Circle on Home (Lost in a Boom Town Book 5) (11 page)

Riley shook her head. “Jackson just left.”

“He made you cry?” He’d seemed like such a nice guy, but right now, Miranda wanted to do violence.
 

“I told him to leave. I can’t believe he showed up here, actually. I thought we’d ended things.” Riley dropped into a chair and looked up at Miranda.

Miranda’s emotions were too up-in-the-air after her day with Noah, but she guessed they were doing this. She sat, too, wishing they had groceries so they at least had something to do with their hands.
 

“You’d already broken up once?”

Riley laughed roughly. “More than once. It’s…complicated. He moves here, he moves back. He’s divorced, but his ex still calls him when she needs help, and he goes, and at one point it really looked like they were going to get back together, but they they didn’t, and I decided I just don't want to live like that, you know, like a yoyo. And I tried to explain it to him, and he swears it’s over between him and his wife but I just can’t take that chance.”

“How long have y’all been together?”

“On and off, not even a year. He’s been divorced almost three. You’d think he’d be able to cut ties.”

“Does he have kids?”

“No, thank God. I don't think they would have divorced if they’d had kids.”

Miranda thought that was a pretty sad statement. “Do you love him?”

“I don't know. I think I do, but seeing him hurts so much. That can’t be love, right? I mean, that’s like self-abuse. I know I was right to send him away, but the idea that I won’t see him again just rips me up.”

“I’m sure you’ll see him again.”

“No, he doesn't live in town. He lives in San Marcos. He was just here to work on Sage’s place, and then he worked on mine. He specializes in old buildings, and during the boom, I guess there was a lot of potential here. Now the only reason he comes back is to torture me.”

“I’m sure he doesn't do it to hurt you.”

“No, he insists he cares for me, but neither one of us has mentioned love. I think he’s afraid to, and I’m just not sure enough.”

Miranda was at a loss. She didn't know what to tell her. “Yet you’re crying because you’re going to miss him.”

“I know.” Riley’s voice rose in a wail and she dropped her head to her arms.
 

Miranda hesitated, then rubbed her hand between her roommate’s shoulder blades, not sure how the woman felt about contact. Riley stiffened, then dissolved into deeper sobs.

“I hate to tell you,” Miranda said, “but I think you’re in love with him. This might call for margaritas. Do we have any ice?”

Chapter Six

Jolie walked into the kitchen to find her two roommates slouched on the table, water condensing around the bottoms of their plastic cups. Ice, they had. Margarita glasses, no. Jolie looked from them to the empty blender carafe sitting beside the sink.
 

“You had a party without me?”

“Love stinks,” Riley announced, pushing her cup toward Jolie with the tips of her fingers. “Will you drink to that?”

Jolie dropped into the chair across from Miranda with a sigh. “I don't actually remember enough about love to agree or disagree.” But she took a sip anyway, and made a face. “This is more water than margarita.”

“I’d make up a fresh batch but we’re out of limeade,” Miranda said.

“She makes them way stronger than the Sagebrush.” Riley struggled to sit up straight, as if her head was too heavy for her body.

Jolie looked at the liquor lined up on top of the fridge. “Did a frat move in when I was at work?”

“I was in Pearsall and thought I’d stock up since we don't have a liquor store.”

“She was in Pearsall with
Noah,
” Riley said.

“Noah?” Jolie asked.

She was also new to town so she didn't know about Miranda and Noah.
 

“Her high school sweetheart. Noah Braun. The vet. You know.”

Jolie shook her head. “I don't think I’ve met him.”

“You’d know him if you saw him. Tall, dark, curly hair. Yummy. Serious all the time.”

Jolie shook her head again.
 

“Has the sister with Down’s.”

“Ah. Yes, I’ve met him. He’s…” She glanced at Miranda, who was watching her more sharply than the tequila should have allowed. “He’s very handsome, and yes, very serious. Are y’all getting back together? After all this time?”

“When I saw him, this summer, I couldn't stop wondering what might have been. I mean, his life went to hell at about the time I was getting ready to go to college, and I took the easy way out, but I still wonder what would have happened if I’d stayed, or what might have happened if his mom hadn't died and his dad…” She let the words trail off. “If things had been normal.”

“What’s normal?” Riley asked, rolling her head to one side. “Loving a guy who can’t walk away from his ex-wife?”

Jolie took a swig of margarita from Riley’s cup. She didn't need to have any more anyway. “There is no normal. Right now, for us, the three of us here, this is normal. Okay?”

“So I’m supposed to ask you,” Miranda said, pushing back from the table and putting her hands on her hips before she pushed to her feet. “Is it okay if we get a kitten?”

*****

After their trip to Pearsall, Miranda still felt weird about calling Noah to let him know she wanted a kitten after all. She fully intended to ask him where the kittens were, and she’d drive herself out there, maybe with Jolie, who seemed as excited by the prospect of having a
 
kitten as Miranda was.
 

The first time she called, his phone went to voice mail, and she didn't leave a message. Instead of agonizing over whether he’d call her back, she called first, an hour later.

“Hey, Noah, this is Miranda. I was just wondering if you could let me know where I can get a kitten.” She said the words all together, without taking a breath.

“Sure, I can take you around six, if that’s okay.”

