Page 8 of A Room By the Sea

“He’s a cutie,” Michelle said, using the back of her hand to wipe some of the dog slobber off her face. She didn’t really mind, and she considered it to be more than a fair price to pay for the joy of getting to cuddle a furry friend. “I hope he finds a home soon.”

“Agreed—well, I hope they all do.” Harper leaned against the wall, smiling. “Selfishly, I want them all to stay here with me forever, but if I run out of room in the shelter, I can’t bring in more babies who need to be adopted.” She smiled. “What brings you in today?”

“I was in the area doing some shopping for the hotel,” Michelle said. “Now that I’m done, I decided that I deserve some kitten cuddles as a reward for completing a productive shopping trip.”

Harper clapped her hands together. “Have I got a surprise for you! We just got in a litter of kittens. They’re orange tabbies and they’re absolutely darling.”

Michelle squealed with excitement. “Oh my gosh, I’d love to see them.”

“Come on,” Harper said, opening the door to her office. “I’ve got them in here for now, until we can clean out a cage big enough for all of them. Look at these little babies!”

“No way.” Michelle was on her knees in an instant, peering down inside the little fenced-in area, where a litter of precious orange kittens were tumbling about or sleeping angelically. “I just want to kiss all of them—and hold them up against my face so I can feel their little tummies breathing.”

Harper laughed. “I know what you mean. Babies are always cute, but there’s something about kittens that just makes me want to squeal.”

“Can I pick them up?” Michelle asked, ready to start begging if the answer wasn’t “yes.”

“Please do,” Harper said. “The sooner we get them used to people, the better.”

“Thank goodness,” Michelle said with a laugh, scooping up one of the playful-looking kittens into her hands and holding her gently. “Hi, sweetheart. Look at your perfect little nose! These really are beautiful cats. I mean, I love all cats but these little guys really are particularly cute.”

“I agree.” Harper smiled, picking one of the kittens up and setting it on her lap. “Their mom was especially beautiful and they inherited her genes, obviously. She’s been adopted already, along with the runt of the litter. It always makes me happy when a momma cat gets adopted along with one or more of her kittens.” Harper reached in her pocket for her phone and began to tap on the screen with one hand, keeping her other hand on the rambunctious orange ball of fluff she was holding. “Let me show you a picture of her. I posted it on the shelter’s Facebook page the first day she got here—and she was adopted less than twenty-four hours later. We love it when things work⁠—”

Harper stopped speaking and a cloud passed over her face. Her thumb hovered over the screen of her phone as she stared down at it.

“Harper?” Michelle asked, feeling worried. She stopped petting the kittens, her eyes on the other woman’s face. “What’s wrong?”

Harper startled a little, as if Michelle had snapped her out of a reverie. She forced a smile and shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

“Are you sure? You seem upset. I mean, I don’t want to pressure you if you don’t want to talk about it, but I’m also here for you if you do want to share.”

Harper gave Michelle a grateful smile and then shook her head. “I can share a little, I guess. It’s not my favorite story. Let’s just say I thought I was over my ex-boyfriend, but—well, I hate social media. Actually seeing pictures of him dating somebody new always hurts a little more than just hearing about it, you know? I think I’m over him and then I see his face and I feel like my heart got punched.”

Michelle’s heart went out to Harper, and she reached out and touched the other woman’s shoulder. “It’s your ex-boyfriend’s loss. If he was stupid enough to let you go, he’s not somebody you want around forever. Even nice guys are annoying enough as it is.”

Harper laughed. “I like the way you think. And I’m sure you’re right. He definitely wasn’t the best partner.” She smiled. “We’ll just go back to thinking about cats. I always love that subject.” She clicked on her phone screen a few more times and soon located the picture of the mother cat. “Here! Look at her. Those big, beautiful eyes and her gorgeous coat. And I love her sassy little mouth.”

Michelle cooed appreciatively. “She’s a stunner, that’s for sure. I’m not surprised at all that she got adopted so fast.”

Michelle and Harper played with the kittens for a few more minutes, chatting about lighthearted things and enjoying the antics of the tiny furballs. Finally, Michelle glanced at the clock on the wall and stood up with a reluctant sigh.

“I’d better get going, I guess. Thanks for letting me visit these little darlings.”

“Oh, no problem. Thanks for helping them get adjusted to human cuddles.”

Michelle headed toward the front door, and Harper came with her. Michelle was just about to grab the door handle when the door started to open. Startled, she squeaked and jumped back. A second later she froze when she saw who was on the other side of the door.

“You!” she cried.

Theo Hartman grinned. He folded his long, thin arms across his chest and grinned at her. His black hair was a little tousled by the strong wind, but it fit with the swashbuckling energy he always seemed to have. Theo was cocky and charming and rough around the edges, just like how Michelle always imagined pirates to be when she read about them in books.

“If it isn’t my nemesis,” Theo said cheerfully. “Gosh, Michelle, can’t you leave these poor animals alone? Someone as mean as you shouldn’t be around innocent little creatures.” His eyes danced as he said it, and everyone knew he was kidding—there was even an implication of how kind Michelle actually was present in his sarcasm.

“Theo, I’m sure if you walk in there right now, the dogs are going to start howling and the cats are going to try to claw their way out of their cages,” Michelle replied serenely.

She felt proud of herself—it was an effortless comeback, and it felt extra satisfying because she’d never been able to think of responses like that when she was a kid. She and Theo had started their verbal sparring matches during their childhood, but she’d been a shy and soft-spoken child, and hadn’t known how to handle the sassy and vivacious Theo.

He grinned at her, clearly enjoying her retort almost as much as she was. “Stick around and you’ll see that’s a load of nonsense.”