by Patricia Fry
"I imagine you do," Savannah said. "I can see there'd be a need."
"Where are you going?" Savannah asked when Gladys and her sisters walked toward the kitchen door.
"Yeah," Jake called out, "are you aunties bored with us already?"
Margaret grinned at him. "It's a secret. We old gals are allowed to have secrets, aren't we?"
"Only if you're not telling secrets about us," Jimmy teased.
"What's that?" Jake asked, shrinking back and pointing.
"What?" Savannah asked.
"Some monster animal is inside there, staring at me," Jake said. "I guess it's a cat. A big gnarly cat."
"That's Rags," Savannah said, seeing him sitting on his windowsill perch.
Jimmy's wife, Belinda, stood up to get a better view. "Is that the cat you wrote the book about, Vannie?"
Savannah nodded. "That's him."
"I haven't read the book yet," she admitted. "Joshua and I are going to read it together—it's on our reading shelf. Is it okay for a ten-year-old?"
"Sure," Savannah said. "Adam read it, and he seemed to enjoy it, but then he knows Rags. That may have made a difference for him."
"When's Adam getting here?" Joshua asked.
"Just about any time," Savannah said. "Michael left around two hours ago to pick him up."
"How far away does he live?" Melanie asked.
"It's a little over an hour's drive." Savannah smiled. "Adam's really eager to see all of you again."
"Where's the bathroom, Mommy?" nine-year-old Misty asked.
"I'll show you," Ron offered, opening the kitchen door for his daughter.
Jimmy tilted his head. "How old is Michael's son now? I think he was eight or maybe nine last time we were here."
"Eleven," Savannah said.
"He's a cool kid," Joshua said.
Jake smacked his lips together. "So, Vannie, you have a cool son, a cool husband, and a cool house. Can I assume you also have a cool life?"
Feeling a little uncomfortable by her cousin's tone, Savannah was relieved when Belinda interjected, "Don't forget the cool cat."
"What does he do that's so cool?" Jake asked. "He looks pretty ordinary to me."
"Yeah, he is," Savannah said, "most of the time."
When Ron returned from the house with Misty, Melanie asked, "What's Mom doing?"
"Just chewing the fat with the other gals."
"There are children in there," Misty said. "Can I go play with them?"
Savannah smiled. "That's Lily and Teddy. I guess they're up from their naps. They're your cousins, Misty. Sure you can play with them." She stood up and invited, "Come on, I'll introduce you." She looked at Misty's brother. "Want to come, Aaron?"
The seven-year-old nodded.
Savannah looked around. "Where's Belle?"
"Joshua took her to the RV to get her blanket," Belinda said.
"Is she cold?" Savannah asked.
Belinda laughed. "No. She just likes carrying it around. Didn't either of your children do that?"
Savannah shook her head. "They both liked stuffed animals." She chuckled, adding, "And real ones." When Joshua returned with his three-year-old sister, Savannah asked, "Belle, want to go inside and play with Lily and Teddy? Lily's just a little bit older than you are."
The petite brunette nodded and Savannah reached for her hand. "Let's go," she said, leading the three children into the house.
"Joshua, you should go with them and watch Belle," Belinda said.
Savannah looked at her, then at Joshua. "Well, he's certainly welcome if he wants to, but the aunties and grammies are in the living room with the kids. They'll be fine."
"Okay," Belinda agreed.
Savannah returned to the porch with a pitcher of iced tea and one of lemonade in time to hear the younger women talking about weight gain. Belinda said, "My grandmother was overweight, so was my aunt, and now my mother. I joined a gym hoping to break the cycle in my generation."
"Well, you look good," Melanie offered.
"Yeah," Belinda said, "wait until I reach my goal weight, then tell me that."
Melanie grimaced. "Speaking of fat in your genes, have any of you seen my sister lately? When no one responded, she frowned. "We don't look so much like twins anymore."
"Oh?" Savannah said. "Why? Has Roxy changed her hair color, had her lips plumped, gotten a tattoo or a piercing?" She shook her head. "I can't imagine her doing any of that."
Melanie revealed, "No, she's put on a little weight."
"More than a little," her husband, Ron, said.