“You don’t have to take me, Noah. You can just tell me. Most people know my mom, if not me.”

“I’ll take you,” he said again. “I’ll be by around six, and in the meantime, I’ll call those folks to make sure it’s okay if we come by.”

She thought about, briefly, asking him if he wanted dinner, but then she’d have to think about shopping and cooking. Then again, she’d have to go get kitten food and a litter box and litter. But before she made up her mind to invite him, he ended the call, and she was stuck with meeting him at six.
 

She probably should be more resentful that he had ignored her wishes, but she couldn't make herself.
 

“Anyone need anything from the grocery store?” she called up the stairs, picking up her purse from the table beside the door.

By a quarter to six, she was in the kitchen, trying to find a way to occupy herself. Jolie was at the hospital, and Riley was upstairs, thank goodness, because her roommates would have thought she was insane, the way she was fluttering around the kitchen, not doing anything. She’d already put away the groceries that she’d bought, and was seriously considering breaking into the roll of cookie dough.
 

The later it got, the better digging into the batter sounded. She checked her phone repeatedly, wondering if she’d missed a call, but nothing.

When he showed up just after seven, her nerves were shot. And he had Selena in tow.

“Sorry I’m late. Had an emergency with a horse over at the McKenna place, and Rey got a job at the taqueria so I had to go get Selena. I thought she’d like seeing the kittens, too.”

Miranda worked to brush the irritation away. Of course he’d have emergencies, and of course he couldn't take the time to call her to let her know what was going on. And having Selena along was better for her peace of mind, anyway.
 

“Do y’all have cats?” Miranda asked Selena as she climbed into the truck.

“I’m allergic,” Selena replied sadly. “But Noah said I could play with the kittens if I wash my hands really good afterwards.”

“I’m going to start with the oldest litter, at the Travis place,” Noah said. “They’re getting pretty desperate to get rid of these guys. They’re very active.”

“What will happen if they don't find homes?”

“Some ranchers or farmers will take them, use them as barn cats. But I’m thinking they’d have a better life living in that big house with you.” He smiled across the cab at her. “But don't feel pressured. There are two more litters to look at, and you don't have to make your decision tonight. Think about which one you want.”

The first litter was indeed active. The gray tabby kept attacking his siblings, the calico kept to herself in the corner of the enclosure, the black and white one kept trying to crawl out. Miranda picked up one at a time, and winced when the kittens dug their claws into her skin. She supposed that was something she’d have to get used to. The only one that fit the image of what she wanted in a kitten was the little calico, curled up in Selena’s lap.

“These might be too old to socialize the way you want,” Noah said. “We can go look at the younger ones.”

Since she knew nothing about kittens, she agreed, and watched as he pried a sleepy calico from his sister’s arms.
 

“Don’t touch your eyes, now, until you wash your hands,” he said, his low voice gentle. He turned to the woman who was watching from the door. “Do you mind if Selena washes her hands before we go? She’s allergic and I don’t want her to to have a reaction.”

“Sure, this way.” The woman spoke with less enthusiasm than she might have if they were taking a kitten home with them, Miranda was sure. Miranda almost wanted to take one just to make the woman happy, but she had other choices, and she wanted the best kitten for her.

She waited by the truck until Selena and Noah emerged from the house.

“But if I’m good, can I have the kitty?” Selena asked Noah, her voice pitched to a whine.
 

“We already talked about this,” he reminded her. “Being around a cat all the time will make you sick. If you can’t remember that, and are going to give me a bad time, I’ll take you home.”

Selena pressed her lips together, as if she wanted to say something else but didn't dare, and in that moment, she looked so much like Noah that Miranda had to laugh.

“What?” he asked, sharper than she’d heard him speak in a long time.

She lifted her hands in surrender. Clearly he could keep his temper for Selena, but not much more. “Nothing. She looks like you, is all.”

He grunted and unlocked the door so she could climb in. He waited until she was buckled before he closed the door after her, and they drove into town to visit the next litter.

This litter was more varied, and significantly smaller. The little blue-eyed kitten with the dark gray ears intrigued her. She picked up the kitten, whose fur was cotton-soft and it immediately snuggled into her.
 

“Oh, what a sweetie,” she crooned as Selena chose a black and white one to play with. “Is this a boy or a girl?”

Noah picked it from her lap and turned it onto its back to check beneath the tail. “A little girl.”

“Aw, I like her.”

“I’ve had cats all my life,” said the young woman who crouched beside the kitty enclosure. “It’s always better with two.”

Miranda chuckled. “I am very well aware of that sales tactic. I’ve never had one before, so I’m going with one. They’re very small, though. Are you sure they’re ready to leave their mom?”

“Their mom is pretty small, too. I’m working on weaning them, so I’m keeping her separate. Even though they eat solid food, they still want to nurse on her, and it’s kind of making her crazy.” She turned to Noah. “I’m going to need to schedule an appointment to get her fixed soon. I don't want to go through this again. Who would have thought getting rid of kittens would be such a challenge?”
 

He chuckled. “Anyone who’s ever tried. You bet. Let’s wait a couple of weeks, but no longer than that. You don't want her to go into heat again.”

“Tell me,” the woman said with a heartfelt sigh.
 

Noah turned to Miranda. “You want to look at that last litter?”