Dear Reader,
Cat’s Paw Cove is a magical town dreamed up by Wynter Daniels and Catherine Kean, a charming seaside paradise where cats are king, and anything is possible. We are so excited to bring you not only our own stories, but also contributions from an incredibly talented group of Guest Authors. With paranormal and mystery romance, time travel, and more, there’s something for everyone.
We hope you’ll enjoy reading the series as much as we enjoy writing it. For more information about the Cat’s Paw Cove series, please visit http://CatsPawCoveRomance.com.
Happy reading!
Wynter Daniels & Catherine Kean
Welcome to Cat’s Paw Cove, Florida—an enchanting seaside town and favorite tourist destination. But there’s something unusual about the locals, both human and feline. The popular Shipwreck Museum might just take you back in time, and the historic Sherwood House holds secrets, old and new.
Adopt a furever friend at the Cove Cat Café, treat yourself to a psychic reading at Eye of Newt metaphysical shop, pick up a special trinket from Black Cat Antiquities. And don’t be surprised if you find your heart in the magic of Cat’s Paw Cove.
Event Planner and earthly Cupid Tori Sutherland enjoys nothing more than playing matchmaker for lonely hearts. Too bad Tori will never find her own happy-ever-after because the only guy she ever loved moved on years ago.
Heath Castillo managed to escape his dysfunctional family for a career in major-league baseball. His only regret was not acting upon his desire for his best friend. When an injury threatens his livelihood, Heath has no choice but to face the ghosts of his past.
When long-buried passions ignite, Heath and Tori consider taking a chance on love. But will the forces that kept them apart in high school destroy their budding romance before it even begins?
HER HOMERUN HOTTIE
A Cat’s Paw Cove Story
Copyright © 2019 by Wynter Daniels
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from the author.
This book is a work of fiction. All characters, events, scenes, plots and associated elements remain the exclusive copyrighted and/or trademarked property of CPC Publishing, LLC.
Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author or CPC Publishing.
Published in the United States of America.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Epilogue
About Wynter Daniels
Dedication
For Catherine Kean—my dear friend, and the best business partner I could ever have imagined! I can’t wait to see where this exciting journey takes us.
Chapter One
“How bad was the damage?” Tori Sutherland cradled the phone between her shoulder and ear as she stared into her rearview mirror and smoothed on pink lipstick. She checked that her hair looked presentable but her curls, as usual, weren’t behaving. It wasn’t every day she was summoned to appear before the town council. Heaven help her.
“I don’t even know where to begin,” Alexa said. “Apparently the bride’s relatives are no strangers to the penal system. One of the gazillion uncles was yelling, ‘I ain’t afraid to go back to prison,’ as the cops hauled him out of the banquet room. And his wife was cursing a blue streak, telling him she was going to kick his ass for ruining the wedding. Soon as she bailed him out. Then the groomsman who cut his arm on the glass from the window tells me it won’t stop bleeding. I promise I’ll clean up the blood from the seat in the van. Couldn’t be helped.”
Tori prayed the fiasco wouldn’t be the downfall of her party planning business. Bad enough she still owed her mother more than half the startup capital she’d borrowed from her. If Cat Town Events went under, she’d be indebted to her mom forever. She shuddered as she put on her earrings just as the stoplight turned green. “Is the groomsman okay? How’d the window get broken?”
“He’s fine. No worries. Only took five stitches.” Alexa drew an audible breath. “They broke the window during the melee. Two guys got into it over a girl they’d both dated. Or were still dating. Anyway, one punch led to another. It was the man who tried to break up the fight that got cut. Glass went everywhere from the chair someone threw.”
Tori shut her eyes a moment and wished this was all a dream. Who were these people, the Hatfields and McCoys? “The chair?” Although she really didn’t want to know.
“The one that went through the window” Alexa clarified. “Are you paying attention, boss?”
“I am. I’m just hoping that the newlyweds can survive the turmoil of future family gatherings. It sounds as if they both have lots of nuts on their respective family trees.” As an earthly Cupid, Tori took her gift of matchmaking very seriously. So far, all the couples she’d brought together were still happily coupled, but this latest pair might just put Tori’s supernatural power to the test. She turned her van onto Tabby Road and brushed white cat hair from her lapels. Which really showed against her red blazer. Time to step up her search for a permanent home for all the cats she’d been fostering. “Promise me something, Alexa.”
“Anything.”
“Next time a client wants to use a city property for their wedding, sweet sixteen, bar mitzvah or whatever, we say no.” Too bad that it cost so much less for the use of the community room at city hall than any of the private venues in Cat’s Paw Cove.
“Maybe that’s why the council wants to see you. To ask you not to use their place anymore.”
“I wish.” If that were why she’d been summoned to the meeting this morning, she’d get on her knees after and kiss the sidewalk in front of the town hall. But she suspected the reason was way more serious, something that had the potential to ruin her. What if they forced her to surrender her occupational license or told her she could no longer plan events in the town limits? Her name was on the rental agreement, and she was the responsible party. Good grief. She never took a dime for her matchmaking services. The event planning business was her only source of income. She stared at her reflection and tried to rub away the lines creasing her forehead. “I’d better go. Can’t be late for my execution.”
