by Patricia Fry
Moments later, Simon complained, “Hey, he’s splashing me. What’s he think he’s doing? Stop it, Wilson!” he said, turning away. When he looked back at the horse, he remarked, “Gosh, he is thirsty. Look at him drink.” He laughed. “Hey, he drinks funny. Did you see that? He washed his lips in the water first, now he’s sucking in the water.”
Adam laughed. “Savannah said horses splash with their lips like that to clean the water—you know to move any sticks or bugs and things out of the way so they can drink.”
“Well they drink funny,” Simon said. He tilted his head. “Wilson you’re going to drink the river dry. Savannah, when’s he going to quit drinking? I’m hungry.”
She grinned. “You’ll be okay. Just let him drink his fill.”
Simon let out a dramatic sigh and kicked at a rock. Several minutes later, he said, “Finally.”
“Finally?” Rochelle questioned.
“Finally, Wilson quit drinking. Now can we eat?” He glanced in the direction of the sound he thought he’d heard earlier “Can I go see what’s over there?”
Savannah chuckled. “Come with me. I’ll show you how we’re going to secure the horses so they can rest comfortably until we’re ready to go back.”
Once the group had returned the short distance to the meadow, Savannah buckled a set of hobbles on Peaches, then took Gypsy from Adam and asked, “Would you take Lily over to that log there and keep an eye on her, please?”
“Okay.”
She tied Gypsy to the fence section.
Simon stared suspiciously at Peaches and he asked Savannah, “What’s that you put on your horse? It’s like handcuffs. I didn’t know they made handcuffs for horses. Aren’t you afraid she’ll run away?”
“They are kind of like handcuffs for horses,” Savannah said. “They’re called hobbles. And you’re right, some horses can run pretty darn fast with hobbles, but these horses are all accustomed to them and they don’t try to run—at least they never have yet. Let’s hope they don’t today.”
“That would be too much undesirable excitement,” Rochelle said.
Savannah saw Lily leaning over and looking at something in a tall clump of grass. “Lily, what are you doing?”
“Mommy, it’s kitties!”
Savannah glanced at Rochelle and yelped, “Skunks?” She shouted, “Lily, don’t touch them! Adam,” she called, “what did she find?”
“She’s right,” Adam said excitedly, “it’s baby kittens. Two of them.”
“I want to see,” Simon said anxiously. “What shall I do with this?” he asked Savannah, holding out Wilson’s lead rope.
She grinned and took the rope from the boy. “I’ll tie him for you.” She then shouted, “Adam, don’t let Lily touch them!” Under her breath for Rochelle’s benefit, she said, “Whatever they are.”
“Chipmunks?” Rochelle suggested.
“Actually, she knows her animals really well,” Savannah said, “even some quite obscure types, so maybe it is kittens.” Once the two women had finished securing the horses, she sighed. “Well, let’s go see what they found.”
“It is kittens!” Simon shouted. “Little baby ones.”
“Oh my gosh,” Savannah said when she peered into the clump of grass. She kneeled and said quietly, “What in the world are you babies doing way out here?”
“Damn,” Rochelle said. “Someone probably dumped them.”
“Out here?” Savannah questioned.
“Yeah, look, there’s a baby blanket over there. No wild mother cat would have access to a baby blanket.”
“Where do you think they came from?” Adam asked.
“Rochelle believes someone brought them out here to die,” Savannah complained. “Look around guys and see if you find any more kittens or a mother cat.”
“If you see a cat, don’t touch it,” Savannah instructed. “It could be wild.”
“Exciting,” Simon said. “Adam, you said there’s always something exciting when you go riding with Savannah. This is exciting—surprise baby cats.”
Savannah and Rochelle grinned at each other, and Savannah muttered, “Yeah, exciting. Poor little things.” She picked one up and examined it, then the other one. “I don’t think they’ve been out here for very long. They’re clean and they seem to have full tummies.”
