Page 92 of Autumn at the Cat Cafe

“That Second Chapter is for sale? Just now.” She started walking, unable to look at the sign again. “Good for Leo. I guess.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s selling Second Chapter.” She halted. Wait, if there was a For Sale sign, that meant he didn’t take Percival’s offer! Which, yay, but it reminded her of what an idiot she was.

“Via, I think there’s a misunderstanding. Leo doesn’t own Second Chapter. He didn’t fulfill Earl’s stipulations.”

“Huh?”

“He had to stay in Pecan Corner for thirty days. He made it to twenty-nine. I tried calling him several times but no answer. I was going to ask you to reach out to him, but I had a feeling—or rather a vibe, as my grandson would say—that something had happened between you two.”

She halted, pressing her fingers against her forehead. Unbelievable. “So who owns it?”

“His mother, Constance. If Leo didn’t fulfill Earl’s stipulations, or he refused the inheritance outright, it would go to her.”

Via almost dropped the phone. She couldn’t imagine him letting Constance have what was rightfully his. Or would have been, if Via had trusted him. “Thanks for letting me know,” she said quietly.

“Constance said she wanted to get rid of the property ASAP, so that’s why I called you. I didn’t want you to be surprised when the movers showed up.” He sounded regretful. “Guess I was too late.”

They hung up and Via continued her walk, slower than usual. She wasn’t in any hurry to get home, and she started blaming herself again for Leo’s loss. Then she brought herself up short. Wait a minute. Had she made a huge mistake? Absolutely. But she didn’t force Leo to give up his inheritance. He ran from it at the first chance he got. This wasn’t her fault—at least not totally. He could have stayed another day, but he didn’t. He’d thrown the inheritance away. Maybe he didn’t appreciate it as much as she thought.

She tried to muster up some anger, but she couldn’t. Tears pricked her eyes. This was a mess, one that Constance was now going to clean up. She had to take proper responsibility for it, since she couldn’t fix it. And now Earl’s shop was going to disappear. The only comfort she could find was that Percival hadn’t gotten his grimy hands on it—yet. With Leo out of the picture, he just might try again. Should she try to find Constance and warn her? Bennett had her number.

Via shook her head as she rounded the last turn to Pawsitive Vibes. She was done. She’d done enough damage to Earl’s legacy. She had to let it—and Leo—go.

On Friday evening, Via turned the Open sign to Closed in Pawsitive Vibes and locked the door. Tomorrow was a big day—she was going to pick up six more cats for the café. They’d had a wonderful slew of adoptions recently, and she was looking forward to her new residents. The next several days would be crucial in helping them get acclimated, but as long as she didn’t have Squeaks 2.0, it would be okay.

Actually, Squeaks had settled down and was no longer Naughty Cat of the Week. Neither was Sir Meow, now that Leo was gone. To the surprise of everyone, Cinnamon’s picture was in the frame after she’d gotten into Via’s project bag and got tangled up in her sweater, yarn, and knitting needles. It had taken her and Birdie almost half an hour to detangle everything, and her sweater was ruined. Oh well, there was always next year. But the idea of starting again depressed her.

She walked away from the door, only to stop at the sound of someone knocking on the window. She almost didn’t look to see who it was. The café was closed, and she had to stick to her schedule. She’d learned early on that if she let customers in after closing time, some would take advantage.

But for some reason she did turn around, and she couldn’t believe what she saw. Constance Brewster.

The woman tapped impatiently on the window again. Via’s heart leapt. Maybe she’d heard from Leo. Then she switched to panic—maybe what she’d heard was bad news. She hurried and opened the door, the cold November air whooshing into the café.

Constance entered. Once again the woman was impeccably dressed, this time in a navy pantsuit, gold Chanel jewelry, and a brown fur, mid-length jacket that definitely wasn’t faux.

Via locked the door behind her. “Mrs. Brewster,” she said carefully, her panic subsiding as she realized Leo’s mother was probably back in Pecan Corner to check on her investment. Like Leo, shewas just as eager to sell it. Pecan Corner really had been Earl’s true family.

Constance looked around the café. Squeaks, Sir, Luna, and Cinnamon were the only ones present. “There were more cats the last time I was here.”

“The rest were adopted.” She folded her hands. “Leo isn’t here.”

“I’m aware of that.”

Then she had heard from him. “Can I help you with something?”

Constance tilted her head, her brow furrowing slightly, even though her forehead was completely smooth. “You can’t help me, Via.” She approached, taking her large, square, suede handbag off her shoulder. “But I can help you.” She looked around the foyer. “Is there a place we can sit?”

Via nodded. “In there.” She gestured to the lounge, expecting Constance to balk. Instead she nodded. “Would you like some coffee or tea?”

“No thank you.” They entered the lounge and sat down, the cats thankfully deciding to be uninterested in them.

Constance pulled out a thick leather-bound book with stamped engraving on it. “When the movers packed up my brother’s things earlier this week, they found this. One of them had the wisdom to call me, thinking it was important.” She ran her hand over the cover. “I flew in yesterday and picked it up at Bennett’s office, then read it last night.” She looked up at Via, her eyes bleary. “I learned quite a bit about my brother. I also found out how much he thought of you.”

Via’s hand went to her heart. “He wrote about me?”

“Briefly. Earl wasn’t one for many words.”