Chez Stinky (24 page)

Joel grinned. “Thank you. You’re not so bad yourself.”

Kat remained wrapped in his arms, but as the beating of her heart slowed down, her brain started to function again. “Would you be willing to help me fix up this place? I can pay you. I have an inheritance, if I can figure out how to get it. But there’s some money. You are unemployed, and I really need someone to get the house fixed up before winter comes and the roof caves in. It’s what they call a win-win in corporate America.”

Joel made a cringing face. “You aren’t tempting me with the marketing-speak. But I’ll think about it. I did enjoy fixing up my cabin. It was satisfying to build something tangible again instead of programming circuit boards.”

The phone rang and Kat disentangled herself from Joel and ran to answer it. “Maybe that’s a contractor and you’re off the hook!”

Joel packed his tools in his toolbox and then followed her into the kitchen. Linus was lying in the middle of the floor doing his imitation of a bear rug. Joel crouched down to pet him.

Kat said, “Okay, thanks for calling. I’ll see you later tonight.”

Joel stood up and looked at Kat. “I should go. It sounds like you have plans.”

“I’m meeting Larry at the Italian restaurant later. He really likes that place.”

“I’ve been there.”

“So will you help me fix my house?” Kat smiled slightly and raised her eyebrows. “It could be fun.”

Joel shook his head. “I’m not sure. Maybe we can talk after this weekend. And Larry might have ideas, too.”

Kat shrugged. “I don’t think so. He’s the one who suggested Bud. Bad suggestion.” She reached out and touched his arm. “If I have to spend a lot of time fixing up Chez Stinky with someone, I’d rather it be you.”

“What does Larry think about that?”

Kat’s smile faded. Why was Joel suddenly backing off and acting weird? She raised her eyebrows. “Larry? No. A hundred times no. He’s the lawyer in charge of my aunt’s estate. We’re talking about the will tonight. He can’t talk at his office because he’s in court all day today.”

The tense expression Joel had on his face relaxed. “I see.”

Kat was mildly annoyed that he’d be jealous of Larry, given his upcoming house guest. “By the way, I met Cindy at the library and she told me who your visitor is this weekend. It seems that there are few secrets in Alpine Grove. Your girlfriend might not appreciate you spending time here either.” Kat smiled overly sweetly. “Not to mention what just happened in my bathroom.”

Joel flashed a grin. “Yeah, that was nice.”

Kat leaned back on the front door and looked up at him. “Yes, it was. Kindly remember that while you’re entertaining your house guest this weekend.”

He moved to nudge her away from the door, picking up his toolbox with one hand and wrapping his other arm around her waist. As he bent down to kiss her again, he murmured, “I think I need one more reminder.”

After Joel left, Kat walked the dogs and took a shower to ensure that any cobwebs, spiders, or spider parts were no longer lurking anywhere on her person. It also gave her an opportunity to try out the new shower thingie. As she turned on the water and it came on without incident, she smiled at the memory of the impromptu post-repair lip lock. Who would have thought a tiny bathroom could be so romantic?

She spent some time selecting an outfit and working on her hair in an effort to look more like a girl again. Even though meeting Larry wasn’t really a date, it felt good to put on nice clothes and go out to a restaurant.

At the restaurant, Larry was standing next to the hostess station talking to Traci, the tall blonde woman who had been there last time. Maybe Larry hit on every available female in Alpine Grove. Or maybe Traci was related to him somehow. It was a small town, after all. Kat knew hardly anyone and yet she had managed to run into those few people she knew whenever she left the house.

Larry looked up from his conversation and waved at her. “Hi, Kat. I’ve got a table over here.”

Kat followed Larry as he led her back to a dark corner with a small two-person table with a votive candle flickering in a carved glass holder. Maybe it was just the nature of the restaurant, but the setting looked suspiciously cozy.

Larry pulled out her chair for her and as she sat down, he leaned down with his face next to her ear. Startled by the feel of his breath on her neck, Kat jumped in her chair. “What was that?” Kat whirled around in her chair and faced Larry. She rubbed her neck. “I’ve had a lot of spider issues today. That was you, right?”

Larry backed up looking bemused, and walked to his side of the table. “Yes, I’m sorry I alarmed you. I was just going to ask if you wanted to see a menu.”

Kat relaxed a bit and settled back into her chair. “Yes, thank you. That would be nice. I’m sorry. It’s been a complicated day.”

“It seems like you have a lot of those, if you’ll pardon my saying so. Is everything okay?”

Kat held up her hand, ticking the day’s events off on her fingers. “First, I hit my head and it still hurts. I may have a giant spider colony living in one of the downstairs closets. The roof leaks and may fall in. I also quit my job, so I’m unemployed. And finally, I’m concerned Louise hates me, so I’m not sure I’ll be able to qualify for the inheritance, according to her specifications. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about today.”

Larry looked thoughtful for a moment, apparently digesting the litany of issues. “I see. Well, I brought you a copy of the will as you requested. Perhaps we could have dinner first.”

Kat smiled. “Yes, that would be nice.”

As Larry droned on about the merits of Italian food again, Kat’s mind began to wander. What exactly was Joel going to be doing this weekend with Allison? They’d be shacking up in his shack, no doubt. She’d never even
seen
the shack. But she definitely wanted to. She frowned at the idea of Allison seeing the shack before she did.

