Vetted Again

by K'Anne Meinel

  “Oh, I will. I have to go call–” Traci began, her words cut off as she raced towards the farmhouse.

  “It’s too late to make any calls,” Allyssa called and stopped the little girl in her tracks. Fey chuckled. They hadn’t even realized how late it was.

  “God, it’s hot,” Sean admitted, pulling at the collar of his t-shirt.

  “Well, cool off then,” Allyssa said. She had been about to turn off the water flow into the hose, but instead, she grabbed the handle of the sprayer and sprayed him.

  “Hey!” he yelped in consternation.

  Fey looked at her wife and started to laugh at the surprise on her brother’s face. Mischievously, she grabbed the hose she had just wound up and pointed the nozzle at her wife.

  “Hey! That’s cold,” Allyssa yelled, turning her hose on her wife.

  “Didn’t you just say it was hot?” Fey asked over the water, trying to sound innocent and failing.

  “I didn’t say it was hot, Sean did!” They turned as one and began spraying the boy.

  “Hey!” he protested, but he was grinning as he tried to get away.

  “What about me?” Traci taunted. They turned to spray her, just missing her when she ran away.

  A game ensued. They sprayed everyone they could reach, but they were limited by the length of the hoses that rapidly unwound from the neat, little circles they had been making. The dogs barked, and they sprayed them too. Everyone got soaked!

  When they were finished, their hair was plastered to their heads. They pulled the hoses in again and wound them up, turning off the water. They had wasted quite a bit, but each was pleased with the fun they had enjoyed as a family. They dripped their way to the porch to sit in the hot breeze, smelling a bit of smoke on the wind.

  “Will that fire reach us here?” Traci worried.

  “We hope not,” Fey admitted as she sat with her wife. She was glad they had decided to water everything down, and the water fight with her siblings had been a hoot. She squeezed Traci’s hand, smiling at her.

  “What if it does? Would we lose the house like Grandma and Grandpa?”

  “That was deliberately set,” Fey told her.

  “No, I meant Great-Great-Grandma and -Grandpa?”

  “What do you know of that?”

  “I read the books you published,” she admitted, looking from one woman to the other to see if she was in trouble.

  “Dad didn’t want you to read those until you were much older.”

  “Why not?” Sean put in, proving he had read them too. “There’s nothing in them that we shouldn’t read?”

  “I don’t think Dad wanted you to know they were lesbians.”

  “Could you imagine hiding that for all those years?” he marveled.

  “Why? You two are lesbians,” Traci questioned.

  “It was different back then.”

  Both children shrugged it off, and Allyssa exchanged a look with Fey. It was a completely different generation, and the children’s generation were more accepting than their generation had ever been. While Fey had understood her father wanting to keep it a secret until they were mature enough to appreciate the implications, both children were growing up with a lesbian sister and accepted it.

  “What would you take if we had to move everything out for a fire?” Sean wondered, sitting back in a wicker rocking chair as they dried off.

  “I’d go for the pictures,” Allyssa stated without hesitation.

  “I’d take the children,” Fey put in dryly, laughing at her wife.

  “Well, yeahhhh,” Allyssa put in, laughing with her wife. “That went without saying.”

  “How would we get everything out?” Traci asked.

  “We wouldn’t get everything out,” Fey told her. “We’d have to take what was most important and leave the rest.”

  “Great-Great-Grandma’s glass,” Sean mentioned, nodding towards the colored glass that was faintly visible in the window despite the darkness of the night. He was petting Rex, who had come up to snuffle under his hand and demanded some pets. Lexy had curled up with Traci and was sharing her small couch on the porch. The cats wanted to join them but disdained the wet humans.

  “God, I hope we never have to do that,” Allyssa put in, having felt that way when she read about it in the journals. She knew Fey still hurt after finding out her beloved grandparents had perished in a fire by the very rustlers they had killed.

