Series: Little Cakes Series by Pepper North
Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
“CC’s are the best. Will you be okay if I go talk to the kitten?” he asked.
“Of course. I’ll get acquainted with Tangerine.”
Lark watched as the muscular police officer sat on the ground close to the cowering kitten. He talked low and soft for a few minutes before reaching out to stroke the small furball’s head.
“He’s the cat whisperer,” CC told her as she placed their mugs on the table. “Wyatt always has them eating out of his hand.”
When Lark looked back, he held the small kitten up to his face. The two communicated silently. A small pink tongue darted out to taste his nose, drawing a laugh from the man Lark hardly recognized.
“Does he come here often?”
“My husband was a police officer. Wyatt and several of his squad stop to check in on me often. Darren would have done the same for their wives if the situation had been reversed.” CC smiled sadly before returning to the counter to help new arrivals.
Lark noticed a picture hanging near the cash register. It was surrounded by a silver frame featuring scattered hearts. The handsome man in the center wore his uniform proudly. She knew instantly that CC’s husband had been killed in action.
Tears gathered in her eyes. Lark blinked them away quickly as she petted the cat to reassure herself. Lifting her coffee cup, she took a tentative sip. Delicious, mellow coffee flavor tantalized her tongue. CC knew what she was doing. The cats might be a gimmick, but people would come back for the beverages. She sniffed appreciatively at the scent of the hot chocolate piled high with whipped cream.
Relationship established, Wyatt stood and returned to the table with his new friend cuddled and purring under his chin. “She’s feeling better now.”
“CC calls you the cat whisperer.”
“CC knows I love animals.” Wyatt dipped a finger into the whipped cream and held it up to the kitten’s pink nose. Her cute tongue lapped tentatively at the treat before she leaned in enthusiastically to eat every vestige of cream.
Lark glanced at Wyatt. “You haven’t been in town very long. How do you know CC so well? And her husband, too?”
“I did my orientation under Darren. He was one of the best. He and CC invited me to dinner several times when I first arrived. Good people.” Wyatt’s words trailed off at the end, and he didn’t lift his head as he continued to pet the kitten.
Lark swallowed over the lump in her throat. How sad.
“Mister, can I feed the kitten?” a small voice asked next to Wyatt.
Lark watched Wyatt turn to the young boy next to him. He shook off the melancholy and smiled. “Hi. This kitten needs a name, do you think you could come up with one?”
The boy’s head nodded eagerly. His eyes never left the small creature in Wyatt’s hands.
“Here. Support her bottom with this hand and hold her against your chest with the other,” Wyatt instructed as he nestled the kitten against him.
When the young boy returned to his parents’ side to show off his new friend, Lark commented, “That was nice of you. Didn’t you want to hold it anymore?” She gave Tangerine a final pet as the cat stood to jump off her lap on his way to greet new arrivals.
Wyatt looked at her with faintly puffy eyes. “She’s in good hands. CC facilitates a lot of adoptions. I doubt that kitten will be hiding under a table anymore.”
He picked up his mug of hot chocolate and took a sip. As he lowered the cup, Lark smiled at the mustache of whipped cream now dotting Wyatt’s top lip. That amusement morphed into sexual heat when he swirled his tongue over his mouth in an attempt to remove it.
“You’re not supposed to laugh. Here, save me,” he requested, holding out his napkin.
Automatically, she leaned close to wipe the last of the white mixture from the corners of his mouth. The intimacy of the act seemed to create a bubble of privacy around the two of them. Startled, Lark met his gaze, losing herself in dark eyes.
A giggle danced between them, breaking the intimate moment.
Lark glanced over at the boy now seated on his dad’s lap while the kitten played with the buttons on his shirt. His parents looked at each other, obviously communicating without words. As they watched, the mother stood and walked over to pluck a clipboard from the wall, emblazoned with the words Cat Adoption.
“Fuzz butt has a home now,” Wyatt commented with a satisfied grin as he rubbed one eye and sniffed.
“What about Tangerine?” Lark asked, sad that the older cat was constantly ignored by those captivated by the kittens.
“He’s CC’s. He goes home each night to sleep at the foot of her bed. CC’s husband used to joke about their built-in toe warmer.”
“What happened to him?”