Belinda frowned. "Now that's hard to imagine. You girls have always stayed so slim."
"Not anymore," Melanie insisted. She glanced at Ron. "Yeah, she's quite overweight and really embarrassed by it."
"Why doesn't she just stop eating?" Jake said. "End of problem."
Melanie looked Jake up and down. "Yeah, easy for you to say, stick man." She continued speaking to the women, "Roxy sent me a picture of her wedding dress—I mean the one she bought for Bri's wedding. It's really pretty, and she's so proud of it." Melanie smiled. "She said it makes her feel beautiful again." She confided quietly, "Be sure to compliment her when you see her wearing it tomorrow."
Savannah nodded and asked, "When will they get here, Mel? You said Blake had to work?"
"They'll pull in around midmorning. Will that be okay?"
"Sure," Savannah said.
Melanie smiled. "By the way, I love the wedding venue out there on the lawn." She looked around. "Your yard is so different from what I remember."
Savannah chuckled. "Yes, it is. We boarded a bunch of horses a few years ago when our friends' stable burned. That pretty much annihilated our landscaping. When the horses left, we did a total redesign."
"I love it," Melanie gushed. "You have so much color right now."
"Perfect for a wedding," Belinda said.
Melanie nodded. "Who built that great archway?"
"The arbor?" Savannah said. "Michael and Bud."
"Bud?" Melanie questioned.
Savannah looked at her. "The groom."
"Oh, isn't his name Gunther or something like that?" Belinda asked. "That's what it said on the invitation."
Savannah nodded. "He's named after his dad, but everyone calls him Bud. Yeah, he helped, and I think so did our friend Damon. Iris, Damon's mother, had the climbing roses brought in. Bri and I helped Iris fasten them to the arbor."
"Looks beautiful," Melanie said. "Picture perfect."
"You still have horses, don't you?" Jake asked, looking out toward the corrals. "Can I go see them?"
"Sure," Savannah said. "The sorrel is Peaches; she's the most friendly one." When Jake gave her a blank stare, she said, "She's the one on the right. Gypsy's the darker-colored one on the left. She's not all that cordial."
"I'm not going to jump on her back," he said sarcastically. "I just want to see them."
"Sure," Savannah said, watching him walk away. She looked at Jimmy. "Is your brother depressed or something?"
"I think so," Belinda responded. "There's something going on with him. We don't hang out much anymore since he and Laurel broke up."
"Laurel? Last I knew he was with Marla."
"Yes," Belinda said, "then Pamela, then Sarah, then Laurel."
Savannah stared after Jake. "Gads, that's a lot of loss."
Belinda chuckled. "That's one way to look at it."
Just then Savannah smiled and waved. "Here come Michael and Adam."
"Hi, Savannah," Adam said, bounding up the porch steps. He hugged her briefly, then glanced around at the others.
"Hi, yourself," she said, smiling. "Everyone, you remember Adam."
"Yes," Melanie said, "but you were just a little boy when we met you at your dad's and Savannah's wedding. Look at you now."
Adam blushed.
"You saw him here on that Easter we spent together," Savannah reminded her.
"That's right." Melanie smiled at the boy. "Well, Adam,
you sure look like your dad."
"And my uncle," Adam said. When Melanie looked confused, he said, "He's my dad's twin brother. They look the same."
"Mel's a twin, too," Savannah told him.
Adam glanced around at the others, then tilted his head. "She is?"
Mel laughed. "My sister isn't here yet. She'll be here tomorrow."
When Adam saw Joshua a distance away from the others, he said, "Hey."
"Hey," Joshua responded.
"Wanna do something?" Adam asked.
"What?" Joshua asked, glancing at his mother.
"Come with me to my room. I'll put my stuff away, then we can decide." After a moment he added, "We can play catch."
Joshua shook his head.
"Croquet?" Adam suggested. "I also have some board games."
Joshua glanced at his mother again, then asked Adam, "Can we ride those horses out there? Are those horses yours?"
Adam nodded. "Well, they're Savannah's. I don't think we'll be able to ride right now. Want to come see my room?"
"Okay, I guess," Joshua said, following Adam into the house.
