Summer Love_ A Steamy Small Town Romance Anthology - Piper Rayne Page 0,22

panties, they would have been wet with longing.

I stuck my hand out, nearly jabbing him in his washboard abs. “I’m Keva, by the way.”

He paused, his eyes crinkling at the corners before he took my hand in his. “Linc.”

“Oh!” Even his name was sexy. All that lash flirting and all I could come up with was a lame response.

“Keva?” Lucy called my name, interrupting the deep staring going on between me and my new obsession, Linc.

I spun and walked over to the group, seeing that Lucy had gathered up her whole crew of friends. Lenora held baby Star, who fussed for her favorite blankie, zero interest in the cats running around down below. Jayden juggled Red in his arms, a full-grown toddler so big he only needed one well-placed kick and he’d be set down to run amok with the cats. Bain stood there glowering with Roxy on his right and Heston on his left, both clinging to his hands and trying to tug him in the direction of a darting cat. A very pregnant Amelia was already running across the street, chasing a cat who’d dared rub against her black leggings and left a swath of hair behind. Titus had three cats in his arms, running after Amelia, telling her to be careful. Charlie sat cross-legged in the middle of Main Street with his arms wide open, charming the cats to come sit with him. Crazy enough, it was working. At least twenty cats sat on their haunches, mesmerized by their new guru.

“Thanks for letting us know about the cat dilemma. We should have them wrangled shortly. Finnie has a whole load already in the back of her truck. She’s heading over to the Society now to drop them off with Yedda. I’ve got some catnip in the back of Bain’s truck.” She paused and her gaze went over my left shoulder. “Hey, Lincoln. Welcome to Auburn Hill and all our craziness!”

Linc and Lucy hugged. I’d never been so jealous of a hug.

“Hey, man, did you do it?” Bain’s voice rose over the cacophony of toddlers whining.

Linc brushed a hand over his chin, obscuring the smile I’d come to obsess over. There was dirt under his short nails, and normally that would turn me off, but something about Linc getting messy with his hands made my insides ignite and melt.

“Maybe,” he hedged.

Bain tossed his head back and roared with laughter, clearly in on a joke the rest of us weren’t. “That’s awesome. Mission accomplished, bro. Now let’s clean up this mess.”

Lucy and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Sounded like Bain was up to one of his stupid dares. Lucy finally shrugged and tossed the keys to Bain’s truck at me. Linc snatched them out of the air.

“I’ve got this. Hop in, Keva.”

Didn’t have to tell me twice. I sprang into action so fast my boots creaked at the sudden change in direction. I hopped into the passenger side of the truck and directed Linc around town as we found cats and put them in the back of the truck. We were at max capacity and heading back to the Society to drop the critters off when I saw one last kitty roaming the side of the road, just barely out of the flow of traffic in the roundabout.

“Over there!” I shouted, pointing.

Linc yanked the wheel and cut off Poppy in her mail truck in the inside lane. She stuck her hand out the window and gave me a rude gesture I won’t describe. Linc hit the brakes and Poppy veered around us, barely missing clipping our back bumper. She pulled to a stop while I hopped down from the truck, gaze laser focused on the poor kitty shaking on the curb. Although on further inspection, the cat looked surprisingly pink and not very catlike.

“What in Sam Hill is going on around here?” Poppy demanded from behind me.

I ignored her and crouched down to croon to the cat that probably wasn’t a cat. “Hey, pretty little thing. Are you lost?”

The lump of pink with black spots shivered and then let out a mighty snort. She lifted her head and I saw a snout. “Oh my God! It’s a baby pig!”

Poppy leaned over my shoulder and almost made me squish the pig. “First there are cats all over the place, and now this. This town is going to hell, I tell you!”

I reached out and let the pig sniff my hand. She didn’t shy away, so I attempted