Larry interrupted her reverie. “It’s okay, you don’t have to have the vegetarian lasagna if you don’t want it, but it is the special today.”

Kat nodded her head. “Yes, the lasagna would be fine. Thanks.”

Larry ordered for them and after the food was served Kat decided to preempt another discussion about the merits of Italian food. “Larry, you’ve read Abigail’s will and talked to her for years, so you must know what her wishes were. Can you give me a few more details about what I need to do? I wish I could have talked to Abigail before she died. I can’t figure out why I inherited anything. Why me? Obviously, I appreciate it, but I don’t get it.”

“Yes, I know you must miss her. I’m sorry. I miss her too.” Larry stopped eating and pointed his fork at Kat. “I know she had a special place in her heart for you. But also for her animals. So she added a special codicil to her will that Louise is the one to decide whether or not you are fit to take care of the animals. As I mentioned, Abigail’s estate includes quite a large sum of money, which could be used to repair the house. But as I told you before, you have to live there permanently and demonstrate that you are an adequate caretaker for Abigail’s pets.”

“Define adequate. What does that mean? I think that’s my main question.”

“Unfortunately, that’s the difficult part. Louise needs to decide. She then will confer with me on any legal issues for confirmation before the funds may be released. For example, if you were arrested, that would invalidate your inheritance.”

Kat raised her eyebrows. “I tend to be fairly law-abiding. Let’s face it; I don’t get out much.”

Larry looked stern, clearly not understanding that she had been trying to make a feeble joke. “Well, I certainly hope that’s the case. As I’m sure I mentioned to you earlier, as an incentive, Abigail specified that if you don’t live in the house or take adequate care of her pets, the money should be given to charity. She provided a list.”

Kat straightened in her chair in an effort to look like a responsible citizen. “I’m not sure if you know, but I have decided to live in the house and make a commitment to the animals. I think I have made progress with them. At this point, it sounds like I need to talk to Louise. The last time I saw her, she wasn’t particularly happy with me.”

“Yes. I heard about that. I suggest you clarify matters with her. Louise has some issues with your family.”

“Issues? What issues?”

“I’m not at liberty to say.”

Kat’s expression grew more serious. Now she was even more confused. “It sounds like I can’t access the inheritance money to fix the roof, can I?”

Larry nodded. “That’s correct. The money is inaccessible to you until you prove that you are fulfilling Abigail’s wishes to Louise’s satisfaction. If you’ll excuse me for a moment, I’m going to ask Traci for the dessert menu.”

Kat nodded and watched as he went over to the hostess station again. He certainly looked more relaxed talking to her than when he was speaking legalese. She looked down at her hands sitting in her lap. All the cleaning had been hard on her hands. They looked chapped and most of her fingernails were torn and rough-looking. Having no money to fix the roof was going to be a problem, no matter who worked on it. She’d told Joel there was money, but at this point, there wasn’t. Maybe he would take a credit card. Probably not.

She placed her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her folded hands, as she contemplated her repair options. Feeling something on her neck, she jolted upright and whipped around in her chair. She found Larry bent over, attempting to kiss her neck and mumbling something unintelligible in her ear. Taking a deep breath, she caught herself before she slapped him and made a scene. Narrowing her eyes, she glared at him and whispered through gritted teeth, “
Please
don’t do that Larry.”

He looked surprised at her fierce look and pulled his head back away from hers. “I was just saying that I hope we might go somewhere more private after dinner.”

“What? I didn’t hear what you said. No. Definitely not. You are the lawyer in charge of my aunt’s estate. I’d prefer to keep our relationship on a professional level.”

Larry seemed taken aback by her vehemence. “I see. I felt we had a connection. It seemed quite powerful.”

Had he been in the same room she had? Or the same planet? To say they had zero chemistry would be an understatement, at least from her perspective. “I don’t think so. I’m sorry if you got the wrong idea.”

Larry sat down and crossed his arms. “I think you’ve made things quite clear now.”

“I hope you’re not angry. You’re a nice person, but I have too much going on right now. I just finished telling you that I have no job and my house is falling apart. My life is a mess. But I hope we can remain friends, since we’ll be talking to each other about the estate.”

With a stony expression on his face, Larry picked up the dessert menu stiffly. “I think we should order dessert.”

Kat sighed and picked up her menu. Administering chocolate was probably a good idea at this point. Thank goodness she had driven her own car to the restaurant, thus averting a long uncomfortable drive back out to Chez Stinky with an angry lawyer.

Chapter 8

K
at spent the next few days attempting to clear out the downstairs bedrooms. Tiring herself out doing menial labor was a good way to avoid thinking about what might be going on over at Joel’s place over the weekend. She didn’t know what Allison looked like, but in her mind, the woman dressed like a Playboy Bunny and was completely irresistible to all men, particularly Joel.

In the process of hauling and unpacking boxes, she found more photographs and old news clippings. She alternated between bursts of cleaning and pausing to rest and pore over the old photos. She amused herself by inventing stories about the people she didn’t know, which was just about everyone, except Louise and Abigail.

On Sunday afternoon, after hauling four big garbage bags full of old clothes out to her Toyota to be taken to Goodwill, Kat was lying on her back spread-eagled on the bed, resting. Tripod appeared and sat down next to her, then settled into feline meatloaf position. She reached out to stroke the fur on his silvery head. “Hi there. Thanks for making an appearance. Be glad you missed out on meeting Lady. Dolly Mae wasn’t too impressed.”