Page 21 of Mail Order Malarkey

Cassandra ignored them both as she watched the kitten gamboling around on the ground in front of them. She would whisk between them with a happy little skip to her walk, and then after a few minutes, she’d be tired, and she would climb Cassandra’s skirt into her lap. Over and over, it happened.

Little Minnie climbed into her lap and meowed loudly at her. “I don’t have any food, baby. I’ll get you something as soon as we’re home.”

Mrs. Royal came to the rescue with some of the chicken that was left from supper. “There’s only one more piece, but I saved it, thinking one of us might get hungry. I think we found who’s hungry.”

Cameron took the chicken from his mother, and broke off small pieces of it, eating the breading himself. Cassandra fed the pieces to Minnie, and the kitten made suckling sounds as she ate the meat.

“She’s so precious.” Cassandra looked at Cameron. “Thank you for giving me the most wonderful gift I’ve ever received.”

He smiled, feeling as if he’d done something good with her for a change. The kitten certainly did make her happy. “You’re not planning to sleep with that thing, are you?”

She looked at him in horror. “Of course, I am! She’s my baby!”

Mrs. Royal peeked at Cassandra around her son. “I want a two-legged baby before too terribly long.”

Cassandra laughed. “I really don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”

After the fireworks show, which was much smaller than the ones back in Beckham, but so much more special to her, they left the church in the buggy. Once again Cassandra sat in the back, but this time she had the kitten nestled happily under her chin. She realized the kitten made her feelings for Cameron turn from something just physical to something more…well, something more. She felt very appreciative of the small gift, and she knew she would have so much love to give little Minnie.

They went into the house, and Cameron sighed when she took her baby up the stairs and showed her his bedroom. “I don’t want to sleep with a cat,” he said.

“Well, she’s going to be afraid since she’s away from her brothers and sisters and her mama. No, she really needs me.” She set the kitten on the floor, and immediately felt her skirt being climbed. Whether he protested or not she was sleeping with the kitten. If it meant not sleeping with him, so be it!

“Where will it defecate?” he asked, trying to be practical.

Cassandra frowned. “I’ll leave the window open. There’s a tree just outside she can climb down.”

“I really don’t like that idea,” he said, looking at the kitten like he was sure he’d lost his mind for purchasing it.

“You’re grumpy,” she said, carefully reaching through the window and putting the kitten in the tree so she could explore.

Minnie climbed from branch to branch, but then she jumped back into the windowsill, letting out a loud meow. There was no question who she wanted to hold her.

“You know it’s our wedding night, right?”

Cassandra nodded. “I do. And I plan to fully participate as soon as I get Minnie to fall asleep.”

“You’re going to make me wait until she’s asleep?” Cameron had always heard that a man had to be long-suffering, but he hadn’t expected it to start on his wedding night.

“I can’t ignore her simply because you want to have relations with me. Let’s get her settled in.” She was fully aware that most women wouldn’t mention relations to their new husband, but she just didn’t care. Why would she tiptoe around the subject?

She hurried to the room she’d slept in the night before, pulling a drawer from the chest of drawers, and taking the quilt from the bed. She tucked the quilt into the drawer, and then carried the whole thing into the bedroom she would share with Cameron. “There we go. A perfect kitten bed.”

He looked at the bed, and then he looked at his new wife, who was living up to the nickname Sassy Cassie. “I think you’ve lost your mind.”

“Well, of course I have. What sane woman would travel across the country to marry a stranger?” she asked, sitting on the floor beside the makeshift cat bed.

Minnie let out another loud meow and climbed out of the drawer and straight to Cassandra.

“I think she misses her family,” Cassandra said softly, carefully stroking the kitten’s nose. “I should keep holding her.”

Cameron sat down on the side of the bed and stared at her helplessly. He was glad she was so happy with the kitten, but…He wanted a wedding night. “How long do you think it’ll take for her to fall asleep?”

She shrugged. “Not long. Remember how much she’d play and then sleep at the fireworks? I’m certain she’ll do the same here.”

The kitten meowed contentedly and slowly fell asleep. As soon as Cassandra was certain she was asleep, she put the kitten into the bed she’d made for her. The kitten started kneading the quilt, and she began suckling at it. “She’s too young to be away from her mama.” Her heart went out to the tiny creature.

“And I’m getting older by the second as I wait for my bride to remove her clothes!” Cameron tried to keep the exasperation out of his voice, but she was spending too much time with the kitten for his comfort.

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