Page 87 of Autumn at the Cat Cafe

April 3, 2023: Via asked to organize my shop again. I told her no. Again. Nice that she wanted to do that, though. She runs a tight ship next door. Impressed.

January 28, 2024: Decided to sell Via her half of the building. She’s been the best tenant I’ve ever had. Best neighbor too. She’s still too chatty and her cat is still weird looking, but she’s been here two years and I want her to stay. Don’t have to deal with flighty, annoying renters anymore. That’s if she wants to and wants that half of the building. Gonna surprise her tomorrow with an offer. We’ll see if she takes it.

PS: She took it.

November 1, 2024: Doc wants me to have a stress test. Told him I’m not interested. The good Lord will take me when He takes me.

November 15, 2024: Need to call Bennett this week. Want to change my will.

Leo sat up. Read the sentence again, then finished the entry.

Via’s had great ideas to improve the shop. Didn’t know it needs improving, but hearing her talk, she’s right. It’s been thirty years since I opened up Second Chapter. Time for a change. Via said I’ve built something here. A legacy. Can’t think of a better person to carry that on. We talked a little bit about her taking over, maybe combining our businesses. But if I go before that, I want her to have it free and clear. I’ll never meet Leo. Don’t even know where he is. Suppose I should have tried to find him. But he never tried to find me either. No reason to leave him anything.

Leo’s chest compressed. His uncle died thinking no one cared. Thinking Leo didn’t care enough to look for him. “I didn’t know!” he yelled at the book. Then more quietly, “I didn’t know.” He turned to the last entry, his eyes aching now.

November 25, 2024: Fell down the dumb stairs. Via’s been a godsend. Helps me with everything, makes sure I eat properly. She’s the daughter I never had. As soon as I recover, I’m changing my will. It all goes to Via.

The journal lay on Leo’s lap as he read the last sentence over and over. She was right about Earl’s last wishes. Bennett had said so, and Leo ended up believing her as he saw how much she cared about Second Chapter. The flicker of grief in her eyes whenever Earl was mentioned. She loved his uncle, just when he needed someone to love him.

He stood, the cider forgotten, the lump in his throat nearly choking him. Earl’s last wish was in writing. Would it be enough to change the inheritance? Maybe. Enough to contest it. Possibly. He was so close—only two days left and a quiz to meet all of Earl’s stipulations. He could close the journal and tuck it under his bed. No one would know but him.

And that was the problem.

Leo sighed. He didn’t have any other choice, and the one he did wasn’t hard to make. Bringing this to Bennett’s attention would complicate things, but he had a duty to his uncle and to Via to do it.

But... what if he fulfilled Uncle Earl’s and Via’s wishes a different way? He was used to taking financial risks but rarely missed due to his keen financial mind. He’d taken a personal one by leaving New York and moving to California, but that wasbecause Constance had killed their relationship and his future in the company.

What if he went all in on Second Chapter... and Via? It would be the biggest risk he’d ever taken, the highest stakes he’d ever faced. She was worth it.

Picking up the phone, he dialed Bennett’s personal number, even though it was well after business hours. Leo didn’t want to wait until morning. “Bennett,” he said when the lawyer answered the phone. “There’s something you need to know.”

Chapter 23

On Friday evening, Via stood to the side and watched as Leo ran Second Chapter as if he were born to be a bookstore owner. Harvest Fest was in full swing, and it was busier than ever this year. But she barely noticed any of it. Her stomach was a wreck, and Dora had commented on how tired she looked. She wasn’t just tired—she was physically ill. Keeping Percival’s offer from Leo all week had been a nightmare. On the outside she was cool, making sure to stay so busy that anytime he approached her to take a break or offer her a meal, she refused, claiming there was too much to do.

But the reality was, she couldn’t be around him, not without being tempted to tell him about the offer. And she couldn’t do that. Not yet. She’d mulled it over in her mind constantly, losing hours of sleep, and she always came back to one thing—Leo would sell to Percival.

The shop was busier than she’d ever seen it. Everyone in Pecan Corner seemed to want to visit Earl’s legacy one last time. She’d made the right decision to wait to talk to Leo about the offer. Now to get through the next two days.

Leo was talking to Zander and Charlie by the cookbook section,the first one he and Via had set up in the shop. As if he felt her watching him, he turned. Winked at her through his sexy glasses. She was surprised when he showed up wearing them.“Do I look nerdy enough?”he’d asked.

His tone was light, but she could see a touch of anxiety in his eyes. It might seem like a little thing to wear glasses in a bookstore, but to Leo, it was huge. She set aside her stress and gave him a brief kiss.“There’s nothing nerdy about you, Harvard Boy.”

Her chest ached. She wanted to go back to Harvard Boy and Smitten Kitten. Her nickname was absolutely accurate. She was smitten with Leo all right. More like in love, and it felt nothing like her feelings for Trevor. Which made withholding the offer so much worse.

“Great turnout,” Bennett said, coming up beside her.

Via crossed her arms. She’d grabbed the first thing she found in her closet—a rose-and-periwinkle striped shirt. Definitely not fall themed. The last thing she was thinking about was her bucket list.

“I’ve been wanting to compliment you on your accomplishment.”

She turned to him. “What accomplishment?”

“Helping Leo gain his inheritance.” He turned to her, his crinkly blue eyes filled with their usual kindness.

Confused, she was about to say she had no idea what he was talking about. Then a cold frost went through her. Leo had never said anything about stipulations. “Yeah,” she said, looking at Leo laughing with his new friends. “That’s me. Helpful.”

“Tomorrow, Leo will have fulfilled his thirty days. He’ll take the quiz, the property will be officially his, and—”