The Nine Lives of Christmas (11 page)

“I can pay my rent. Thanks for asking.”

But what about food? Utilities? “Look, could I pay you to help me with my cat?”

She shook her head. “Really, you don’t need to do that. It’s not your fault.”

“Yes … I do. Anyway, the fire department pays me more than I can spend.” Slight exaggeration but anything to convince her. Still she hesitated.

“This is a legit job,” he insisted, “Tom won’t eat. I just came from the vet’s.”

Her eyes filled with concern. “Oh, no.”

“I think he needs a cat whisperer, and you’re the closest thing I know. You’d really be helping us. So see? It would be a win-win.”

She smiled. Then she looked uncertainly at the snow quickly carpeting the parking lot. “My car.”

Was now the only one left in the lot and it was a beater—an ancient Chevy with tires that were going bald. “Tell you what,” offered Zach. “I’ll follow you home and then we can take my SUV. If you don’t mind making a house call,” he added. “I’ll pay you whatever the vet would have charged.”

“You don’t have to do that, really,” she repeated.

“I want to.” It was the least he could do. And maybe it would help Tom.

She came to a sudden decision and nodded. “All right then. I’ll just check on my cat and then we can go look in on yours.”

She hurried to her car and Zach climbed in behind the wheel of his Land Rover. This was great. For Tom, he amended.

EIGHT

As usual, Queenie was waiting for Merilee by the door. Not because Queenie was dying to see her, but because Queenie was dying to see what lay beyond the door. Merilee had informed her secret houseguest on many occasions that this was exactly the kind of curiosity that killed the cat, but Queenie paid no heed.

“Oh, no, you don’t,” Merilee said, putting her foot between Queenie and the dangerous freedom she coveted. “We have dogs around here and last week someone saw a coyote. You’d be dinner in no time.”

Queenie wheeled around and trotted toward the kitchen—always her second destination when the great escape failed.

Merilee hurried in after her and dished up some canned kitty food, all the while trying to decide if she should invite Zach in for some eggnog when he brought her back home. It was light eggnog. Hmmm. What else could she give him? She didn’t have any Christmas cookies sitting around. She had cheese, though, and Rye Crisp. Cheese and Rye Crisp and light eggnog. He’d take one look at that holiday snack and ho-ho-ho. The apartment looked festive enough. She’d hung red tinsel garlands across the top of the windows and put up a tree with all the ornaments out of reach of little white paws.

Really, she didn’t know why she was even entertaining the idea of entertaining. A handsome fireman like Zach wasn’t going to be interested in hanging out with her. She probably couldn’t even lure him into her apartment with the promise of a Christmas goose and a red velvet cake. All he wanted her for was to whisper to his cat.

Still, she wasn’t about to whisper with day-old breath. She dashed to her bathroom to give her teeth a quick brushing.

The girl in the mirror had flushed cheeks and bright eyes. But they were plain, like the rest of her face. Why hadn’t she bothered with mascara today? Or any day, for that matter?

She spat out toothpaste and then scrounged around in the vanity drawer for mascara. She’d had this for … how many months? Years? Millennia? Oh, good grief. It was all dried out. Still, she poked the wand around, mining for what she could find, and applied it. Not much, and not much of an improvement. She added pink lip gloss, which Liz had convinced her to get last time they were at the mall. Okay, better.

Who was she kidding? She was never going to look in the mirror and see a pretty girl. Old high school wounds had produced scars that had left Merilee blind to her good features. Even now, though her family assured her she was indeed pretty, she groped unsuccessfully for a positive self-image.

She shoved the makeup back in the drawer, and then grabbed cat treats from her kitchen cupboard. Then she hurried back outside to meet Zach. Okay, so she wasn’t the most beautiful girl on the block, and maybe cat whispering wasn’t on a par with looking like Heidi Klum, but right now it was what Zach needed. And having something he needed … well, it was a beginning.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” she said, as she climbed into his SUV.

Unlike hers, this vehicle was in mint condition and still had its new-car smell. She’d once bought an air freshener that produced the same fragrance, but the contrast between the smell and the appearance of her car had been enough to confirm what she already knew: new-car air freshener scent does not a new car make. Next time around she bought a vanilla air freshener.

“No problem,” he said. “Thanks for dropping everything to help me.”

