Page 25 of Two Hearts Reunited

He smiled widely, because Ashley had already made him a mile long list that was resting on the island counter. After starting a pot of coffee, he sat down and read through it.

Feeding, eating, sleeping and changing diapers was the gist of it, he realized, grinning as he stood to pour coffee.

Suddenly, with his coffee cup half filled, he saw a black cat come sauntering upstairs from the basement.

He blinked. Did the cat belong in the house? This was the first time he’d seen him.

But then again, when he’d been sleeping pretty soundly, he’d felt unusually warm during the night, thinking that the quilt on the bed was awfully heavy.

“Did you sleep with me last night, cat?”

“Meeeeeeeeeooooow,” the cat answered, heading toward the open door that led into the pantry.

Eric walked across the kitchen, peeking inside. Sure enough, there was a litter box in the corner and a food and water bowl resting on a plastic mat on the floor.

“I’ve been here a day and a half and it’s the first time I’ve seen you,” Eric said, sipping his coffee.

The cat glanced up at him momentarily before eating more food from the bowl.

“You’re obviously comfortable in my presence,” he muttered, turning to the staircase when he heard footsteps from above.

“Morning,” Ashley said, grinning.

“Morning, Ash,” he answered, smiling. “I made coffee and read your list.”

Although she was dressed casually, she was carrying two clothing bags in her arms. Walking into the mudroom, she hung them both on an empty coat hook, returning to the kitchen.

“Thanks, Eric. I have a feeling you’re going to do just fine. All you have to do is text us if anything comes up. Have you eaten?” she asked.

“I thought I’d wait for Arielle,” he replied. “Cooking will give me something to do while Arielle is flinging her food from the high chair.”

She started laughing.

“Morning.” Carrying Arielle in his arms, Brian came walking downstairs, smiling. “She’s good to go, now that she’s had a diaper change.”

“Want me to take her?” Eric asked, approaching and tickling her belly.

“Nah. You’ll have plenty of time for that today,” Brian answered, moving over to the table and slipping her into thehigh chair set up near the end. “She had a bottle about an hour ago, so she’ll be content for a while. I need coffee.”

“Let me pour you two a cup,” Eric said. “I need more myself.”

A few minutes later, the three of them were seated around the kitchen table with coffee, while Arielle pounded on her high chair tray with a set of plastic keys.

“What’s with the clothing bags?” Eric asked, grinning at Ashley when he noticed Brian frown.

“Dress clothes,” Ashley replied. “We have to take turns displaying items at the online auction.”

Catching Brian’s eye, Eric gave him a wink. “Arielle and I will be sure to watch you two on TV today.”

Brian’s frown turned fierce.

Eric turned to Ashley. “I can tell that Brian’s really looking forward to it.”

She laughed.

But finally, she turned to Brian. “I suppose we should be on our way after we finish our coffee. At least we’ll have a fancy breakfast when we arrive.”

“That much I’m looking forward to,” Brian agreed. “I’ll go warm up the truck and bring it around if you need to grab more coffee. We’d better leave the SUV here with the car seat just in case Eric would have to deal with an unexpected emergency.”

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