19644d8eebdf42e4b611005d94748ece

Anger flared in my chest, but I did my best to swallow it back down. Was Nan seriously entrusting random people across the country with my biggest secret? It seemed like she wasn’t even all that close with Melissa, given how surprised Melissa had been to meet Paisley and how Nan couldn’t even remember exactly how many dogs these people had.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Melissa said with a conspiratorial grin. “Your secret’s safe with me, by the way. I would never tell anyone. Well, except for my husband and daughter, of course. I tell them everything.”

Great. So at least three other people knew, and one of them was just a kid. First or second grade, tops. Kids had no filters. Not exactly the best people to trust with secrets.

Melissa flung the door open with a“ta-da,” and I glanced into the dark house, expecting to see her dogs lined up to greet me.

What I actually saw was far, far worse…

Octo-Cat must have crept up the stairs behind us because he now let out a mighty growl and jumped—literally jumped—into a thin tree that lined the front stairs.

“It’s my worst nightmare come to life,” he howled.

I wanted to tell him that we wouldn’t be here long, that he had nothing to worry about, but I honestly didn’t know how badly busted Nan’s car was or whether Melissa’s husband was right about being able to find a mechanic at this hour. So instead I left him clinging to the tree as Paisley and I followed Melissa into the houseand shut the door behind us.

Hopefully his worst nightmare wouldn’t also prove to be mine.

Chapter Thirteen

“What are you doing in my houssssse?” hissed a Maine Coon cat, who looked a lot like Octo-Cat except he was at least twice as big, twice as fluffy, and twice as intimidating.

After demanding I explain my presence, he marched straight up to Paisley and batted her in the face. He didn’t growl or take out his claws, but the maneuver still felt extremely aggressive.

“Ttccch!” Melissa said, and the cat skittered away, choosing a place midway up the staircase to keep an eye on us.

“This is my house. I am the king!” the cat said, wagging his tail wildly.

I watched him wearily, worried he might make another move to dominate Paisley if we weren’t careful. Thank goodness, Octo-Cat had chosen to stay outside. This was one fight I knew he wouldn’t be able to win.

“I decide who comes and goes, and I did not approve your entry,” he meowed. “If you want to stay, you must give me a treat stick.”

“Oh my gosh,” Melissa said with a gasp, raising a hand to her heart. “He’s talking to you, isn’t he? Merlin’s talking, and you’re understanding! What is he saying? What does he want?”

I was hesitant to admit that her cat was coming off like a major jerk, but I was even more hesitant to talk about this at all. This person was still little more than a stranger to me, and yet she knew the most intimate, private thing about me. This wasn’t right.

“Well?” Melissa asked with that wide smile of hers.

I sighed.“He wants a treat stick.”

She chuckled.“Well, of course he does. Come with me, and I’ll show you the procedure.”

She then walked me through the exact way Merlin preferred to be offered his special treat sticks, including where to stand when I was opening it, how fast to walk toward the cat tower where he preferred to take the treat, and precisely how long to hold it in my hand before dropping it for him to do the rest of the work.

Man, for not being able to speak to his humans, this Merlin sure knew how to communicate his needs.

“I’m going to let the dogs in now, okay?” Melissa announced, once we’d completed the offering to her cat.

I hadn’t realized they weren’t with us, but the second she opened the sliding glass door, I realized just how quiet the house had been without them.

Paisley immediately rolled onto her back and let the others sniff her as she wagged and wiggled. A fat corgi sniffed her so vigorously that he flipped her over by accident.

“This is great,” Nan’s little dog cried. “I’ve always wanted to go to doggie daycare.”

I sighed. Well, seeing as my secret was out anyway, I may as well talk back to her.“It’s not daycare. It’s just—”

Paisley jumped to her feet with a bark so loud, I took a step back in shock.“It’s the dog from the mirror! Bark, bark, bark!”

Sure enough, a nearly identical mostly black tricolor Chihuahua came galloping over. She barked once and then began to kick up her back legs in a comical display of scratching and snuffling that was most likely meant to be intimidating.

“No, you’re the dog from the mirror!” she barked at Paisley.

“Sky Princess,” Melissa scolded. “Come here.”

The little dog whined and struggled for a moment before settling into her human’s arms.

“Pick me up! Pick me up!” Paisley begged, standing on her hind legs and pawing me while she whimpered.

The moment I did, both dogs resumed barking and accusing each other of being mirror dogs again.