankly, Dylan smiled. “Annie’s going to make us both dinner each night. She’ll freeze the meals at the beginning of the week and I’ll drop yours off to you.”
Todd left the dish towel on a hook beside the oven. “Why would she do that? She doesn’t know me.”
“Yeah, but she knows me. She’s a good cook. In return for the low rent I’m charging her, she’s making us meals.”
“You think I can’t manage on my own?”
Dylan knew better than to get into an argument with Todd. He was every bit as sensitive about being able to live a normal life as Dylan was. Since his family had been murdered, Todd’s life had turned upside down. Nothing was straightforward or without a price. He didn’t accept help easily. He didn’t accept anything easily, including the way his life had turned out.
Dylan put the coffee machine on. He glanced at the cat box and added a saucer of milk to the microwave. “Who else was I going to ask her to make meals for? Logan’s got love handles from all of Tess’ baking, William and Patsy may have their issues, but he’s never short of good food, and Jeremy doesn’t need any home baking. He’s got a steady stream of girlfriends to keep him busy. So that leaves you and me.”
“Are you trying to make me feel better or worse?”
Dylan opened the fridge and pulled out a raspberry ripple cheesecake. “Try this. Logan dropped off half the cheesecake yesterday afternoon. Tess and Annie made some desserts for a wedding I went to yesterday. They made a few extra and left them with desperadoes like me.”
Todd opened the cutlery drawer and pulled out a fork. “Does this mean if I don’t like the cheesecake I can cancel my dinner orders?”
“You can do what you like. But I’m telling you now, you won’t want to miss out.”
The microwave pinged and three meows rang out across the kitchen. Dylan moved fast. He tested the milk, put it on a tray and added a bowl of kitten food. “I’m failing in this foster daddy stuff.”
Todd stuck his fork in the cheesecake. “You’ll get there. I’d put the kittens in the laundry if I were you. Have you got a kitty litter tray?”
“All sorted. I found an old blanket and left that in the laundry, too. They could use it as their bed. Can you bring the kittens in?”
Todd ate some more cheesecake before picking up the cat box. “Cheesecake’s good.”
“Annie’s a great cook.” Dylan walked through to the laundry and left the two saucers on the floor. “What have I forgotten?”
Todd glanced at the pristine room. “You put all of your stuff up high?”
“I didn’t want them getting into anything they shouldn’t.” Dylan had spent a good half hour moving most of the detergents, the vacuum cleaner and brushes and pans into the garage. He’d even put the plug in the sink in case one of the kittens got their paw stuck down the drain. There was one shelf left of cleaning products, and even that he’d hesitated over.
Todd left the cat box on the floor. “I’ll go out first in case they race after us.”
“Close the door after you. I’ll get them settled, then make a quick exit.”
“I’ll be eating cheesecake.”
“Leave some for me.” After Todd closed the door, Dylan opened the flaps on the box and lifted the kittens onto the floor. Boxer headed straight across to the food. Blinky and Boots followed closely behind.
He brushed a cobweb or two off their fur, but apart from a hungry tummy they didn’t seem to be worried about their adventure in the basement. Unlike Dylan. He avoided confined spaces, and the basement had ticked all of the ‘not going in there’ boxes.
The kittens were still focused on eating and not escaping, so Dylan backed out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him.
The kittens were safe. Annie and Sally would never know he’d nearly lost them within minutes of bringing them home. Now all he had to do was make sure there was some cheesecake left and that Todd was staying for lunch.
They had some catching up to do, and it couldn’t wait any longer.
***
Todd was reading the weekend paper and eating cheesecake when Dylan got back to the kitchen.
He looked at the floor behind Dylan. “No kittens?”
“I hope not. Unless they wiggle under the laundry door, I’m safe.” Dylan walked across to the fridge and took out a plate of steak. “I’ll put the barbecue on for lunch.”
“You’re not eating the frozen meals your friend is making?”
“Annie hasn’t moved into the warehouse yet. Until then we’re on our own.”
Todd grunted and went back to the paper. “Logan wrote a good article about property development in Montana.”
“You thinking about investing in another ranch?”
Todd shook his head. “I’ve got enough to do at the moment.”
“It might help if you stayed here and didn’t wander off to New York every few weeks.”
Todd sent a sharp stare across the room. “You know why I need to leave.”
Yeah, Dylan knew all right. But that didn’t mean he liked it.
He opened the French doors and turned the barbecue on. Todd joined him on the deck, watching him with the intensity of a man who had a lot on his mind. Dylan glanced at him, worried that he’d react badly to what he had to say. “Tracking down the gang you think killed your family isn’t going to bring your wife and son back. Look at what happened last week.”