Savannah smiled when she saw Adam stop at the windowsill perch and hug Rags. Moments later, Lily opened the side kitchen door and called out, "Mommy, I'm playing with Bella, Mitzi and…um…Baron."
Savannah chuckled and corrected, "Belle, Misty, and Aaron. Yes, you have new friends to play with, don't you?"
"Cousins," Lily said. "They're my cousins, Mommy."
"Yes they are. Hey, punkin, come on out here and close the door or go back in so the cats don't…"
Before Savannah could finish the sentence, Lily lost her balance. Jimmy reached out and stopped her fall, which caused the door to open even wider. And Rags being Rags, he took full advantage of the opportunity.
"Rags," Savannah said, leaping from her chair and grasping hold of the cat. "You want to come out and meet everyone, do you?" she murmured. "Well, let me get your leash. Come on."
"You talk to cats, Vannie?" Jake asked, returning to the porch. He laughed. "Does he answer you?"
"Actually, sometimes he does," she said, walking into the house with the cat.
When she returned with Rags on his leash, Jake snickered and asked, "Now what's this? So this isn't a cat? It looks like a cat, but cats can't be led around like that, so it must be a dog. Hi, dog," he said, trying to get Rags's attention.
Jimmy, losing his patience with his brother, hissed, "Jake, just zip it, will you?"
Belinda added, "Yeah, if you can't say something nice…"
"And if you people can't take a joke," Jake spat, "well, I don't want to be in your company."
"Where's he going?" Michael asked, watching Jake amble across the yard toward a thick stand of trees on the edge of their property. Michael looked around at everyone. "What did I miss?"
"Oh, he's just so negative and sarcastic," Melanie complained.
"Caustic and mean is more like it," Belinda groused. "You should have ridden with him all the way up here from LA."
"No thank you," Melanie said.
"Awe, guys," Jimmy said, "he's just trying to find his place in the group. He's not the most social kid on the block. Give him a chance."
"Kid?" Savannah said. "How old is he now, about thirty-two?"
Jimmy nodded. "And he has issues. Everyone, just try to get along with him, okay?"
Belinda sniggered, "Yeah, like you do?"
"I'll admit, he can grate on your nerves after a while," Jimmy agreed. "All I'm saying is, let's try to help him fit in."
"Sure," Savannah said. "We can do that. Thanks for the reminder, Jimmy."
He grinned and attempted to entice Rags. "Hi, cat."
"Rags," Belinda said. "His name's Rags, right Vannie?"
Savannah nodded.
"Why?" Jimmy asked.
"That's what I was wondering," Ron said. "He doesn't look all raggedy. He's sleek and smooth."
"Well, it's complicated," Savannah said. "His mother is a Ragdoll and…"
Ron broke out in laughter. "Wait just a minute. A ragdoll?" he repeated. "As in a doll made from cloth? How's that? I mean, how does that happen?"
Savannah chuckled and explained, "Ragdoll is a type of cat. They're real fluffy. I wanted to call him Rags because of his breeding." She giggled a little. "I thought it would make for interesting conversation, and it certainly does."
"I imagine," Jimmy said, staring suspiciously at the cat.
"His name's actually Ragsdale," Savannah explained. "I also thought he should have a more sophisticated name."
"Why?" Jimmy asked. "Does he need a stage name?"
"With Rags you never know," Michael said.
"Is he supposed to be doing that?" Belinda asked, pointing.
"What?" Savannah asked, leaning over to see what Rags was doing under the chair Jake had been sitting in.
"Looks like he found something," Michael said. He crouched near the chair. "Someone stuffed a food wrapper in a gap between the porch slats." He picked up the wrapper and tucked it into his pocket to dispose of later, saying, "No biggie. He's a nosey cat."
Jimmy held out his hand. "Wait, Michael. Let me see that."
"Why?" Michael asked, handing it to him. "Are you hungry?" he teased. "Do you think there's flavor left to lick?"
"Funny, Michael," Jimmy said. "No, it's just that the kids picked out some snacks to bring with them. Belle chose some of those little peanut butter cracker snacks. When she wanted to eat one, we couldn't find them. Jake swore he hadn't seen them, but dang it, look at that." He held up the wrapper. "This is from Belle's cracker snack, isn't it?"
