Righteous Lies (Book 1: Dancing Moon Ranch Series)

Righteous Lies (Book 1: Dancing Moon Ranch Series) Read Online Free PDF

Book: Righteous Lies (Book 1: Dancing Moon Ranch Series) Read Online Free PDF
Author: Patricia Watters
she
replied, "Well, I guess I could stay for a week. Give me a few minutes to
pack my things and put Mei Ling in the cat carrier. I hope you don't have a
problem with a cat in the house."  
    "I
do," Jack said. "But she can stay in the barn with the other cats."
    "Oh
no," Grace said in a firm voice. "Mei Ling's a Blue Burmese. If she
can't stay in the house, I'm not coming." She planted her hands on her
hips and glared at him.
    Jack eyed
Grace, who looked as immovable as a mountain, yet was willing to stay at the
ranch but for one provision. A damn cat to scratch the furniture, and deposit
fleas in the rug, and sharpen claws on the walls. But that seemed to be Grace's
terms for getting her and his unborn son to his place. "You have to keep
the cat in your room," he said, wondering how he'd get that past Flo. Her only request when she
hired on was no inside pets. Which worked for him. Cats were for clearing the
barns of mice… dogs for rounding up stock. "Flo doesn't like cats, says
they scratch the furniture and hide their messes in dark corners."
    "Her name
is Mei Ling, not the cat , and she's
litter box trained," Grace said. "And she doesn't scratch the
furniture as long as she has her scratching post."
    "Then the
cat comes with a litter box and scratching post," Jack said in a plodding
voice, while wondering how Flo would welcome that . Not too damn well, he imagined. All he hoped now was that she
wouldn't give notice...
    "Mei Ling.
Her name is Mei Ling," Grace emphasized. "As long as you think of her
as the cat , you won't bond."
    "I don't
intend to bond with a cat," Jack groused.
    "You may
not have a choice," Grace said. "Mei Ling also has two fleece-lined
cat beds—one for the bedroom and the other for the living room by the heater,
like the one over there—" she pointed to a pet bed that Jack hadn't
noticed until now, along with a catnip mouse, and a donut ring with a ball in
it, and a wooden base with a stick with feathers on the end of it...
    "And her
sky room," Grace added. "It's a carpeted box with entry holes, and it
sits on a pedestal. Mei Ling sleeps in it during the day. I'll just go round it
all up."
    And this was
just the beginning, Jack surmised, as he watched Grace disappear down a hallway
to gather all the cat paraphernalia. The only thing missing was the cat...
    And then Mei
Ling came sashaying into the room with the haughtiness of a queen, lifting and
placing her four paws as elegantly as a ballet dancer. Her short, blue-gray
coat displayed meticulous care, and the slightly rounded belly beneath it was a
reminder that soon there would be who knows how many more of the worthless
creatures. She walked up to Jack and sat in front of him, and for a few moments
her unblinking amber eyes regarded him gravely. Then to Jack's annoyance, she
leapt onto his lap and proceeded to groom herself.
    ***
    When Sam came
for them Grace saw him eye the cat carrier with Mei Ling staring out, then the
collection of Mei Ling's things by the front door, then Jack, and from the
looks passing between the men she knew Mei Ling was not welcome. But that was
because they didn't know her. They would soon, whether they wanted to or not.
Mei Ling had her ways.
    The men collected
everything, and while Jack was outside wrestling with a small blue tarp to
cover Mei Ling's sky room that he'd tied on the top rack of Sam's SUV, and Sam
was stashing cat paraphernalia inside the vehicle, along with Grace's bags and
personal belongings, Grace stood at the living room window looking out at the
frigid, dismal day. Snow continued blowing and building, and everything was
coated in white.
    After the men
finished, Jack came for Grace and Mei Ling. "The front steps are slippery,"
he said, "so I'll take the cat to the car then come back for you."
    "Her name
is Mei Ling," Grace insisted, but Jack had already left with the cat
carrier.
    When he
returned, Jack said, "You have everything you need?"
    "I think
so." Grace stepped onto the porch and locked
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