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Finally, the oldest spoke. “That’s what my dad’s phone said. I researched photos of cats.”
The smallest one again piped up. “Paris can’t have a phone ’til she’s twelve, and that’s only if she’s ree-spon-si-ble.” The little girl drew out the word as if it was very important.
“Girls, let’s introduce ourselves before you overwhelm this nice lady. I’m Daniel Sutton,” he said. “And these are my daughters—Paris, Penny and Pippa.”
“I’m Penny,” the middle child added, raising her hand.
“I’m Emma Alvarez,” Emma returned.
“Who painted these pictures hanging on the walls?” the youngest one asked.
Emma smiled at the child, who looked totally interested. “They’re all done by local artists. Do you like to draw?”
“Yes. But I’m not very good. I like to look at paintings.”
With a smile—a smile that really did make her stomach quiver a bit—Daniel Sutton asked, “Where would you like me to take the cat? I don’t know much about your facility. This is the first I’ve been here since the tornado hit in March.”
From what Emma understood, the shelter had been renovated since the tornado. Some renovations were still in progress. “Are you sure the cat you found doesn’t belong to a neighbor?” Emma asked.
“I checked with neighbors on both sides before we brought her in. They don’t have cats and didn’t recognize the description of this one. You are going to take her, aren’t you? I’ve made donations over the years...”
Donations were important, Emma had to admit, but that had nothing to do with whether they took an animal or not. “I’ll have to take her back to the quarantine area.”
Pippa asked, “What’s quarantine?”
Paris didn’t give Emma time to answer. “That’s a place where the animal has to stay all alone to see if she has any diseases.”
“I don’t want her to stay all alone,” Penny said with a scowl.
“She won’t exactly be all alone,” Emma explained. “She’s separated from the other animals so that we can make sure she’s healthy. We’ll scan her, too, to see if she’s microchipped. If she is, that would help us find her owner.”
Daniel Sutton’s eyes held a myriad of questions, probably tough ones about what they’d do if the cat was seriously ill. Emma didn’t want to answer them around his daughters.
“Can we go with her?” Pippa asked.
Emma crouched down to Pippa in order to make eye-to-eye contact. “I’ll tell you what. Why don’t you and Paris and Penny come part of the way with me. You can look through the glass wall at the other cats we have who are waiting to be adopted.”
“Do you have pups, too?” Paris asked.
“We do. You can see those also. Meanwhile, I’ll take this calico back to the quarantine area and I’ll talk to our vet tech. She’ll have to check her and see what might have to be done to care for her.” Emma’s gaze returned to Daniel’s. “I have paperwork you’ll have to fill out. If you want to wait with your daughters, I’ll collect it and bring it out.”
She reached for the box that the lawyer held in his hands. It looked as if it had once held reams of paper and it had handles on either side. After she took the box, she set it on a nearby table. “I just want to take a peek. I’m sure your girls probably want to wish her well, too.”
Pippa, Paris and Penny all gathered around the box as Emma removed the lid. “Oh, aren’t you a pretty girl,” Emma said. Her white fur was a bit dirty but her colors were vibrant.
“Are you going to give her a bath?” Pippa asked.
Emma laughed. “I doubt that. When she’s cared for and has enough to eat, she’ll groom herself. That’s what cats do. My guess is she’s tired from running here and there, trying to find a place out of the weather and get something to eat.”
The girls seemed to be hanging on her every word.
When Emma glanced up at Daniel Sutton, he was watching her. His expression was...curious, if she had to put a word to it. She was curious about him, too, but had no right to be. He was probably married.
There wasn’t a ring on his finger, but she knew better than most that the symbol of marriage might not mean anything.
Reminding herself that her only interest was the cat in front of her, and maybe the girls, she asked, “Did she give you any trouble when you handled her?”
Daniel shook his head. “She was compliant, even purred a little when Penny petted her.”
“Did you give her anything to eat?”
“I had roasted chicken in my office refrigerator. I cut off a piece and chopped it up. She gobbled it down.”
“Really fast,” Pippa added.
Paris said quietly, “She rubbed against my legs, too, over and over again, like she wanted to be friends.”
