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After Millie unpacked and put away her groceries, she hurried downstairs to Hightail It! to see Caleb and Perry. Caleb was with customers—a woman and two children—when she walked in. He grinned and winked at Millie over top of the woman’s head.
She smiled. He was beautiful. Jade was beautiful. They could make her some gorgeous great-grandbabies. And Jade could knit up the cutest little booties, hats, and blankets for them.
Caleb brought the woman’s purchases up to the counter. It appeared the children would have everything they needed to take care of a puppy. As Caleb scanned the items, the boy and girl yammered to him about their new dog.
“It’s a boxer,” the boy said.
“Yeah, and Daddy wanted to name her Ali, who was a famous boxer, but our puppy is a girl!”
“We went with Allie,” the woman said. “Close enough, right?”
“Right. Just as long as Allie can float like a butterfly and sting like a bee,” Caleb said.
The boy scrunched up his face. “I think you’re confused. Allie is a dog.”
When the trio left, Millie chuckled. “Youth is wasted on the young. Who said that?”
“Shaw,” Caleb answered.
“That’s right—George Bernard Shaw. I’m impressed that you know that.”
“He preferred to be called Bernard. Didn’t care much for George.”
“How do you know?” Millie asked.
“He used to come in here, buy things for his boxer.”
She laughed. “I was so relieved to get your call about Perry. I really thought I’d killed the little thing—given it a heart attack or something.”
“He’s just fine. Want to go see?”
“Yes, please.”
Millie followed Caleb into the back where little Perry cuddled on a heating pad. There was room inside the box where Perry could crawl away if he got too warm.
“The vet brought that over for us to borrow,” Caleb said, nodding toward the heating pad. “And although he said Perry appears to be healthy, our vet can’t really help us. He recommended we call a licensed wildlife rehabilitator who would know more about possums.”
“Did he recommend someone?”
“Yes. He said there’s a wonderful rehab center in Elizabethton. He gave me their number, and I left a message for someone to return my call.”
Millie pointed toward a medicine dropper and a small bottle. “What’s that? Did he give you some kind of medicine for him?”
“It’s actually water mixed with an electrolyte formula. This is what we’re supposed to feed Perry, provided we can get him to eat.”
“How often do you feed him?”
“I try every hour or so. I’ve been successful once, but that’s it.”
“Well, you shouldn’t have to do all this on your own,” said Millie. “I’m the one who found him. I’ll be happy to take him to my apartment and take care of him there.”
“Really?” He arched a brow. “You’ll be happy to do that?”
“Well, I won’t be thrilled, but I do feel like Perry is my responsibility. Yet here you are doing all the work.”
“I don’t mind. I’m actually glad I was able to help keep him alive and to figure out what to do for him. And once we hear from the wildlife refuge, I can take him to Elizabethton.”
“Nothing doing. We’ll take him. I’ll drive. You hold Perry.”
“Deal.” He grinned. “Tell you what—meet me here when I get off work at five this afternoon. We’ll check on Perry, grab a bite to eat, and decide then who gets to keep him for the night. Unless the rehab people call and want us to get him there right away.”
“All right.”
* * *
Jade was tidying up the knitting room when Millie breezed in. She could hear her grandmother talking with Terri.
“Be right there, Grandma,” Jade called.
“…cutest little thing!” Millie was gushing when Jade entered the room. “And Caleb has fixed Perry the nicest temporary home. One of the local veterinarians stopped by Hightail It! and loaned—”
“I take it the Knight in Shining Denim has struck again?” Jade asked wryly.
“Indeed, he has,” said Millie. “And be as sarcastic as you want, but Caleb is a gem. I think the world of him.”
Jade shrugged one shoulder. “He didn’t seem that great to me.”
Millie frowned. “When did you meet him?”
“I went over there to see that possum.” And to try to convince that guy you aren’t out of your mind, Jade added silently.
“And did you see it? Isn’t it adorable?”
“I didn’t see it. I had all I could take of Caleb before we got to the back of the store, so I told him I needed to leave,” she said. “He didn’t tell you I’d been there?”
“Nope. We just talked about Perry and made plans for dinner this evening.”
