She glared at him. “You’re just mad because you didn’t think of it,” she replied haughtily.

Tad chuckled.

“Okay, no petting the kitten for you,” he said over his shoulder.

“I’m sorry!” Tad exclaimed. “Really!”

Banks chuckled, too. “Okay.”

It wasn’t a long drive to the ranch. It sat back off the highway on a long, graveled road between fences and cross fences. The full moon gave Banks’s passengers a much better view of the land than a dark night would have.

The house was Victorian, two stories high with towering trees all around it. There were several outbuildings, one of which looked like a barn.

“I love Victorian houses,” Clancey said excitedly. “My grandparents used to live in one outside Floresville!”

He chuckled. “This one has a history. I’ll tell you it one day.” He pulled up at the steps. There was porch furniture, including a swing. Clancey could only imagine how much fun it would be to sit out there on lazy summer nights.

“And we’re here.”

He got Clancey and Tad out and carried their bags inside the house. Brenda pulled up right behind Banks’s SUV and cut off her engine. She picked up the cat carrier and bounded up onto the porch with an overnight bag over her shoulder.

Banks opened the door. There was a blur of red fur. He knelt and picked up Miss Kitty. “Did you miss me, baby?” he teased as she purred and rubbed her head against his chest.

“She’s so pretty!” Clancey exclaimed. The cat looked at him with soft amber eyes.

“Can I pet her?” Tad asked excitedly.

“She’s a little nervous of people, just at first,” he began as he put the cat down. But she went right up to Tad and rubbed against him.

“Well!” Banks said, stunned.

“And here’s Bumblebee,” Brenda added, opening the cat carrier. A little ball of yellow fur trundled out of the cage, so fat that her little sides bulged. She meowed softly.

“Oh my goodness!” Clancey exclaimed. She bent and picked up the little cat, rubbing her head against it. “What a sweet baby!”

“She’s just two months old,” Brenda said. “Somebody found her walking across a parking lot at a shopping center and brought her in to the vet for adoption.” She grimaced. “We haven’t found anybody yet. I’d love to take her, but I’m not allowed pets in my apartment.”

“We aren’t allowed to have them in the shelter, either,” Clancey said sadly.

“Shelter?” Brenda exclaimed, horrified.

Clancey went scarlet red.

“She wrote the book on pride,” Banks huffed as he glanced at Clancey. His eyes went back to his sister. “Hollister offered her a temporary home, too, but she lied to both of us about having a nice apartment over near the office.” He was glaring at Clancey now.