Chapter Thirteen

"You call them what?" Val, Ty's assistant, leaned their arms on the ledge of the cat meet-and-greet room's half-door, grinning down at Casey where he sat on the floor being swarmed by all three kittens. "And why?"

"I named them in honor of Randolph Scott. They're named after characters in Roberta, a movie the human Randolph Scott starred in with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers." Casey detached the brown tabby female from the front of his shirt. "This is Lizzie, named after Ginger's character." He sat her down next to the black-and-white male. "And that's Huck."

"Since he's in a tuxedo, I'm assuming he was named for Fred's character?"

"Yup." Their brown tabby brother hopped over sideways, stiff-legged and arched-backed, ears flattened. "And that's Alexander Petrovich Moskovitch Voyda."

Val chuckled. "Quite a mouthful, considering he's no bigger than a minute."

"He'll grow. But in the meantime, we can call him Xander for short."

Xander wiggled his little butt and pounced on Lizzie. The two of them rolled over, collided with Huck, and all three kittens devolved into a ball of fur, rolling across the blue and gray tiles.

As soon as the wrestling match started, it ended, the three of them sitting with backs toward each other, washing random paws, obviously pretending they were all far too superior to participate in anything as undignified as a kitten pile-up. Casey sighed and ran a finger down Huck's spine, igniting his little baby purr.

Ty appeared beyond Val's shoulder. "Kenny brought in Fro and Travisher for their vaccines. They're in Exam One."

"On it, boss." Val saluted and trotted off down the hallway.

Ty smiled down at Casey. "Thanks for hanging out with them."

Casey returned the smile. "Don't pretend I'm not the one getting the benefit here. Kitten therapy is remarkably soothing."

"Very true. But you really are doing me a service. Doing them a service, too, since socialization is very important when it comes to adoptability."

Casey stood up and brushed off the seat of his jeans, although he doubted he made a dent in the kitten fur. He'd need to change before class so he wouldn't contaminate the summer kitchen.

"Do you have homes for them yet?"

"They won't be ready for another couple of weeks. I'll put the word around then. We usually don't have trouble placing kittens." Ty's expression darkened. "Which is another reason I'm still royally ticked that some asshole would try to drown them."

Casey winced as he unhooked Lizzie's claws from his inseam before she could reach his balls. "Ugh. Despicable. I can't even." He dropped a kiss on the kitten's fuzzy forehead. "Need help returning these monsters to their enclosure?"

"Appreciate it."

Casey passed Lizzie to Ty, then scooped up the other two. Ty opened the gate for him and led him down the hall and into the cat room, which was divided into three main sections. Two of them amounted to floor-to-ceiling feline parkour courses: carpeted ramps, shelves, columns, and cubbies, with cushy beds tucked in corners and shielded by overhangs.

An enormous black cat, his fur sleek and shiny, drowsed on the highest shelf, his chin on a rainbow-hued toy with a feathered tail, but he was the only current resident other than the kittens.

Because they required a different level of care, they had their own enclosure on the opposite side of the room. As Casey deposited Huck and Xander in their bed—which they immediately hopped out of and started chasing each other—Casey glanced at the gorgeous black cat.

"Do you have a home for him yet?"

"Who?" Ty followed Casey's gaze. "Oh, Explorer's not a rescue. He's just visiting. His family's off on vacation, so he's hanging with us while they're gone."

"So you board animals as well as rescuing them and providing medical care?"

Ty shrugged. "What can I say? It's a living."

Not a living. A calling.

As Ty set Lizzie in with her brothers, Randolph Scott trotted in. He glanced dismissively at Explorer, flicked his tail once, and then leaped over the gate into the kittens' habitat and stretched out like a ginger sphinx.

The kittens immediately descended on him, Lizzie batting at his tail and the two boys scrambling over his back.

"I've been meaning to ask you," Casey said as he skritched Randolph Scott's ears. "Do you think he could be their father? He's awfully good with them."

"Nah." Ty mimed a snip. "His fathering days are long gone, plus these babies didn't come from around Home. I'd have known."

Casey grinned at him. "What, are you an animal psychic, too? Tuning in with your crystal ball?"

"Nothing so unreliable." He winked. "My high school volunteers. Nothing gets past them, and none of them heard anything about a pregnant female. She might have been feral, but if so, how'd that asshole get ahold of her and her kittens?"

"Well, I appreciate the time with them." Casey's expression turned wistful. "If I weren't heading back to a teensy Manhattan apartment in September, I'd be tempted to adopt one of them myself."

