Page 34 of Her Property

Later, after Laura had forgiven her and they talked in short, painful conversations about what had happened, she asked Cat why she blamed herself. “It wasn’t your mistake,” she told her over and over again. “It was Justin’s fault. It was all those kids’ fault.”

But it wasn’t. Not really. The whole thing wouldn’t have worked if she had just been paying attention. If she hadn’t messed up.

* * *

The phone was ringingwhen Cat got in the door an hour later. “Hello Alfred,” she said, ready to tell him no. Even if he told her she’d lose her job, she wouldn’t follow through with Alfred’s petty spying.

But it wasn’t Alfred on the phone. It was Laura.

“Hey there, Slacker,” Laura said.

“Laura!” Cat cried. “You have NO idea how much I’ve missed you.”

Now, more than ever, with the memory of high school still fresh in her mind, the tears still drying on her cheeks.

“Alfred said you wanted to talk,” Laura said. “I hope you’re not going to try to get details about the case out of me, though. He made me promise absolutely no work talk.”

Cat sighed. “No, no work talk. Or no trial talk, anyway.”

Somehow, Laura had forgiven her after the senior year debacle. It had taken a lot of cajoling, begging, and persistence, but it had worked. Because Laura was a good person. She knew what it was like to feel left out, and said she eventually forgave Cat because she wasn’t the type of friend who would throw all their years of friendship away.

As she sat there leaning against the wood paneled wall of Alfred’s cabin, listening to Laura talk about office politics and drop hints about the case—because what else were friends for? She debated whether to tell Laura about Jake. When she’d called, that’s all she’d wanted to talk about. But what if Laura told her talking to him was a bad idea? She already knew that it was. What if Cat told Laura that even though it was ridiculous, that since the moment she met him she’d been thinking about herself as a different person? Or not so much a different person, but more like the person she was before she’d messed up? A person who knew how to have fun. Who knew life was about more than just work. Who knew about love.

“Cat?”

“Huh?” Cat said. She realized she hadn’t heard the last few words Laura had said.

“I asked if you were you okay up there. I know how you get when you run out of things to do.”

“How do I get?”

“Neurotic.”

Cat smiled. “That’s not happening this time,” she said. “This time, I feel good.”

“What do you mean, good?”

No. She wouldn’t tell Laura, not yet. She needed to try on this different person; or rather, the old Cat waking up. Laura might get worried; or worse, she might try to talk sense into her, given Alfred’s lawsuit.

Sense was the last thing she needed right now. What she needed was Jake Colson.

“It’s been a nice change.”

“Wow,” Laura said after a moment. “I’m genuinely happy for you, Cat. You needed a break more than anyone I’ve ever known. More than Alfred, and he works practically 24 hours in a row some days.”

Alfred.

Suddenly, Cat was struck with inspiration. Maybe she could make things right for Alfred and Jake. Maybe if she didsomethingright she could show the world—and herself—she wasn’t a screw-up anymore.

“Yes, it’s been good for me,” Cat said. “But Laura, I need your help. I need you to get some information from Alfred.”

Laura was as close to Alfred as Cat was. And she was physically close to him right now. If she could ply him with wine and get him to spill some more information about the property dispute, maybe Cat could figure out a way to fix it.

“I need to know what the deal is with this feud between him and his neighbor up here,” Cat said. “I need the real story.”

Jake

Despite the extreme distraction of Catherine Jones, Jake had finished the cabin he’d been working on when she snuck up on him through the woods with that camera yesterday. And even though all he still wanted to do was storm over to the Jones cabin, bang the damn door down and sweep the woman staying there all by herself into his arms like some kind of fairytale prince, he’d managed to restrain himself, finishing the roof on this next cabin, too.

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