7: NOVA

Sitting up in bed, my heart races. I look around the darkened room and try to calm my nerves. Surely it was just a bad dream, wasn’t it? A sliver of moonlight cuts through the gap in my dove grey curtains. Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, I see that it’s a quarter ‘til five, and I still have two more hours left to sleep before my day begins.

Stretching, I climb out of bed and head to my bathroom to use the toilet. My mind pores over the remaining items that I need to do today to get ready for the book signing later. Maybe that’s why I’m restless because I’m nervous. It’s the first book signing that I’ll be hosting, and I’m extremely proud that my newbie bookstore was chosen.

After washing my hands, I head back to the bed and climb under the covers. Restlessness teases me as I toss and turn in the bed, praying for sleep to come once again.

Cameron Marino is a USA Today and New York Times Best Selling Author of romantic suspense. I love his work and can’t wait to see him at the signing today. He’s a handsome but shy and mysterious man. There isn’t much known about him other than that he lives in Virginia Beach and he’s an only child whose parents died when he was much younger, much like me.

I wonder if Cameron is his real name or a pen name that he crafts his mind-blowing but deliciously steamy books under. I’m anticipating a nice crowd, even though Smokey Ridge isn’t a big city. It’s not really a small town either, but it falls somewhere between the two and has several large cities close by.

It could do wonders for my sales and draw interest to my store. His agent reached out to me before my grand opening upon hearing news that the store would be coming and inquired if I’d be interested in hosting a book signing for the author.

Although I was overwhelmed at the thought of doing that upon just opening, I also knew that it was an opportunity that I could not pass up either. So, with a little bit of apprehension and a good dose of excitement, I agreed to host Cameron.

No more than a couple minutes pass before I hear another noise, and this time, I know that it’s not a bad dream. I sit up in bed and remain extremely quiet before I hear something clattering to the floor at the front of the house. It sounds as if it’s coming from the kitchen.

Swinging my legs over the edge of the bed, I quickly open my nightstand and grab my Canik. My heart thunders in my chest as I whisper a little prayer and stealthily make my way to the bedroom door. Plastering my body against the hallway wall, I take furtive steps as I listen and hear a rustling sound.

I thought moving to Smoky Ridge would be a peaceful transition from the hectic life that I’d lived in Santa Fe. Never in a million years had I thought that I’d be potentially robbed, assaulted or murdered in this serene beachside community.

My mind rakes over all the cold case and homicide shows I’ve watched over the years, and fear creeps up my spine. I can’t help but wonder if I’ll be just another victim as I slowly approach what awaits me on the other side of the hallway.

Quickly peering into the kitchen, I don’t see anything, but I duck out of sight again just as I see the police do on cop shows. Sweat forms under my breasts and in the armpits of my nightgown, and pinpricks of fear creep upon my scalp and down my neck.

My heart and breathing sound loud to my ears, and I glance around the living room again and see nothing. Finally, I boldly step into the kitchen, flipping the light switch on as I go. I notice two things at once.

My back door is partially open, and a kitten is eating from the torn box of cereal on the floor. The box that I just purchased on the way home yesterday evening and had for dinner. I never put the cereal away but placed it on the counter, planning to put it up later.

A spatula lies on the floor. I guess that was where the clatter came from.

“Where did you come from?” I ask the little white, black, and orange calico.

The little baby lets go of a soft purr as I walk to the back door and peer out into the night. There’s nothing amiss that I can see. All the neighbors’ lights are out, and everyone seems to still be sleeping.

I kick the door closed and lock it with my free hand, my other hand still holding my gun. Leaving the cat where it remains, I walk through my little two-bedroom house once more just to ensure that I’m all alone other than the cat.

When I’ve checked the guest room that I use as a library and my guest bathroom, I return to the living room and finally the kitchen. All the doors and windows are locked, and I’m confident that it’s just me and my little late-night marauder.

