I thought of how in a scuffle, Cait was more likely to have to protect me than the other way round. I let out a laugh but then realized something. “Hudson told you about Cait?”
She nodded. “He talks about you all the time; I feel like I know you. He told me about your dog training, about where you grew up in Ireland, and how everyone in Hobie swoons over your accent. I can see why. It’s lovely.”
I felt the heat rise on my skin, but it was quashed with a rush of guilt. I had no business being flattered by the man she might still have some kind of relationship with or feelings for.
“You’re lucky to have Hudson in your life,” I said, clearing my throat and pretending to fuss with Mama’s collar. “He’s a good man.”
“He is. One of the best. I hope he still feels the same way about me. It was a mistake for me to ever let him go.”
The tone in her voice sounded the way I felt, lovesick and wanting. It was clear she had plans to get him back. Hell, for all I knew, they were on their way to reconciliation already. I reached out to squeeze her shoulder and mumbled something about letting me know if she ever needed anything. Before she finished thanking me, I was whistling for Mama to follow me back to the bunkhouse so I could try to escape my head in sleep.
On Friday, while Hudson was still in Dallas, I lost track of Mama. Ever since the Grump incident, I’d been bringing her to work at the pub where I could keep a closer eye on her. Now that she wasn’t fertile any longer and she’d gotten to know several Hobie residents fairly well, I left her to her own devices most of the day.
Round about lunchtime I realized I hadn’t seen her for a while and raced around like a spinning top trying to track her down. I searched everywhere in the pub, out back in the patio garden area, and out front in the village green. No sign of her. By the time I began checking other shops nearby, I’d gathered quite a team of helpers.
“Mama’s been snatched!” Stevie’s screech notified half the town who came to assist in the search. I tried to remain calm, but the more places we searched with no success, the more I worried.
Finally, someone called out from the direction of the dusty old antiques store a couple of doors down from the pub. “She’s here. Awww, look at that. How sweet.”
The crowd bustled over, and I spotted her, curled up in the display window on an oriental rug. Nestled into her belly like the little spoon in a snuggle was a spotted calico kitten.
“That’s Milo,” someone behind me said. “The new shop owner’s cat.”
Someone else jumped in to correct them. “Nah, Milo’s the man. Augie is the cat.”
“Augie is the man. It’s short for August. Milo is definitely the cat,” someone else said.
I didn’t particularly care one way or the other but I needed to extract my dog back.
“Excuse me,” I muttered, making my way to the front of the pack to open the shop door. Inside I found an attractive man about my size fussing with a large wooden crate.
“I’m sorry to bother you, but I’m afraid my dog has trespassed on your hospitality,” I said, nodding my head toward the window display. “I hope she didn’t cause any damage.”
He turned toward me with a little jump of surprise. “What? No, of course not.”
I nodded, stepping closer and holding out my hand. “I’m Charlie Murray. I work at the pub opening up down the way.”
“Oh, sorry,” he said, wiping his hands on an actual linen handkerchief pulled from a back pocket. “I’m August, but my friends call me Augie. You have a nice dog. She’s well trained. All I have to do is give her a look and she seems to know what I mean.”
I let out a chuckle. “That’s Mama. Some say she’s smarter than I am. I, myself, am sure of it.”
“She’s welcome here anytime… as are you,” he said, blushing at his own words and glancing down at his feet. “I mean, it’s no bother.”
He was kind and attractive, yet I felt nothing. No desire to flirt with him. No need to ask him out in order to get to know him better. No mental undressing of his button-up shirt and tweed trousers. Hell. Maybe I was broken. Hudson had ruined me and now I would never find anyone else.
No wonder Cait accuses you of being dramatic.
I smiled at Augie. “Same goes for you at the pub. Come see us anytime.”
After exchanging a few more friendly words, I extracted my wandering canine and made my way back to the pub. That afternoon, Mama made four more trips to the antique shop. Four more times I found her curled up in the window with Milo. By the time I found her that fourth time, Augie simply laughed and told me to leave her there.