Page 40 of Long Hard Road
Ellison was securing a camera to face the front door, but he was multitasking by making sure that Nate knew he was watching us. I stuck my tongue out at him and turned my attention back to Meadow.
“Why did you bring this sweet girl over here?”
“Because I don’t want her to be alone. She could have the kittens any day now. Since I won’t be leaving your side for the foreseeable future, I thought it only right that I bring her along, too.”
“But I don’t have anything to take care of a pregnant cat.”
“I’ve got a litter box and food in the back of the truck. We’ll put down some old blankets for a bed. Cats are pretty low maintenance.” Nate leaned down and brushed a soft kiss to my lips. “You stay with her and I’ll bring everything in.”
I knew that Nate had an ulterior motive for bringing the pregnant cat to my cabin. He was trying to distract me from the threats. Give me something cute and cuddly to focus on instead of my stalker. It was a sweet gesture and damn if it didn’t make me fall just a little more for the sexy cowboy next door.
“We need kitten things. If she’s going to give birth soon, we need to be prepared,” I said after Meadow had settled into her blanket bed. “Is there any place in Crestwood that sells that kind of stuff?”
“We don’t have a pet store. Plenty of feed stores, though.” Nate thought for a second. “Let’s drive over to Waverly. They’ll have more options for us.”
I didn’t know anything about the nearby towns, but I would’ve gone anywhere with Nate. Even Ellison agreed it was a good idea for me to be out of the cabin while he got everything set up. We stopped at Amelia’s on our way out of town to grab more coffee and then we headed to Waverly.
The town was about three times the size of Crestwood and had a pet supply store, a couple of larger grocery stores, plus a Target. After we grabbed a bunch of toys, collars, treats, scratching posts, and anything else a cat could possibly need, I stocked up on more warm clothing and a legitimate pair of boots and gloves from a shop dedicated solely to leather goods meant to be worn when working outside.
We both loaded up on groceries that couldn’t be bought at the Crestwood Market and the freezing cold weather ensured that nothing would melt or spoil before we got back to the cabin.
“You don’t mind if we make a stop, do you?” Nate asked, turning on his blinker at a stop sign. “There’s someone I want you to meet.”
“Who?”
“My grandma. Maribelle.” He smiled shyly. “She lives in an independent living community here in Waverly and I don’t get up here to see her as much as I’d like.”
“You want to take me to meet your grandma?” Good lord. This man might as well light my panties on fire for how hot I was between my legs.
“She’s always giving me shit for being single. Might move me up the favorite grandchild list if she sees me with you.” He winked at me. “Just to warn you, she’s going to want great-grand-babies.”
Nate’s grandmother was thrilled to see her grandson on her doorstep. She ushered us inside and gave him a big hug even though he was holding bags of groceries he’d bought for her. Yet another piece of information that made me swoon over the man.
“Alright, who is this beautiful young thing?” Maribelle eyed me carefully behind her thick glasses. “Nathaniel, she’s gorgeous! You’ll have beautiful babies together.”
“Gran, don’t scare her away. I’m still trying to convince her to fall in love with me.” He finished placing the grocery bags on the counter.
“I’m Madison. It’s nice to me you, Maribelle.”
“Call me Mary for now.” She had the same playful wink as her grandson. “Soon you’ll be calling me Gran, though.”
“What did I just say?” Nate asked in exasperation.
Mary took my hand, her wrinkled skin soft and warm. “Come, Madison. Nathaniel will put those groceries away while we chat.”
Nate’s visit with his grandma ended up being us visiting while he moved around the small apartment fixing things or doing other chores that Maribelle gave him without moving from her rocking chair.
“You are smitten with my grandson,” she said when she caught me staring at him as he changed a lightbulb in the kitchen.
I blushed and hurried to look away. “He has been a good friend to me.”
“Oh please. Friends don’t look at each other the way you’ve been staring at him. And Nathaniel has never brought a friend to meet me.” She had been working on a knitting project throughout our conversation and I was fascinated by how quickly her hands moved the needles.
“I’ve always wanted to learn how to knit,” I said.
“Oh, I’d be happy to teach you sometime, sweetheart. Maybe next time you visit, I can make us a nice meal and then give you your first lesson.” She smiled hopefully.
“I would love that. Maybe you could even give me a cooking lesson, too. I’m afraid I’m not much of a chef.”