Sprinkled with Love

She crossed her arms and glared at him. “Not out here, it’s cold.”

They returned to the front porch and found they’d run outside without closing the door. Avery sighed as he followed his sister inside and closed the door. He didn’t bother to mention all of the wasted heat. He had more important matters on his mind.

He drew in a deep breath and blew it out. “Why did you put the For Sale sign in the yard? Is this some sort of joke?”

“Not at all.” Beth still had her arms crossed. “And I’m putting it back.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. This didn’t make any sense. “Why would you want to sell your home? This is where you grew up. It’s where all our memories of Mom and Dad are. How could you do this?”

“I…I’m doing it for you.”

“For me?” If he was confused before, he was even more so now.

She nodded. “Jillian told me—”

“Jillian’s involved in this?” He had been sharing a lot with her lately, but he never thought she would resort to conspiring with his sister.

“She told me about the Crooked S and how you need money to buy it.”

How could Jillian have taken what he’d told her and repeated it to his sister? Was this what Jillian wanted? For him to buy the Crooked S at all costs?

He shook his head. “Jillian was wrong. I’m not buying the ranch. Do you hear me?”

Beth lifted her chin. “You need to let go of the past.”

“And you don’t need to tell me what to do. Remember, I’m the big brother here.”

“Someone has to tell you when you’re making the biggest mistake of your life. Jillian is never going to settle down with a cowboy who is on the rodeo circuit constantly.”

“Who said I was getting serious with Jillian?” He needed to straighten this out with Jillian before there were any more misunderstandings. “I’ll be back. And then we’re going to talk some more.”

As he headed for the door, his sister called out, “And maybe then you’ll listen to reason.”

Avery moved quickly to his truck. He was a man on a mission, as it seemed all of the women in his life had lost their minds. Why in the world would anyone even think of selling his parents’ house?

Jillian’s apartment wasn’t far from his house, which didn’t give him any time to cool down and think out what he was going to say. As Avery pulled in the driveway, he noticed a movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see the tip of a white tail going around the corner of the apartment. Romeo?

That cat was outside more than he was inside. Avery sighed. He really didn’t want to go chasing after a cat. He had important matters to settle. But he couldn’t just let a house cat run around in the cold.

With a sigh, he set off in pursuit of the ornery feline. “Here, kitty, kitty.”

He wished he had some treats with him. Just the jiggle of the pouch should draw the cat out from whatever hiding spot he was hunkered down in.

Avery glanced around at the shrubbery, not seeing any signs of Romeo. Now where had the cat disappeared to? Avery had searched the entire perimeter of the house when the front door swung open.

/> “Avery?”

“Yeah, it’s me.” He frowned as he glanced up in time to see a white cat dash into Jillian’s apartment. Wait. That wasn’t Romeo. “It’s Marshmallow.”

Jillian nodded. “Come on in. It’s cold out there.”

He followed Jillian inside, pulling the door closed behind him. He glanced into the living room area and found Marshmallow on the couch next to Romeo. How in the world had that cat known where to find Romeo? Avery was beginning to think that cats had sixth senses or some such thing.

He shook his head and turned back to Jillian—the reason for his visit.

Before he could speak, Jillian said, “It looks like Romeo has been teaching Marshmallow some of his tricks.” She smiled. “Aren’t they cute together?”

He glanced over at the cats who were seated side by side. Maybe in another instance he would have agreed, but right now he wasn’t in the mood for cute. He turned back to Jillian to find her continuing to smile. He wished she’d quit doing that. It was hard to be angry when her face was all lit up and her eyes twinkled.