Sid looked away and shook his head. “We haven’t been. Yet. But Leslie got a boatload of bad legal advice from Lyndon, Lyndon & Kopp that blew right up in her face. Honestly, that useless law firm sent two of those Lyndon boys out, and neither one of them knew their asses from holes in the ground.”
Suddenly intrigued, Courtney asked, “Oh? What did they do?”
“Well, the first feller—Andrew—thought he could negotiate with the landlord. Ha, that’s a laugh! Scott Anderson is an SOB. He wasn’t ever going to negotiate. And then they sent his brother or cousin or whatever—Matthew.” He shook his head. “What an idiot. That boy thought Anderson would jump right to it and fix the place up when the county fined him.”
Arwen had mentioned the fact that Sid had argued with Matt, but she didn’t quite understand what Sid was so upset about. It seemed totally reasonable to think that something good might come as a result of county intervention.
“Why shouldn’t Matt have been happy about that?” she asked.
Sid rolled his head and gave her a hard, probing stare. “You know Matthew Lyndon?”
Damn it all, why did her face get hot? “I’ve met him.”
“Honey, by the pink in your cheeks, you’ve done more than meet him. I figure you’re a grown woman, so I’m not going to give you a lecture.”
“You know, Sid, I am a grown woman, and when you get to be my age and you’re still living alone, you start to think about throwing caution to the wind.”
“Girl, I just don’t understand it. You’re a smart, capable woman with a pretty nice figure. I think maybe sometimes you’re a little too picky when it comes to fellers.”
“Sid, let me ask you something. When you asked Barbara to marry you, were you settling? Or was she Ms. Right?”
His eyes lit up, and a dreamy smile softened his thin lips. “I fell in love with Barbara the first time I saw her—you know that.”
She nodded. She’d heard the story many times, about how Sid and Dad had gone out to dinner and serendipitously met Barbara and Mom. If her parents and Sid were to be believed, love at first sight had simultaneously occurred for both of them. She idly wondered if anyone fell in love at first sight anymore.
“You hang in there, girl. You’ll find a nice feller one day.”
Time to get back to the main subject. “Yes, Sid, I will. And when that happens, I expect you to dance at my wedding. So, you listen to me,” she said in her best take-charge, wedding-planner voice. “I’m going to go down to the nurses’ station and get the consent forms, and you’re going to sign them. I don’t want to lose you, Sid.”
“But where am I going to live?” His voice sounded strained. Clearly his living situation was a big worry, but she didn’t quite understand why he thought he’d be losing his apartment. It sounded as if LL&K was doing everything they could to get the landlord to clean up the place.
She didn’t want to argue with him though. So she patted his shoulder. “Look, while you’re recovering, you’re going to move into my spare bedroom. Okay? I’m a nurse. I’ll take good care of you.”
“I can’t do that. What if your feller comes along? You’ll need privacy.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. And frankly, it’s highly unlikely ever to happen. By the way, are you allergic to cats?”
Courtney spent most of the day at the Winchester Medical Center, making sure Sid signed his consent papers and talking with his doctors. She got back home in the late afternoon and planned to spend some quality time with Aramis, her new kitten. But the moment she walked into the apartment, the cat scrambled under the bed and behaved as if Courtney were a depraved cat killer.
The cat’s rejection was the last straw. She refused to let a tiny kitten push her over the edge into a crying jag. So she put down a can of gourmet cat food, checked the litter box and water dish, and then headed off to the Jaybird Café. If Aramis wanted alone time, she was happy to give it to him.
When Courtney arrived at the Jaybird, she found Ryan Pierce sitting in his usual seat at the end of the bar drinking a Coke. She halted a moment, studying him. He had regular features, a strong jaw, and a buzz cut that branded him as ex-military. If she were going to settle, Ryan might be a good choice, but settling for Ryan might be dangerous unless she understood his demons.
Ryan also didn’t make her heartstrings zing. She’d never met anyone who’d done that, even though she’d met quite a few men who’d awakened her girl parts, Matthew Lyndon chief among them.
She took the seat next to Ryan, and an instant later, Rory put a Manhattan in front of her. “Thanks, man. I really needed this.”
“Rough day?” Ryan asked.
“You know it’s bad when you’re a single woman and the cat you adopt hates you.”
Ryan had the temerity to chuckle.
She rounded on him. “It’s not funny.” She turned away and took a swig of her drink.
“I think it’s hilarious. What did you do? Get a wild cat?”
Her glass thunked when she put it down. “No. I adopted one of the kittens from Melissa’s storefront. His name is Aramis.”
“Aramis? Like the cologne?”
“No, like the Musketeer. Honestly, Ryan, you should read more.”
“When you brought the cat home, did you put him in the bathroom?” This advice had been said in a deep, soft voice that traveled through Courtney’s eardrums and down her spine. She turned on her barstool to find Matt Lyndon, wearing suit pants and a white oxford-cloth, button-down shirt with the top button undone and a red and gray striped tie loosened. Boy, he sure had the Brooks Brothers preppy look nailed.
With all that eye