“Their mom must be out here with them, then,” Rochelle reasoned.
“Or they were just dumped.”
“How old do you think they are?” Rochelle asked.
“Maybe six or seven weeks.”
“I want to take a picture,” Simon said, returning to where the kittens were found.
“After you help Adam look for more kittens,” Rochelle said.
“Oh yeah, animals first,” he grumbled.
Rochelle smiled and patted him on the back.
Meanwhile, Savannah wet her finger from her water bottle and held it up to one kitten’s nose. The kitten immediately licked the moisture. Savannah continued offering the kittens the water, and Rochelle soon joined her.
“Can I do it, Mommy?” Lily chirped.
“Sure, honey. Hold out your finger.”
Lily giggled with delight when the kittens licked and sucked on her finger.
“Find anything?” Rochelle called out to the boys.
“Yeah,” Adam said. “Footprints.”
“And motorbike prints,” Simon added.
“Hey, good job,” Savannah said. “I wouldn’t think someone would walk this far from civilization to dump kittens. And people who ride horses generally wouldn’t abuse kittens. A motorbike, huh? The creep!”
“Why do you say that?” Simon asked. “This seems like a nice home for kittens to live and play.”
“Not really,” Savannah said. “There are a lot of predators out here.”
“Predators?” Simon repeated.
“Larger animals that eat smaller animals like kittens, cats, rabbits…”
Rochelle nodded. “Yeah, predators like coyotes, wolves, owls, hawks. These kittens wouldn’t have a chance out here. Plus, what are they going to eat?” Rochelle asked.
“Um…cats like fish, don’t they?” Simon said. “They could go fishing in that river.”
“Yeah, if they had a chance to grow up, maybe, but these babies wouldn’t know the first thing about hunting or fishing yet,” Savannah said. “They still need their mama and a safe place to live.”
“Oh,” Simon said, staring down at the kittens.
“Want to hold one?” Savannah asked.
Simon looked slightly apprehensive. “Okay.”
“Can I?” Adam asked.
“Of course,” Savannah said.
He’s so soft,” Simon said, smiling. “And cute.” He giggled. “He’s trying to suck on my finger.”
“Oh, he might want more water,” Rochelle said. “Here, wet your finger a little.”
“It tickles,” he said, laughing. He rubbed his face in the kitten’s fur. “He really is cute.” He looked at Savannah. “He looks kind of like your big cat—Rags.”
“Yeah, I noticed that,” Savannah agreed.
“What are we going to do with them?” Adam asked. “We can’t leave them here?”
“Certainly not,” Savannah agreed. “Let’s make them a little bed with this blanket and watch them while we eat. We’ll also need to find out if the mother cat is out here with them. If so, we can try to rescue her, too.”
“We’re taking them with us?” Adam asked excitedly.
“On the horses?” Simon squealed.
“Yeah, now you’ll see how a cat can ride a horse,” Savannah said.
“How?” Simon asked, confused.
“Probably in someone’s pocket,” Rochelle suggested.
“Good idea,” Savannah remarked.
“One could ride in my baseball cap,” Simon offered.
“Another good idea,” Savannah said. “Thanks for that, Simon.”
He grinned from ear-to-ear.
****
<
br /> “You found what?” Michael asked, when the two boys ran into the house shouting later that day.
“Kittens, Dad. Baby kittens. They were lost…”
“Someone took them out there to die,” Simon said wide-eyed. He added, “Lily found them.”
“Yeah,” Adam said, breathlessly, so she got to name one of them.”
“I named the other one because I had a good idea for carrying them on the horse.” Simon slumped a little. “Only that didn’t work very good. The cat didn’t want to ride in my baseball cap. So Rochelle had to carry that kitten. She wrapped her in a blanket.”
Adam smiled. “Savannah carried Minnie in her jacket pocket.
“Minnie?” Michael questioned.
“That’s the one Lily named. She thinks the kitten looks like a mouse, so she named her Minnie.”
