Paws for Trouble

by Patricia Fry

  "What does he know about the two of you?" Brianna asked.

  "That's what I wonder," Rose muttered.

  Roxy hesitated, then blurted, "He overheard her making comments about my weight."

  "Well," Margaret said, "you are carrying some extra weight since the last time I saw you. So am I. What of it? It's a fact."

  That stopped Roxy for a moment, then she faced Belinda. "He said you were talking behind my back, too."

  "What?" Belinda shrieked.

  "You told lies about Blake and me—things that were none of your business."

  "I did?" Belinda asked. "Like what?"

  "Girls," Margaret scolded, "let's not."

  "Oh, let's do," Belinda said. "I'd like to know what stories he's spreading that aren't true. If Roxy believes something that isn't true, I want to be able to set her straight."

  Margaret glanced at Rose, who said, "Makes sense, I guess."

  "So what did he say?" Belinda insisted.

  "That you think Blake is running around on me, and you don't know why I'm too blind to see it."

  "What?" Belinda yelped. "That trouble-making jerk."

  "So is that what you said, Belinda?"

  "No," she defended vehemently.

  "What did you say?" Roxy asked, moving closer. "You can say it to my face now."

  "Nothing," Belinda insisted. "I swear, I didn't say anything like that. He flat-out made it up."

  "Why would he do that?" Roxy asked.

  "Who knows why Jake does any of the things he does," Belinda said.

  Savannah rolled her eyes for Brianna's benefit, then took a deep breath. "Well, has everyone filled their bags? Shall we mosey back to the house?"

  "Yes," Rose said, "let's do."

  Savannah looked at her. "You haven't found your glasses yet?"

  "No."

  "Well, I'm still keeping an eye out for them in case Rags did something with them. I haven't found them in any of his usual hiding places." She put her finger up in the air. "Oh, there's one place I didn't check." She thought for a moment. "I need to get permission, first."

  "Permission in your own house?" Brianna questioned.

  "Well, yeah. Rags used to have a stash in the room Jake's using, but he actually abandoned it a while back. I haven't known him to take things up there in a while. But it could be that he bopped across the hall and put Aunt Rose's glasses over there. I'll check on that as soon as we get back to the house."

  "I want to know what makes you think Blake's cheating on me," Roxy said, catching up with Belinda.

  "I…" she started. "Nothing. Where would I get any information like that? It's a lie, Roxy, I swear. He made that up just to get a reaction."

  Roxy backed off and backed away, although it was obvious that she wasn't completely convinced.

  As they approached the house, Savannah said, "Hey Belinda, Mel, do you have room in your RVs for your fruit?"

  Belinda nodded. "I'll take Mel's bag to her RV."

  "Thanks," Savannah said. She continued, "Roxy and Aunt Rose, let's put your fruit bags in the pantry. They'll keep cooler in there than in your room."

  "Good idea," Rose said. "Thank you."

  Savannah placed a tub of water bottles on the kitchen table, then walked toward her bedroom to freshen up, when she heard her mother shriek. "Mom!" she shouted. "What happened?" She opened the baby gate at the bottom of the staircase and ran up to where Gladys sat holding tightly to a banister post. "Are you all right, Mom?"

  "Yes. Just let me catch my breath," Gladys said.

  "What's going on?" Michael called from the bottom of the staircase.

  "I think Mom fell." Savannah said, sitting down next to her mother.

  Michael trotted up to join them. "Did you step on this, Gladys?" he asked, holding up a toy tractor.

  "No," Gladys said. "I didn't even see that there." She pointed at Rags. "But maybe he did."

  "What do you mean?" Michael asked, looking at the cat.

  "Well, I'd just started walking down the stairs when he came from out of nowhere and knocked me off balance. I fell backward, thank heavens." She petted Rags when he rubbed against her and said quietly, "He ran in front of me just before I could take that step." She grasped her daughter's arm. "Vannie, do you think he did that on purpose? If he hadn't…" she swooned, "…well, I would have stepped right on that toy and probably wound up at the bottom of the stairs with a broken neck."

  "Or he was playing with the tractor," Michael said, "and he got in your way." He frowned. "How did that toy get up here, anyway?"