  After everyone was sufficiently dry enough to avoid dripping all over their floors, they went inside to peel off their damp clothes in the upstairs’ bathrooms. It was already quite late, and the two moms checked on their babies before heading for their own bathroom to change out of their damp clothes. The babies were sleeping fine, so the moms shared a shower and each other’s bodies, enjoying the end of their day together. It had been a good day.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Fey had to go off with her interns early the following morning, so Allyssa drove her brother- and sister-in-law to the fairgrounds, agreeing to pick them up after dark in a specific location and handing each of them a cell phone for emergencies. “Now, this isn’t for talking to your friends. You can call me or Fey with them and that’s it. Don’t use up the minutes! I bought these phones only for emergencies,” she warned them. “Here’s some extra money for each of you. Have fun!”

  She watched as they ran off. She worried that they were too young to go off alone, but they were meeting with friends from 4-H and school, and they had to let them go at some point and trust them to be responsible. She headed to the post office, locking the babies in the Suburban with the air-conditioning on while she ran in to get the mail.

  “Hi, Allyssa,” Margaret, the postmistress greeted her. “How’s my namesake?” she asked.

  “She’s beautiful,” Allyssa called back. “Have a good day!” She hurried out. She hated to leave the babies unattended like that, but it was a small town, the air was on, and she really had no choice if she was going to get things done. She drove them back home and one by one, she put each on the ground as she unstrapped the next one. She couldn’t carry all three into the house, but Juanita saw her and helped her.

  “Ah, he’s become a little pot,” Juanita complained good-naturedly as she swung Tom up into her arms. Allyssa managed with Erin and Molly under each arm. Getting them into the living room, she was then able to hand them off to Juanita, who enticed them into their highchairs with offers of cereal and fruit.

  Allyssa got her work done around the babies’ schedules. It had been difficult, and she was frequently behind, but when they slept and Juanita helped, she managed to catch up. It also helped that the computer was hooked up in both the house and the clinic, and she headed out to the cabin to do a little inventory while the babies were down for a nap. While she was working, she thought she heard something but shrugged it off as an animal when she didn’t see any signs of the dogs acting up. She saw that Rhonda and Woody hadn’t returned from their week off yet. They had decided it was simply too hot to work and were taking a break from the horses and the many clients they now had.

  Several times as she finished up her work, she looked up. She was listening to the baby monitor and thought she heard something. She checked on Lexy and Rex several times, but both were sleeping lethargically on the porches in their selected spots. Rex preferred the cabin since he had lived there so long while healing from his various injuries, and Lexy had decided the farmhouse was the place to be for her humans, even if she did have to contend with friendly cats. “You two must have really been worn out last night,” she said as she passed Rex, who thumped his tail slightly on the porch before going back to sleep in the shade of the overhang. Allyssa also checked the barn. There were no animals inside other than the new mama kitty, who had given birth to a small litter. Each of the kittens was spoken for, and Fey had promised to fix the mama but had not gotten around to it yet. Cats got pregnant far too easily, so it wouldn’t be good for her to wait too much longer. Allyssa considered doing
the procedure herself since she was now a fully-qualified vet tech with a certificate to prove it, but she knew that would technically be crossing a line. Even though she knew how to do it, she wasn’t a vet.

  The heat, the smell of smoke in the air, and the bright sun was causing her to feel uneasy today. She decided she would head back to the house and enjoy the air conditioning after finishing up her inventory in the addition. She had wondered how their interns were coping in the loft until Fey admitted she had put in a small air conditioner for them to use in the small space. She didn’t see the point in smothering anyone who stayed up there.

  Allyssa had just finished up and was intending to check her numbers on the computer in the house, but she decided to use the bathroom in the addition first. As she opened the door, there was a scuffling noise and she was suddenly propelled backward. The surprise caused her to fall, knocking over a tray and causing a clatter as the stainless steel hit the wood floor.

  “What the–?” she began as she struggled with her attacker. The surprise was absolute, and the shock made her slow to fight back. She cursed herself for no longer wearing her gun, but she had stopped because of the children. She didn’t want them touching it. Even if it was on safety, it was still a gun.

