Christmas on 4th Street (Fool's Gold #12.5)(52)

He glanced around at the empty casserole dishes, the neatly tied trash and the folded sheets. “I would have helped,” he told her.

“You were busy.”

For a second he looked at her. She waited, barely breathing, hoping for something. A smile, a hint that what they’d had so briefly still existed. But then he turned away and the moment was lost.

* * *

Nine cats were not easily corralled. The smallest kittens protested at being put in the box, but couldn’t do much about it. The older kittens wanted to explore and scramble out. The mother cats had no interest in taking a drive. After several false starts, Noelle and Gabriel stood in the center of the cabin no closer to getting the animals loaded than they had been at the start. The difference was he was pissed and she couldn’t stop giggling.

“This isn’t funny,” he told her as he reached for one of the larger kittens again.

The animal went easily into the box, then just as quickly jumped out. Both mother cats were under the bed, yowling their protests at this kind of behavior.

Noelle laughed, then picked up the box. “Stop. Just stop. This isn’t working.” The truck was already loaded with everything else. They just needed to get the cats in order.

“I’ll sit in the backseat,” she said. “I’ll put the box of little kittens next to me. You can pass me the other kittens one by one through the window. Bring the mother cats last. I’ll keep them out of your way while we drive back to town.”

One of the mother cats poked her head out from under the bed, saw the box and promptly retreated. Gabriel rubbed his temple.

“That might work,” he admitted.

She put on her coat and took the box. He grabbed a couple of mobile kittens and started after her. When she was in the backseat, she reached for the kittens and held them on her lap.

Five minutes later all nine cats were in the rear cab of the truck, and Gabriel had gotten behind the wheel. The plow had been through, clearing the road. Noelle put on her seat belt and did her best to reassure the two families.

“This won’t take long,” she told them. “We’ll be home soon.”

Unfortunately, home was a strange place with no feline supplies, but there was no reason for them to know that. He started the engine, and they slowly drove down the freshly plowed road.

The trip back to town took less time than she would have thought. Once they got to the main road, he was able to drive quickly. In Fool’s Gold, the houses were covered with snow, as were the lawns. But the sidewalks were shoveled and the streets clear.

Gabriel pulled into her driveway and helped her inside with the cats. It took a few trips and then the family was safe. The mother cats and older kittens started exploring right away. She walked Gabriel to the front door.

“I’ll go to the pet store,” he told her. “Get what you need for the next few days. Food, litter, some dishes.”

“That would be nice,” she said. “Thank you. I’m going to take a shower, then call around and find someone who can check on them while I’m at work.”

They were strangers exchanging information, she thought sadly. It was as if the past two days had never happened at all.

“Just tell me why,” she said impulsively. “What happened? Why are you different?”

His dark gaze settled on her face. A muscle twitched by his mouth. She waited, hoping he would say something—anything—because that would give them a chance. If they could talk about it, they could fix it. Or at least deal with it.

“Everything is fine,” he told her. “We’re back. We have things to do.”

“All right,” she said quietly, knowing there was no point. Gabriel had to be willing to meet her halfway. Obviously, he wasn’t.

She took her shower and dressed for work. Gabriel returned with the promised supplies, and she set up two litter boxes in the laundry room, then put out dishes of water and dry food. After making sure all the windows were securely closed, she left for work.

The store was exactly as she remembered. Bright and warm, with all things Christmas. Just walking inside lightened her spirits. She didn’t know if she was going to see Gabriel again and tried to tell herself it didn’t matter. When she realized she was lying, she told herself that whether or not she saw him, she would recover. That this was only ever going to be temporary and she had survived much worse.

A little before ten Melissa arrived, her younger sister, Abby, in tow.

“I can’t believe you got snowed in,” Melissa said, hugging her. “That’s so scary. But you’re okay?”

“We were fine. We had electricity most of the time. Hey, Abby.”

The fifteen-year-old smiled at her. “I heard about the kittens. I can go by and check on them, if you’d like.”

“Thanks, but shouldn’t you be in school?”

Abby grinned. “It’s a teacher day. Those are my favorite.”

“They were my favorites, too,” Noelle admitted.

She gave the teen a spare key and they set up a schedule with Abby agreeing to stop by Noelle’s place right after school. They were discussing payment when the phone rang. Melissa answered it.

“That was Gabriel,” she said a couple of minutes later. “He’s not going to be coming in.” She drew in a breath and looked at Noelle. “So, we were wondering if Abby could work here. She’s really responsible.”