Like she’d had anything to drop. She wisely kept this information to herself. “I’m happy to help. I love cats.” Woman who lived alone and loved cats—did she sound like some sort of cliché? Well, if she did, too bad. There was nothing wrong with loving cats. And there was certainly nothing wrong with living alone. It showed independence. So there.

Zach shook his head. “I can’t figure out what his problem is.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Merilee assured him.
Together
. There was nothing wrong with togetherness, either. Just this small dose of it, sitting within reaching distance of this hunky man was sending a buzz running through her.

They turned onto Lavender Lane. Merilee took in all the cozy houses, most with their holiday lights already on, and was seized with a sudden wanting. These so reminded her of her parents’ house one town over—cozy and inviting, places where people could love and laugh and grow a family. Oh, that Tudor was cute. She could easily picture herself in it. And look at the pretty blue Victorian up ahead.

She was surprised when they turned into the driveway. “This is yours?” A gorgeous man paired with a blue Victorian? Talk about perfect.

“For a while,” he said. “I’m rehabbing it. Keeps me busy when I’m not at the station. I’m going to put it up for sale come spring.”

“It’s lovely,” she said wistfully. “I don’t know how you could stand to part with it.”

“Well, it’s not much of a guy house. It’ll be great for a family, though.”

Yes, it would.

The inside was as charming as the outside. Merilee took in the staircase and its railing with the newel posts, the hardwood floors, and the etched glass window over the front door and experienced instant house lust. “This is so cool.” And how lovely it would look all dressed up for the holidays!

“It’s getting there. I just finished the kitchen. Come on, I’ll show you. Maybe Tom’s food dish will be empty,” Zach added as he led the way down the hall.

The kitchen was gorgeous—buttercream wood cabinets with glass fronts, granite countertops, a hardwood floor, and an overhead light fixture made out of some sort of old-fashioned glass. “It’s lovely,” she said.

“Oh, man, it’s still there,” muttered Zach from behind her.

She turned and saw him frowning at a dish full of untouched food.

“He’s going to starve to death.”

A big man worried over his small cat—Merilee’s heart was going to melt into a puddle right there on the kitchen floor. “We’ll make sure he doesn’t,” she said, determined to make everything right.

He dumped the contents of the dish in the garbage. “Tom, where are you? Damn it, come on out.”

He was about to stalk out of the kitchen when Merilee caught his arm. “Let’s try something else.” She gave the box of cat treats she was holding a shake.

“He’s probably hiding upstairs. He won’t hear that,” Zach predicted.

“Maybe,” said Merilee, and shook the box again.

A moment later the orange cat trotted into the kitchen. Without hesitation he walked over to Merilee and rubbed against her leg.

“I guess he wasn’t so far away after all,” Zach said, and scratched his head, obviously puzzled.

Merilee bent and petted the cat, and in return he rubbed his head against her palm. “What do you mean by worrying poor Zach like this, you naughty boy?” She shook out a treat and offered it to him. He snapped it up and snarfed it down. Then he gave her hand a head butt. “Oh, no,” she said, standing up. “No more treats until you eat your food.” She turned to Zach. “Let’s get a fresh bowl and try again. Only this time, just give him half the can.”

“Okay,” Zach said dubiously. “But I doubt he’ll eat it. I’ve wasted two cans on him so far.”

“We’ll see,” said Merilee. Whatever had been bothering the cat, he was fine now and purring as she petted him. She’d purr too if she lived in this lovely house with this kindhearted man.

He set a fresh bowl with half a serving of food on the floor and Tom hurried to it as if it were his last meal, then hunkered down and dug in.

Zach shook his head and let out a snort of disgust. “What is your problem, dude?”

“Cats can be sensitive to changes in their environments,” Merilee said. “Have you had any changes recently?”

“Nothing other than breaking up with Blair, but since she didn’t like old Tom I don’t think he was too upset. And neither was I,” he added.

Merilee bit back a smile. She may have lost her job but the Pet Palace princess lost her man. Now Merilee was here with him instead. There was justice in the world. “Well, he seems to be fine now,” she said, keeping her ungracious thoughts to herself.

“Thanks to you,” said Zach. “You know, you’ve really got the touch with animals. Have you ever thought of becoming a vet?”