I kneel in front of the kitten who’s eating the Special K cereal that I’ve designated as my morning breakfast and apparently late-night meals, too. I lift the kitten’s tail and peer underneath and find that it’s a boy. He meows as though offended, but I smile and stroke his soft coat.

The precious baby closes his eyes under my touch. When he opens them again, I stare into the most magnificent mint-green eyes. They’re so clear that they almost appear white.

“Where did you come from, little one?” I ask, heading to the refrigerator to grab a carton of milk, which I proceed to pour into a bowl and set on the floor.

Shyly, the kitten glances at me before looking at the bowl but then turning back to the cereal. I sit on the floor next to him as I try to figure out the conundrum of how the kitten got into my house when I know that I didn’t leave that door unlocked, let alone open.

Still holding the gun, I lift the kitten into my free arm, and he curls up there comfortably. I check the cabinets and drawers in the kitchen before returning to the living room and then my office and searching the entire place as thoroughly as possible through yawns and bleary eyes.

I find nothing missing, and I’m baffled. If someone did break into my house, I can’t find a single thing that they took, and nothing is out of order.

Yet, if no one broke in, why do I feel so violated? I struggle with whether I should call the police or not. What would I report? Something woke me in the middle of the night, and all I found was this cute calico marauder eating my cereal. They’d probably laugh at me, and I’d quickly become the butt of every joke in Smokey Ridge. Not to mention, I don’t want to share this with Kai. He’d really think that I was delusional and probably be afraid that I was sinking back into depression again. No, that’s the last thing that I need.

Sighing, I sit back on the kitchen floor, sitting my little visitor down beside the food bowl. This time, he nudges it with his nose but then turns to the bowl of milk and laps viciously at it before looking up at me quizzically.

I smile, rub his head, and rest my elbows on my knees. He returns to his milk, and my eyes drift closed again until he’s finished, and I feel him nuzzling my leg. When I glance up at my refrigerator, I notice a piece of paper sticking from underneath a magnet on the side of the refrigerator. I’d missed that before.

I stand and pull the slip of notebook paper from underneath the magnet and read it.

You’re the cat’s meow!

XOXOXO

Your secret admirer

A chill runs down my spine, and I spin around the kitchen, looking and searching as if someone can see me. I rush to the kitchen window and look out again into nothing but darkness.

Now I know someone’s been here. Whoever has been sending gifts to my job, they’ve now found me at home.

I lift the furry baby in my arms, and with my gun in tow, I head to the living room and lie down.

***

“Are you okay?” Myrah asks, eyeing me up and down.

“My back hurts, and I’m sleepy,” I mumble through a yawn.

“Boss lady, there’s a kitten in your office,” Briana says, rushing to where Myrah and I are standing in the breakroom.

Myrah finishes punching in her code to clock in and then eyes me over her shoulder. “A kitten? Are we running a pet shop or a vet now?”

“See, that’s how I know you all have gotten comfortable with me,” I say, pointing a finger at her and tossing the remnants of my sandwich in the trash.

“No...I’m just asking a question.”

“The fact that you sit in here and eat lunch like one of us says that you’re comfortable with us,” Briana interjects.

“For your information, I found the kitten this morning.”

“What kitten?” Clark asks, popping up in the breakroom with Cody right on his heels.

They both clock back in from break as Briana says, “Boss lady has a kitten in her office.”

“I want to see,” Cody says.

“Not me. I’m allergic to them,” Clark says.

“Where’d you find him? Outside of the store?” Myrah asks, scowling at the same time Briana wrinkles her nose.

“No, not outside.”

“Oh, I was about to say that I hope you weren’t picking up strays. They’re always climbing over that nasty dumpster out back and eating everything they can find,” Myrah complains.

“Where did you find him, Boss Lady?” Briana asks.

“In my kitchen eating my Special K in the wee hours of the morning.”

“In your kitchen?” Briana and Myrah shriek simultaneously.

