Colton Christmas Protector (The Coltons of Texas #12)(58)

Both Aaron and his wife were up to nighttime shenanigans? Both of them were sneaking off and making mystery trips away from the ranch? Clearly they were in cahoots, and covering for each other when either of them needed an alibi with the family. “At least he’s not cheating on her,” he groused, then gave a wry chuckle.

“What?” Pen whispered, her voice heavy with sleep. She sat up, adjusting her seat so she could look around. “Where are we? Who’s cheating?”

Moira closed the car door, and Aaron drove away from the curb. Checking for cross traffic from the side street, Reid continued his pursuit.

“No one is cheating. At least not on their spouse, but...” He aimed his finger toward the Mercedes. “I followed Aaron into downtown Dallas. He picked up his wife at this place,” Reid motioned toward the building as he slowly drove past. “You recognize it?”

She blinked tiredly at the front door and cocked her head to the side to look up at the facade. “Don’t know it. I don’t see any signs saying what the building is or any businesses inside. What street are we on?” He told her their location, and she rubbed the sleep from her eyes with the pads of her fingers. “Can’t say I’ve ever even been in this part of town before. What do you think she was doing?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.” Reid angled his head to study the front entrances of the stores and edifices as they cruised down the nearly empty city street. Many of the buildings were shuttered, signs declaring them for lease or condemned. He spotted a barbershop, a liquor store and a greasy-spoon diner. “Something seriously fishy is going on. Aaron and Moira would never—”

Penelope gasped and cried, “Reid, stop!”

Startled by her shout, he slammed on the brakes, and before he could stop her, she’d unfastened her seat belt and was shouldering open the passenger door. “There was a kitten in the road. I don’t think you hit it, but...”

“What? Wait, Pen...” He grabbed for her arm to stop her, but she was out of the car in a flash. He called to her, “Are you sure it wasn’t a rat?”

As he shifted into Park, he checked his rearview mirror and saw nothing in the street. His sudden stop had wakened Nicholas, and the little boy rubbed his eyes and whimpered.

Could he leave Nicholas in the car alone long enough to fetch Pen? He didn’t dare. Not at night in this questionable part of town. But he didn’t want Pen out on the street unguarded, either. He opened his door and leaned out. “Pen, come on! What are you doing? Get back in the car.”

He peered through the darkness down the street in time to see Aaron’s Mercedes make the turn onto a side road a few blocks ahead. If Penelope didn’t get back in the car pronto, he would lose the butler and his wife. “Pen, now!”

*

Penelope crept around the Range Rover, peering under the vehicle and calling quietly, “Kitty? Here, kitty.”

She could hear Reid yelling for her to return to the car, but until she knew the kitten was safe, she couldn’t in good conscience walk away. Her love of animals and soft spot for homeless animals was one of the things she’d shared with her mother. One of the things she always knocked heads with her father over. Before her mother died, Pen and her mom had kept a continuous stream of rescued dogs, cats and even a rabbit and ferret over the years.

“Jeez, Pen. At least answer me!” Reid shouted, his voice rife with frustration and...worry?

“I hear you, but it’s going to be below freezing tonight.” Not finding the kitten under the car, she moved across the street toward the opposite sidewalk. “The poor thing could die. Not to mention the fact it’s running into traffic and could get hit.”

“What traffic? Besides Aaron, we’re the only car out here!” Reid had climbed from his Range Rover and stood in the V of the open front door.

A dilapidated truck rolled past at that moment as if to prove Reid wrong, chugging clouds of exhaust behind it. Reid waved away the fumes with his hand and coughed. “Pen!”

“Stay with Nicholas. I’ll just be a minute.” She lifted a crushed cardboard box that leaned against a brick wall and heard a scurrying sound. “Kitty?”

“And what do you plan to do with a kitten?” Reid called.

She waved him off and crouched to look deeper into the pile of trash, praying she didn’t encounter one of the sewer rats Reid had mentioned. What would she do with the kitten? She didn’t know, beyond taking it back to the lake house tonight and giving it the TLC it deserved.

“Kitty, where are you?”

A tiny mewl answered her, and she zeroed in on the kitten’s location. When she moved another crumpled box, a white and orange kitten scrambled out. “I won’t hurt you, honey. Calm down.”

As she neared the frightened kitten, it tried to bolt away again, and she made a grab for it, just catching its tail. Not ideal. She didn’t want to hurt the poor thing, but it stopped the cat from getting away. With her free hand she scooped the kitten under the belly and lifted the squirming, terrified feline to her chest. She held its back feet together to keep it from clawing her as she nestled it against her. She hurried back to the Range Rover crooning, “Easy, baby. I won’t hurt you. You’re okay.”

She hurried back to the Range Rover, and when Reid saw her coming, he climbed out of the car and ran around to open the passenger door for her.