Simon said excitedly, “I named the other one Blossom after a dog I know that’s about the same color.” He added, “They’re both girl cats. Savannah said so.”
“And you’ve named them because?” Michael asked, suspiciously.
“Because they didn’t have names,” Adam explained.
“And if they did,” Simon said, “we didn’t know what they were. We needed something to call them.”
“Where are Minnie and Blossom now?” Peter asked.
“I think Savannah’s feeding them,” Simon said. “Hey, Adam, let’s go help feed the kittens, okay?”
“Okay,” Adam agreed.
“Wait,” Michael said. “We have work to do first. Remember, we’re getting ready for our camping trip.”
“You mean we can’t help feed the kittens?” Simon complained. “That’s a job. Animals come first, you know.”
Michael chuckled. “Yeah, well, that’s true, but since the kittens are being taken care of—Savannah’s feeding them—you boys can help us with a couple of things if you would.” He looked Simon in the eyes. “We’d appreciate it.”
“Yeah, come on, boys,” Peter urged. “I’ll show you what needs to be done.”
****
“Kittens?” Michael said later when he caught up to Savannah who was getting them settled in the large pen with a litter box, a cozy bed, toys, and a bowl of water.
“I’m afraid so, hon,” she said.
“I found them, Daddy,” Lily said, running to him.
He lifted her into his arms. “I heard.”
She pointed. “That’s Minnie and that’s…what is it, Mommy?”
“Blossom.”
He smiled down at the kittens. “They are cute. They seem to be in good condition.” He looked suspiciously at Savannah. “You didn’t stop off at a pet store and adopt them, did you?”
She grinned. “Nope. Tell Daddy where you found them, Lily.”
“Well,” she said dramatically, “I got down off Peaches and I could hear something.” She scrunched up her face and mimicked, “Mew-mew . I looked behind the big grass and there were kittens. Two kittens.”
“You’re a kitten magnet, punkin, just like Mommy,” Michael said. “So whose home are they going to? Does Max have room for them at his place?”
“I think Simon wants them,” Savannah said.
“Say what?” Peter gasped.
“Yeah, he was really taken with them. Said he’d like to take them home.”
“Oh my,” Peter muttered. “First birds, then a boy, now kittens…”
Michael slapped him on the back. “Welcome to my world, buddy.”
Savannah picked up each kitten kissed it on the head, and gently placed them in the pen. “Uh-oh, my phone,” she said, as she latched the gate. She lifted herself up off the floor and pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Hi, Craig. What’s up?”
“Not a whole lot. Are you having a nice weekend?”
“Yes, so far. Been riding with the kids today—found some kittens. Rags is in heaven; he loves kittens. And we’re leaving tomorrow for the mountains.”
“I still don’t know why you aren’t staying in my cabin,” Craig complained. “Why pay for a cabin when you can use mine for free?”
“Michael just wanted to go to a different area this time, that’s all.”
“Well, don’t blame me if you don’t catch any fish. I know there’s fish in the river outside my cabin,” Craig insisted.
“Okay, I won’t blame you,” she said, chuckling.
Craig cleared his throat. “Hey, I may have a lead on the identity of your friend’s stalker or harasser or whatever he is. Keith Mullen had a brother named Ronald Jasper Mullen. So it’s likely his brother who’s hounding her. And, Savannah, guess where this dude has been for the last twenty-plus years.”
“Prison?”
“Yup. He claims he’s innocent and says he has proof implicating the real killer. It appears that whatever he gave to your friend’s father is the proof. Now that he’s out, he wants it.”
“I wonder why he didn’t just come to Alicia and ask her about it? Why the threats and all?”
“He’s not what you’d call a sophisticated guy, Savannah. These repeat offenders don’t trust anyone. They think everyone’s out to get them. Some of them don’t understand a straightforward way of dealing with the issues and challenges that come up in life.”
