Free The Cat, the Lady and the Liar by Leann Sweeney Page A

stare on that cabinet. She turned and offered me a tiny mew in greeting. But Syrah and Merlot didn’t take their eyes off the right-side cupboard. I didn’t feel the least bit of sympathy for Isis. In fact, I was willing to bet she hadn’t been grateful or sweet when Syrah opened that door downstairs and let her escape.
    I walked over to the cabinet and squatted. Merlot was the next to acknowledge my presence. And when he looked at me, I saw his ear was bleeding a little at the tip. That would have to be thoroughly cleaned, and soon. But first, Isis needed to have another lesson as to who was boss in my house.
    Syrah remained as still as a statue, his ears flat. He was one unhappy cat. I decided having three observers when I removed Isis from the cabinet might be a bad idea. I gathered up Merlot and Chablis, put them outside the room and shut them out. But I decided to allow Syrah to stay. He was top cat in the group, and I needed to help him maintain his status.
    I got down on all fours, widened the cabinet door and peered inside the cabinet. Green slitted eyes stared back at me. Isis hissed when she saw my face. Syrah slowly moved in beside me and sat. He didn’t spit; he didn’t hiss; he just stared Isis down. She turned her head away briefly.
    I quickly reached in and grabbed her by the scruff so she couldn’t bite me as I pulled her out. To my surprise, she didn’t try to scratch or bite. She allowed me to pick her up as Syrah watched intently.
    I stood and looked down at Syrah. “Thanks, my friend. Good work.”
    Isis began to purr, probably more from fear than from anything else. Syrah can indeed be intimidating in his own quiet way. I carried Isis out to the living room with my three felines following close behind. When I sat on the couch and Chablis jumped up beside us, Isis hissed at her. I tapped the goddess’s nose. She blinked and looked up at me. Bet that had never happened before. But she quit hissing, and soon all three of my cats were on the couch wanting a sniff of her. After about five minutes of this, Isis jumped down, her tail swishing. But a peace had been forged, and I was hoping against hope that I might actually get some sleep tonight.
    I turned off Animal Planet, rested my head against the sofa cushions and the next thing I heard was my phone ringing. Seems I’d taken that nap after all. As I reached in my dress pocket for my phone, I realized that Isis had joined Chablis on the couch. Chablis likes it when I nap—she loves to snuggle close—and even though Isis was way at the other end of the sofa, I had to smile. My three cats had accomplished what I could never have done—tamed the entitled one.
    The caller ID showed Candace’s name and number. I answered with a “Hey there.”
    “How does iced coffee from Belle’s Beans and a couple of chili dogs from the Main Street Café sound? I need a break from Mom and her painting instructions.” I heard the strain in Candace’s voice. She loved her mom dearly but didn’t like to be “instructed” by anyone and certainly not by her mother.
    “You’re doing pickup and delivery?” I said.
    “Absolutely. See you soon.” She hung up.
    I checked the clock on the DVR across the room. Past five o’clock. Wow. That was one nice snooze. But I needed to clean Merlot’s scratch, splash some water on my face and change my clothes. I am not a fan of anything besides capris, jeans, T-shirts and shorts. And the nap had taken a toll on this dress. It was a wrinkled mess.
    After I used soap and water on a less than happy Merlot’s ear, I went to the bedroom, stripped off the dress in my bathroom and tossed it toward the closet and my hamper—and missed. I turned on the sink’s faucet, and after dousing myself with cold water, I reached for a towel. And saw Isis already curled up on my discarded clothing. She blinked sleepily. Seemed she was making herself right at home. But whether we would become her family was another story. My cats may have