Courting the Cat Whisperer Read online

  Harry tipped his chin at her mug. “If that’s not the best cup of coffee you’ve ever had, then the Tuckers got ripped off. Those machines cost more than I make in a week.”

  She took a sip. “It’s good, but honestly, The Hallowed Bean’s is better.”

  Harry chuckled. “As I suspected. Although it’d be tough to beat The Hallowed Bean’s Dracu-Latte.”

  “True.” He ate his half of the cruller in two bites, moaning and rolling his eyes heavenward as he did. “Oh, my God! That’s amazing.”

  Ignoring her lack of appetite, Jordan tried the pastry. It was even better than the ones a pastry chef she briefly dated used to make. “Wow, yeah. Spectacular.”

  “Spectacular,” He repeated, but she suspected he wasn’t referring to the cruller. His wink incited a butterfly riot in the pit of her belly.

  Somehow, she managed to breathe. “What are you working on today?”

  “More tear outs. Do you need me to do something?” He licked powdered sugar off his lips.

  Heat bloomed inside her. She went to the fridge and got a few ice cubes for her coffee. “No, I was just wondering. I’ve got a couple of errands to run, so I’ll be out for a bit. If you need any help later, let me know.”

  “I appreciate the offer.” Harry wiped down the table. “Speaking of work, I should get on it.”

  Jordan returned her uneaten half danish to the box as Harry washed his hands. She skimmed her gaze from his broad shoulders to his narrow waist, down those long legs. She couldn’t allow herself to get too carried away. Sure, his assets were amazing, but she hardly knew him. Every guy she’d dated since high school had been completely wrong for her. Why should she think that her guy meter had changed? Plus, she had a bad habit of screwing up relationships.

  Besides, getting involved with any guy right now was a bad idea. She needed to concentrate on building up her business, not spend her time and energy on some meaningless fling. How would her sister and her parents ever respect her if she couldn’t stand on her own feet financially?

  While Harry went to fetch his tools, Jordan went upstairs to get ready to leave. Grabbing her purse, she waved to Milo and Theo, who were both curled up on her bed. “I’m going out for a couple of hours, guys.”

  The felines didn’t stir.

  Downstairs, she glanced through the doorway into the living room, but Harry was nowhere to be found. She drove to another client’s home to walk a chihuahua then picked up an ornery Great Dane and took him to the dog park for exercise. Next, she headed downtown in search of a small gift for Mallory, something that would say, “I’m sorry for destroying your kitchen.”

  Cruising past Delaney’s Delectibles, she shook her head. Mal was dieting ahead of shopping for her wedding gown. When Jordan noticed a florist, she immediately parked and went inside.

  The place was so colorful and happy, with all sorts of beautiful bouquets and plants. A pretty blonde came out from the back and gave Jordan a warm smile. “Welcome to Enchanted Garden. Can I help you?”

  “I hope so,” Jordan said. “I need to send my twin an apology flower arrangement.”

  The woman laughed. “I’d be happy to whip that right up for you.”

  Ten minutes later, Jordan left the shop with the prettiest bouquet she’d ever seen. In her car, she jotted a simple, “I love you,” then drove over to Mal’s house and left the arrangement on the porch.

  When she returned to the Tuckers’ place, she noticed Harry’s white pickup truck out front with Hill’s Carpentry and Renovations printed on the side.

  Knowing he was still there shouldn’t have excited her in any way. Her heart did that little fluttery thing at the very thought of being around him. Inside the house, the kittens and cats greeted her with meows and shin rubs. She crouched to give each one a pet or a head scratch.

  “Well, hey,” Harry said with that southern drawl as smooth and dark as blackstrap molasses. In his green work shirt and jeans faded in all the right places, he looked yummier than anything she’d seen in the window of Delaney’s Delectables a little while earlier.

  “Hi. How’s the construction going?”

  “I’m just tearing out some rotted wood this morning.” He combed his fingers through his glossy brown hair. “After that, I’ll start work on the kitchen, unless you’d rather I do the living room first. If you were going to cook or something.”

