Nine Lives (Lily Dale Mystery #1)(34)

“I’m sure she’s fine. Cats know how to take care of themselves, and we left food out for her.”

“I know, but she’s getting ready to have her babies. I can’t wait to see them. I already have eight names picked out.”

“She may not have that many kittens,” Bella reminds him, “and they may not get here before we have to leave for Chicago.”

“There are seven or maybe eight. And they’re coming tomorrow.”

She sighs inwardly. Sometimes, when Max gets an idea into his head, it’s best to let it go and deal with the inevitable disappointment later.

Inching the car toward the tiny gatehouse, she sees that a pretty brunette teenager has replaced the older woman who had been collecting the modest admission fee when they left. Odelia had promised to arrange a season pass for her. “In the meantime, when you’re coming and going, just explain that you’re working at the guesthouse.”

“I don’t need a season pass,” Bella had protested. “Just one I can use for a few days.”

“Oh, I know.” Odelia smiled that mysterious smile as if she knew something Bella didn’t.

Now rolling up to the gate, she leans out the car window and opens her mouth to introduce herself.

“You’re Bella! And you must be Max.” The girl’s broad smile reveals a mouthful of braces.

Bella is again startled to hear her nickname on a stranger’s lips.

The girl goes on, “I’m Roxi. It’s great to meet you guys in person. Everyone thinks it’s great that you’ve stepped up over at Valley View. We’ve been so upset about Leona, and I know her regulars would have been devastated if we’d had to turn them away today. You’re doing a great thing.”

“Yes, well . . . it’s nice to be here.” Bella smiles, feeling slightly guilty that if she didn’t need some quick cash and a place to stay, she’d be halfway to Chicago right now. “Do I need some sort of ticket to get in?”

“We’ll have your season pass ready tomorrow, so for now just drive on through. Oh, and if you ever need a babysitter for Max, just holler. I love kids.”

“What about cats?” Max asks Roxi from the back seat. “Do you like cats, too? And kittens?”

“I do! I love them. How’s Chance the Cat doing? She didn’t have her litter yet, did she?”

“No, that’s tomorrow,” Max tells her, going on to explain that if there are seven kittens, they’ll be named after the days of the week, and if there’s an eighth, its name will be Spider.

“Why Spider?”

“Because Spiders have eight legs,” he says, as though she should have known.

“Oh, of course.” Roxi grins at Max, then at Bella. “He’s adorable. Make sure you call me. I’ve got references if you need them.”

“Thanks, but we’re actually only here for a few days, so—”

“I heard. But you never know, right?”

Bella just waves and drives on, though pretty sure that she does know.

The streets are dappled in blue twilight shadows. The house is quiet, the cat still in hiding and the guests most likely down the street at the open-air auditorium. There’s a speaker tonight, followed by the nightly message service.

Having forestalled the inevitable all day, she reaches for her cell phone and dials her mother-in-law.

“Jordan residence, Millicent speaking.”

She always answers the phone that way regardless of the fact that she lives alone and that she has caller ID and knows very well who’s on the other end of the line.

“Hi . . . it’s Isabella,” she says needlessly, inserting the awkward little pause, as always, instead of her mother-in-law’s name.

When she and Sam were married, Millicent announced that she’d like her new daughter-in-law to call her “Mother.”

Bella couldn’t bring herself to do that. It isn’t just that there’s nothing maternal about the woman, but it would feel wrong, somehow. She already had a mother. Had beautiful, big-hearted Rosemary Angelo lived past Bella’s toddler years, she’d undoubtedly have been “Mommy” or “Mama” rather than “Mother.” But still.

Whenever Bella called Millicent by her first name after she and Sam were married, Millicent admonished her. “It’s improper. All my friends’ daughters-in-law call them Mother. It’s what you do.”

“It’s not what I do,” Bella said privately to Sam. “You don’t mind, do you?”

He shrugged. “No, you can call her whatever you like.”

Maleficent. A few times, Bella almost slipped and said it to her face. Better not to address the woman at all.

“Isabella. I’ve been expecting to hear from you.” Her tone makes it clear that Bella has, yet again, disappointed her. “What time will you be arriving tomorrow?”

“Unfortunately, we won’t be there until early next week. We’re stranded in western New York.”

“What do you mean, ‘stranded’?”

She explains about the car repair and having to wait for the part.

“You should have had it fixed before you left home.”

Her jaw clenches. “I would have if I’d known, but I didn’t.”