Only since she was ten. “I’m working in that direction. I had to stop school for a while until I could save up more money.” Did that make her sound like a loser? Lots of people talked about going back to school, writing a book, becoming a doctor, whatever, and then never followed through. But surely she wouldn’t become one of those people.

Zach leaned against the kitchen counter. “I bet you could get a student loan.”

“I did get a small one. Then I tried to pay as I went. I guess the money went faster than I did,” she added with a fatalistic shrug. Now she did sound like a loser. She could feel her cheeks heating up.

“No family to help?” he asked. Then he added, “Sorry, more stuff that’s none of my business.”

And yet he was asking. Men didn’t want to know those kinds of things unless they were interested in a girl, did they? “I don’t feel right asking my family. They’re great but they all have their own bills to pay. Anyway, my parents paid for college. I figured that was enough.”

He nodded slowly, taking in the information. “Pretty noble.”

“Hardly. Risking your life to put out fires, that’s noble.”

“We don’t have that many fires around here,” he said, shrugging off her compliment. “Hey, I owe you some money. Let me grab my checkbook.”

“You really don’t need to,” she said.

“I’m paying,” he insisted, “and that’s that. And then we’re celebrating Tom’s recovery. I’ll send out for pizza before Little Lola’s wimps out and closes,” he added, and strode out of the room before she could protest. As if she would object to spending more time with him.

The cat was finished eating now and sat licking a paw. “I don’t know what your problem was,” she whispered to him, “but thanks.”

He stopped his grooming and regarded her for a moment, almost as if he understood. Then he trotted over to her.

She got the message and picked him up. “Funny, isn’t it, how we always think you know what we’re saying?”

Zach returned a moment later with his checkbook. He wrote her a check, then ignored her protests that he’d paid her way too much and got busy calling Little Lola’s. It was a short-lived call. “They’re closed due to the snow,” he announced with a frown. “People around here are such wusses.”

“That’s okay,” Merilee said, hiding her disappointment behind her perkiest voice. “You can just take me home.”

“Oh, no. Not until I’ve fed you.” He opened the fridge and leaned in to investigate.

She peeked over his shoulder and saw a couple of bottles of beer, eggs, a carton of Chinese takeout, several jars of condiments in the door, and cheese and some bologna in a drawer—not much.

“Hmmm,” he said.

“Well, I do see eggs and cheese,” said Merilee. “I can make omelets.”

“So can I,” he said, and pulled out the carton of eggs. “You sit down and relax and I’ll cook.”

That sounded good to Merilee. She sat petting the cat and watched as Zach worked. He seemed at home in the kitchen. Heck, he seemed at home in his own skin. With a body like that, no wonder.

“Here you go. We can pretend it’s pizza,” he said, setting a plate in front of her.

It wasn’t a fancy omelet—just eggs and cheese and some onion he’d found and chopped and sautéed. Still, sitting at Zach’s cozy kitchen table, enjoying it and sipping instant hot cocoa was as satisfying as dining at a fine restaurant.

“You’re pretty good in the kitchen,” she said.

He shrugged off her compliment. “We take turns cooking at the station,” he said. “I can make all kinds of stuff.”

“You’ll make some lucky woman a great wife,” she teased. Now why had she said that? Fresh warmth crept into her cheeks.

His looked a little sunburned, too. “I’m not much of a commitment guy.”

Now her face was on fire. “I didn’t mean…” she began.

“Oh, I know,” he said quickly. “I didn’t mean—that is, uh, it’s a gamble,” he finished lamely.

She nodded. “You’re right.”

An uncomfortable silence drifted into the cozy kitchen and spread big black wings over them as they finished their omelets. At last Merilee managed a chipper, “That was great. Thanks.”

“No problem,” he said, taking her plate.

She studied him as he put their plates in the dishwasher. The sinews in his arms, the wide shoulders, the long legs that looked like they could leap buildings in a single bound—everything about him said strength and confidence. Only at the mere mention of marriage he’d reacted like an elephant in a room full of mice. Merilee had once read that elephants feared mice for a very real reason: if one ran up its trunk the elephant wouldn’t be able to breathe. Hmmm.

“You know, I’d love to see the rest of the house,” she said. Now, that was bold. Her sisters would have been proud.