Page 39 of Autumn at the Cat Cafe

He leaned forward and watched as she moved things around. Tonight she had on another cozy sweater in forest green over black leggings that clung to her shapely legs. Her hair was up in a messy bun and she was wearing small gold hoop earrings and bright orange tennis shoes. When she had scooted by him to get the door for Owen and had brushed against him, her sweater had ridden up over her backside. The enticing view had him wondering again about that heart-shaped birthmark her sister had mentioned.

“Here it is,” she said, pulling out a stack of bright folders and placing them on the counter. She took the bright pink one on top and flipped it open. Empty spreadsheets poked out of both pockets. “I hoped that at some point Earl would have let me catalog his books, so I made these folders and spreadsheets. I wanted to have them ready for when he would give in.”

“You sound sure he would.”

She smiled. “I was making some headway.”

He picked up one of the spreadsheets and looked at the headings. Title, author, ISBN—whatever that meant—date of publication, even the publisher. “Very thorough,” he said.

“At first I was just going to do the title and author. Then I realized I would need more information to find anything about the book.”

“Like the value?”

“That, and if they were first editions. Or the latest edition. Among other things.”

That got him thinking. “I wonder how Earl valuated his books?”

Via tapped her temple, much in the way Leo did earlier. “I’m sure it was all in his steel trap.”

He grinned. He’d been worried things would be strained between them, but it took only a few minutes in her presence for him to relax. And now that he was getting the tiniest grasp on the scope of the task ahead of him, he needed her and her organizational skills. He couldn’t afford to ruin that by making things weird. He unfolded the list and handed it to her. “Do you know anything about these books?”

“Are these the ones Earl wanted you to find?” He nodded and she leaned on her elbows and started to chuckle.

“Ridiculous, right?”

“Oh, I don’t know, I thinkHow to Sweet-Talk Your Plantsmight be useful.”

“I thoughtMy Toothbrush, a Date with Destinywas a particularly poignant title.”

She laughed, a charming, pure sound that had him grinning again. She handed him the paper. “Nice joke,” she said. “Where’s the real list?”

“This is it.”

“Seriously? Those seem esoteric, even for Earl.”

“It’s what Bennett gave me.”

She took the list again, folded it, and put it in her pocket. “I’ll make a copy and give it back. That way we can divide and conquer.”

“Sounds good.”

Via clapped her hands and rubbed them together. “Time to get started.”

“I thought we already did.”

She pointed to the opposite wall near the back of the shop, away from the austere bathroom. “That’s where the real work begins.”

His interest piqued, and he and Sir followed her, passing an unexpected open space with two vintage, comfy-looking chairs flanking a brightly painted bookshelf filled with what appeared to be children’s books. An oval rag rug was in the middle of the area, and a basket of toys was near one of the chairs.

“Your handiwork?” Leo asked.

She shook her head. “Earl’s.”

“Huh?”

“He decided one day he needed a kid’s area and spent a whole afternoon creating one. He was right—parents appreciated it.”

It seemed out of character for what he’d learned about his brusque, eccentric uncle. Then again, he still didn’t know enough about him to make that judgment. She motioned for him to follow again and pushed on a door he hadn’t noticed before, mostlybecause it looked like the rest of the wall. “Welcome to Earl’s second Second Chapter.”