Mystery at Saddle Creek

by Shelley Peterson

  Maybe. Okay, I am. Okay, I’m really sad. Do you feel better?

  I do.

  So you feel good when I feel bad, and that’s good?

  I feel good that you like having me around.

  Well, I admit it. I do.

  I love you, Sunny. You’re my best friend.

  You’re my best friend, too. I never knew what that was until I met you.

  Bird hugged his smooth neck with both arms, and Sunny’s chin pressed into her back.

  May I interrupt?

  Bird turned to see Cody, standing beside them in the dark. Hello, little friend.

  I come to say goodbye. Is it true you must go?

  Yes, Cody, but I’m not far away. I’ll be back soon.

  Much has happened in the time you’ve been here.

  That’s for sure.

  I will look for you when you come again.

  Thank you, Cody. I’ll look for you, too. You have a very special place in my heart.

  I trust you, Bird.

  This was high praise indeed from the coyote, and Bird was flattered. I trust you, too, Cody. May I pat you?

  You may.

  She rubbed Cody’s furry ears with her left hand, and stroked Sundancer’s soft nose with her right. She felt immensely lucky.

  Then, as stealthily as he’d come, Cody was gone.

  Sundancer silently moved away, and resumed his grazing.

  The night was still.

  Slowly, Bird walked back through the field toward the farmhouse, with all its windows warmed with light. She stopped on a grassy rise. From there, the house looked welcoming and safe. Like a perfect family lived inside, with no troubles at all, only laughter and joy.

  She wondered how it must have looked through Tan’s eyes, as he lurked around peering in windows. Did it appear forbidding and claustrophobic? Or did he worry that he wouldn’t fit in? Perhaps he was drawn to it, but couldn’t find a way to belong. Bird didn’t know. But both times that he’d been in the house, he hadn’t stayed long.

  Bird sat on the sweet-smelling grass, deep in thought. Tanbark. Her uncle. She could only imagine what he was about to face. For sure, his loss of freedom would be difficult to overcome — if he could manage it at all. His distrust of people would also be a challenge. Bird’s stomach tightened on his behalf. Dear Tan. Right now he was in a car on his way to a completely unfamiliar world. She so wanted him to be all right. Hopefully he’d come to realize that people cared about him, and that he was not an outcast. She crossed her fingers and made a wish for him.

  Bird rose from the ground and stretched herself tall. The pungent, earthy smell of the summer night tickled her nose — she loved that aroma. She stared into the sky, where the moon and stars were beginning to appear. Bird smiled. In the end, they’d been able to look past the bright moon and see the stars, as Paul had mused that night. The truth had been obscured by her grandfather’s conniving, but they’d figured it out.

  Bird sighed. She would never understand why her grandfather did the things he did. Life would be so much better for him, and the people around him, if he’d just face his mistakes instead of plotting and making them worse. At least he was a good example of what not to do. Those lessons were useful, too.

  Suddenly, the screened kitchen door slammed with a mighty whump. A tall male figure ran across the driveway toward her. He jumped the fence with one hand on the top rail and a graceful sideways leap. Bird stared. Could it be? She blinked and stared again.

  Alec!

  Bird’s hands flew to her mouth and she gasped in surprise.

  Run to him, Bird, urged Cody.

  Run to him, teased Sundancer, before he gets away again!

  They met halfway across the field. Alec grabbed Bird around the waist and twirled her before setting her back down.

  “I missed you, Bird,” he said softly. “Nobody in the world comes close to you.”

  “Have you been looking?” Bird asked slyly.

  “What do you mean?” Alec jumped back, startled.

  She took pity on him. “I missed you, too.” She looked up into his beautiful clear eyes and took his hand. “I really did.”

  Alec smiled shyly. “You’re amazing.”

  Bird felt happy from the bottom of her feet to the top of her head.

  “Have you been keeping busy?” he asked.

  Bird began to laugh. “Just a little.”