Page 226 of Mountain Grump
Her eyes widen, but she doesn’t ask questions.
Liza takes her phone out of her pocket and dials, then puts it on speaker as she sets it on the counter between us.
It starts to ring at the same time I hear Tilda’s door shut.
Shelia answers. “Hey, Liza.”
“Shelia, it’s Ethan.”
“Oh, hey, is Liza okay?”
“I’m fine,” Liza answers so I can ignore the question.
“I need an animal pick up. No injuries, just rescue.”
“Where?”
I give her Tilda’s address.
I hear Shelia pick up a set of keys. “What’s the animal?”
“Mountain lion cub. Maybe two months old.” As I answer, Tilda’s camera comes back into focus. “Dammit, Firecracker.” I hang up the call with Shelia.
“Aww…” Liza is leaning against the counter to see my phone.
And the baby mountain lion that is back on Tilda’s lap.
“I gotta run,” I tell Liza, already turning away from the counter.
“What?” Tilda asks like she honestly doesn’t know what the problem is.
“I toldyouto go inside.”
“I did.”
“And you brought the cat?”
“Well, I wasn’t gonna leave it.”
I shove out the front doors and stride toward my truck. “Just… don’t bring any other wild animals inside. Okay? I’m on my way.”
Chapter 122
Tilda
In less timethan it probably should’ve taken Ethan to drive here, I get an alert on my phone that someone just passed the driveway camera.
“He’s almost here.” I run my hand down the baby’s back.
She’s the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen. And I already love her. But I can’t bring myself to give her a name.
Because I heard the other conversation Ethan was having, and I bet that person is on their way too. Which means I’ll probably never see this sweet baby again.
I press my finger against her sleeping nose.
There’s also the tiny detail that this sweet baby will grow up to be a lethal weapon.
“Yeah.” I boop her nose again. “You’re gonna grow up to be a killing machine, aren’t you?”
