Freezin' Up by Patti Benning

Author:Patti Benning [Benning, Patti]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Summer Prescott Books
Published: 2023-12-06T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

Flora was a cat person. She liked dogs, and had considered getting one on and off, but they seemed like such a big responsibility. She and Amaretto had a good routine going on, and the cat simply didn’t need as much from her as a dog would. Besides, she couldn’t ask for a better companion. Amaretto was cuddly, full of opinions, and had been an amazing friend for Flora during her long adjustment here in Warbler.

One thing cats couldn’t do, though, was bark. That was why it took the furnace repair team calling Flora’s cell phone at seven in the morning to let her know they were there to wake her up.

“We’ve been knocking for a few minutes, but no one answered,” the man said. “We’ve got a tight schedule today. Can you have someone let us in?”

“I’ll be right down,” Flora said, pulling herself from her sleep. The wakeup call was annoying, but the thought of her furnace being fixed made up for it. She shoved her slippers onto her feet, shuffled down the stairs, and let the repairmen in. After directing them to the basement, she went back upstairs to knock lightly on her aunt’s door.

“Aunt Olivia? I’m just letting you know the furnace guys are here. It will probably take them an hour or two to fix it.”

The door opened, revealing her aunt fully dressed and ready for the day. “Thanks for letting me know. I’ll keep out of their hair up here. Let me know if you need anything.”

“All right,” Flora said sleepily. She wanted to take a shower, but she didn’t want to be in the process of bathing if one of the repairmen needed her for something, so she went back downstairs and got the coffee going instead. She made extra, in case the repairmen wanted some, then sat at the table to wait for her morning drink.

The coffee maker was just gurgling the last few drips into the pot when she heard someone else knocking the front door. Amaretto, who was waiting patiently at her own chair at the table in hopes of an early breakfast, let out a quiet meow and padded down the hall toward the door. Flora got up to follow her. She picked the cat up so she couldn’t escape, then cracked the door open to find her elderly neighbor, Beth, standing on the other side of it.

“Good morning, dear,” Beth said, far too chipper for the early hour. “Sorry for bothering you, I just saw the van in your driveway and wanted to make sure everything was all right.”

“It’s fine,” Flora said, covering up a yawn. “You can come on in. I’ve got some people here to repair the furnace. I just made coffee. Do you want some?”

“It’s too early for so much caffeine, but I’ll have some tea if you have any.”

Beth took a seat in the living room as Flora shuffled back into the kitchen, muttering under her breath about how it could ever be too early for caffeine for anyone.

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