the best male example for my son.” She peered out the window at the group left on the deck. “Well, I guess what you said worked. The two men are still seated and I don’t hear any shouting.”
“That’s a good sign.”
“I really don’t need your help. I was just trying to get Gramps away from the table.”
“Really?” One of his dark eyebrows quirked.
“And as usual, it didn’t work.” Jesse walked to the refrigerator to retrieve the gallon of homemade peach ice cream she and Nate had made earlier that day. “If you want, you can get the bowls from the cabinet and some spoons from that drawer.” She gestured toward the one next to the dishwasher.
She slid a glance toward him as he opened the cabinet. They were alone. This was her chance to see about the kitten for Cindy and set her plan in motion for him to meet Felicia. She noticed the sure way he executed his task as though he was very familiar with her kitchen. This man seemed at home anywhere—even when Fred was attacking him yesterday morning. His well-built body—whoa! That wasn’t what she was supposed to be doing, ogling her guest, a guest she was planning to fix up with Felicia.
Jesse tore her gaze away from him and asked, “Have you made up your mind about the kitten for Cindy?” There she was back on track with her plan—Felicia and Nick.
Chapter Three
“I don’t think I have much choice.” Nick placed the bowls and spoons on the counter.
“You always have a choice. I’ve got a feeling you’re never backed into a corner that you don’t want to be in.” Jesse cradled the ice-cream container against her chest while retrieving the tray of chocolate chip cookies. The cold felt good against her. It seemed to be unusually hot in the kitchen.
“True, especially in business. But this is personal and it involves my daughter. She wants a pet bad. I suppose a kitten is better than a dog, snake or gerbil, and Boswell agreed with me.”
“Then you’ll get Cindy a kitten?”
“Yes. You said you knew where I could get one.”
She nodded. “We can go tomorrow afternoon. I’ll call Felicia and arrange it.”
Nick opened the back door and let Jesse go first. “Don’t say anything yet to Cindy. I want it to be a surprise. I don’t think she would get a wink of sleep if she knew she was going to pick out a kitten tomorrow.”
“My lips are sealed.” Jesse pressed them together to emphasize her point, but it was hard for her to contain her happiness. Her plan was back on track. Tomorrow he would meet Felicia and be impressed with her knack for organization. Her home was spotless.
Okay, so maybe Felicia was just a little bit too organized and obsessed with having a clean house, Jesse thought. The sound of the sofa cover crunching beneath her when she sat on Felicia’s couch punctuated the silence with that declaration. The plastic stuck to the backs of Jesse’s legs and made her conscious of her every move.
The simple act of crossing her ankles and smoothing her shorts down drew Nick’s attention. One corner of his mouth lifted. For a few seconds his gaze ensnared hers, and she felt as though they were the only two people in the room. His way of drawing a person’s focus to him must be a valuable tool in the business world. In her world, it was disconcerting, Jesse decided.
“I’m so tickled you want to give one of my babies a home.” Felicia straightened a stack of magazines on the coffee table. The top one sat at a slight angle from the others. Definitely out of place. “I won’t give my babies away to just anyone. Thankfully Jesse can vouch for you.”
Somehow Felicia managed to cross her legs, the silence from her action indicating a certain degree of grace that Jesse obviously didn’t possess or the fact this woman had had a lot of practice sitting on her plastic covers. Jesse wanted to believe it was the latter.
“Have you ever had a pet before?” Felicia asked, cutting into Jesse’s musing.
“No, but I’m sure we’ll be able to manage,” he answered with all the confidence of a man who was used to running a large company.
“You have to do more than just manage. You have to love your pet.” One of Felicia’s cats curled herself around the woman’s leg, purring. She picked up her pet and buried her face in its fur.
“I can do that,” Cindy chimed in, bouncing several times in her enthusiasm.
The sound reverberating through the room drew Felicia’s look. The “look” would have made anyone freeze, Jesse thought, and she began to reassess her friend’s candidacy for Cindy’s mother. Glancing about, Jesse wondered if Felicia spent every wakened moment cleaning her house. The thought sent a shiver through Jesse. She hated cleaning her house and avoided it whenever possible.
Maybe she was being too harsh in her judgment of Felicia. After all, the woman loved cats and anyone who was an animal lover must have room in her heart for children. Jesse stood. “Why don’t Cindy and I go pick out a kitten while you and Nick work out the details?” Jesse took the little girl’s hand and quickly left the living room. Nick and Felicia needed time alone to get to know each other.
The four kittens were out in the sunroom. One was sleeping on the white ceramic tiled floor, two were prowling and the last one was playing with a piece of gold ribbon. The black kitten with a white mark on its forehead batted the ribbon, chasing it around. Cindy laughed and went over to it. It stopped to check the little girl’s lacy socks, licking her leg. She laughed again and picked up the kitten. Jesse noticed the cat was a male.
“I want this one. What do you think?” Cindy cuddled him to her face. “Oh, she’s so cute.”
“It’s a male.”
“How can you tell?”
Jesse wasn’t prepared to go into the facts of life with Cindy. For a second, nothing came to mind. “He’s made differently,” she blurted out, sweat beading on her upper lip.
“Oh.” Cindy seemed to accept that lame reason, hugging the kitten to her. “Let’s go show Daddy.”
So much for giving Nick and Felicia time to get to know each other. Jesse searched her mind for a delay tactic. “Don’t you want to check out the other kittens to make sure he’s the one?”
Cindy shook her head. “I know.”
Jesse stood for another minute in the middle of the sunroom, before saying, “Then I guess we should show your dad.” Hopefully five minutes was long enough for them to strike up a…friendship. Suddenly the idea of a relationship between Nick and Felicia didn’t seem right and that thought bothered Jesse.
When she and Cindy entered the living room, silence hung in the air, Nick’s expression neutral. Felicia looked as though she were sitting in a dentist’s chair waiting for the drill. Jesse plastered a smile on her face, intending to get the conversation going.
Nick shot to his feet. “We’ll take good care of the kitten. Are you sure you don’t want any money, Miss Winters?”
Miss Winters? Not a good sign.
Felicia straightened, bristling at his suggestion. “No. A good home is all I request, as I told you a few minutes ago, Mr. Blackburn.”
Mr. Blackburn? Definitely not a good sign.
“I’ll take real good care of Oreo,” Cindy said, nuzzling the kitten.
At the door Nick stooped to slip on his shoes while Jesse put hers on then held Oreo so Cindy could buckle her sandals. When Felicia had asked them to take off their shoes before coming into her house, Jesse should have realized the meeting would go downhill from that moment. Nick had started to say something but snapped his jaws closed. That hadn’t stopped Cindy from blurting out the question they had all wanted to know, “Why?”
“Goodness me. You