Page 2 of Purrfectly Adorable

The calico cat stands up slowly and turns, flipping her tail at me, totally unconcerned. She pads off daintily but when I don’t immediately follow, she stops, glaring at me over her shoulder, her golden eyes narrowing.

“Fine. But this better be about the shoes and not a treat. Bad kitties don’t get treats. Much…” I growl under my breath.

Five minutes later I’m staring at a pile of stolen booty under my front porch. “Oh, Princess,” I breathe out, shocked. “Where did you get all this stuff?”

But sitting in the middle of the pile are two shiny new shoes. I grab them up and stand quickly, pointing a black shoe at her. “I’ve got to get these back to him before he arrests you but we’re talking about this later.” I quirk my brow at her but she ignores me, delicately lifting her front paw and licking it slowly, her golden eyes locked on me.

“Now I have to take these over to him and hope he doesn’t start another dang lecture on my klepto cat.”

Because if he does, I’m not sure I’m gonna be able to stop myself from starting yet another fight with the man. He just brings it out in me.

2

BRANDON

Sipping my coffee, I wince when the gong sounds again. My head is throbbing and I know she’s not done yet.

At least another hour. I can make it another hour.

But it’s the weekend and I just want some peace and quiet. I’m not sure Delia knows the name of that word.

Between her and her dang animals I never get a minute’s peace. If it’s not her klepto cat, it’s her noisy goat chewing on my flowers over the fence that I had to put up to keep it out of my yard.

And then there’s her gassy dog that she fostered until she found it a good home and the blind turtle that must be at least a hundred years old. If it’s weird or unusual, she can’t help bringing it home.

The gong rings out again. A loud crash after it makes me wince and then a scream makes me jump, hissing under my breath when hot coffee hits my chest. I glare down at my ruined shirt.

“I think that’s about enough of that,” I mutter under my breath. I set it down on the porch railing and pace down thesteps. It takes mere seconds for me to get to her yard after I follow my fence line to the front of my property.

Another scream rings out and I grab at my side like I’m gonna find my side arm on me.

Rolling my eyes, I huff and break into a run. Then I skid to a stop, my mouth falling open. “Holy…”

Delia Reynolds is lying on the ground, buried under a furry goat who glares at me.

“What is going on? Can’t I even drink a cup of coffee in peace, Del?”

Her head lifts, her warm hazel eyes glaring straight at me. “I can’t get Annie to get off of me. I think she saw a bug and they scare her.”

My brows lift. I lean back on my heels and cross my arms over my chest, mouth quirking. “Are you telling me that your goat is scared of bugs?”

She drops her head back to the ground, her messy knot of caramel-highlighted brown hair falling into her face when she huffs angrily. “I suppose you think that sounds ridiculous.”

I shake my head, desperately trying not to laugh at her. “Nooo. Your animal is scared of bugs and she what….jumped into your arms and knocked you over.”

Her eyes roll back in her head and she growls under her breath. The goat bleats at her and glares at me.

“Can you just get Annie off of me? I can’t breathe here.”

“If you couldn’t breathe, you couldn’t talk.” But I step closer and grab the goat’s halter. It bleats again. Right in my face. My eyes almost cross. “Jeez! What have you been eating, buddy?”

Yanking hard at the halter, I stumble back and the gray goat finally moves off its owner.

She gasps out a breath and coughs, sitting up. My eyebrows climb up to my hairline.

“What the heck are you wearing, Del?”

She glances down and then glares up at me. “I was doing my morning yoga. It’s not like I can do that in a t-shirt and jeans.”

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