thud as Chubby tried to extract himself from behind the flower pot and ended up knocking the whole thing over. The cat, covered in dirt, p lodded into the kitchen.
She heard a nother series of loud crashes as Chubby knocked his food dish across the kitchen floor. It looked like the feline had his heart set on breakfast again.
Weird. She breathed a sigh of relief. Everything's fine again.
Yet when she placed her hand against the dog's heaving sides, she couldn't help but feel uneasy. She could only pray that this—whatever this was—wouldn't happen again.
****
That afternoon, Nora stood in the tea shop, ringing up an order. She smiled forcefully at the pleasant young woman she was helping, but her mind was elsewhere. As ridiculous as it was, she was still focused on that morning's episode with her animals. She was so out of it that she almost punched in the wrong numbers on the cash register, which was pretty hard to do considering how easy the machine was to work.
"Darn it, it's raining," the young woman groaned. "I didn't bring an umbrella."
"Huh?" Nora was still thinking about Mr. Fleas doing sprints around her table.
"Rain. Outside." The young woman stared at her as if she was unhinged.
"Oh." Nora shook her head to clear it. "Sorry, I was woolgathering. What about the rain?"
"It's coming down hard." The young woman pointed outside.
Sure enough, it was raining cats and dogs. Already the sidewalk was shimmering with water. Nora groaned. The weatherman had said it was supposed to be sunny all day, so she'd walked to work instead of taking her car. She looked down at her t-shirt and jeans. If the weather didn't let up, she was going to be soaked through by the time she got back to her apartment.
"Darn it." She cringed. "The storm came out of nowhere."
" Yeah, I know." The young woman was also wearing a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. "You wouldn't happen to sell umbrellas, would you?"
"I wish we sold umbrellas, but we don't," she said. "I'm going to be walking home in the storm myself."
The young wo man sighed but then froze. Confused, Nora followed her gaze. A man was coming through the door wearing a black leather jacket and a snug pair of jeans.
It was Gideon.
"Kill me now," Nora said. "I'd rather have it rain fireballs than this."
"I see you're as dramatic as always." Gideon head ed toward her, a massive grin on his face.
Naturally his massive grin only made her want to shoot him in the leg.
" You two know each other?" the young woman asked as she eyeballed Gideon. Probably, she was hoping for an introduction—which she wasn't going to get.
Nora and Gideon spoke simultaneously.
"No," she said.
"Yes," Gideon said.
She glared at the guy as he chuckled. The young woman looked wary, which was just as well. Nora didn't want her getting any ideas. After all, Gideon wasn't a standup guy. A woman could do a hundred—no, a thousand —times better than him. Heck, she'd probably find better dating prospects in a high security prison.
"What are you doing here?" She crossed her arms. "I thought I told you to leave me alone."
"And I thought I told you that I have no intention of doing any such thing." He leaned over the desk, his grin widening. "You're going to have to deal with me. Of course, you could just give up now and stop torturing yourself. It's always great to spend rainy days in bed. What do you say?"
" Heck no," she snapped.
"You sure?" He gave a sardonic grin. "My place isn't too far from here."
Her nostrils flared. She wanted to kill him. Already she could imagine her fingers curling around his neck.
"Um, bye." The young woman shot them a nervous look and headed for the door.
Nora groaned and hung her head. Thanks to Gideon, the customer would probably never come back to the store again. She could stand to lose his business—heck, she wanted to lose it—but not anybody else's. Even though she didn't own this tea shop, she took her job seriously.
"Do you have to talk like that?" she
She heard a nother series of loud crashes as Chubby knocked his food dish across the kitchen floor. It looked like the feline had his heart set on breakfast again.
Weird. She breathed a sigh of relief. Everything's fine again.
Yet when she placed her hand against the dog's heaving sides, she couldn't help but feel uneasy. She could only pray that this—whatever this was—wouldn't happen again.
****
That afternoon, Nora stood in the tea shop, ringing up an order. She smiled forcefully at the pleasant young woman she was helping, but her mind was elsewhere. As ridiculous as it was, she was still focused on that morning's episode with her animals. She was so out of it that she almost punched in the wrong numbers on the cash register, which was pretty hard to do considering how easy the machine was to work.
"Darn it, it's raining," the young woman groaned. "I didn't bring an umbrella."
"Huh?" Nora was still thinking about Mr. Fleas doing sprints around her table.
"Rain. Outside." The young woman stared at her as if she was unhinged.
"Oh." Nora shook her head to clear it. "Sorry, I was woolgathering. What about the rain?"
"It's coming down hard." The young woman pointed outside.
Sure enough, it was raining cats and dogs. Already the sidewalk was shimmering with water. Nora groaned. The weatherman had said it was supposed to be sunny all day, so she'd walked to work instead of taking her car. She looked down at her t-shirt and jeans. If the weather didn't let up, she was going to be soaked through by the time she got back to her apartment.
"Darn it." She cringed. "The storm came out of nowhere."
" Yeah, I know." The young woman was also wearing a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. "You wouldn't happen to sell umbrellas, would you?"
"I wish we sold umbrellas, but we don't," she said. "I'm going to be walking home in the storm myself."
The young wo man sighed but then froze. Confused, Nora followed her gaze. A man was coming through the door wearing a black leather jacket and a snug pair of jeans.
It was Gideon.
"Kill me now," Nora said. "I'd rather have it rain fireballs than this."
"I see you're as dramatic as always." Gideon head ed toward her, a massive grin on his face.
Naturally his massive grin only made her want to shoot him in the leg.
" You two know each other?" the young woman asked as she eyeballed Gideon. Probably, she was hoping for an introduction—which she wasn't going to get.
Nora and Gideon spoke simultaneously.
"No," she said.
"Yes," Gideon said.
She glared at the guy as he chuckled. The young woman looked wary, which was just as well. Nora didn't want her getting any ideas. After all, Gideon wasn't a standup guy. A woman could do a hundred—no, a thousand —times better than him. Heck, she'd probably find better dating prospects in a high security prison.
"What are you doing here?" She crossed her arms. "I thought I told you to leave me alone."
"And I thought I told you that I have no intention of doing any such thing." He leaned over the desk, his grin widening. "You're going to have to deal with me. Of course, you could just give up now and stop torturing yourself. It's always great to spend rainy days in bed. What do you say?"
" Heck no," she snapped.
"You sure?" He gave a sardonic grin. "My place isn't too far from here."
Her nostrils flared. She wanted to kill him. Already she could imagine her fingers curling around his neck.
"Um, bye." The young woman shot them a nervous look and headed for the door.
Nora groaned and hung her head. Thanks to Gideon, the customer would probably never come back to the store again. She could stand to lose his business—heck, she wanted to lose it—but not anybody else's. Even though she didn't own this tea shop, she took her job seriously.
"Do you have to talk like that?" she
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