The cat was looking at Emma as if asking what was going to happen next. Emma wished she knew and hoped for the best.
* * *
Daniel felt shaken after Emma Alvarez walked away. He hadn’t been attracted to a woman since Lydia had left. What was this?
Obviously, Emma was compassionate, not only with animals, but also with children. Before Lydia left, he hadn’t even seen that compassion in his ex-wife toward her own offspring, much less strangers.
Don’t compare anything. Don’t be interested in anyone, he charged himself. He finally felt as if he was whole again and that had taken two long years.
The other stray thought he’d had about Emma Alvarez was that she’d make a wonderful nanny. He’d interviewed two women last week and neither of them had given him the impression they’d be this good with his girls.
Too picky...or too cautious? Both were true on many fronts. But Emma gave him a feeling he just couldn’t ignore, especially as he watched his daughters respond to her. Yeah, he was definitely going with his gut on this.
He watched Emma speak with a volunteer, who was caring for the cats behind the plexiglass window. That woman asked Pippa, Penny and Paris if they wanted to come in and pet a few. They did. He watched them curiously as he waited for Emma. Paris obviously had a caring streak, too. He hadn’t seen that side of her since Lydia had left.
Emma returned from the office down the hall with papers that were attached to a clipboard in hand. She said, “Why don’t we sit in the lobby while you fill these out. If you have any questions, I’ll be here to answer them.”
Daniel gently rapped on the window and Paris looked his way. He pointed to the clipboard and to the lobby, and she gave him a thumbs-up sign to indicate that she understood.
As they walked toward the lobby, Emma said to Daniel, “The feline you brought in was not microchipped. She will have to have an FIV and a feline leukemia test. I didn’t want to say anything around your girls.”
“What do you mean? What if one of the tests is positive?”
Emma gave him a sad look and he knew what that meant.
“Why?” he asked, surprised that he cared.
“There’s research being done to determine if an FIV-positive cat can be included in a multi-cat family, but for now FIV and feline leukemia are both considered highly contagious.” She gently touched his arm.
He couldn’t believe the heat that simple touch generated. When he glanced at her, he saw an almost surprised look on her face. Was she affected, too?
They’d reached the lobby and Emma cleared her throat and motioned to two chairs. After they sat, she handed him the clipboard and pen. They were sitting side by side, his knee practically touching hers. He didn’t move it away because that would be too obvious. Obvious that he was attracted? Or obvious that he wanted to remove himself?
He rested the clipboard on his thigh. The realization brought on by Emma’s words struck hard. “If you can’t save that cat and her kittens, my daughters are going to be heartbroken.”
“I do understand,” Emma empathized. “And you shouldn’t lose hope—the tests might come back negative. As soon as the vet tech is free, she’ll draw blood. The test will take about twenty minutes. I suggest you take your daughters home and I’ll call you later with the results.”
He made a quick decision. “Let me give you my cell number, then you can reach me no matter where I am. Do you have your phone on you?”
She did. She plucked her phone from her belt and tapped Daniel’s cell number into her contacts.
Thinking he should be filling out the forms, not watching Emma tap in his contact information, he felt startled when she raised her gaze to his and didn’t quickly turn away.
He did look away. The forms had become more important than Emma Alvarez.
* * *
Daniel sat in his study that evening listening to his girls play a video game in the family room across the hall. The floor plan of this house was one of the reasons he and his ex-wife had bought it after Penny was born. The house had been on the market for over a year without a buyer. The owners, a couple whose family had grown and left, had wanted to move closer to their children. He’d gotten a great deal, and he knew that. Lydia had been over-the-moon pleased.
Pippa’s laughter rang out from the family room. He glanced around his man cave at the bookshelves, at the massive desk, at the computer-and-printer setup. Neither his house nor his law degree would mean anything to him without his daughters.
He returned to looking for summer-camp selections for his girls at the community college. He hoped it wasn’t too late to enroll. As he began reading the selections, his cell phone buzzed. Picking it up, he saw on the screen that the caller was E. Alvarez. His heart began beating just a little faster.
“Mr. Sutton?” she asked.
“Call me Daniel,” he suggested. That wasn’t too informal, right? He always told his clients that, didn’t he?