  "Good question," Savannah said. "I can't imagine Rags carrying something like that." She asked her mother, "Was the baby gate latched when you came up here?"

  Gladys nodded. "But Rags can sidestep that thing. It just serves to keep the children off the stairs."

  "Right," Michael agreed. He looked at his mother-in-law. "So what exactly happened, Gladys?"

  She took a breath. "I came up here to my room to get my sweater, and," she studied the toy again, "I'm almost positive that wasn't there then." She explained, "You know I take these stairs carefully. I watch where I step. I would have seen the tractor coming up." She thought for a moment. "Going down, maybe not." She shuddered. "Kids, what's going on? I heard Iris say something about unchained angry spirits. With all that has happened these last few days, I'm beginning to wonder!"

  Savannah shook her head and said quietly, "I don't know." She asked her mother, "But you're okay aren't you? Can you walk?"

  "What happened?" Jake asked, coming out of his room at the top of the stairs.

  "Mom fell," Savannah said.

  Michael held up the toy. "She almost stepped on this."

  "Oh, that could have been bad," Jake said. "Is she okay?"

  "Yeah," Gladys said, using the banister railing to pull herself to a standing position. "I'm fine." She petted Rags. "Thanks, Rags, I think."

  As Michael helped Gladys down the stairs Savannah and Jake followed along behind. They had just eased around the safety gate when Adam rushed in. "What happened to Grammy?" he asked.

  "She fell," Michael said. "She's okay. No problem."

  Meanwhile, Savannah said, "Jake, I'd like to look for something in your room. Do you mind?"

  "What?" he asked defensively. "You won't take my weed, will you?"'

  "Your weed?" she said disgustedly. "I hope you're joking."

  He grinned and asked, "What do you want in there?"

  "Jake, this is our home," she reminded him. "We've misplaced something and it's possible that Rags took it into your room where he used to hide his treasures."

  "Are we talking about a cat?" Jake asked. He pointed. "That cat?"

  "Yes," she said.

  "Um…oh, so you want to look where?"

  "In the closet. There's a big basket with blankets in it. Rags used to hide things in there."

  "Yeah, I guess that's okay," Jake said, walking toward the kitchen.

  Savannah started to go back up the stairs, but changed her mind. "Adam," she called, "want to do me a favor?"

  He looked at her. "What?"

  "Aunt Rose lost her glasses, and I'm just wondering if maybe Rags put them in his stash, in your old room upstairs." She glanced at Michael and Gladys. "I really should help with Grammy, so would you go in there and see if Rags might have put a pair of glasses in that basket with his other treasures?"

  "Sure," Adam said. "I haven't looked in there in a long time."

  He started to trot on up the stairs when Savannah stopped him. "Why don't you take Rags with you? Sometimes if you think hard about what it is you're looking for, he'll catch on and find it for you."

  "Really?" he asked.

  Here he is," Savannah said when she saw that Rags had caught up to her. "Just call him; he'll probably come to you."

  Adam leaned over and patted his knees. "Come on, Rags. Come, Rags."

  Savannah smiled, watching Rags trot toward the boy. She said, "The glasses are kind of purple, as I recall. T
hey have purple frames."

  "Come on, Rags," Adam said, taking the last few steps two at a time, "let's go find Aunt Rose's glasses." He smiled when Rags bounded up the stairs ahead of him.

  When Savannah saw her mother seated in the dining room with the other women watching the small children work on a craft project, she joined them.

  "So, Bri," Melanie asked, "are you and Bud going to have a family?"

  Bri laughed. "I have a family. You're my family."

  "Come on," Roxy said. "Are you going to have children?"

  "Maybe," she said, "after we build our home and decorate it the way we want it, then maybe we'll think about having a child."

  Belinda and Melanie giggled.

  "What?" Brianna asked.

  "Then you'll never have children," Margaret said. "That's what."

  "What do you mean?" Brianna huffed.

  "You can't just plan that way for kids," Margaret said. "That isn't how it's done."

  "Aunt Maggie, you're telling me about having children?" Brianna asked. "You, the only one among us—besides me—who hasn't had any kids? What do you know?" She laughed. "What do I know for that matter?" She looked around at the others. "That isn't the way it's done?" She focused on her sister. "Vannie, that's how you did it. You married your prince charming, bought the home of your dreams, fixed it up real nice, then had Lily. You're my hero and my role model. That's how I plan to do it, just like you did." She held out her left hand and said, "Get married: check! Build a house: it's in progress."