  She stood up and chuckled. “I don’t cook. Ever. Thank goodness most of the restaurants in town deliver.”

  He folded his muscular arms over his chest and gave her a ridiculously sexy grin. “Well then, I’ll have to cook lunch for you tomorrow. I make a mean Monte Christo.”

  Impressive. “Did your mother teach you to cook? Or were you a chef in a former life?”

  A cloud passed over his face. “I have no idea.” He left the room without any further explanation.

  Had she said something wrong? Perhaps he was merely anxious to get back to work. Shrugging, she went upstairs to get her laptop so she could check her social media sites for leads. But a few minutes into her Facebook experience, a rhythmic pounding started shaking the walls. Thump after thump had Jordan’s teeth chattering. When it kept on, she teased aside the curtain and smiled at the sight of the expansive yard, complete with a kidney-shaped pool. All the tension escaped her shoulders as she changed into her bikini. Tying a towel around her waist, she grabbed her tube of sunscreen then headed downstairs.

  “Sorry if the noise disturbed you.” Harry set down a crowbar on the kitchen counter. Pieces of wood molding littered the floor near the stove. “The seventies were alive and well in here. But I’ve removed most of the vestiges.” His gaze trailed down her body then back up to her eyes. An appreciative grin settled on his lips.

  The heat of awareness stormed through her. She tightened the towel around her waist.

  “Taking advantage of the pool, hmm? Perfect day for it. It’s got to be eighty degrees out there.”

  “Um, yeah.” Even with the air conditioner running in the house, she was hot, thanks to Harry’s sea-green eyes, and the way he was looking at her as if she were some decadent confection like the ones they’d eaten for breakfast. She swallowed then hurried out the back door.

  The pool beckoned to her. Dropping her towel on a lounge chair, she took in the lush trees that surrounded the yard, and the potted flowers on the deck—impatiens, lavender, and marigolds. Nice and private. She slathered lotion on her skin then jumped into the pool. The cool water felt like heaven as she swam to the other side and back again. After a few more laps, she climbed out and made herself comfortable on the lounger.

  Closing her eyes, she inhaled the soothing scent of lavender. And pictured Harry peeling off his t-shirt.

  His chest and shoulders were even better than she’d imagined—hard and roped with muscle. He stripped down to a pair of black briefs before diving into the water. Then he hauled himself out and stood over her, staring down at her. His wet skin glistened in the sun, making him appear all the more like a buff Greek god.

  A rustling sound tore her out of her daydream. She opened her eyes and sat up, scanning the perimeter of the yard. The branches of a nearby Hawthorne bush shifted despite the lack of a breeze. A chill skittered up her spine. Could someone be spying on her?

  She glanced toward the house, which was strangely quiet, considering how noisy Harry had been only a few moments earlier.

  Bolting off the chair, she wrapped the towel around her body and crossed the lawn to the wooded edge near a small garden shed. “Hello?” she said. “Anybody there?”

  Nothing.

  “Harry?”

  Leaves crunched as if someone was walking past. Jordan held her breath until the sound receded.

  A frightening memory flashed in her brain. She’d been alone at Mallory’s old cottage, brushing her hair in front of the mirror when that awful man had broken into Mal’s bedroom window. Jordan hadn’t had time to think or react as he grabbed
her and covered her head with a burlap sack. He’d tied her up, tossed her into the trunk of a car and driven for hours. For two days he’d kept her prisoner in a warehouse. Until Mallory and Cyrus had rescued her.

  She’d never allow anyone to victimize her again. “Who’s there?” she shouted. When she got no response, she grabbed a shovel leaning against the shed and pushed her way into the thicket. Whoever had been there was gone now.

  Hearing a small pop that had come from the direction of the house, she pushed aside a hibiscus branch to see what it was.

  Harry sat down on the back porch steps and took a long pull on a bottle. Heart racing, she ran across the lawn toward the house. “Hey!”

  He tipped the bottle at her. “Want a root beer?”

  She ignored his offer. “Someone was spying on me.”