Ty made an odd noise, something like Mmmphmmm, which Casey had discovered was the universal Home response when any of the residents wanted to avoid verbalizing their reaction.

Casey narrowed his eyes. "All right, Ty. I've heard that same response from almost everyone in Home at some point."

"Have you?" Ty asked blandly.

"I have. It's like the town's verbal version of a sonic screwdriver. You use it for everything from yes to no to you're a freaking idiot."

"Mmmphmmm."

"Seriously?" Casey threw up his hands. "What's that supposed to mean?

"Nothing." Ty turned and sauntered out of the cat room.

"Ty!" Casey followed him into the hall. "I mean it."

Ty pushed the door nearly closed, but left it ajar, presumably so Randolph Scott could escape. "Seen my cousin lately?"

"Nice segue." Casey crossed his arms and fixed Ty with a glare in the brightly lit hallway. "But since you ask, no, I haven't, because the big dope has been avoiding me." He pointed at Ty's nose. "And don't say he hasn't been."

"Okay. I won't. Although if you wanted to give me a clue as to why…" Ty's voice rose in hopeful invitation on the last word.

From the way Casey's cheeks heated, his face probably looked like somebody had flung a handful of cherry jujubes on a snowbank. "There may have been an… incident."

Ty grinned, his eyes sparkling. "Really? An incident? Above the neck? Below the belt? Please tell me it was below the belt."

"Seriously?" Casey shook his head, his blush burning hotter. "I say incident and you immediately jump to sex?"

Ty scrunched his face. "Sorry. Call it wishful thinking. Dev hasn't really had any action since he broke up with his boyfriend and left the band to come back to Home."

"Wait." Casey fell into step beside Ty as they headed toward the shelter lobby. "Band? Dev's a musician?"

"He was. A damn good one. Songwriter too, but he hasn't picked up his guitar since… well, since."

Casey stopped in front of the plate-glass window with its view onto the road past the blocky Harrison Veterinary Clinic lettering. "Guitar? I had my bedroom window open last night and I'm pretty sure I heard somebody playing. It was faint, and I couldn't tell what direction it was coming from, but I'm sure it was a single acoustic guitar."

The look that flickered across Ty's face combined disbelief with a hope so desperate it pinched Casey's heart.

"Could you identify the song?"

Casey shook his head. "No. It wasn't familiar. But it also wasn't complete, you know? Just bits that broke off and then repeated, or stopped in the middle and jumped to another phrase. That's why I figured it was somebody playing guitar and not just someone who needed to turn their stereo down."

"Holy shit," Ty breathed.

Then he whooped and grabbed Casey around the waist, dancing across the lobby with him, much to the amusement of Val and Kenny, who'd emerged from an exam room with two mid-sized dogs of indeterminate breed.

Pain lanced through Casey's instep and he stumbled. "Ow!"

"Shit. Was that your toe?" Ty released him and stepped back. "I'm usually better than that. Must be out of practice."

"It's fine. Although if you're considering a career as a ballroom dancer? Don't quit your day job."

"I'm sorry, Casey." Ty's tone was sincere but a smile broke through, banishing his expression of regret. "Really."

"Yeah?" Kenny snapped leads on both the dogs. "Then why are you grinning like a loon?"

Ty turned his shining face to Kenny. "Because Dev's playing again. He's writing again."

Behind his glasses, Kenny's eyes widened. "What?" He dropped the dogs' leads, grabbed Ty, and danced him around the lobby, the dogs hopping around them like backup dancers.

"Ow!" Kenny let go of Ty and knelt, looping his arms around the dogs' necks to settle them. "Not that I mind sacrificing my toes for the greater good, but Casey's right about the day job. I think Fro and Travisher stand a better chance of dancing with the stars than you do."

Ty showed his palms and angled his chin away from Kenny. "I'd point out that you were leading that time. Not even those hurtful words can bring me down, though, because hot damn, Kenny. He's playing again." He turned to Casey, all snark vanished from his face. "It's gotta be because of you. Thank you."

Casey smiled crookedly. "Considering the incident, and the fact he's been dodging me since it happened, I find that hard to believe."

"Ooh, an incident?" Kenny stood up. "What incident? Care to share some details?"

Casey glanced sidelong at Val, who had retreated behind the reception desk but was watching all the antics with their chin in their fist. They made a get on with it gesture.

"Don't hold back because of me. I'm a huge fan of oversharing. And don't worry. What happens in the clinic, stays in the clinic."

Clearly Casey wasn't getting out of this without some kind of admission. But then he considered: These people knew Dev. Maybe they'd have an insight into how to approach him.

