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Boom!
The explosion rang in Katherine Harper’s ears and sent her two cats running for safety. Matty and Tom almost collided with each other in their frantic race out of the living room, a scene that might have been comical under different circumstances. But right now Kat was at her wits’ end. She would run too if she thought there was any way to escape.
Boom!
And there it was again.
Kat shook her fist at the window from her seat on the sofa. “Enough already!”
Andrew Milhone draped his arm around her shoulders, a wide grin splitting his face and bringing out his adorable twin dimples. “Someone’s in a festive mood.”
“I’ll be festive on Monday, when it’s actually the Fourth of July. But that’s still three days away. I don’t know if I can take this all weekend.”
“It is kind of annoying,” Andrew agreed. “But after this it’ll be quiet for another six months until New Year’s.”
“New Year’s isn’t nearly this bad.” Granted, her opinion was based solely upon the most recent New Year’s. Although she had grown up in Cherry Hills, she couldn’t remember what the local celebrations had been like seventeen years ago when she’d last spent a summer here. The next year had brought with it her high school graduation, legal freedom from the foster care system, and her solemn vow never to return to the small, Central Washington town.
Except she had returned. She still remembered that day last July when she’d first run into Andrew after not seeing him for fifteen years. Their reunion had taken place under less than fortunate circumstances, but discovering that her old friend and fellow foster care survivor still lived in town had been a welcome surprise. What had been an even more welcome surprise were the romantic sparks that soon developed between them. By August they were dating, and thanks to Andrew the past eleven months had been some of the happiest ones in her life.
Or maybe she had Matty and Tom to thank for her recent happiness. The two cats had entered her life around the same time as Andrew. How two tiny creatures could bring her so much joy still astonished her. Her heart felt close to bursting every time she thought of them.
But right now the only thing on the verge of bursting was Kat’s temper.
Another bang rang out, this one loud enough to rattle her teeth. She nudged Andrew with her elbow. “You’re a cop. Can’t you flash that badge of yours around and get them to stop?”
“Sorry. Cherry Hills doesn’t have any ordinances against setting off fireworks on private property.”
“It’s still a noise violation, isn’t it?”
He drummed his fingers against his thigh. “Tell you what. We’ll give them five more minutes. If this continues any longer than that I’ll go talk to them, neighbor to neighbor.”
Kat bobbed her head. “And if they don’t listen, you can shake your handcuffs and threaten to take them down to the station.”
Andrew chuckled. “You sure are worked up tonight.”
“You saw Matty and Tom. They’re scared to death. And there’s no telling how many other terrified animals are suffering out there all because a few inconsiderate people want to have fun with pyrotechnics.”
Kat pictured Matty and Tom cowering in the shadows of her bedroom. She wished she could explain to them what was going on. The poor things probably thought Cherry Hills was under siege from enemy forces.
She jumped off the couch. “I should go check on the cats.”
Before Andrew could reply, she raced down the short hallway to her bedroom. She flicked on the light and looked around, spying Matty’s gray-striped tail poking out from underneath the bed. It twitched in short, decisive bursts of motion, a sure sign the tortoiseshell was agitated.
Kat lowered herself to the floor. Lying down, she had a clear view of the yellow-and-brown feline huddled near one of the bed frame’s support posts, her green eyes the size of coconuts. Kat reached out to stroke her head.
“It’ll be all right, baby. By this time next week all will be quiet again.” At least, she certainly hoped that was the case. If this went on for a full week she would have to seriously consider moving.
A soft meow drew Kat’s attention to her left. She hadn’t noticed him at first, but Tom had also taken refuge under the bed. He was nearly invisible behind the colony of lost cat toys that had slowly been accumulating in the corner for the past eleven months.
“Hey, Tommy.” Kat stretched her hand toward him. “Come on over here.”
Tom stared impassively back at her. The brown-and-black cat usually relished any opportunity for physical contact, but right now he didn’t look inclined to move even for the promise of a belly rub.
“I don’t blame you for not budging.” Since Matty was the only animal within reach, Kat started petting her again. “If it were up to me, I’d ban fireworks here.”
Matty twisted her head around and bit Kat’s fingers. Evidently she didn’t think their human was doing enough to preserve the peace in their hometown.
“All right, I get the message.” Kat withdrew her hand with a sigh. “I’ll leave you two alone for now.”
She stood up, knowing there was nothing she could do to put them at ease. Still, her heart was heavy as she trudged back to the living room to rejoin Andrew.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“As well as it can be. They’re both hiding under the bed.” Kat stood near the edge of the living room, considering. “Think I should slip some food and water under there for them? They might get hungry before things quiet down.”
Andrew smirked. “I think you spoil those two enough. But you can do whatever you want.”
“I just feel so bad for them. They must think we’re in a war zone. Whoever came up with the idea of—”
Another blast sounded, cutting off Kat’s words.
Exasperation bubbled up her chest, and the last of her patience snapped. “That’s it!” Her hands balled into fists. “If you don’t go talk to those people now, I’m going to hunt them down myself. And I probably won’t be nearly as nice as you would be.”
Andrew didn’t appear to hear her. His body had gone rigid, and his jaw was clenched so tightly Kat could see the cords of his facial muscles bunching underneath his skin. Registering the change in his demeanor, her irritation morphed into concern.
“What is it?” she asked.
He raked his fingers through his hair as he stood up and walked over to the window. “Did you hear that?”
“Yeah. I’ve been listening to this ever since the sun went down at nine. What do you think I’ve been complaining about for the past hour? It’s times like this I wish I knew the mayor or someone in politics. I can’t be the only person in Cherry Hills who wants to outlaw fireworks.”
“That was no firework.” Andrew spun on his heel and strode toward the door. “That was a gunshot.”