“I’m so sorry I can’t be there with you. It took me three weeks to get this dental appointment and—”
“Alexa, it’s okay. I’ll call you after the meeting.” What if the council really did plan to put her out of business? What would she do? The company was just squeaking by, but if they managed to fulfill all their contracts, they’d be flush by the end of next year. Maybe even turn a profit for the first time. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to not have to worry about money.
She’d spent the last four years building her business into the premiere event planning service in the area. The only one, actually. Hopefully, the town council would take that into account. Cat Town Events filled an important role in the community. And provided gainful employment for Tori and her three assistants.
So many things had gone wrong lately, though, from a mix-up with a caterer that mistakenly served pork spare ribs at Joshua Gold’s bar mitzvah, to a miscommunication with a chair rental company that left the seventy guests attending the mayor’s baby shower stan
ding for the entire party, to this latest fiasco with yesterday’s wedding.
Tori’s stomach roiled. She tried to scare up a positive attitude as she drove toward the Cat’s Paw Cove town hall.
“I am a professional. I am intelligent and capable.” But the affirmations she’d been practicing for weeks—ever since she read Empower Me, the latest self-help book—did nothing to lessen the dread churning in her stomach.
Not only had yesterday’s wedding guests damaged public property, but they’d cost the taxpayers money in the form of manpower and even jail space. Maybe the council was going to demand a hefty fine from her. Which she’d likely never collect from the guilty parties. Perhaps the council would withhold all her pending party permits. No sense torturing herself with all the awful possibilities. Soon enough she’d learn what god-awful punishment they planned to mete out.
Her business was all she had. Despite the fact that she had an otherworldly gift to help others find romance, her own love life was a disaster. So she’d thrown herself into her career, and it had been going really well. Until a couple of months ago.
“I am intelligent and capable.” Bolstering her courage, she pushed through the double doors to the assembly room. The seating area, which could accommodate a crowd of about a hundred, was nearly empty except for a short man in a black suit and two women.
Tori’s temples started aching when she recognized one of the women as Vivi Craig, still as tall, thin and blonde as she’d been in high school. Was she still as mean as she’d been back then? Vivi and her friends had made Tori’s middle and high school experience hell. Not a day had passed without one of them poking fun at or otherwise torturing the brainiac as they’d called her.
Last Tori had heard, the beautiful bully was happily divorced from a wealthy, older man. And living in Miami. So why was she here, hundreds of miles away?
Could Vivi have something to do with why the council had summoned Tori? If so, Tori was a goner for sure.
One of the council members was saying something about raising parking violation fees when Tori took a seat on the opposite side of the room from Vivi, a few seats down from the guy in the suit, who looked familiar, although she couldn’t place how she knew him.
“Ah, Miss Sutherland,” Deputy Mayor Quincy said. He was a sweet man in a grandfatherly way with thick gray hair, which contrasted with his deeply tanned skin. With him sitting down, no one would ever guess he stood about six feet tall. She’d run into him several times at her mom’s church functions, where he’d flirted with her completely-oblivious mother. Maybe Tori would have to work some of her magic on her mom. The last time Tori had offered, her mother had insisted that she was still in mourning for Tori’s dad.
“Thanks for coming on such short notice,” Mr. Quincy said.
Tori tried for a smile, which didn’t come easy considering she was about as thrilled to be there as she would a pap smear appointment.
The group finished their parking meter discussion then the deputy mayor opened a manila folder and shuffled a few papers around. He furrowed his brow and pinned her with a slightly frightening scowl. “Miss Sutherland, it’s come to our attention that we have a big problem on our hands.”
Oh crap, here it comes.
She swallowed hard, mentally rehearsing the rebuttal she’d been kicking around on the way over. Councilman Reynolds’s seeing-eye dog—a golden retriever, named Icarus—panted. Was the animal was as uncomfortably warm as Tori suddenly was?
“I’m sure you’ve heard about the Cat’s Paw Cove Tricentennial celebration, which is coming in about two weeks,” Quincy said.
What did that have to do with the Palmer-Fox wedding? “Yes, Mr. Quincy.”
He took a white handkerchief from his pocket and wiped beads of sweat from his forehead. “Yes, well, we had a committee working on putting together all the events. The members of which were all recommended by Councilwoman Barclay.” He frowned at Rita Barclay who was seated on the far right and appeared to be engrossed in a spot on the desk that she scratched with a hot pink fingernail.
“But that’s neither here nor there,” Quincy said. “Point is the committee had a falling out.”
Someone’s phone buzzed. One of the other council members let out a nervous cough as he hit a few buttons on his cell then shoved it into his jacket pocket. “Sorry.”
