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Fortunately, Nan agreed to take half of Octo-Cat’s giant list off my hands, which meant I’d actually have a few hours to get things packed and ready for myself before falling into bed in an exhausted heap that night.

As it was, I’d already been out running errands for several hours. And since nothing could ever be easy when it came to Octo-Cat, his requirements took me to shops scattered all around Blueberry Bay.

I’d saved Dewdrop Springs for last, seeing as it wasn’t exactly my favorite place to visit. In fact, it seemed every time I set foot in that wretched little town, somebody got murdered or robbed or bribed or embezzled. Fun.

Me? I just wanted to get my cat his audiobook and get home.

Of course, the title he’d requested had proven to be this season’s hottest new release. How had I not heard of it before now? Probably because I didn’t need any help in the romance department.

I was surprised Octo-Cat believed that he did. Normally he thought of himself as perfectly infallible. Further proof this upcoming visit with Grizabella meant the world to him. They hadn’t seen each other in-furson since they’d first met on the train in late November. How would they feel when they were together outside of their usual video chat setting?

As much as he annoyed me today—and, let’s be honest here, every day—I really hoped things went well for him… Even though I was now at my third bookstore.

As it turned out, both of the big box bookstores I’d tried had been sold out of Dr. Roman’s hot new release, meaning I needed to hop over the nearest independent bookstore and pray they had a copy.

When I’d called home to suggest an Audible subscription, he hung up without even speaking to me. When I called back, he groaned and slowly explained that he must absolutely have his book on CD because he didn’t trust an MP3 download not to “disappear from his device when he needed it most.”

Again, this was a self-help romance guide. What emergency could it possibly aid in? I knew better than to ask any clarifying questions, though.

Instead I swallowed any last vestiges of pride I’d once had and vowed to do whatever it took to keep my spoiled cat happy. That brought me to Tattered Pages, a hole-in-the-wall indie shop that had recently changed hands in favor of a much younger proprietress. I hadn’t been into the shop for years, preferring my eReader to page-and-ink. I was surprised to see how much it had changed since my last visit. With a comfy lounge area, cafe, and beautifully organized shelves, I had to hand it to the new owner—the place looked great.

Maybe I would be back to get something for myself once this big road trip was over.

“Hi. I’m Dakota. Can I help you?” a woman with bright probing eyes interrupted my thoughts by offering a huge smile as she marched my way.

“Oh, hi. I’m looking for an audiobook?” My voice went up at the end even though I hadn’t meant to ask a question.

Dakota scrunched her nose as she thought, then raised one index finger and pointed two aisles down.“I’ve got just the thing for you.”

I followed her wordlessly to a selection of Jeffrey Deaver books.

“You look like a mystery reader,” she informed me. “Am I right?”

Impressive.

“Normally, yes, but I’m actually here to pick up something for my, um, friend. Do you have Dr. Roman’s Guide to—?”

“Romance. Yes, I think we have one copy left.” Dakota led me to the opposite side of the store and began to rummage through a spinning wire rack. “It was here just a… Ah! Gotcha!”

She grabbed the requested audiobook out from behind another.“Messy, messy. Good thing I knew it was still here.”

“Thank you so much,” I said with a huge sigh of relief. My go-for work was now officially done.

Dakota waved goodbye from behind the counter after checking me out.“Make sure to come back another time and get some books for you!”

Yeah, I’d still try to avoid Dewdrop Springs as much as I possibly could, but now I could at least treat myself to a quick book shop visit next time I was in town.

Pleased with my ability to find the silver lining, I pushed through the door and out onto the street.

“No! I almost had him!” someone cried from beneath me.

I whipped around to find a fluffy orange Persian staring up at me with angry eyes.“Sorry,” I murmured as I paced down the block in search of my car. I hadn’t parked far, but—

“Wait, wait, wait!” that same voice followed me, growing closer with each syllable.

I stopped and turned toward her.

“You can understand me?” the cat asked, her mouth hanging open in awe. “Why can’t my useless human understand me, then?”

“Yes, and I don’t know,” I murmured, hoping nobody was around to see me talking to this strange cat in the middle of the very public street.

“My name’s Poppy, and I have some demands,” the Persian informed me.

Boy, was this familiar. Octo-Cat had said almost the exact same thing to me when he first learned I could talk to him, and he hadn’t stopped giving demands since.