The Sweetheart Rules by Shirley Jump

the mama cat and her kittens. They were about six weeks old now, curious and active, tumbling all over each other and their poor beleaguered mother.
    “What’s their names?” Ellie asked. “Can I hold them? Can I kiss them? I love them! I want to keep them!”
    Diana laughed. “One thing at a time. They don’t have names yet, and yes, you can hold them, but you have to be very quiet and good, so you don’t scare them or upset Momma Cat. Can you be quiet and good?”
    “Uh-huh,” Ellie said. Her face was serious, her demeanor shifting from bouncing excitement to restrained eagerness in an instant. Her little hands clenched at her sides, and her thin frame quivered with anticipation. “Am I being good now?”
    “Yup, good job.”
    As soon as the three of them entered the oversized kennel that housed the kittens, the kittens started mewing and prancing over their feet. Seconds later, Jenny was on the floor, covered in kittens. The smile blossomed into a laugh, and by the time Diana had waved Ellie into the room, Jenny had dropped the tough-girl facade. She held a kitten to her face, nuzzled its black-and-white furry body, and giggled again when the kitten placed its front paws on Jenny’s chin.
    Diana stepped back, watching the two girls and listening to the rise and fall of their happy voices. Momma Cat, maybe grateful for the break from her rambunctious kittens, kept a wary eye on the girls for the first few minutes, then curled into a ball and fell asleep.
    “Thank you.”
    The deep timbre of Mike’s voice, coming from just over her shoulder, sent a hot-cold shiver down Diana’s spine. She inhaled and drew in the tantalizing and familiar scent of his cologne, something woodsy and dark, mysterious, like him. She steeled herself before turning to face him. “You’re welcome. But it was nothing, really. The kittens need interaction and—”
    “They’re laughing,” Mike said softly. “Smiling. I haven’t seen that… well, in forever.”
    “Nothing cheers up a grump like a kitten,” she repeated.
    “Or a smile from a beautiful woman.”
    The smile curved across her face, settled in her heated cheeks, before Diana could remind herself that she wasn’t falling for Mike again. She already knew where that road led, and only a fool took the same wrong turn twice. She cleared her throat, erased the smile. “Where’s Jackson?”
    “He’s making a list for me. I noticed that you hadn’t finished the repairs on the back of the building. I thought, since I’m going to be here for a while, that maybe I’d finish some of those for you. You seem a little crowded in here, and could probably use the extra space.”
    “Our repair budget only went so far, so we did the most critical areas first. You’re right, though. We could really use those additional kennels at the back. I’ll take any help you’re offering, if…”
    “If what?”
    She came out from inside the kennel and closed the distance between them, lowering her voice but holding his gaze. “If you’re going to be here long enough to finish what you started.”

Nine

    Greta pretended to be busy pinning together quilting squares while she waited for Olivia to arrive at work. Her granddaughter-to-be worked as an animal-assisted therapist at Golden Years, a job that brought a lot of smiles to the residents whenever Olivia and her little dog Miss Sadie stopped by.
    Beside Greta, Esther and Pauline sewed and chatted, Esther as happy as a pig in mud to have participation on quilting day. Greta had her coffee cup of Maker’s Mark beside her, but didn’t drink. She wanted a clear head at a moment like this, when she was working hard to bring a plan to fruition.
    Her daddy used to be that way, too. He’d sit at the table, with his snifter before him, twirling the glass between his palms. He’d tell Greta he was working things out in his head, whether it be which plants to set in the garden that spring or the best way to tell Momma that he wanted to