The Coldwater Warm Hearts Club by Lexi Eddings Read Free Book Online

you.”
    She sighed. “It’s not their fault this box got dropped. In fact, I’ll be relieved if they don’t sue. I had to tip one of the movers an extra ten dollars on account of the scratch.” She tried to fit the pieces of the delicate cup back together. A little of her dad’s superglue might fix it, but it would never be the same. “And I’m not talking about the scratch he made on my coffee table.”
    â€œWhy’d you tip him at all?”
    â€œThrough no fault of my own, I have acquired a cat. She came with the apartment,” Lacy explained, gesturing toward Effie, who leaped up, as if on cue, to perch on the other bar stool next to Daniel. The cat daintily licked one of her front paws. “Meet Effie the Deranged.”
    â€œLooks harmless to me.”
    â€œMaybe now, but trust me, she’s the feline from hell. She took a serious dislike to the movers. I had her shut up in the laundry, but one of the men accidentally opened the door and Effie came flying out. She landed on his face and cut a deep gouge in his cheek. I couldn’t blame him for dropping the box he was holding.”
    After that, the cat had streaked around the apartment defying Lacy’s efforts to catch her. Finally, Effie scrambled up the drapes in the living room and from there, made a prodigious bank shot of a leap to the peninsula and then to the top of the kitchen cabinets. She stayed there for the duration of the move, spitting and yowling when anyone looked her way.
    â€œPoor movers.” Daniel eyed Effie with suspicion. “Guess she was trying to tell them she preferred the place empty.”
    â€œI hope you’ve had all your shots,” Lacy told the cat. Then she turned to Daniel. “I guess I ought to take her to the vet to make certain. But that supposes I can get close enough to put her into a carrier of some sort.”
    Effie laid her ears back and hissed.
    â€œShe won’t let you near her?”
    â€œNo, she allows me to feed and water her. I’m good enough to clean the litter box, but heaven forefend I touch her . Effie is a one-person cat who hasn’t found her person yet.” With a slightly malicious grin, Lacy turned to the animal. “Better start playing nice. If not, once I manage to corral you in a carrier, I may never let you out.”
    Effie produced that staccato meh -ing noise again, as if daring her to try it.
    â€œIgnore her,” Daniel said, shifting away from the animal on his bar stool.
    â€œGood idea,” Lacy agreed. “That’s probably the worst thing you can do to a cat.”
    Obviously offended, Effie lifted her question mark of a tail toward both of them and jumped down from the bar stool. Daniel laughed.
    Lacy’s heart ached a bit to hear it. She’d always loved his laugh, maybe because she heard it so seldom.
    â€œAlways figured you for a dog person.” He shook his head. “But I’m not here just to meet your new pet.”
    For a few seconds their gazes locked and Lacy remembered what it was like to tumble into those green eyes. Then she looked away. She struggled to remember why she’d needed to bolt away from Coldwater as soon as she could.
    You didn’t want an ordinary life. You couldn’t bear to be identified just as someone’s daughter or sister or even as Daniel’s girl. You had to stand out. Had to be somebody. Look where it got you.
    â€œI don’t have anything to offer you.” No joke. Not only was she still bruised from Bradford’s betrayal, she hadn’t been to the store yet. “How about some water?”
    â€œSounds good.”
    She needed to keep her hands busy in case they were trembling a bit, so she rummaged through the box again. “There must be something in here that isn’t broken.”
    Lacy came up with two Boston Bruins mugs that had made the trip intact. She let the tap flow for a few seconds, and then filled