  His gaze fell to the shovel in her hand. Was she accusing him? Standing, he backed away, holding up his free hand in surrender.

  Could Jordan be delusional? After all, Harry had caught her conversing with cats yesterday, and now she was acting paranoid, thinking that he was some kind of peeping Tom. Which was a shame, because he’d just started to like her. He’d sworn off relationships for the time being, at least until he knew who he was.

  But after he’d met her yesterday, something had shifted inside of him. The sun had shone a little brighter, colors had suddenly appeared more vibrant, and even the food he’d eaten since then tasted better.

  Jordan narrowed her eyes at him. “I heard someone sneaking around in the bushes.”

  “The bushes? I was in the house until a minute ago.”

  She shook her head. “I wasn’t accusing you. I’m just…” She glanced over her shoulder and shivered. “It scared me.”

  Anger stormed through him. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

  She tightened the towel around her body. “I felt someone watching me. It’s hard to explain. I heard leaves rustling like someone had pushed through. Then footsteps.”

  “Anything else?”

  She shook her head.

  He scanned the thick foliage on the far side of the yard. What if the person who’d been messing with him had followed him to the Tuckers’ place? Not only could he be in danger, but so could Jordan. “Go inside and lock the door. I’m going to have a look for myself.”

  She handed him the shovel. “O-okay.”

  Once she was safely inside the house, he strode the perimeter of the yard. He smelled something unpleasant, like stale smoke, but he couldn’t find any evidence that someone had been there. He opened the door to the shed. It was filled with gardening supplies, and none of it appeared to have been disturbed. As Harry took a step into the small, windowless building, his head started pounding. Sweat trickled down the side of his face.

  A terrifying memory flashed in his mind—darkness closed in on him. He was in a similar space, so tiny and dark.

  Let me out! Please.

  Grabbing the door frame, he backed out of the shed and composed himself. Where had the memory come from? Had it merely been an old nightmare, or was it a glimpse into his past? A jail cell? A hidey-hole?

  He forced himself to concentrate on the darkness, but as quickly as the image had appeared, it vanished into the locked up hole in his memory.

  After another check of the area, he returned to the house and let himself inside. He thought he heard voices, so he stilled.

  Not voices—merely one, Jordan’s. Sounded as if she was on the phone. Just to be sure, he headed toward her voice. And found her in the study.

  She sat on an antique sofa with her back to him. And no phone anywhere to be found. “…How can I stay if I don’t feel safe? … Well, that’s true. … Are you sure? I knew I hadn’t imagined it.”

  Harry cleared his throat. “Is someone else here?”

  Jordan stood up, twisting around to face him. Her cheeks were scarlet. “Um, no. I mean yes.” She scrunched her nose in the most adorable way.

  “Were you on the phone?” he asked, although he knew that wasn’t the case.

  “Nope.”

  “Imaginary friend?”

  She wound a platinum blond curl around her index finger and shifted from foot to foot. “I was talking to…”

  He folded his arms over his chest as she started to say something then stopped. “Yes?” he ventured.

  Her pretty lips flattened to a thin line. “One of the kittens—Tallulah is her name—happened to be looking out the window of one of the upstairs rooms. She saw a man hiding in the bushes a few minutes ago. See? I told you someone was there.”

  Wow, she really was delusional. “So you’re saying that a cat was talking to you?”

  Huffing, she sank onto a chair. “It’s not exactly like that. But you have to believe me. Tallulah saw a man crouching there, watching me.” She glanced toward a black and white kitten and nodded. “And he was smoking a cigar.”

  A chill rolled over his skin. Yes, what he’d detected near the shed had definitely been cigar smoke. Not that he believed that Jordan had gleaned the snippet of intel from a feline informant. But he was curious enough to play along. “And how could Tallulah have seen a cigar at that distance?”

  Jordan rolled her eyes. “Don’t you know how much better a cat’s vision is than ours? She also said he had red hair.”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  “Harry, how long have you lived in Nocturne Falls?”

