She had barely fallen asleep, his arm curled around her possessively in a way that she found disturbingly comforting, when she was startled awake by the loud ringing of a telephone. Before she was fully conscious, James was reaching for his cell. "Sheriff Chance," he said, sitting up, throwing the duvet off his legs and climbing out of the bed in one efficient motion.
He listened for a moment and then sat back down on the bed, his spine curving away from her in irritation or defeat or perhaps a combination of both. "Loreen,” he said, sounding exasperated. “It's almost midnight. What do you want?" He did not sound like a man ready to rush out to save the town. He sounded like a man with woman trouble.
He rubbed his eyes. "Yes, I know you have a kitten. If it's stuck on top of the fridge or up a tree or something it will have to wait for morning."
She could hear the tone on the other end of the phone more than words and they sounded hysterical.
And then he jumped to his feet once more. "What? Oh, damn it. You have got to be kidding me. Okay, okay, calm down. I'll be there as fast as I can. Just stay still and don't make any sudden movements.”
More hysterical babbling.
“I know exactly how big that snake is. Whatever you do, don't get between it and the kitten. I’m on my way.”
"What's going on?" She did not like that the conversation had included the words kitten and snake. She’d held the tiny ball of black and white fur and made it purr just by running a finger over its back.
He was already in his pants and reaching for his shirt. "Alice has escaped again. And she's got Loreen's kitten lined up as her next meal."
She jumped to her feet as well. "Oh, no."
"What are you doing?"
“I’m coming with you. Remember, I have snake wrangling experience. And it might take two of us to stop Alice from eating that kitten." She scrambled into her clothes.
As they strode out the door and into his truck, he made another call. "Lauren? I need you. Remember the picture I sent you of that snake? Yeah, the carpet python. It’s escaped again.” Briefly, he filled her in. “The owner said it only eats mice and small rodents. But she’s at Loreen’s place with that kitten you gave her. Will the snake try to eat the kitten?”
He sighed. "I was afraid of that. Thanks. I agree. We’re on our way, but can you meet us at Loreen’s?"
Then he handed Kim his cell. “Call Enid Parkinson and tell her to get her ass to Loreen’s.”
There was no traffic on the road, so he drove at top speed. When they arrived at one of the nicer houses in the newer part of town he ran to the door, Kim racing to keep up. The door opened before he got there. Loreen was fully dressed and fully made up. She wore tight jeans and a black, cashmere sweater with a low, scooped neck.
"Thank God you’re here. I don’t know what to do. Poor Snuffy is absolutely terrified." She slapped a perfectly-manicured hand to her chest. “And so am I.”
James nodded. "Where is Snuffy at the moment?"
He didn’t blink at the stupid name, but treated the matter of a terrified kitten seriously. She thought that was a nice quality in a small-town sheriff.
"She climbed up the bedroom room curtains. But she’s so little I’m scared she’ll fall. That horrible snake is trying to get her."
"Right."
He strode to the bedroom and Kimberly tried not to wonder how he knew exactly where it was. There had to be a bunch of perfectly good reasons for that. None of which included Loreen and James in any kind of intimate situations similar to, say, the one that she and James had just been in.
She followed him into Loreen’s bedroom.
The tiny, clearly-terrified kitten had managed to scramble from the curtain onto a tall bureau where it stood with its paws straight out and its back arched, its fur on end, looking as though it had been electrocuted. It was hissing, but feebly because it was only a baby.
The snake had managed to climb up onto the bed. Its cold gaze was fixed on its prey, and its tongue flicked in and out as though it were licking its lips. James moved so fast she never saw it coming. He reached out and grabbed the snake, picking it up and holding it away from his body. If a snake could make facial expressions, this one looked pretty mad.
She ran forward and scooped up the kitten which, too agitated to realize she was friend and not foe, hissed some more and scratched at her hands. “Shh, it’s okay.” She passed the kitten to Loreen.