  Savannah shook her head. "Sis, I hate to break it to you, but no matter how ready you think you are, there's no preparation for motherhood." She glanced around at the others. "Am I right, ladies?"

  Everyone chimed in with comments to support Savannah's statement.

  "You guys have ruined my day," Brianna complained.

  "Melanie pointed at Belle and at Lily. "But just look at the preciousness. Sure, your children might not come on your time schedule, and once you have them there are times when you'll want to pull your hair out, but look at those sweet children." She pointed at Teddy as he pushed a dump truck around in the living room. "And that adorable boy. They're so worth the trouble…"

  "And the pain and hemorrhoids and…" Melanie started.

  Margaret nudged Melanie. "Don't scare her."

  "She's a doctor," Gladys reminded them. "Those things shouldn't scare her."

  "Yeah," Savannah said, chortling, "a doctor of geriatrics." When she saw that Adam had returned, she asked, "Did you find them?"

  Adam nodded a little awkwardly. "Rags did, but not in his stash."

  "Where then?" she asked, puzzled.

  "Well, I hope you're not mad, but Rags wouldn't even help me look in his toy box. He kept jumping up on a backpack. Whose room is that, anyway?" Adam asked. "Jake's?"

  Savannah nodded.

  "I guess it was his backpack, then. Rags kept scratching at it. I sure didn't want to open it; that would be nosey and kinda wrong."

  "That's right," Savannah confirmed. "So, what did you do?"

  He swallowed and said quietly, "I watched Rags and that's when I saw the zipper open a little. Part of some glasses was sticking out of there—purple glasses like you said. So, Rags helped me sort of pull the zipper just enough to see that's what it was, and I took them. If you want me to put them back, I will. I just thought I should show them to you."

  Savannah squeezed Adam's arm. "You did the right thing, buddy. Thank you. Let's ask Aunt Rose if these are hers and we'll go from there, okay?"

  Adam nodded and watched as Savannah got Rose's attention. "Aunt Rose, are these your…"

  The woman gasped. "My glasses!" She looked down at Rags. "So did the cat have them? Is he the scoundrel that took them?"

  Savannah winced. "I don't think so."

  "Well, thank you," Rose said, putting them on. She glanced around at the others. "This is much better." She giggled. "You're a good-looking group, but now I can see your flaws."

  "Oh, that's not good," Roxy complained.

  Meanwhile, Savannah stood up. She motioned for Adam to follow her. When she saw several of the men standing around Jimmy's and Belinda's RV, she walked outside and called for Michael.

  Yes?" he said, meeting her halfway between the house and the RV.

  "What's going on?" she asked. "Are you guys taking that thing apart?"

  Michael shook his head. "I hope it doesn't come to that."

  She frowned. "What's wrong?"

  "Jimmy lost his power—you know air, lights, water pump. We thought his battery needed charging, but it seems to be good." Michael walked back toward the house with Savannah and Adam, saying, "I'm afraid it's in the wiring. I found some wires that look like they've been cut. I didn't want to bring it up to Jimmy yet, hoping those are old wires no longer in use."

  Savannah looked suspiciously beyond Michael at Jake, who sat on a stump watching the other men. Before she could speak, Adam said, "Dad, Rags found Aunt Rose's glasses."

  "Glasses?" Michael asked. "She lost her glasses?"

  Adam nodded. "We thought Rags put them in his stash."

  "Is that where you found them?" he asked. "Did Rags take them?"

  "I don't think so," Savannah said. "I think it was Jake."

  "Yeah," Adam said quietly, "Rags found them in Jake's room."

  "What was Rags doing in Jake's room?" Michael asked sternly.

  "I got permission to look in Rags's stash," Savannah said. "I asked Adam to do it. I thought if Rags took the glasses, he'd show Adam where they were."

  "And did he? Were they in Rags's stash?" Michael asked. He frowned. "Why would Rags put them in there?"

  "He didn't!" Savannah said more loudly than she meant to. She whispered, "Michael, I think Jake's the one causing all the problems around here."

  Michael winced. "Hon, Rags has taken glasses before."

