Page 8 of Noble Neighbor
The rugged beauty of her brown-haired, green-eyed neighbor popped into her mind. She placed a hand over her stomach, the fluttering when she thought of him unwanted and inconvenient.
Her new life didnotinclude a man.
She took a resolute sip from her mug to toast her decision,almost jumping a foot high when something soft brushed up against her calf. “Damn,” she mumbled,brushing a hand over her chest where the splatters of coffee landed. As expected, the cat had returned to her babies.
The tabby leaped to the railing and butted her arm with its head. “Well, good morning, little mama.” Loud purring followed a softmeow, and Sunny ran light fingers over the back of the silky head. Shemustremember to contact the local vet and figure out who the mama and kittens belonged to.
Her girls would be sad to see the little feline family go, but maybe the owners would part with a kitten when it was old enough to leave its mother.
The tap of nails alerted Sunny to another four-legged presence, and the cat gave the fast-approaching dog a hissing scowl before jumping from the rail to the grass below. It was the encouragement Nala needed, and she raced down the steps to play with her new friend.
And the charging dog nudged her memory back to yesterday afternoon.
To her and Oliver’s confrontation.
Had shereallypressed her finger to his lips? Sunnyrubbed her hand against the cotton of her pajama bottoms,still feeling the heat of his exhale against the pad of her forefinger.
What madness had beset her, touching a man,a stranger, after years of careful avoidance? When he’d stretched out his arm in greeting with that appealing half-grin on his face, she couldn’t help but smile and take his proffered hand. And when his fingers had closed around hers …
The warmth of his touch, the strength in his grip, theconnectionto him had aroused feelings long smotheredby choice and responsibility.
“Well, that’s what happens when you starve your body and encounter a fascinating specimen of the oppositesex,” she muttered into her mug before taking another sip.
Get ahold of yourself.
But her mind disobeyed, fixated on yesterday.
Frank had confronted her when she and Oliver had returned after their … discussion.
“Sunny,” Frank had said, “your girls tell me y’allplannin’ on sleepin’ on the floor tonight. Well, that’s not how things operate in this part of the world. You’re stayin’ with us. Oliver will bunk with Clement,and you three take Oliver’s room.”
“No!”
“Dad!”
Both she and Oliver cried out in unison, him sounding as horrified as she felt. “Absolutely not,” she protested.“We’re perfectly fine and have been camping for a while already. Another night is not an issue.” Seeing an argument forming, she quickly added, “Thank you for your kind offer, Frank, but you’re not changing my mind.”
“Please, Mommy. They’re not bad mans.” Molly, arms wrapped around the dog’s neck, pursed her lips into a pout.
Momentarily shocked, Sunny stared at her daughter.Why’s Molly worrying about bad men?She shot a side-eye at Kenzie, but her eldest was not looking at her.
Sunny crouched before Molly. “Of course they’re not bad men, honey. I know that. But, Molly, this” — she pointed to the house — “is our home now, and it’s where we’ll sleep tonight. Besides, we need to keep an eye on the kittens and make sure their mama returns to feed them.”
Molly perked up. “I forgot about the kitties.” She turned to stare at Clement, giving him a serious look. “We found kittens,” she told him, creasing her brow. “But the mommy cat wasn’t with them. Mommy, can I show the boy our kitties?”
“The boy’s name is Clement, Molly. But maybe he and his dad and grandpa are busy and need to go to their house.”
Her comment hit home and earned her a wry smile from Oliver. “We do. Dad, Clement, let’s be on our way.”
The adult men left, much to Sunny’s relief, but Clement — and Nala — stayed to inspect the kittens.Her girls had taken to the boy and his dog. An older boy being a novelty to them; the dog a wished for addition to their family.
The twosome kept Kenzie and Molly occupied while Sunny worked her way through the house, opening windows to freshen the stale rooms and making notes of things needing immediate attention.
Clement was helping her “set up camp” in one of the downstairs rooms when he asked if he and Nala could stay the night.
“With a bunch of girls?” she replied.
He blushed slightly, shrugging. “It’s been fun. They’re cute.”