  What did that have to do with anything? “About four years. Why?”

  She gave him a wistful nod. “I see. And why did you move here?”

  If he tried explaining it to her, she’d think he was the crazy one. “It’s…a long story.”

  “Always is.” She crossed her legs, giving him a view of her incredibly shapely thighs.

  Being a gentleman, he averted his gaze.

  “Have you seen many strange things in that time?” she asked.

  “Strange?” He wasn’t sure what she was getting at but wondered if she was one of those locals who took the whole, Halloween everyday theme as gospel. Did she think that the vampires strolling the town center every evening were real? Or that the gargoyle in the fountain actually turned from flesh and blood to stone at will?

  She huffed. “You know what? Never mind. Forget I said anything…about the cats.”

  Now she was confusing him. “So they don’t talk to you?”

  She rubbed her temples. “I was a lonely kid, you know? Animals were my only friends. Some kids have imaginary friends. Mine were the four-legged variety.”

  That didn’t explain why she’d insisted that a kitten had seen someone hiding in the bushes. He hadn’t misunderstood her. Jordan believed that the cat had spoken to her.

  Her phone played a familiar tune. “Excuse me,” she said as she answered.

  He could only hope the caller was her psychiatrist.

  Chapter Three

  Jordan crumpled onto the sofa with her cell phone.

  “What were you thinking?” Mallory sneezed on the other end of the line.

  Every time Jordan tried to do something nice for Mal, she managed to screw it up royally. “I’m sorry.” How could she have forgotten that Mallory was allergic to daisies?

  “And you didn’t sign the note.”

  Jordan smacked her forehead. “You know my handwriting, Mal. I didn’t even consider that Cyrus would be the one to see the bouquet first.”

  “Well, he did.” Mallory sniffled. “Cyrus trusts me a hundred percent, but when he read that, I love you, he wondered if someone was stalking me.”

  “Again, I’m so sorry. I was only trying to apologize for the kitchen fire.” Tears stung behind her eyes.

  “Yeah, I know,” Mal said. “How’s it going there?”

  If she told her twin about someone peeping at her through the bushes, Mallory would probably insist that Jordan come back to her house. So much for Mal and Cyrus having that much-needed couple time. Nope, she wouldn’t mention
it. Besides, the guy was probably long gone by now. “Well, I haven’t started a kitchen fire yet. Just give me time.” She glanced through the open door into the study at Harry, who was boxing books from the built-in shelves. “It’s fine here. Great. The house is a mansion.”

  “Nice. Glad to hear it.”

  Jordan nodded. “Mal?”

  “Yes?”

  “I’m trying to do better.”

  After several beats, Mallory sighed. “I know you are, hon.”

  “I love you. And Cyrus.”

  “Me, too.”

  A little relieved, Jordan disconnected then returned to the study. “Need help?”

  “Sure.” He handed her an empty box. “I’ll be repairing and refinishing the bookcases soon. This was the quietest task I could think of while you were on the phone.”

  That was thoughtful of him.

  “Everything all right?” he asked. “I wasn’t eavesdropping on you, but you looked upset.”

  She packed books into her box. “It’s okay. That was my sister, Mallory. I burned up her kitchen yesterday morning before I left. Then, as an apology, I sent her flowers that she was allergic to. Oh, and I didn’t sign the card, so her fiancé thought she had a secret admirer or something.”

  His eyes opened wide. “Seriously?”

  She nodded. “Amazing but true. Story of our relationship. Mal’s perfect, and I’m the opposite of perfect.”

  “How so?”

  After lots of recent soul-searching, and many late-night talks with her twin, Jordan had recently gleaned more insight into their childhood, and how it had affected her relationship with Mal. “Mom and Dad were a lot more strict with Mallory than they were with me. They expected more from her because she was smarter, more responsible, harder working than I. Since my standards were lower, I lived up to their expectations by misbehaving. I guess I was trying to get their attention.”

  He picked up the box Jordan had just finished filling and carried it to the corner where there was already a stack of them. “At least you have a family.”

  “You don’t?”