interest was the cat in front of her, and maybe the girls, she asked, “Did she give you any trouble when you handled her?”
Daniel shook his head. “She was compliant, even purred a little when Penny petted her.”
“Did you give her anything to eat?”
“I had roasted chicken in my office refrigerator. I cut off a piece and chopped it up. She gobbled it down.”
“Really fast,” Pippa added.
Paris said quietly, “She rubbed against my legs, too, over and over again, like she wanted to be friends.”
The cat was looking at Emma as if asking what was going to happen next. Emma wished she knew and hoped for the best.
* * *
Daniel felt shaken after Emma Alvarez walked away. He hadn’t been attracted to a woman since Lydia had left. What was this?
Obviously, Emma was compassionate, not only with animals, but also with children. Before Lydia left, he hadn’t even seen that compassion in his ex-wife toward her own offspring, much less strangers.
Don’t compare anything. Don’t be interested in anyone, he charged himself. He finally felt as if he was whole again and that had taken two long years.
The other stray thought he’d had about Emma Alvarez was that she’d make a wonderful nanny. He’d interviewed two women last week and neither of them had given him the impression they’d be this good with his girls.
Too picky...or too cautious? Both were true on many fronts. But Emma gave him a feeling he just couldn’t ignore, especially as he watched his daughters respond to her. Yeah, he was definitely going with his gut on this.
He watched Emma speak with a volunteer, who was caring for the cats behind the plexiglass window. That woman asked Pippa, Penny and Paris if they wanted to come in and pet a few. They did. He watched them curiously as he waited for Emma. Paris obviously had a caring streak, too. He hadn’t seen that side of her since Lydia had left.
Emma returned from the office down the hall with papers that were attached to a clipboard in hand. She said, “Why don’t we sit in the lobby while you fill these out. If you have any questions, I’ll be here to answer them.”
Daniel gently rapped on the window and Paris looked his way. He pointed to the clipboard and to the lobby, and she gave him a thumbs-up sign to indicate that she understood.
As they walked toward the lobby, Emma said to Daniel, “The feline you brought in was not microchipped. She will have to have an FIV and a feline leukemia test. I didn’t want to say anything around your girls.”
“What do you mean? What if one of the tests is positive?”
Emma gave him a sad look and he knew what that meant.
“Why?” he asked, surprised that he cared.
“There’s research being done to determine if an FIV-positive cat can be included in a multi-cat family, but for now FIV and feline leukemia are both considered highly contagious.” She gently touched his arm.
He couldn’t believe the heat that simple touch generated. When he glanced at her, he saw an almost surprised look on her face. Was she affected, too?
They’d reached the lobby and Emma cleared her throat and motioned to two chairs. After they sat, she handed him the clipboard and pen. They were sitting side by side, his knee practically touching hers. He didn’t move it away because that would be too obvious. Obvious that he was attracted? Or obvious that he wanted to remove himself?
He rested the clipboard on his thigh. The realization brought on by Emma’s words struck hard. “If you can’t save that cat and her kittens, my daughters are going to be heartbroken.”
“I do understand,” Emma empathized. “And you shouldn’t lose hope—the tests might come back negative. As soon as the vet tech is free, she’ll draw blood. The test will take about twenty minutes. I suggest you take your daughters home and I’ll call you later with the results.”
He made a quick decision. “Let me give you my cell number, then you can reach me no matter where I am. Do you have your phone on you?”
She did. She plucked her phone from her belt and tapped Daniel’s cell number into her contacts.
Thinking he should be filling out the forms, not watching Emma tap in his contact information, he felt startled when she raised her gaze to his and didn’t quickly turn away.
He did look away. The forms had become more important than Emma Alvarez.
* * *
Daniel sat in his study that evening listening to his girls play a video game in the family room across the hall. The floor plan of this house was one of the reasons he and his ex-wife had bought it after Penny was born. The house had been on the market for over a year without a buyer. The owners, a couple whose family had grown and left, had wanted to move closer to their children. He’d gotten a great deal, and he knew that. Lydia had been over-the-moon pleased.
Pippa’s laughter rang out from the family room. He glanced around his man cave at the bookshelves, at the massive desk, at the computer-and-printer setup. Neither his house nor his law degree would mean anything to him without his daughters.
He returned to looking for summer-camp selections for his girls at the community college. He hoped it wasn’t too late to enroll. As he began reading the selections, his cell phone buzzed. Picking it up, he saw on the screen that the caller was E. Alvarez. His heart began beating just a little faster.
“Mr. Sutton?” she asked.
“Call me Daniel,” he suggested. That wasn’t too informal, right? He always told his clients that, didn’t he?
Emma hesitated and then said, “All right, Daniel. The calico tested negative, and we’re taking care of her. I named her Fiesta because of all of her colors. She needs good nutrition for her babies.”
“I’m so glad she has a place where she’ll be safe,” Daniel responded.
“She’ll be safe for a time. Momma cats with babies aren’t very adoptable. The kittens will be, though, once they’re born.”
“I don’t think I’m going to tell Pippa, Penny and Paris that.”
“We can’t give Fiesta a whole lot of attention at the shelter because of all of our animals. I’ll do my best to keep an eye on her. It really would be better if she could go home with you and your girls, though.”
“No.” The word popped out of Daniel’s mouth before he even thought about the idea.
“Can I ask why?” she inquired gently.
After a moment, he told her the truth. “I’m a divorced single dad with three girls who are active, smart and sometimes needy. I really can’t see adding a pet to that mix.”
She paused, then said quietly, “I see. If you can’t adopt Fiesta, why don’t you bring your daughters back to the shelter for a visit. I’m sure they’d enjoy it and so would she.