"Yes," Belinda said. "Jake's such a jerk. Taking candy from babies. That's just wrong." She said to the others, "You can see how that man can test your patience."
Savannah nodded. She petted Rags when he returned to where she was sitting, and she chuckled. "Same with this guy. Sometimes there are things you'd rather not know about, but Rags is always eager to bring it to your attention anyway."
Chapter Two
At four that afternoon, everyone was ready to go to the rehearsal dinner. Everyone except for Jake.
"Where is he?" Jimmy huffed, pacing in circles near the driveway. "I told him to meet us out here at ten minutes to four." He walked toward the porch. "I'd better go see what's holding him up."
"He acted kind of odd when he returned from that grove of trees earlier, don't you think so?" Melanie asked. "I thought he was trying to hide something."
Jimmy stopped. "Like what?"
"I saw blood on his face," Adam said, wide-eyed. "So did Joshua. It looked like he fell or ran into a tree or something."
"Or a bear," Joshua added.
"He was hurt?" Savannah asked. "I wonder what happened. Did you boys ask him?"
"No, he just walked all fast to the house like he didn't want to talk to anyone," Adam explained.
"I wonder what happened," Jimmy said. "I'd better go check on him."
"Here he comes," Belinda said.
"Oh no!" Savannah shouted when she saw Jake holding the side kitchen door open. "Don't let the cat out. No cats outside!"
"You didn't tell me that," Jake said. "Anyway, I didn't let him out. All I did was walk out the door. He came out on his own."
Savannah waved him off. "It's okay, Jake. I'll get him. Adam, want to help me?" she asked.
"Sure." The boy moved toward Rags, soon calling out, "Got him. He wasn't going anywhere. He just wanted to see what we were all doing out here, huh, Rags?"
Savannah smiled and petted the cat, crooning, as Adam turned him loose in the house, "You stay inside with your sisters. We'll be back pretty soon, and you can see everyone." After closing and locking the door, she rested one arm across Adam's shoulders. "Thanks, pal. You're always better at capturing him than I am."
"Did you feed the horses?" Michael called.
Savannah let out a sigh. "Darn. I forgot. I'm sorry, Michael. I'll do it."
"I'll go," Michael offered. "You
get the kids settled in the car."
"I'll help," Jake said. "I've never fed a horse before. How do you do that?"
"You just throw a flake of hay at 'em," Michael joked. "Come on. I'll show you." He glanced at the man as they walked. "Say, what happened there, Jake? Your face is bruised and cut a little."
"Walked through some sort of briar patch out in those trees," Jake muttered. He quickly changed the subject. "So which one's the friendly horse? Savannah said one's friendly. Where do you get your hay? Looks like you have room enough here to grow it. Why don't you grow hay rather than all of those useless flowering plants?"
Michael glanced at Jake and proceeded to feed the horses, saying, "Become a farmer? No thanks. Sounds like too much work." When he finished the task, he saw Jake lagging behind him, and called, "Let's go, Jake. The women don't like it when we arrive late."
****
Michael patted Savannah's knee as he drove the family home later that evening. "Do you feel well-rehearsed?"
"I guess so," she said. "Those wedding rehearsals are always kind of chaotic."
"I just hope I remember my lines," Michael joked.
She slapped at him. "You don't have any lines, silly. You said your lines at our wedding just fine. It's Bud's turn tomorrow." As they pulled into the driveway and closer to the house, she shouted, "Stop!"
"What?" he asked, hitting the brakes.
"I thought I saw a horse."
"Oh, hon," he soothed, "I knew you shouldn't have had that second glass of wine."
Adam sat up in his seat to look out the front window. He laughed. "Are you drunk, Savannah?"
"No," she insisted. "I had two very small glasses of wine with dinner. That's all." She looked around. "I could have sworn I saw a horse."
"There!" Adam shouted. "I see one. I think it's Peaches."
"Good lord," Michael said under his breath. "She's out? How did that happen?"
"We have a lot of little visitors this weekend," Savannah said. "We'll have to be extra careful where the animals are concerned. Maybe we'd better lock the corrals."
"First," he said, turning off the ignition, "we need to catch her."
Adam skinnied past Teddy's car seat and out the car door, saying, "I'll go get a light."
