Falling for Hope by Natalie Vivien Read Free Book Online Page A

Amy then, and she
scooped the kitten out of the woman’s hands and held her close against her
chest.
    The small ball of fur began to purr
as noisily as a diesel engine in dire need of repair.  
    “I got the marshmallows and some
pop,” began Lindsey from another aisle, coming toward Amy.   Amy turned as Doris beamed, and Lindsey
stopped dead in her tracks.   “I left you
for, like, a minute…” muttered Lindsey, hefting the six-pack of pop onto her
hip as she reached out with her free hand to stroke the top of the tiny
kitten’s head.   The purring intensified.  
    “Do you sell kitty litter or kitten
food?” Amy asked Doris, without much hope.   But the woman nodded and wandered away down another aisle.
    “I thought you didn’t like cats,”
said Lindsey, one brow raised as Amy shrugged, continuing to pet the kitten,
nuzzling the small animal with her chin.
    “We find the ones we need, and who
need us,” she said cryptically.   Lindsey
raised a brow and grinned.
    Doris did, indeed, have one bag of
kitty litter in stock, and it had probably been manufactured in the eighties,
at the latest.   The bag of kitten food
was less ancient, not even dusty, as were—hopefully—the bag of marshmallows and
the pop.   Lindsey paid for everything,
despite Amy’s protests, and carried it all out to the truck as Amy held tightly
onto the kitten and followed her.
    If the mountain had looked ominous
before, it was looking downright deadly now as both women stared up at it.   The gathering thunderclouds rumbled.
    “Best get back as soon as you can!”
called Doris from the porch, holding onto her bandana as the wind began to pick
up.   “They’re predicting some of the strongest
storms we’ve seen in years, heading on through the week!”
    Amy, holding the kitten with one
hand, glanced at her watch.   It was
10:30.   They’d been away from the cabin
for longer than she’d thought.  
    “Do you know when the storms are
supposed to hit again?” she called to Doris, who nodded her head, pointing up
toward the mountain.
    “By noon!” she called out.  
    “Hope will come back sooner, I’m
sure.   She’ll have seen those
storms.   She’s not stupid, you know,”
said Lindsey, as they began to drive back up the road toward the cabin.   Amy stroked the tiny kitten, who sat calm
and alert upon Amy’s lap, watching the tree branches that whipped past the
window.
    “I just have a bad feeling,” Amy
explained, staring down at her hands on the kitten’s back.  
    “Don’t worry.”   Lindsey reached out and patted Amy’s leg
with a grin.   “So, what’ll you name
her?” she asked, nodding toward the kitten.   It was an abrupt and obvious attempt to change the subject, but Amy
sighed, grateful for the distraction.
    “Goodness, I don’t know.   I’m terrible at naming things.   My last dog came with his name from the
shelter, and the one before that, my parents named.   I had a stuffed animal when I was a kid, a stuffed dog.   I named him Stuffie.”   She chuckled and shook her head.   “So I’ll probably just name her Kitty.”
    “That’s a good name,” said Lindsey
in a tone that clearly indicated that Kitty was, in fact, one of the worst
names she had ever heard.   “Well…   Why don’t you ask Hope for some ideas?”
    Amy bit her lip, considering the
implications.   “Um.   Are you saying she would be… our cat?”
    “Not exactly,” said Lindsey, though she was grinning
as she stared out of the windshield.   “I’ve just seen how Hope looks at you, and this thing’s heading toward
Seriousville pretty darn fast.”
    Amy rubbed her knuckles gently over
the kitten’s head and felt the butterflies in her stomach flutter.   She hadn’t lived with anyone since…   Well, she didn’t want to think about her ex.   Amy was set in her routines now, after
living alone for so long, and normally the thought of sharing her space with
anyone (or moving into anyone else’s