“I do.”
“Not surprising with the place sitting for so long. I can trap them and move them somewhere else.”
I was hoping he’d say that. I didn’t want to hurt them, but I didn’t want them living with me either.
“The best deterrent is a dog. You might want to look into getting one, particularly living out there alone,” he suggested.
I’d already been thinking about getting a dog. I wanted the companionship, but I wanted the protection too. “Is there an animal shelter here?”
“Right down the street. Let me get down your information. I’ll be out this week to set the traps. To help deter others from coming, keep your trashcan in the garage and make sure you keep the place lit at night. Motion sensor lights help to keep them away. Graham can help you install them.”
Graham and I had been talking for a couple of weeks. I googled him, checked his references then got down to business because I had plans for my cabin and didn’t want to wait. “I will give him a call. Thanks, Clinton.”
“Welcome to Little Hill.”
I left the feed shop and walked to the shelter. The redhead behind the counter walked around it. “Hi. Can I help you?”
“I just moved here, was looking to adopt a dog.”
She smiled, her blue eyes twinkling. “You’re the new owner of the house on Willow Lane.”
In Manhattan, I’d be getting a restraining order, but this was a really small town, so I was news. And so it began again, offering my hand. “I’m Cedar.”
“Natalie. I’m sorry but happy to say we don’t have any dogs at the moment, just a cat but Lucifer really isn’t a people cat.”
That turned my head to the black cat in the one cage. He was all by himself. Seemed wrong that he was alone. I knew how that felt. “Do you mind if I…”
“No, but be careful. He has been known to scratch people.”
We walked to the cage. It was like he knew what we were doing, looking at us with those golden eyes. “He’s all by himself here?”
“Yeah. I tried to take him home, but he didn’t like my other cat.”
I hated the thought of him alone. That wasn’t going to help with his attitude. “Can I take him home, see if he takes to it?”
She didn’t hide her surprise. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’ll bring him back if he doesn’t like it.”
“I’m not kidding, he does scratch.”
“Then I’ll scratch him back,” I said.
She laughed. “Okay, let me get the carrier. I have some food you can use. If he does take to your place, the feed store has the brand. You can get the litter box and litter at the general store.”
She disappeared, returning with the carrier and wearing gloves. He hissed when she reached for him, and he did scratch at her, but she managed to get him into the carrier. I was having second thoughts, because he really wasn’t friendly, but no one deserved to be alone.
She helped me get him into the car and gave me the food. I stopped for the litter and box before heading home. I got everything inside. Opened the carrier in the living room, but I didn’t try to get Lucifer out. I opened a can of food, put the dish near the carrier. Setup the litter box where he’d see it. Then I left him alone and got to work cleaning.
It took all day, but by the time I took another shower and put on my yoga pants and tee, my house was clean. The kitchen pleasantly surprised me. Someone had put money into it: the pine, glass paned cabinets and quartz countertop.
I’d run out a few times during the day. Purchased new appliances for the kitchen and arranged for delivery, ordered a washer and dryer too. Arranged to have a dish installed, which would be for both the television and internet. Bought some bread and peanut butter, plastic knives, a bottle of wine, a wine glass and a stadium chair. There was a back deck, but I was thinking about having it removed and a stone patio put in with an outdoor fireplace. Graham was coming out soon. I’d talk to him about my new ideas.
I stood in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, eating my bread with peanut butter. The sun hadn’t set yet, my raccoon friends weren’t out and about, so I setup my stadium chair on the deck and drank my wine outside. To the right and left of the deck, the view was spectacular. I liked the hill right up against the house in the back…it felt safe. The cabin sat on twenty acres, so as far as I could see, it was mine. I even had woods and a pond. I needed to explore and would, just as soon as I got settled.
I toasted myself, and my new life. My eyes burned from unshed tears. “I did it, Brock.” I took a sip of wine to ease the ache in the back of my throat. “I hope you find your cottage.”
Chapter Thirteen
Cedar
I stood in the tractor store; the man was very nice, but he was talking over my head. I wasn’t sure I needed a tractor since I was only going to mow the lawn near the house. The rest of the property I was leaving as nature intended. It had been a long time since I used a mower and tended a garden. The reminder caused a pain in my chest. It was the only part of leaving New York that hurt, but I didn’t need to visit their stone to talk to them. They were with me.
My eyes were beginning to cross with all the information the man was giving me.
“What about a push mower? I don’t think I need a tractor,” I suggested.
“Well, we’ve got the self-propelled mowers. Electric, but I don’t recommend them.” And it continued, the listing of details that most, I’m sure, wanted to know, but for