So he took a deep breath. "It was a stupid misunderstanding, that's all. And I could explain to Dev if he'd stop impersonating the Invisible Man and talk to me."

"Brother," Kenny muttered.

Val heaved a sigh. "Typical."

"He can be a stubborn cuss, I admit," Ty said, "and has some residual trust issues after his last boyfriend." He gripped Casey's shoulder. "But don't give up on him, okay? If I have to, I'll lock him in the butler's pantry at Harrison House and you can shout at one another through the door."

"As charming as that sounds—"

"Uh, boss?"

Ty let go of Casey and gave him a last pat. "Yes, Val?"

They pointed at the window. "That same car has been cruising the street for the last twenty minutes."

"Maybe they're looking for an address."

Val scoffed. "This is Home. They don't need to drive up the road more than once to see all there is to see."

Curious, Casey stepped to the window and peered out. A silver Lexus was just disappearing around the corner at the end of the one-block street. His heartbeat throbbed in his ears, masking the others' conversation.

He'd been in Home for almost three weeks, and the only silver Lexus he'd ever seen was Bradley's. He stood frozen at the window, and sure enough, the car nosed around the opposite corner, as though it had circled the block and was making another pass.

It's a coincidence. It has to be. There's no reason for him to—

But as the Lexus passed the shelter, Casey got a good look at the driver.

Bradley.

What the heck was he doing back here? He couldn't be cruising around looking for Casey, could he? Their imaginary relationship couldn't be important enough for Bradley to make that much effort. He had to be up to something else, and it couldn't be good.

Casey was torn between wanting to hide behind the reception desk and storming out onto the sidewalk and demanding to know what Bradley was doing. The old Casey, the Manhattan Casey, would definitely have opted for the reception desk hideout, because conflict. Ugh. It was the absolute worst.

But the new Casey, the Home Casey, wasn't about to let another incident get in the way of his relationship with Dev. Assuming there was a relationship.

There could be. Casey was sure of it. If only the infuriating man would listen.

Ty moved to Casey's side as the Lexus disappeared around the corner again. "You recognize that guy?"

Casey sighed. "Unfortunately."

Ty regarded him, head tilted to one side. "Does he have anything to do with the incident?"

"He is the incident, and he has no business here." Casey straightened his shoulders and shot what he hoped was a confident smile at Ty, Kenny, and Val. "So I guess it's up to me to find out why he seems to be casing the joint."

Ty caught Casey's arm as he was about to walk out the door. "You know what? Screw that guy."

Casey shuddered. "No thank you."

"I mean ignore him. Let him putter around town as long as he likes. You need to talk to Dev."

"I can't. I have to go feed my sourdough starter."

Ty glared at him. "Is that the baker's version of Sorry, can't go out with you tonight. I've got to wash my hair?"

Casey rolled his eyes. "No. It's actually a thing. Sylvia's adding a few recipes to my curriculum, and first up is rustic sourdough bread. But apparently to make sourdough bread, you need a starter, and starters need feeding on a regular basis or they die."

"Kind of like relationships?" Ty said with a wry smile.

"Yeah." Casey glared out the window, where Bradley was making another pass. "Although some non-relationships simply refuse to die." He smiled at Ty. "I promise I'll talk to him, assuming I can find him."

"I'll nail his shoes to the floor for you." Ty's eyebrows bunched in thought. "I know you're tied up with your classes all day, but the best time to catch him is mid-afternoon. He's usually in his office at Harrison House then, wrestling with the accounting for the town and the estate."

"I'll see what I can do." Casey sighed. "After the starter's little snack, I've got to tackle duck with apricot chutney, so I suspect today will be a washout." In more ways than one.

Maybe if Casey set off the fire alarm again, it would at least catch Dev's attention. But he didn't want this hoped-for relationship to be based on arson.

"Yeah, and I expect he'll jet out of the office before five and head into Merrilton, same as he's done for the last couple of days," Ty said. "Tomorrow maybe?"

"Tomorrow." He waved at Val and Kenny. "See you later. And, Ty? Thanks again for the kitten therapy."

"Any time, buddy. Any time."

Casey slipped out the door. He stood on the porch for a moment and focused on taking calming breaths.

It didn't work.

Fine. Borderline murderous rage was probably better for facing Bradley, anyway. He marched down the porch steps and waited at the curb, arms crossed, foot tapping.

And waited. And waited. And waited. After ten minutes, Casey finally gave up. Confronting Bradley would have to wait.

He had a sourdough starter to feed.