The Cat, the Mill and the Murder: A Cats in Trouble Mystery Read Online Free PDF Page B

couldn’t get past the memory of my late husband. He had died of a heart attack only four years ago, and I still felt as if beginning a new relationship with another man was a betrayal. John had been the love of my life, the man I’d thought I would grow old with, and I still missed him every day. I couldn’t say “I love you” back to Tom. Not yet. The words stuck in my throat like a wad of cotton. Did I love him? Maybe. But I needed more time to understand my tangled emotions of grief and loss, not to mention quit feeling guilty over my newfound joy with Tom. Fortunately for me, Tom seemed to understand perfectly and said he would wait for me as long as it took.
    He arrived five minutes later and came into the kitchen. Before he could say a word, I turned and smiled. “Sorry. I didn’t lock the door. No lectures, okay?”
    He took me in his arms and kissed me. “No lectures. I will say this. My almost-perfect woman has one fault—she’s too trusting.”
    “No. Forgetful, that’s all.” I asked Tom to handle thesoup in the microwave while I flipped the sandwiches over.
    Soon, we were sitting at the small table in the breakfast nook with a view of the lake, enjoying a little comfort food.
    “Does Finn have class today?” I asked. Finn was Tom’s stepson and had been living in Mercy since only last fall. He’d started community college a week ago and was glad Tom supported his dreams since his parents hadn’t seemed to think college was important.
    Tom nodded. “Since he took on a full load of courses,” he said around a mouthful of grilled cheese, “he won’t be home until late.”
    “He’s making up for lost time now that he’s living with you rather than your ex. He’s only one semester behind and he’s smart enough to ace every one of those classes. I’ll bet Yoshi misses him, though.” Yoshi was Finn’s rat terrier—a dog almost as smart as my cats. Almost.
    “Yoshi has plenty of company. He goes fishing with Ed almost every morning.”
    “With Ed? Go figure.” I shook my head and smiled. “The guy who swore he was afraid of dogs. What a liar.” Ed Duffy lived with Tom’s mother and owned Ed’s Swap Shop.
    “How did it go at the mill today?” Tom crumbled a handful of Ritz crackers into his soup.
    “Interesting. You won’t believe—” I was interrupted by a serious cat chase. Syrah, my speedster, raced through the kitchen with Merlot hot on his tail. I shook my head, saying, “I have no idea what’s going on with those two. Before you arrived, they seemed to be stalking a bug or a lizard. Now they’re burning energy. But they have certainly forgotten their manners.”
    “Yeah,” Tom said. “They didn’t even say hello. What’s with that?”
    “Cat business, I guess. Anyway, let me tell you aboutthe mill—and who we found living among the feral cats.” I went on to tell him about Jeannie and my efforts to delay yanking her out of a place she considered home. “You say Candace has heard of this woman?” Tom wiped the remnants of lunch from his mouth with his napkin.
    I did the same and as we carried our dishes to the sink, I said, “Apparently her story is well-known. I’m betting Ed knows plenty since he’s lived in Mercy all his life—unlike you or me.”
    “Ed knows almost as much stuff about Mercy as he has objects crammed into his junk shop,” he said. “Can you be a hoarder of information as well as a hoarder of, well,
everything
?”
    I laughed. “You can.”
    Tom faced me and held my arm. “Do that again,” he whispered.
    “Do what?” Gosh, I could get lost in his brilliant blue eyes.
    “Laugh. I love to hear you laugh.”
    Our kiss was interrupted by a cat chase headed in the opposite direction, one that continued down the basement stairs.
    “I hope they catch whatever it is they’re chasing. I don’t want any midnight visitor with eight legs or moth wings,” I said.
    I’d put on coffee when Tom had said he was coming over and now we both