Page 23 of Cop Blocked

I nearly choke. “Who?”

“Logan!” Piper cheers. “He let me see the kitties.”

“I…” I’m at a loss for words.

“Rachel, dear. Are you okay? You’re looking a little pale.”

“I’m just fine.” Except I’m pretty sure I’m being played by my grandmother. “How about we get dinner going so I can get this little one home and in bed for school tomorrow?” For a distraction, I scoop Piper up in my arms and smother her in kisses.

“You two, out of the kitchen. I’ve got everything under control.” Nana waves a dish towel at us.

“Not so fast, Nana. I’m at least putting these groceries away. And little miss Piper can help, right Piper?”

“Yes, ma’am!” Piper squirms from my arms and runs to the pantry door.

While Nana preps her famous stuffed peppers, Piper and I work together to put the rest of her groceries away.

I poke my head out of the pantry so she can hear me and ask, “Nana, where did this cat food come from? I thought you were almost out, so I bought some while I was at the store.”

“Logan bought it for Kitty. He knows it’s her favorite.”

I huff and turn my back, so she doesn’t see me roll my eyes. It seems like Logan has made himself comfortable with my grandmother.

“Alright. Tell me how to work this contraption again,” Nana asks, pointing to the pressure cooker I bought her for Christmas last year.

I chuckle and wash my hands then help her set it up.

“I always forget about that silly pressure valve thing,” She shakes her head. “Thanks, Dear. Let’s go have some sweet tea and let Piper run around the yard while dinner cooks itself.”

She doesn’t wait for my response. Instead, she pours two glasses of tea and puts water in a cup for Piper and ushers us outside.

Piper takes off through Nana’s fenced-in yard, kicking around the new ball Nana just bought for her. I join my grandmother on her favorite porch swing and enjoy the late afternoon breeze.

My cell phone buzzes in my pocket, alerting me to a text message. Pulling it from my pocket, I notice it’s ironically from Logan.

Logan: How do you feel about kittens?

Attached is a selfie of him, with two of the tiniest little balls of fluff I’ve ever seen. Followed immediately by a snapshot of him bottle feeding one of them.

I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that he not only knows my grandmother but has been helping take care of her for God knows how long. And here he is trying to worm his way back in with kittens that he found under Nana’s porch at that.

I think I’m honestly surprised that Nana hasn’t somehow gotten us both here at the same time before now, though it seems like she came pretty close today.

“That young man, Logan, I gotta tell you, he was lovely with Piper. She wanted to see the kittens, and he was gentle with her. Warned her to be careful. Funny too, you know how shy she tends to be. Especially around men. I guess those kittens were like a magnet. She didn’t hesitate.”

Zoey’s words about how kids seem to be drawn to Logan float back into my head.

“It’s a shame you missed him.” Nana pats my leg. “I think you’d like him.”

If only she knew.

The text alert goes off again; this time, it’s a picture of the second kitten drinking from a bottle with his or her eyes closed.

Already knowing the answer, I ask anyway.

Me: Where in the world did you find those?

Logan: There’s this lady, she’s probably my grandma’s age...she calls in from time to time. Usually, because her cat has gotten loose, today, her cat was under the porch with these two babies, trying to keep them safe.

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