“You’ve got a cat burglar,” Cody jokes.

Clark shakes his head. “That was lame,” he says. “I’m about to relieve Natalie from the champagne bar. Cody, stick to your day job because moonlighting as a comic won’t pay your bills.”

Cody follows behind him and nudges him with an elbow. “Shut up.”

“They’re like little kids,” Briana says as we watch them leave.

“So, in your kitchen, huh?” Myrah asks, returning to the original conversation.

“Yep.”

“How do you just find a kitten in your kitchen?” Myrah asks.

“You left your door open?” Briana asks.

“Apparently so. Guess I’d better do a good job of making sure I’m locked up at night,” I say, thinking about the break-in and my so-called admirer. It scares the hell out of me, but until I know more, I’m not saying a word. I almost feel as if I don’t know who to trust.

“Smokey Ridge is safe, but please be careful,” Myrah chides, leaving the break room and heading for my office.

I follow behind her to prepare her register for the day.

“Is that your little guest?” she gestures toward the small basket that I purchased at Walmart to keep the kitten in for the day.

“Yes,” I say, smiling at the little angel.

“He’s sleeping so peacefully.”

We make small talk while she counts her register down, and I have her sign her cash-in sheet. A knock at my door breaks our small talk when Martin sticks his head into the door.

“Nova, you’ve got a delivery.”

Frowning, I say, “We already received our shipment yesterday. No deliveries were expected.”

“Well, these came,” he says, stepping into my office with a bouquet of orange buttercups and a small, wrapped package.

“Oh, those are beautiful. Have you met a man already?” Myrah asks, wiggling her eyebrows as Martin hands them over to me.

“Apparently,” he says, smiling and winking at me as he disappears from my office.

I pull the card from the bouquet of flowers after setting them on my desk.

Keep casting those beautiful smiles, and you’ll continue to receive things that make you smile.

XOXO

That chill returns, and I wonder who in the hell this person is.

“What’s in the packet?” Myrah asks, propping her register on her hip.

I tear into the brown paper wrapping, and my mouth drops open at the hardcover copy of Nora Roberts’ Stars of Fortune.

I remove the sleeve and look at the binding, flip open the pages and inhale the scent of the book. I trail my fingers over the embossed letters of her name and the title on the cover before putting the sleeve back on. As it slips open, I spot Nora’s autograph, and I inhale sharply.

“What’s wrong?” Myrah asks.

Shaking my head, I look up at her with tears pricking my eyelids.

“Nova?” she prompts as I fail to find the words.

“Honey, talk to me,” she says, placing her register on my desk and grabbing tissues to stuff into my hands.

I feel so foolish, and maybe it’s from the lack of rest and finding “Raider,” the kitten’s name, in my kitchen this morning. Maybe that’s why I’m acting so teary-eyed. Or maybe it’s from the fear that plagues me, knowing that someone out there is watching me and has been in my house.

“This,” I say, holding the book up and shaking it for her to see. “This book was released January twenty-fifteen, and I stood in line for more than two hours at a bookstore in Maryland to get an autographed copy.”

I turn the book over in my hands. “It was her husband’s bookstore. Nora’s, I mean. I’d gone to Maryland with my best friend, Sandra, for a conference she was attending, and it coincided with Nora’s signing. Anyway, I spent a small fortune on a few of her books that day that I wanted autographed. I returned to Santa Fe so happy with my purchase. We had a house fire just over a year later, and the book burned in the fire. Having this...I can’t describe what it means to me, Myrah.”

“Honey, I’m sorry that happened to you. But what a beautiful gift that someone was thoughtful enough that they wanted to return this to you. Who sent it?”

I look up at her with bleary eyes. Smiling, I say, “That’s just it. I have no idea who sent it.”

“What does the card say?”

I read the card to her. She has a half-amused and half-concerned look.

“What?”