  "Yeah," Adam said, "but Rags found the glasses in Jake's backpack, so we think Jake took them, not Rags."

  "Yes," Savannah agreed, "and what about the other things that are going on around here? Do they seem like they're coincidental to you? Those supposed accidents are way outside Rags's abilities, don't you think so?"

  "Pretty much, yes." Michael agreed. He put his hand on Adam's shoulder. "Hey, buddy, I see Joshua over there tossing rocks into that bucket. Maybe he'd like to throw a ball around or…"

  "Yeah," Adam said, trotting off toward Joshua.

  Meanwhile, Michael glanced at Jake. "But why? Why would he want to hurt Roxy and Bri and us and your mother, for heaven's sake?"

  Savannah dropped her head and murmured, "I don't know." Heatedly, she said, "But I'd sure like to find out."

  "How?" Michael hissed. "If we ask him, he's going to deny it. We'll have to catch him—or someone else if it isn't him—in the act, but how?" Michael began to pace and run his hand through his hair. He thought for a moment and said, "Listen, let me see if I can help Jimmy with that RV issue, then we'll focus on the other problem." He shook his head. "Actually, the problem, if it is Jake or one of the others, is leaving tomorrow. Do you think we'd be safe to just let it go—not cause any waves?"

  "Cause waves?" Savannah hissed. "Michael, we've had a series of mishaps that might be intentional and that could have become quite serious, and you don't want to make any waves? Someone has taken liberties with our health and our very lives. He or she has hurt people. We have to find out who it is. I, for one, want to know why a family member would act that way." She gasped.

  "What?" Michael asked.

  "Well, I saw Roxy and Belinda get into it earlier."

  "They were fighting?" he asked.

  "No, just arguing—being rather vicious with each other, but why would one of them or Melanie or anyone else, for that matter, want to hurt everyone?" She looked at Michael. "Are you sure it's not Joshua? He seems kind of sullen, like something's bothering him."

  "I think he's carrying a lot for a kid his age. From what I understand, there have been stepparent
ing issues and his bio dad isn't too interested in him. But I think he'll be okay," Michael said.

  "You don't believe he's doing this stuff?" Savannah asked. Just then she yelped. "Michael, do you know who caused the problem with Roxy and Belinda and also between Roxy and Mel? It was Jake. He was spreading rumors, trying to create discord between the girls. And it was on purpose. I'm sure of it."

  Michael glanced back at the other men who continued to work around the RV. He ran his hand through his hair again, and said, "Listen, let me see if we can resolve that RV problem, okay? I'll put some thought into this other thing and we'll talk later."

  Savannah nodded. "Okay, you go do your thing." She kissed him. "Good luck."

  ****

  That evening while the extended family enjoyed a meal of grilled hamburgers on the deck, Jimmy asked, "Ron, when are you and Mel pulling out tomorrow?"

  "Early," he said. "I'd like to be on the road around nine or so."

  "By the way," Jimmy said, "you really came to my rescue with that RV problem today. I appreciate your help."

  "Sure. I had something similar happen once, and a friend showed me how to bypass the system as a temporary fix. You'll want to take it to the dealer when you get home."

  "Will do," Jimmy said.

  "When are you leaving?" Ron asked.

  "Probably right behind you."

  "So early?" Brianna asked. "No more visiting tomorrow?"

  "Hey, you're going on your honeymoon Monday," Belinda said. "Don't you want a day to relax, catch your breath, and pack?"

  "Yeah, I guess that would be nice," Brianna agreed.

  Roxy joked, "Oh, so you want us to go, do you, Bri?"

  "When are you heading back?" Melanie asked her sister.

  "Yeah, when?" Rose asked. "I'm riding home with you, right?"

  Roxy nodded. "I think we'll leave early, too."

  Jimmy laughed. "Vannie, it looks like we'll all be out of your hair by lunchtime. Hey, maybe we should plan to eat breakfast on the road so we don't use up any more of your groceries."

  "Or we could take our hosts out to breakfast before we leave town," Ron suggested.

  "Good idea," Belinda said.

  "Well, everyone has contributed to the meals," Savannah reminded them. "It wasn't all us. But breakfast out with you all would be fun…kind of our last hurrah together, probably for a while."