Dylan still wasn’t sure who’d been shooting at them, but it didn’t make any difference. They’d been ambushed down the end of an alley and barely managed to escape. “You’re messing with people who don’t care about anything or anyone. You’ll get yourself killed.”
Todd leaned agains
t the railing and stared off into the distance. “Someone needs to find them and hold them accountable for what they did.”
“Leave it to the police.”
“They’re too busy. It’s been four years since Emma and Josh died and they still haven’t found the bastards who killed them.”
Dylan had tried every argument he could think of to keep Todd in Bozeman, to help him let go and move on with his life. Nothing worked because nothing meant more to him than what he’d lost. “Have you spoken to the Detective we met?”
“He called me on Friday. They’ve arrested the punks who shot at us.”
“That’s good, right?”
Todd shrugged. “I want the guys who planned my family’s murder, not the office juniors.”
Dylan didn’t know what the ‘office juniors’ normally did, but the guys that had jumped them didn’t fight like novices. “We could have died. Those gang members fought hard, too hard for a random street attack. They know you’re looking for them.”
Todd thought about his answer. “They’ve known for more than three years. I’m getting close and they’re getting scared.”
Dylan checked the barbecue and put the steak on the grill. “You need to walk away.”
“Like hell,” Todd muttered. “Put yourself in my shoes.”
“I have, and it’s not pretty. I wouldn’t want to go through what you did, but you’ve got a death wish that’s going to get you killed.”
“It’s better than waiting for something to happen. A case that’s four years old gets pushed to the back of the pile behind the homicides, suicides, and murders taking place every day. No one has time to investigate cold cases like mine.”
“Here, flip the meat.” Dylan passed Todd the spatula and headed inside. He grabbed two cans of soda, a bag of salad and half a loaf of bread. If he couldn’t talk some sense into Todd, then at least they could eat in style.
The doorbell rang and Dylan left the food on the counter. “I’ll get it,” he yelled.
Logan was standing at Dylan’s front door. “I’ve been invaded by women. Do you want a hand moving boxes across to your new house?”
“Come and have lunch. Todd’s here. You might be able to talk some sense into him.”
“I heard that,” Todd yelled from the deck.
“Next time you might want to listen,” Dylan yelled back.
Logan sniffed the air. “Barbecue?”
“Salad and bread are on the counter. You take those and I’ll get another drink.” Dylan headed over to the kitchen and grabbed another can of soda out of the fridge, some plates, and the ketchup.
By the time Dylan got back to the deck, Todd was staring moodily at the grill. “I hope you’re not burning lunch?”
Todd didn’t appreciate his sense of humor. “If I don’t keep pushing the police, I’ll never get answers.”
“It’s not answers you want.” Dylan handed Todd a drink. “You want the gang that killed your family put behind bars. What if that never happens? What will you do then?”
Todd didn’t answer.
Logan sat on one of the deckchairs and popped the tab on his soda. “Do you care if you die?”
Logan’s question shocked Dylan. Todd’s answer shocked him even more.
“I didn’t used to.”
“And now?” Dylan asked.
“I don’t know.”
And that, thought Dylan, was probably about as honest an answer as they’d ever get. “Maybe you haven’t found something important to live for?”
Logan sat straighter in his chair. “You’d better watch the meat or we’re going to be eating burned steak for lunch.”
Todd swore under his breath. “You’re distracting me.”
“Someone has to,” Logan said. “If the only thing keeping you alive is right here, then that’s enough for now. One day it might be different. Better.”
Todd didn’t look convinced.
Dylan put the plates beside the barbecue and waited for Todd to finish cooking the meat. “How’s your job going?”
“I’ll be lucky to still have it after last week,” Todd muttered.
“Didn’t you tell your boss you wouldn’t be there?” Logan asked.
“Of course I did.” Todd slid a piece of steak onto a plate and gave it to Dylan. “It might have helped if I’d given him more than a day’s notice, though.”
Todd worked part-time at a local veterinary practice. He had a way of communicating with animals that went beyond his ability to communicate with people. The animals helped soothe his soul, left him calmer and more able to cope with his life.
Dylan put the steak on the table and shooed Todd over to the food. “Go and have lunch. I’ll clean the barbecue once it’s cooled down.”
Logan smiled. “Sounds like you’re being hen-pecked.”
“I rescued Dylan’s kittens. He owes me.” Todd passed Dylan the spatula and grinned.
“Are these the same kittens Tess was telling me about?” Logan picked up a plate, added some steak, then covered it with ketchup.
“Yep. Blinky, Boots and Boxer.”
