Page 109 of Meet Cute Reboot

“But—I—”

“Go ahead.” I nudge him with my elbow. “I’ll stay here and make sure you don’t get snatched up by a poltergeist.”

“That makes me feel better.”

“Actually, I’m no match for a poltergeist. You’re on your own. I’ll stand here and point my flashlight into the opening.”

A look of regretful acceptance settles onto Luke’s handsome face. He turns on his phone’s flashlight and shuffles to the crawlspace opening, shoulders slumped. “If I don’t come back, tell my mom I love her even though she walked in on our make-out session.” He pauses before kneeling to hoist the wooden covering. “You know. Wecouldgo back inside and finish that make-out session.”

“You’re stalling.”

He heaves out a deep breath. “Fine.” He lifts the sheet of aging wood and scoots it out of the way, revealing a gaping black portal to the underside of the house.

I flip on my phone’s flashlight and point it into the darkness, which swallows the beam in short order. A feral meow sounds in the pitch black.

“Oh no,” Luke says.

“It’s not a ghost.”

He shakes his head before diving in.

“Bring back a kitty.”

“I just want to bring my soul back. Intact, ideally.”

I tap his butt encouragingly with my toe right before he disappears under the house.

As Luke navigates through the cramped space, he makes a variety of utterances ranging from “Gah” to expletives that would make Granny wince.

I lower my body to the ground and poke my head into the darkness. “What’s it like under there?”

“Scary,” Luke calls back. His voice is pinched, like his lungs are flattened between the floor joists and the dirt.

“Do you see anything?”

“Cobwebs. Trash. Scariness.”

I stifle a laugh. I wouldn’t crawl under this house for a million dollars, but I’ll never admit that to Luke. He’s being a good sport. Also, I can’t allow a cat to struggle. If it weren’t for Luke, I’d be calling animal control.

More feline sounds travel along the musty current of air flowing from the crawlspace. Rather than mournful wailing, this sounds like a cat on guard.

“Uh,” Luke says, his voice muffled by the distance. “Cassie?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re not going to believe this.”

“What?” I jump up to my knees in anticipation.

“We have kittens.”

Chapter 21

Luke

The tortoiseshell momma cat darts to a distant corner when I steal her babies. She’s in need of a good meal. Ten good meals. Which means there is a short supply of rodents under my house and in my yard. I consider this a positive.

The kittens are emaciated and weak. They aren’t getting enough nutrition from their mom. Since their situation is life or death, their wellbeing takes precedence. Momma can fend for herself for a while longer. At some point, I’ll catch her and reunite her with her babies, help her regain her strength so she can start feeding them again.

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