Emma hesitated and then said, “All right, Daniel. The calico tested negative, and we’re taking care of her. I named her Fiesta because of all of her colors. She needs good nutrition for her babies.”
“I’m so glad she has a place where she’ll be safe,” Daniel responded.
“She’ll be safe for a time. Momma cats with babies aren’t very adoptable. The kittens will be, though, once they’re born.”
“I don’t think I’m going to tell Pippa, Penny and Paris that.”
“We can’t give Fiesta a whole lot of attention at the shelter because of all of our animals. I’ll do my best to keep an eye on her. It really would be better if she could go home with you and your girls, though.”
“No.” The word popped out of Daniel’s mouth before he even thought about the idea.
“Can I ask why?” she inquired gently.
After a moment, he told her the truth. “I’m a divorced single dad with three girls who are active, smart and sometimes needy. I really can’t see adding a pet to that mix.”
She paused, then said quietly, “I see. If you can’t adopt Fiesta, why don’t you bring your daughters back to the shelter for a visit. I’m sure they’d enjoy it and so would she. I’m certain she’ll want all the attention she can get. She’s a very friendly feline.”
“I’ll consider a visit,” he assured her, maybe because he wanted to see Emma Alvarez again and not the cat.
“Whenever you have time. Do you know our hours?”
“I do. I looked them up before we came to the shelter. Are you always on the same shift?”
“My schedule varies depending on when the shelter needs me to be here.”
He hadn’t thought about that.
“We hope to see you soon at Furever Paws,” she said politely. “You have a good night and say hello to your girls for me.”
“I will.”
After Daniel ended the call, he wished it had gone on a little longer. Should he visit again with her at Furever Paws when he was attracted to her?
His better judgment told him no.
Chapter Two (#ud3f0bcf4-6a70-5172-bf3a-f6101191ec99)
Whole Bean, the coffee shop in Spring Forest, was a popular local gathering place, even on a Saturday. Daniel was grateful for his sister, who had come over to the house to take care of the girls for the day so he could catch up on client appointments at the office. She was making them breakfast and since she didn’t drink coffee...
The coffee shop was near his office so it was an easy stop. He went to the counter and ordered a double-shot espresso. Checking his watch, he saw that he had about ten minutes before he wanted to start at the office. It wouldn’t hurt to relax a bit before the workday began. Sometimes getting the girls up and dressed and their hair fixed was like running a marathon. He wanted his sister to do the fun things with them and didn’t intend to burden her with any more than was necessary.
He’d turned and headed to the main part of the café to find a table when he stopped cold. There was Emma Alvarez, sitting alone at a bistro table for two. Could she be waiting for someone?
It didn’t look like it. She’d spread the newspaper on the table in front of her and had a pen in her hand.
So much for relaxing. His heart had started pulsing faster the moment he’d spotted her.
Crossing to the table, he stood there for a moment. She must have felt his presence because she looked up and her eyes widened.
Before he could stop himself, he asked, “Do you mind if I join you?”
She looked flustered but she folded the newspaper and laid her pen on the table. “I don’t mind.”
He checked the coffee she was drinking. It looked like a latte.
She saw him studying her coffee and she studied his. “Yes, I drink lattes—vanilla. How about you?”
He nodded to his cup as he sat. “It only looks like black coffee. It has shots of espresso in it.”
“Enough to get you through the day?” she teased. “Or will you need more about noon?”
“I’m limiting myself to the two shots of espresso a day. If I have them both in the morning, that’s it. I have enough trouble sleeping at night.”
“Because of your daughters?” she asked, and then blushed. “I’m sorry. That sounded like prying.”
“I opened the conversation, and yes, my daughters do keep me from sleeping at night. Pippa often calls out in her sleep. It’s been that way since my wife left.”
“You said you’re divorced?”
His gaze landed on her hand. No ring there. “Yes, I’m divorced. Two years now. You’d think I would have gotten used to being mother and father by now.”
Emma shook her head. “I don’t think it works that way. I lost my mom to cancer when I was twelve. I’ll never forget those last six months or the years after, when I missed her so much I didn’t know what to do. I still miss her.”