Todd was in a talkative mood and Dylan was worried. “Neither of you can mention anything about the kittens to anyone,” Dylan warned. “If Sally finds out that I nearly lost them, she won’t be happy.
“She sounds like a grouch,” Todd muttered.
Dylan and Logan looked at each other and laughed.
“No grouchier than all of her friends,” Logan said. “And I’m marrying one of them, so she can’t be that bad. You’ll meet Sally at our wedding.”
“I can’t wait,” Todd said as he bit into a steak sandwich.
Dylan knew they’d be lucky if Todd stayed past the wedding ceremony. The chance of him saying two words to Sally was practically zilch, which was just as well.
Logan picked up his soda. “You might meet her sooner than the wedding. Mom and Tess have organized a pre-wedding dinner.”
Todd stopped chewing. “I’m busy.”
“Sure you are,” Dylan said dryly. “If I have to go, then so do you. Now tell me about your ranch. What are you going to do about your barn?”
Todd settled back in his chair. “It’s a long, twisted tale. A lot like the wooden framing. Where do you want me to start?”
“At the beginning,” Logan said. “I haven’t heard about your barn.”
“It needs to be pulled down.”
“Or fixed,” Dylan added. Todd had inherited a one hundred year old barn when he’d bought his ranch. It leaned slightly to the left, which didn’t worry anyone except Todd.
“A structural engineer’s coming out in a couple of weeks to take a look.” Todd picked up his can of soda. “If it’s going to cost too much to fix, I’m pulling it down.”
Dylan shook his head. “I’m not an expert, but it’s stood upright for a hundred years. It won’t fall down in a hurry.”
“You’ll have the town historians in an uproar,” Logan said. “I want your first interview for the Chronicle. It’ll make the front page.”
Todd looked at them with an unreadable expression on his face. “No one will care.”
Logan grinned. “I wouldn’t bet on it. Everyone cares about preserving Bozeman’s history. It’s like the lifeblood of the community.”
“And a one hundred year old barn has a lot of history,” Dylan added. While Todd contemplated what might happen if a bulldozer got anywhere near his barn, Dylan thought about Annie.
He’d found something important to keep living for, something that was bigger than he’d ever imagined. He wanted Annie to be more than part of his past. He wanted a future with her, something he could hold on to and never let go. Something that would mean just as much to her.
***
Annie smiled at Mrs. Delaney and left a cup of coffee on her table. “Can I get you anything else?”
“I’ve got everything I need,” Mrs. Delaney said with an answering smile. “I’m just pleased to be sitting down. I’m getting too old to be w
alking around the town for hours.”
Mrs. Delaney was eighty-five years old and one of the sweetest people Annie knew. She had four children, ten grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Annie had seen photos of all of Mrs. Delaney’s family. She knew where they lived, what they did, and could almost have told you all of their names.
“You’re never too old to go shopping. Enjoy your coffee.” Annie left Mrs. Delaney’s table and made her way back to the front counter. It had been a busy Tuesday in Angel Wings Café.
Tess was still working hard in the kitchen, getting ready for the next rush of customers. It was nearly one o’clock, time for Annie to have lunch then start work at Osborne and Sons.
Tess came out of the kitchen with a plate of fresh muffins in her hands. “These should be enough for now. I’ve got another batch in the oven.”
The doorbell jingled and Kate walked in the front door. Annie smiled, then frowned. Kate looked as though she’d been crying. She waited until Kate walked behind the counter before putting a hand on her arm. “Are you okay?”
Kate shook her head. A fresh set of tears filled her eyes. She looked around the café, then pulled Annie into the kitchen behind Tess. “I’m pregnant.”
Annie and Tess looked at each other.
“Is that bad news?” Annie asked.
“No, it’s good news. I’m just overwhelmed. I went to the doctor for a check-up because I’ve been feeling tired and sick. We weren’t planning on having a baby, not yet.”
Tess passed Kate a box of tissues. “Does Dan know?”
“Not yet. I came straight to the café after seeing Doc Johnson. I thought I needed iron tablets or something. I had no idea I was pregnant. We’ve only been married for three months.”
Tess smiled. “They must have been a pretty good three months.”
Kate choked out a laugh before the next set of tears filled her eyes. “What am I going to do?”
“Enjoy your pregnancy, no matter how much morning sickness you get,” Annie said. When she’d been pregnant with Ruby, she’d been sick nearly every day. She’d felt absolutely miserable the whole time. But as soon as she held Ruby she’d been grateful for all of the raging hormones inside of her.
Loving You (The Bridesmaids Club Book 2) Page 17