“It’s just that...who would know you well enough to send you that book? It can’t possibly be anyone here, can it?”

“No. The only person I’ve told about this is Briana when we were talking about our shared love for Nora Roberts.”

“Well, yeah, Briana doesn’t swing that way,” Myrah jokes.

“Yeah. I know.”

I think about Kai once more, and I know in my heart that it can’t be him, but he’s the only plausible explanation. He knows that I’m an avid reader and a fan of Nora Roberts. What he doesn’t know is about what I went through to get that autographed book or how I lost it. It can’t be a coincidence, can it? Besides, he wouldn’t do something as creepy as sneaking a kitten into my home and leaving a cryptic message.

“It can’t be anyone here.”

“So, who knows that you moved to Smokey Ridge?”

Rolling my eyes dramatically, I groan, “My ex-husband.”

“You’ve got your answer. Maybe he’s trying to get back in your good favor.”

I doubt that, but I don’t say it. Instead, I smile and say, “You’re right.”

She shrugs and grabs the register. “Glad I could help, Sherlock.”

Laughing, I say, “I need to get out here and check on Cameron to see if he needs anything else.”

“That line is bananas. So glad that I came in two hours before my shift to get my books signed,” Myrah tosses over her shoulder as I follow her out front.

My heart is thrilled when I see all the people who are in the store. My staff has been able to come in for their regularly scheduled shifts as some of the local business owners volunteered to help in the store today. They were willing to do so in exchange for meeting and taking pictures with Cameron Marino, and several of them have purchased his books.

I make my way through the crowd to the table where he and his PA sit. An exasperated young woman with a toddler on her hip scowls at her baby before turning a beaming smile on Cameron Marino. She swipes a swath of hair away from her face and leans in to spell her name for him.

“Darla, do you all need anything else?” I ask Cameron’s PA.

She smiles up at me and says, “No. We’re good. Thanks for asking. We should be wrapping up in half an hour.”

I nod and walk away to the register, where I help for the next half an hour with book sales. I’m excited about how successful this day has been. When I see Cameron and Darla heading towards the back of the store, I meet them at my office door.

Unlocking it, I lead them into my office, where my little guest has decided to rip to shreds a stack of papers that were in my trash can, which is now resting on its side on the floor.

“Ohhh, Raider,” I moan.

Laughing, Darla steps closer and leans down to pick the kitten up while I clean up the mess.

“Sorry about this, guys. He’s new.”

“It’s easy to be lured into how cute they are when you first get them until you get them home,” Cameron says, scowling.

I don’t dare tell them the story of how Raider came to be in my life. When I finish cleaning the mess, I discuss the business of the day’s sales with them and wrap up.

“Thanks so much for hosting us, Nova. As I said earlier, you have a beautiful place here, and your town made me feel welcome,” Cameron says.

“It’s been a pleasure having you, and I’m honored that your agent chose my store to host your signing. Though I’m new to this town, I’m finding that people are genuinely good-hearted here.”

We exchange more pleasantries before he leaves me with two signed copies of his most recent works, Into the Fray and The Lure of Her Heart.

“Thanks again, Nova. It’s been a real pleasure,” Cameron says.

“Just make sure that you return here on your next tour,” I say, smiling at him.

He hugs me and busses my cheeks before releasing me and stepping out the door with Darla.

Just as I’m closing the door, preparing to lock it for the evening, I notice Kai standing several feet away at the front of his store. The scowl on his face is completely opposite the warm welcoming I told Cameron the people here are known for.

Before I can say anything, he steps inside his door, closing it behind him.

“I’m tired, but it’s been a great day,” I hear Briana say behind me.

Closing our door and locking it, I turn to smile at my staff, thanking each of them for the hard work and dedication they poured into making this day a success. Yet, the thought of Kai’s scowl is not too far from my thoughts.

Even as I get Raider ready to return home for the evening after the day’s business is done, I know that somewhere, Kai is not happy with me.