  “You bitch! You and your whore wife are going to pay for what you stole from us and our family,” the voice said, filled with menace.

  Allyssa felt herself being choked, but she didn’t recognize her attacker until he spoke. It was Trever, and she stared at him in consternation as he applied pressure to her throat.

  “Maybe we should keep it all in the family,” he said as he ground down suggestively on the juncture between her legs.

  Allyssa reached out, trying to find something, anything to hit him with. Her fist was useless, and his strength was superior to her own. She heard nails on the wood and prayed that one of the dogs was coming. But the sound wasn’t quite right. It was like a dragging noise, not a walking noise. When Rex came into the room with an angry ‘argh’ sound in his throat, she saw that his limbs weren’t moving normally as he moved in on her attacker. Fortunately, Rex’s movement was enough to distract Trever for a moment, and Allyssa grabbed the opportunity to look around. She spotted the tray of tools she had knocked down including scalpels. Thank goodness! She always kept a tray filled with surgical tools ready for Fey in case they had an emergency. She reached for a scalpel, cutting herself slightly when she grabbed it blade first, then turning it and plunging it into the arm of the hand that was squeezing her neck. Trever had removed his second hand from her neck to unzip his pants.

  “OW! You BITCH!” he shouted in her face, spittle striking her skin as she rolled him off her. Trever rolled into Rex, who tried to bite him. Trever curled up enough to bring his feet into play and Allyssa cringed at the yelp their big dog made as he flew across the room. Rex had only been trying to help her. While Trever dealt with the dog, it enabled Allyssa to get up and run through the door, closing it behind her and momentarily delaying Trever, who had lunged up, the scalpel still embedded in his muscle as he came after her. She ran to the desk where she kept a gun and pulled open the drawer, cocking the gun as she turned, and just then, Trever came through the door.

  “You won’t shoot me,” he sneered.

  “Won’t I?” she asked. She was as terrified as she had been that day with the rustlers, but she would shoot. She shouldn’t have hesitated. Trever lunged at her, and the gun went off, her finger still on the trigger. He was hit in the shoulder, a little higher than where she had aimed, but he was hit. He fell back, shocked that she would shoot him. But it wasn’t a fatal shot, and she quickly jacked back the hammer preparing to fire again. The revolver turned automatically, pulling in the next available bullet.

  Trever stared into the gun, seeing the bullets revealed in the revolver. He was angry, angrier than he could ever remember being. He had waited for just the right moment to jump her. The dogs had eaten the food he left them, but she had taken forever to get out here and they had slept off most of the medication. He found it hard to remain quiet as he hid first, in the loft and then later, in the bathroom, waiting for his moment with her. As she opened the door to the bathroom, he had lunged, surprising her. Damn! It should have been relatively easy to overpower her. He could feel himself weakening. The blood was leaking from his arm, and he pulled the scalpel out and held it as a weapon. But the gunshot was worrying him more than the cut in his bicep. He looked at her, trying to decide if she would shoot him again. He didn’t think she would unless he went for her again. What should have been an easy rape had instead turned into a fight for his life.

  “I’m just going to go here,” he said, trying to calm her angry look.

  “No, you are going to stand right where you are until the sheriff arrives,” she countered, holding the gun on him steadily. She knew she would be shaking soon. The adrenaline was wearing off and she wanted to dial 911 so badly.

  “Look, its not like I really did anything to you. You won,” he said, gesturing to the wounds he had received.

  “Didn’t do anything? You attempted to rape me,” she told him, wondering if she could shoot him without her conscience bothering her. It had taken her a long time to get over the other shooting she had been involved in, but she had been able to justify that in her mind.

  Trever considered trying to overwhelm her, but she was ready to shoot. Would she shoot him if he just walked out? He started to edge towards the door of the cabin and heard the dog in the back room trying to rise from the floor.

  “Stay still,” Allyssa ordered Trever, the gun following him and backing up her command.

