Page 62 of Safe With You

“Did you look up the character names after we talked aboutThe Rescuers?”

Ethan couldn’t hide a grin. “I may have.”

It had, after all, been many years since he’d seen the movie. Of course, he’d needed to refresh his memory.

Despite the awkward interactions at church, a comfortable peace settled as they climbed into the cab of his truck and started home. They talked and laughed on the short drive, and Ethan could have happily enjoyed driving on for several more miles. However, it wasn’t long before they pulled into her driveway.

An invisible rock thumped him in the chest. Illuminated by the headlights, an orange cat lay unmoving in the gravel a few yards from the cottage. He heard Katie gasp.

“No! He’s supposed to be inside!”

She reached for the door handle as he stopped the truck, but he grabbed her arm. “Stay here.”

He didn’t want her to see the cat if it was mangled or suffering. With dread building, he got out of the truck. How on earth had O’Malley ended up outside, and what could have happened to him?

He braced himself as he approached the still cat and then released a huge breath. The cat had white paws. He hurried back to the truck.

“It’s not him.”

Katie’s gaze latched onto him, tears already glinting on her cheeks. “What?”

“It’s not O’Malley. Go inside and check.”

She scrambled out of the truck and rushed up to the porch. Ethan dug behind his seat and found an old t-shirt he used as a rag. He then walked back over to the cat. What were the chances of another orange tabby hanging around and dying right in front of Katie’s cottage? It didn’t add up. He nudged the cat with his boot. It was stiff. Way too stiff to have just died here while they were at church. He frowned. That didn’t make any sense. The only explanation churned up his stomach.

He covered the cat with the rag to hide the gruesome sight until he could take care of it. After turning off his truck, he walked to the cottage and let himself inside. In the living room, he found Katie sitting by the couch. She cuddled a purring O’Malley as she cried softly. Though he’d known the cat outside wasn’t hers, seeing O’Malley alive and well was a relief. It would have gutted him for Katie to bear the loss.

He knelt beside them and scratched O’Malley’s head. “That cat out there has been dead a while. At least a full day.”

Katie swiped one hand across her cheeks, her brows sinking. “But then, how did it get there?”

“Someone had to put it there.” It was the only plausible explanation other than an eagle or owl having dropped it. But an eagle or owl kill would have been fresh.

The furrows in Katie’s forehead deepened just before her eyes widened in horror. “Christopher. It has to be. That’s just the sort of sick and twisted thing he would do.”

Chapter Twenty-seven

Katie awoke in the Harts’ guestroom just like the mornings after the funeral. O’Malley was curled up near her shoulder. She rolled to her side to pet him, earning the cute little noise he made whenever he wasn’t expecting it. She thanked God he was all right, but the memory of last night left her cold. It was all so disturbing. Ethan had suggested she sleep here until they could investigate further.

Evelyn and Tom had no problem with her bringing O’Malley with her. If Christopher was hanging around the cottage, the last thing she wanted was to leave O’Malley there alone again. She shuddered to think of how Christopher had come into possession of the poor, deceased cat and wouldn’t put anything past him.

Uncertainty twisted a tight knot in her middle. It had to have been her brother who left the cat, but now what? He was trying to scare her into giving up her claim to Grandma’s estate, but what would happen if she refused? The last thing she’d ever wanted was to get on his bad side.

With a heavy sigh, she slid out of bed and dressed. When she left the room, she closed the door to keep O’Malley in with his food and litter box. Downstairs, she didn’t find anyone in the living room or kitchen and realized she hadn’t even looked at the clock to see how early it was. She thought everyone might still be asleep at first but then caught the quiet hum of voices from the porch. Letting herself out, she found Ethan and his dad sitting with mugs of coffee.

Their morning greetings were subdued, and they both looked at her as if gauging how she felt. Tom then pushed to his feet.

“I’m going to top off my coffee. You can sit here.”

Katie thanked him and sank into the chair as he disappeared into the house. She looked over at Ethan, who was studying her.

“How did you sleep?”

“All right, I guess.” She wrapped her arms around herself despite the warm air. “I just feel really unsettled. You’re sure there’s no way that cat could have gotten there without someone deliberately putting it there?”

He gave her a regretful look. “I’m sure.”

It had to be Christopher, then. No one else would have a reason except for her mom and Grant, and they wouldn’t do something that deranged and morbid.

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