Luck Be a Lady - Cathie Linz [47]
As if reading her mind, Buddy said, “There now, don’t you be worrying about us. We’ll be just fine.” His glare at Megan’s uncle belied his statement.
She looked at Logan, seeking reassurance. Instead she got another eye roll.
“Maybe I should stay ...” she said uncertainly.
To her astonishment, Logan slung an arm around her shoulders and tugged her closer. Since her other arm was still hooked with Gram’s, her grandmother came along with her, bumping into Megan, which forced her even closer to Logan’s body.
Leaning down, he whispered in her ear, “Beat it.” Then he kissed her on the forehead and set her free.
Chapter Ten
“I’m so glad to be home. You have no idea what I’ve been through,” Megan told her black cat, Smudge, who greeted her at the door. Megan dumped her suitcases and sank onto the nearest chair. Smudge immediately jumped onto her lap and commiserated by butting the top of her head against Megan’s chin. “I’m a different person than when I left. I have a mother now. A mother who is alive.”
Funny how she could talk to her cat about it, but not her father. She’d managed to avoid him for the most part in their hurry to make it to the airport in time for their flight. And then she’d bumped into Logan. She was sure he’d have already left.
He’d ended up being seated across the aisle from her. Her dad and uncle watched him like hawks from their seats in the row directly behind. He responded to their surveillance by putting his seat back and sleeping for the duration of the flight. Buddy had gotten stuck in a seat way in the back of the plane.
Her cell phone rang and the ringtone of “Memories” from Catstold her that it was Gram calling. “Hi, Gram.”
“I just wanted to make sure you got home okay.”
“I got home just fine. Smudge was here to greet me. How about you?”
“I think I might have a nap. It was a very busy and eventful weekend.”
“That’s an understatement.”
“Yes, it is. Anyway, check your e-mail because Faith sent us some pictures from New Zealand. She and Caine seem to be having a great time.”
“I’m glad someone is.”
“Me too.”
“I don’t want Faith to know about this situation with my mother,” Megan said. “I’ll tell her myself when she gets back from her honeymoon. Unless she already knows?”
“No, she is as clueless as I was.”
“So only my dad, Uncle Jeff and Aunt Sara were in on the deception?”
“That’s what your dad told me. You can’t avoid talking to him forever, you know.”
“I know. I just need to get my head straight first. Remember, you promised not to say anything about me trying to find my mother.”
“I know.”
Smudge bumped her nose against Megan’s chin and gave her yodeling meow that said, “Feed me.”
“I’ve got to give Smudge her dinner.”
After disconnecting her phone, Megan just sat for a moment, petting her purring cat and enjoying the sensation of being home. She’d decorated her condo to be a comfortable space. It started in the living room with one wall covered in built-in bookcases. Another wall was taken up with floor-to-ceiling windows with a view of Lake Michigan. She’d stuck to a palette of just three colors in her decorating—blue, pink and green. A mix of painted wood and rustic pine furniture combined with a soft, light blue slipcover on her comfy couch gave the room a cozy feel. The framed set of Carl Larsson prints on the wall had been a gift from Gram.
Smudge meowed again, reminding Megan to feed her. “Come on, you.”
Smudge’s purr increased several decibel levels as Megan picked her up and carried her to the kitchen. The white cabinets with their glass fronts in the upper cabinets contrasted nicely with the honed black granite countertops and old-fashioned black hardware. The mahogany-stained oak floors throughout the condo provided a warm base.
After giving Smudge some gourmet cat food as a reward, Megan started unpacking. She started with the Wedgwood teacup she’d found in the storage room in Last Resort. Opening one of her upper kitchen cabinets, she carefully