  “Shoot me,” he taunted her, shocked when the gun went off again, this time over his shoulder. The sound of breaking glass alarmed him, causing him to flinch. He waited as she reached for the phone, never taking her eyes off him as she dialed 911, then, he dove for the door.

  Allyssa shot again, but it was a badly aimed shot and she knew she may have only scratched him. She brought the cordless phone with her as she ran to the door.

  “911. What’s your emergency?” the voice intoned.

  “This is Allyssa Herriot at the Falling Pines Ranch and Herriot Veterinary Clinic. An intruder named Trever Kapatrick tried to rape me. I stabbed him with a scalpel and my dog bit him. I managed to get away and got to my gun. I shot him once, and he’s running now.” She watched as he ran up the hill. He was kind of limping but making good time.

  “You said you shot someone?” the voice asked, no emotion in it.

  Allyssa sneered. Not only was Trever getting away, but the idiot on the other end of the line hadn’t listened. “Yes, I shot Trever Kapatrick, who tried to rape me,” she said, more emotion hitting her as the adrenalin wore off. She saw Juanita come out the front door of the house and waved her back, the gun in her hand saying more than any words. She could see Lexy struggling to get up from the porch. “He’s running down our driveway and over the hill now.” She wished she could go after the bastard and finish him off. She had known the two brothers were bullies but rapists too? She amended that thought; only Trever had attempted rape. Who knew what else they were guilty of.

  “Are you hurt?” the voice asked.

  Allyssa was already tired of the stupid questions. “He tried to choke me,” she said into the phone as though the woman should already know that or be able to see it. “Yes, I’m hurt. Will you send officers to apprehend him?” she asked, knowing she sounded prissy.

  “I’ve dispatched officers,” the voice said, never rising above it’s monotone. “Do you need an ambulance?”

  “I don’t think I do but he does. I hit him once in the shoulder and possibly grazed him with a second bullet,” she admitted. The adrenaline was leaving her system and she was starting to shake. She lowered the gun and slipped the safety on. She walked back into the office to sit down, holding the cordless phone to her ear as she removed the three spent bullets and replaced them with fresh bullets from the box in the desk drawer. Sh
e left the empties on top of the barn door that was her desk.

  “Ma’am? Ma’am?” the voice came through the line. Allyssa didn’t realize she had stopped listening and was holding the phone as she automatically reloaded. Fey had taught her well. Fey! What if she had been here? It was then, Allyssa remembered the dog. She put the phone down, not hanging it up as she went to check on Rex. She found him staggering to his feet, obviously in distress. She put him into a kennel one-handed, so he wouldn’t hurt himself. The other hand was still holding the revolver and her neck was sore from holding the phone pinned between her ear and shoulder. She couldn’t tell how much damage Trever had inflicted on the poor dog. She left him and returned to the front room of the cabin.

  “Allyssa?” Juanita came hesitantly up the steps of the cabin.

  “It’s okay, Juanita. Are the children okay?” she asked, putting the phone down, her neck hurting from the odd angle she had kept it in.

  “They are taking their naps. They didn’t hear the gunfire,” she told the girl, eyeing the gun in her hand and glancing around. There was glass missing from one of the cabinets.

  “Dammit! I’m going to have to replace that pane of glass again,” Allyssa said when she noticed it too. Just then, she heard the baby monitor go off. It was Erin, judging from the cries. It always amazed her that she could tell which of the three babies was crying. Erin did not sound happy.

  “I’ll go,” Juanita said and immediately made to leave.

  “I’ll go with you,” Allyssa said, making doubly sure the safety was on before tucking the gun in her belt at her back and following the housekeeper. She knew it would be a while before the sheriff or his deputy made it to the ranch. It was then, she realized she had left the phone off the hook and stopped talking to the emergency operator. Where was her mind at? She turned to head back to the clinic, unsure if she should go to the phone or to her son, and that hesitation left her standing in the middle of the yard. When she heard Juanita gasp, she looked up and discovered why Erin was crying. Peter was standing on their porch holding the crying baby, and his hand was in a position where he could break the baby’s neck with a simple twist.