Mulberry Moon by Catherine Anderson

Author:Catherine Anderson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2016-11-02T10:15:01+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Once they were in the apartment above the café, Sissy felt all the earlier tension of the evening fall away, and her muscles relaxed. They had committed a crime, but they’d made a clean getaway, and even better, the kitten could now look forward to a long and happy life. Sissy couldn’t help but smile as she crouched to set the little guy gently on her kitchen floor.

Admiring the gray ball of fur, Sissy noticed two white patches on the kitten’s left hip. “Oh, Ben, look. He’s not solid gray. He has two spots of white.”

Ben stepped around to look. “His whiskers are white, too.”

Sissy’s grin broadened. “He makes me think of a kid whose mom sewed patches on his jeans. Wouldn’t that be a darling name? Patches, I mean.”

Ben crouched beside her, his mouth also tipped in a smile. “It’s cute, for sure, and it suits him.”

The kitten decided to check out his new home and hobbled over to sniff a cupboard door. “Just look at him walk!” Sissy cried. “He’s a tiny miracle.”

“He sure is,” Ben agreed.

When the kitten sniffed a second cupboard, an awful thought occurred to Sissy. “Oh, my God. I’ll have to roust Marilyn out of bed. I have no cat food, no litter box, and no litter to go in one! Flagg’s Market is closed by now.”

“After I agreed to help you break him out of jail, I went shopping,” Ben said. “I knew you wouldn’t have time. I’ve got everything he’ll need in the back of my truck. I’ll run out and get everything.”

While Ben was gone, Sissy remained hunkered down to watch Patches explore the kitchen. The thought that he would have been dead in the morning if not for her and Ben brought tears to her eyes. Ben. He was such a rare gem. How many guys would risk going to jail in order to save a kitten’s life? Not many, she decided. And that decision was quickly followed by another one. It was time for her to stop holding Ben at arm’s length, and take another huge risk. He was a wonderful man, truly one of a kind, and she was going to lose him if she didn’t let him know that she’d come to care about him.

She jerked with a start when Ben pushed back inside. His arms were laden with two bags, one of dry kitten kibble and the other of litter, plus a cat box filled with items she couldn’t identify without standing up. She watched as he began unloading purchases onto her countertop. She saw ceramic dishes with paw prints. Two toys appeared, one a gray mouse and the other a clutch of feathers attached to what resembled a miniature fishing pole. Then Ben set out a box of rice pabulum and some small jars of pureed meat.

“What’s the baby food for?”

“My mom starts kittens with pabulum mixed with pureed meat, powdered milk, and warm water. They love it, and according to her, it’s healthful for them.

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