Page 12 of Overdue for a Cowboy

Her eyes widened. “What have you done to my cat?”

He lifted his hand. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that cat hates everyone. Including me sometimes. But she’s apparently succumbed to your charm.” She offered him a coy smile. “She must like cute cowboys.”

A grin tugged at his lips.

Oh my gosh.Was she flirting with him? Thatfeltlike flirting.

She’d never been any good at it and hadn’t had that many opportunities to try. There weren’t a lot of handsome single men that hung around in the library. And even if there were, she probably wouldn’t have noticed them around the huge flaming torch she carried for Dodge.

“She probably just likes me because I fed her,” Dodge said. “I hope that’s okay.”

“Yes, that’s great. And so nice of you. But I’m surprised you even saw her. She usually hides when other people are in the house.”

“She came into the kitchen last night when I was feeding Moose and clearly explained to me that she would like to be fed too. She even showed me where her food and water dishes were.”

Maisie shook her head in amazement. “You must be the cat whisperer then. She is normally quite fussy.”

“Really? She seems like a real sweetheart.”

Maisie laughed. “That is not a word I would ever use to describe that cat. Bossy, opinionated, sometimes ornery. Although she has on occasion left me a sweet gift of a hairball or a dead mouse on the floor. And one time when I was eating supper, she waltzed over and dropped a cricket into my chicken alfredo.”

Dodge laughed, and the sound of it filled the whole room, making it feel warmer and touching something inside Maisie.First, she was flirting, now she was being funny. What was happening?

She didn’t know. But she knew she wanted to make him laugh again.

“You thinkthat’sfunny? The dang thing was still alive. It hopped back off my plate. Scared the poop out of me and ruined a perfectly good plate of pasta. I had to throw the rest away and considered dumping the dish in the trash too.” She let out a shiver just remembering the black insect fleeing across her table.

“What? You threw away a perfectly good plate of chicken alfredo just because it had a little cricket in it. You know, crickets are a delicacy in some places.”

“Not in this place.” She laughed then smiled down at the cat. “I still love her though. We have an understanding. She watches the house while I’m gone, and I feed her and let her sleep on the sunny chair. She has her moments too, and she keeps me company. I never really considered myself a cat person, but she came with the house—just showed up the day I was moving in and let herself inside. Hasn’t left yet. She’s a fickle little thing though. Reminds me a bit of a cranky old lady—like one of my grandma’s. Sometimes, she’s kind of mean, other days she treats me with only a mild disdain, then sometimes she’s loving and cute and cuddles up next to me and allows me to pet her.”

“I never thought of Ruby as cranky or mean, but that’s nice that she lets you pet her.”

Maisie laughed. “Notthatgrandma. My grandma Ruby is the best.”

“Oh shoot,” he said, leaning forward. “That reminds me. She called a couple of times last night. I saw the notifications on yourphone when I put it by your bed. I was worried she might have heard about your accident, so I had my grandpa call her and tell her you were all right. I hope that’s okay.”

“Yes, that’s perfect. She’s in Florida for the next few weeks helping her sister who broke her ankle. I can’t imagine she would have heard about my accident though.”

“Really? In this town? She probably got a prayer-tree call as soon as you were admitted to the emergency room.”

Maisie reached for her phone and gasped at the notifications. “Shoot. I’ve missed twelve calls from her. Andeighttext messages.” As if on cue, the phone buzzed in her hand, and a picture of her and her grandmother popped onto the screen. “That’s her calling now. I’ve got to take it.” She tapped the screen and held the phone to her ear. “Hi Gram.”

“Merciful heavens. It’s about time you picked up.” Her grandmother’s voice blared through the phone. From the grin on Dodge’s face, Maisie was sure he could hear every word. Ruby’s tone softened. “Are you all right, honey? I’ve been so worried.”

“I’m fine, Grandma. I promise.”

“Duke called me last night to tell me what happened,” she said, referring to Dodge’s grandfather, Duke Lassiter. “Which was kind of him, because I was about beside myself since I’d already had four other calls telling me you’d been in an accident. I’ve been looking at flights, and I think I can get one out today. Should I come home?”

“No. Absolutely not. I’m fine, really. I’ve got some bumps and bruises, and I sprained my wrist. And my glasses cut my forehead when I hit the steering wheel, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t even need stitches.”

“What do you mean you’repretty sure?”

“Yesterday was kind of a blur.”

“Kind of a blur? Why? Do you have a head injury? Or a concussion? That’s it. I’m booking a flight back.”

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