“Oh, my poor, poor, baby,” Loreen cooed. Snuffy made a small mewing sound and snuggled into her sweater.
Loreen stared at them with big, scared eyes. "Now what do we do?"
"Kim, there’s a burlap sack in the back of my truck. Can you get it?"
“Sure.”
“But what if it bites you, James? Is it poisonous?” Loreen wanted to know.
“No. It’s only dangerous to small rodents.”
"That’s a relief. I almost had a heart attack I was so scared."
Kim was almost at the front door when someone knocked. She opened the door and Lauren came in carrying a burlap sack and a cage.
Lauren took in the situation at a glance. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw Kim, and softened in relief when she spied the kitten. And then she said, "Where’s Alice?”
“In Loreen’s bedroom, with James.”
“Oh, my God. What kind of lunatic keeps a kitten-murdering snake as a pet? And calls it Alice?”
James came out, holding Alice. “Nice work, bro,” Lauren said. She took the snake from him, and he held the portable cage while she eased Alice into it.
Snuffy seemed to have recovered somewhat from its fright and was purring against the cashmere sweater.
A more timid knock fell on the door and this time it was Alice's owner. The woman looked sheepish and a little frightened. "Oh, Sheriff Chance. I'm so sorry. I don’t know why Alice is being so troublesome."
Loreen turned to the older woman and snapped. "I want that snake destroyed. It terrorized me, and invaded my property and almost killed my baby."
Kim felt that Loreen really wanted someone to lash out at, since she’d had such a scare. It seemed James did too. He said, "Miss Parkinson, I am going to have to give you a ticket. And we need to get Alice secured properly so she doesn’t terrorize the people of Hidden Falls any more."
Enid nodded her head humbly. "I'll do anything you ask, please don’t take away my baby." A tear rolled down her wrinkled cheek as she went closer and peered at Alice inside the cage. “Please don’t hurt her.”
James said, “My sister Lauren’s a veterinarian."
“Is Alice all right?” Enid asked.
“Is the snake fine? What about me? It was on my bed!”
“I’ll pay to have the bedspread cleaned. It's the least I can do."
"You bet your ass it is," Loreen said.
“Good,” said James. “I’m going to suggest that Lauren comes by and assesses Alice’s living conditions. Maybe she can help you make sure she doesn’t escape again. That’s what you really want, isn’t it Loreen?”
She nodded, seeing the older woman’s tears. “There’s no harm done. So long as I never see that hideous snake again.”
Lauren and Enid Parkinson left together.
As she and James were about to follow, Loreen said, "So, are you two an item?”
She froze. She’d never thought of the obvious implication when she was seen in public at midnight with James, both of them obviously fresh out of bed. She struggled for an excuse that might have involved a police emergency at the bakery when, to her surprise, he said, "Yes. We are."
She felt such a whirlwind of emotion she didn’t know which was more prominent. The thrill of hearing those words, the wishing they were true, the yearning to be with James, the sadness of knowing it could never be. By the time they got into his truck and he’d started up the engine and was backing out, she burst out with, “I am so sorry!”
He paused in the backup process and turned his head to regard her. “Sorry about what?”
“That I put you in that position. I should have stayed away.”
He looked at her and then a crease appeared between his eyebrows. “Does it bother you that I said we were an item?”
“Yes.” It bothered her so much she couldn’t stand it. She wanted him and couldn’t have him. And now Loreen would tell everyone the gossip about the Sheriff and the bakery assistant and she’d have to deal with raised eyebrows and whispers behind her back.
“I said that to keep Loreen away from me. Since you work at gossip central you must know that she’s been, um, interested.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“But I do want us to be an item. I’m crazy about you. Is that a problem?”
“We both know it’s a problem.” She felt as though a huge weight were pressing on her chest. “I should have left when you confronted me about my family.”
He changed gears with a jerk. “Maybe you should have.”