Jade’s jaw dropped. “You what?”
“We’re going to have dinner later and decide what to do with Perry over the weekend. The shop is closed tomorrow.”
Jade blinked.
“Are you kidding me?” Terri asked. “You got a date with this guy? I’ve got to see him now.”
“I wouldn’t call it a date,” Millie said, trying but failing to keep her lips from curving into a smile. “We’re simply meeting to discuss what to do with the baby possum until we can take Perry to the wildlife rehab center.”
“Wait—until we take Perry? Who’s we?”
“Caleb and I. Keep up, Jade.”
“I have so got to see this guy. Hold down the fort, Jade. I’m going to buy Mocha a toy.”
“Terri—”
Jade’s attempt to keep Terri in Nothin’ But Knit fell on deaf ears. She turned back to her grandmother. “You don’t even know this guy.”
“Sure, I do. We’re bonding over a possum.”
Greta came by to collect Terri just before Nothin’ But Knit closed.
“I’ve reserved us a spot in the library because I thought we might need a computer.”
Terri merely nodded, not mentioning that anything they could look up on the computer Terri could check on her phone. “I’m sure we can work quickly. Do you have any plans for later this evening?”
“Millie and I had talked about getting some food and watching a movie, but she had something come up.”
Terri tried unsuccessfully to hide a grin as Jade slammed the cash register drawer closed.
“I guess I could go over to the party in the atrium tonight,” Greta said. “Are you planning to go?”
“Yes, but it’s a young professionals’ gathering, Greta. It isn’t a…a joint affair like the grand opening celebration.”
“I know. But I was invited.”
Behind Greta’s back, Terri rolled her eyes at Jade. Jade simply shook her head. Why wouldn’t Greta be invited to the mixer? After all, her grandmother was dining out with the gorgeous pet shop guy right now. Maybe they were living in some sort of parallel universe, and Terri and Jade simply weren’t aware of it yet. Maybe handsome old guys would be stopping by Nothin’ But Knit any minute to sweep them off their feet.
Terri and Greta headed for the library, and Jade closed up the shop.
Later that evening, Jade was home on the sofa watching Downton Abbey while Mocha snoozed on the ottoman. Jade was knitting white bookmarks to be given away at the upcoming grand opening celebration. Once the knitting was complete, she threaded thin ribbon in a contrasting color—purple, pink, blue, red, yellow, or green—throughout the bookmarks to attach a Nothin’ But Knit business card to each one.
She’d hoped to have added about ten to her collection tonight, but she was finding it difficult to concentrate on her knitting or the Dowager Countess. All she could think about was Millie. Millie and Caleb.
Their working together to save the life of a wild animal was one thing…she guessed. But wasn’t talking about the animal over dinner going a little too far? What could they possibly have to talk about? To Jade, it was simple. Either her grandmother or Caleb would keep the possum and hopefully help it stay alive until one of them—one of them—could take it to the wildlife rescue on Monday. That was a five-minute conversation at most.
Something else Jade didn’t get was why they both needed to transport the possum to Elizabethton. She hadn’t gone with Caleb to look at the thing, but just how big could it be? Was it truly large enough to warrant a two-person transport team? Jade didn’t think so.
Jade knew nothing about Caleb, and neither did Millie. Sure, Terri came back from the pet shop with a package of foil balls for Mocha and a squealy account of how gorgeous and charming Caleb was. But Jade had plenty of experience with handsome guys—all of it bad.
She remembered when she was in high school with her braces and glasses, how red she’d turn when one of the football players would speak to her. It was a game to them. Who could flirt with skinny, mousy Jade Burt and be the first to make her blush that day? Then they’d all laugh at her mortification while they gave each other high-fives. And that didn’t even skim the surface of what Blake had done.
Handsome, charming guys were users. They took what they wanted and didn’t care who they hurt. She wondered what Caleb wanted from her grandmother. Was he a con man? Did he prey on lonely older women and take money from them? The thought of Caleb taking advantage of Millie made Jade furious. That man had better think twice before making her grandma a target.
She put aside her knitting and grabbed her purse and car keys. She needed to talk with Terri.