Mistletoe Mommy

“Feisty little thing,” Dr. Higgs murmured as he lifted her. “Scrawny but looks healthy. Winnie said you found her out near the lodge?”

“Do you think she belongs to someone already?” Eliza asked worriedly.

“Doubt it. She’s lucky to have found nice people. Do you guys know anything about taking care of pets?” he asked them.

“We’ll learn!” Eliza promised. “I can check out books at the library and look stuff up on the Internet. And we’ll, uh, ask Ms. Pierce for advice. She’s smart about animals, right?”

“Very,” Dr. Higgs agreed. “She used to work for me. How did you guys meet her?”

“We gave her a ride when her car broke down,” Eliza said. She rolled her eyes. “My brother thinks she’s a babe.”

Dr. Higgs glanced up, startled. Something flashed in his expression, but he apparently thought better of responding. Adam suspected that Brenna’s charms hadn’t been lost on the man. Adam experienced a twinge of… jealousy.

That’s insane. Adam barely knew her.

“This is a case of good timing,” Dr. Higgs informed them, his focus back on the cat. “She’s not fully mature yet, but she’s past kittenhood. A teenager, more or less.”

Great. Because Adam needed more teenage drama in his life.

“It’s an ideal window of opportunity for getting her spayed,” the vet said. “Whenever possible, we like to do it before their first heat but not too far before.”

“She’s getting sprayed?” Morgan asked.

“Spayed,” Adam answered absently. “Do we have to leave her overnight for that?”

“Nope, just bring her in early Monday morning and she should be ready to go home at the end of the day.”

Or, more likely, to Brenna’s home. Adam found himself curious to see where she lived.

“I can get you some test results in a few minutes, but other than needing to eat more regularly, she looks like she’s in good health,” Dr. Higgs concluded. “Congratulations. You guys have a new member of the family.”

HE’D FIT RIGHT IN with Fred and Josh, Brenna thought with amusement. Her fifteen-year-old companion in the waiting room had asked what the verdict was on her car, then enumerated the qualities she should look for if she decided to buy a new one.

She shook her head. “Don’t think that’s in my budget anytime soon. The old one’s just gonna have to last a little longer.”

Geoff pursed his lips. “I know what you mean-no car in my budget, either. And I don’t even have a hunk of junk to fall back on in the meantime. No offense.”

“None taken.”

He leaned against the wall behind him, legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles. It seemed like just yesterday that Josh was this age, by turns cocky and endearingly awkward with his impending adulthood.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Geoff added suddenly. “Dad would probably buy me a car as long as it was reasonably priced and a solid investment. Eliza might act like he’s…He’s not a bad guy. He’s smart, makes good money as a doctor. Some of the music he likes is even kind of cool.”

Brenna noted the boy’s earnest intensity. Was he used to having to defend his dad, speaking up for him out of habit, or was he specifically trying to impress upon her that his dad was a great catch?

“I’m sure he has a lot of good qualities,” she said neutrally.

He nodded. “It’s just that, even if he helped me with the cost of the car, I need to save up money for gas, insurance, all that stuff.”

Tell me about it, kid. She was painfully aware of how quickly “that stuff” added up.

“Mistletoe seems okay, but since we’re here for almost a month, I’m not getting to work this summer,” he said miserably. “If I had a job, I could start setting aside money for my sixteenth birthday.”

“That’s a very responsible attitude,” she said in praise. A lot of the teens she’d known, her stepbrother included, had spent money as soon as it was handed to them.

Brenna, on the other hand, had hoarded money as a kid-coins she found, a dollar handed to her by one of her mom’s boyfriends, even change left under her pillow by the tooth fairy. As if having twelve dollars and sixty-two cents in a purple hippo coin bank would add any security to her life.

“I’m very responsible,” Geoff said slowly. “A real hard worker. I mean, my mom hasn’t let me get an actual job because she worries it could interfere with classes, but I get great grades. And Mrs. Miller says I do a thorough job cutting her lawn. I do the edging by hand when I’m finished with the grass.”

He paused, straightening in his chair. Brenna thought she saw where he was going with this. She wouldn’t be able to help him, but she was impressed with his resourcefulness.

“I don’t suppose you need any help walking dogs?” he asked, his expression boyishly hopeful.

“Sorry.” Technically she did need seasonal help-assuming she could generate enough income to pay a second person. But that person would have to be over twenty-one for her company to remain appropriately insured and bonded. “I have special liability insurance because I go in and out of people’s homes-like in case something gets broken while I’m there-so I have to follow the age requirements.”

They were interrupted by a squeal of delight and Morgan skipping down the hall. She was followed closely by her sister and father.

“Looks like it’s time to pick out a name, after all,” Adam announced. “And we’re gonna need some supplies.”

“There’s a pet store on Juniper, three blocks over, that allows animals in the store,” Brenna said. She had a harness-style cat leash they could borrow; she traveled with a “just in case” plastic storage box stocked with tennis balls, pet leads and assorted treats. “You can follow me there. I’ve been meaning to drop off more business cards and promotional materials, anyway.”

When Kevin joined them, she thanked him without quite meeting his gaze, told him to have a great weekend and excused herself to step outside and return some calls. She liked the good-looking veterinarian, but since their breakup, their conversations had been a touch awkward.

She climbed into her car and had confirmed one schedule change and left a message by the time the Varners piled into their own vehicle. When she met them in front of the pet store, they’d reached a consensus.

“Her name is Ellie,” Morgan informed her.

Brenna dutifully assessed the cat that Eliza had cradled against her shoulder. “Yep, she looks like an Ellie! And I have something for her to wear in the store. It’s the smallest one I could find, but make sure you keep a good hold on her.” She handed Adam the orange kitty harness. His fingers brushed hers, so briefly she shouldn’t have even noticed.

But she did.

Chapter Seven

Inside the store Brenna watched the three kids dart in seemingly a dozen different directions. Geoff grabbed a cart while his sisters made a dash for supplies.

“Just the essentials,” Adam cautioned them. “Food, a litter box…” Trailing off, he glanced at Brenna questioningly.

“You’ll need a cat carrier,” she said. “Ellie may have been pretty well behaved for a ride across Mistletoe, but you don’t want to drive back to Tennessee with an unsecured cat in the car.”

“Definitely not. Carrier, check.”

“Maybe a cat bed.”

He stopped in front of a multilevel, carpeted kitty condo. “Scratching post?”

“My recommendation would be a scratching pad-inclined corrugated cardboard with some catnip in it. It costs less, it’s portable and it’s effective for training, redirecting her if she scratches something you’d rather she