The deputy mayor continued. “Actually it was more than a falling out. More like World War III. Unfortunately, they hadn’t finalized a single detail about the events. And now we’ve got no opening ceremony, gala or picnic. None of those things are going to happen unless someone who knows what the heck they’re doing takes over.”
Tori let out the breath she’d been holding and with it, all the tension she’d been schlepping around all morning. Thank goodness they weren’t pulling the plug on her business. Quite the contrary. If they gave her the task, she could show the locals firsthand what a killer party she threw. She couldn’t buy that kind of advertising. This event was way bigger than anything she’d ever handled before.
Her pulse kicked up a few notches. If the council gave her the job it could make her year—hell, it could be the difference between Cat Town Events’ success or failure.
Before she could tell the mayor she’d love to take over such a huge project, Vivi jumped to her feet. “Excuse me, Mayor Quincy, but shouldn’t the city take bids on this job?”
Mr. Quincy cleared his throat. “It’s Deputy Mayor,” he told Vivi. “I’m filling in for Mayor Lancaster while she’s on maternity leave.”
Vivi gave him a half nod. “Yes, well, my fiancé is now in the event planning business, just like Miss Sutherland.” She tipped her perfect chin in Tori’s direction, both acknowledging and dismissing her in one fell swoop.
So that was why Vivi had come. Tori resisted the urge to run from the room. Hell no. She wasn’t the geeky overweight kid she’d been in school, and she refused to let the likes of Vivi Craig kick her around ever again. For once in her life, she had an opportunity to get the better of Vivi. And more importantly, she needed this job. She knew darn well that she had the only established event planning business within thirty miles. Rather than play that card for the moment, she stood, determined to appear more professional than Vivi.
I am confident and capable.
Tori sat up taller. “Mr. Deputy Mayor, would you elaborate on what you have in mind for the town’s Tricentennial?”
“Certainly.” He fumbled through his file folder. “The opening ceremony will be held in the gardens at the Sherwood House on the twenty-third. We want lots of balloons and a large tent in case the weather doesn’t hold. And fireworks. We’ll use the community center for the gala the next night, which will be catered and have a cash bar. Then we’ll put on a big picnic at Boardwalk Park on the twenty-fifth. Hot dogs, cotton candy, that sort of thing.”
Vivi stepped into the aisle, all long legs, designer suit, and sleek blonde tresses. “I’d love to have an opportunity to bid on the job. Er, I mean my fiancé would.”
Quincy narrowed his eyes at Vivi. “Who’s your fiancé?”
Vivi served up her perfect smile as she swept her gaze over every member of the council. “Buzz Chandler.” She pushed through the low swinging gate and proceeded to set a business card on the desk in front of each councilperson. “We met through my sister, who owns the most successful florist in Miami. Buzz was her supplier.” She sighed. “And the rest is history.”
Did she have to be as freaking perky and perfect from behind as she was from the front? Tori folded her arms over her chest, suddenly just as self-conscious about her D-cup breasts and her wide hips as she’d been in high school.
Buzz Chandler, huh? Why hadn’t she ever heard of him? Wasn’t as if Cat’s Paw Cove was some giant metropolis. If there were another event planner in town, she’d have known about him. Last thing she needed was competition. “Buzz isn’t local, Vivi, is he?”
Vivi spun around and narrowed her
cat-shaped eyes on Tori, but she didn’t say a word.
“Yes, Ms. Craig. I’d like to know that, too,” Quincy said.
Vivi fisted her delicate hands at her sides. “He’s currently living and working in West Palm Beach, but he plans to move here after we get married in the fall. So he will be local, then. Besides, isn’t it protocol to have a bidding procedure rather than just hand out contracts to…” She glanced over her shoulder at Tori and flared her nostrils. “Well, to whatever ragtag company happens to ask first?”
Ragtag company? Tori bit at a hangnail, hating that she still let Vivi get to her after all these years.
She had to get the job. Despite the fact that it was way more than she’d ever done before, a much bigger job than she was used to. But how much harder could it be to plan something for a few thousand as opposed to a few hundred?
Standing taller, she smoothed down her frizzy hair. Her mother’s voice played in her head.
You need to keep that mop of yours flat-ironed. And stand up straight. You only make your tummy stick out more when you slouch.
Tori squared her shoulders and sucked in her gut. Why hadn’t she taken the time to straighten her hair? “My company is currently Cat’s Paw Cove’s only event planning service, Mr. Quincy.”
“Hmm.” Quincy pursed his lips. “I think we need to suspend the whole bids process just this once since we’re in a pickle and that will only take more time.” He glanced left then right at the council members. “Would someone make a motion?”
The council voted unanimously to award the job to Cat Town Events.
“Sorry, Ms. Craig,” he said to Vivi.
Tori schooled a victorious grin from her face.
Vivi threw her a death stare then turned on her heel and marched out of the room. Tori resisted the urge to applaud.
The man in the suit seated near her mumbled something under his breath before getting up and leaving. Strange.
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