“Well, can you tell him that Alicia will cooperate in any way she can to help him get his belongings back?”
“She will? Are you sure about that?”
“Why wouldn’t she?” Savannah asked.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Craig mumbled.
“She just wants him to go away and leave her and her family alone. So sure, she’ll cooperate. In fact, we have an idea where the item might be.” She asked, “Do you know what it is that he’s after?”
“Not a clue, but I could probably go back through the court records and find out,” Craig said. “I’m pretty sure it would have been discussed during the trial, unless it wasn’t allowed because of some technicality. So where do you think it is?”
“At that old abandoned farmhouse between here and Stratton. I told you about it. Hey, when did you say he went in?”
“He was sentenced in…” Craig started.
“No, when was he was first arrested?” Savannah clarified. “That ought to be a better gauge. When did the murder or whatever take place?”
“Let me go through my notes. It looks like that would be about nineteen eighty-eight.”
“So Alicia would have been four years old,” Savannah murmured.
“What?”
“I think that’s about right, Craig,” she said. “Under hypnosis…”
“Oh there’s that hocus pocus talk again,” he complained.
“Yes, Alicia indicated that she was somewhere around four years old when a man came to their house and gave something to her dad. It seems that Mr. Mullen didn’t want to take it, but the man got rough, and he agreed. The last time Alicia remembers seeing it was when she was about eight years old and just leaving the property out there on the river road. Her father left it with the man who owned the property—that Bart guy.”
After a few moments, Craig asked, “So what are you gals and your cat doing tonight?”
“Rags?” she questioned. “Oh my gosh, Craig, you’re not suggesting we take Rags out there tonight are you?”
“Hey, you’re the one who’s been pushing to get this in motion.”
“I know,” Savannah said. “Okay, let me call Alicia. I’ll get back to you.”
****
“Grammy!” Lily shouted when she saw Gladys walk into the house a while later. The child ran to her and wrapped her arms around her grandmother’s legs.
“Mom, hi,” Savannah said. “You’re home.” She hugged Gladys and Lily both together. “Boy did we miss you.” She stepped back and looked at her as Lily squirmed out from between them. “You look rested. How can that be? You and Auntie were so busy.”
“Oh, yes we were,” Gladys said. “We had such a good time. It was the best vacation ever. I forgot how fun and exhausting i
t can be to travel with my sister.”
“Cool. Well, come into the kitchen and I’ll fix you a cup of tea. Rochelle’s making pasta sauce. She’ll want to hear about your adventures too.”
“Oh, Rochelle and Peter are here?” she asked. “I saw that little boy outside with Adam and wondered who he was. So that’s Simon, is it? Nice looking boy. Polite, too. They offered to carry in my luggage.”
Savannah smiled. “Yes, we’re enjoying the boys a lot.”
“Hi, Gladys,” Rochelle greeted cheerily, embracing her. “Welcome home. I hope you don’t mind my taking over your kitchen.”
“Absolutely not. I’m so accustomed to being waited on now that it’ll be hard to fall back into my role here.” She saw something out the corner of her eye. “What’s in the cage? Are you punishing Rags?”
“Kitties, Grammy!” Lily chirped.
“Ki-ki,” Teddy cried.
“There you are, my Teddy boy,” Gladys said, scooping him up and snuggling with him.
“Ki-ki,” he said, pointing.
Gladys peered into the cage, her eyes wide. “Well, will you look at that.” When Rags leaped onto the top of the pen, she said, “Uh-oh, Rags. You might scare the little ones.”
“Naw, they love him,” Savannah said.
“Where’d they come from?” Gladys asked.
“I found them,” Lily said. She held her hand about waist high to the floor. “—in tall weeds.” She laid down on the floor and rolled from side to side. “They were rolling,” she said, “like this.”
“Oh my,” Gladys said. “In your yard?”
“No!” Lily insisted, wide-eyed. “Way in the mountains. The kitties rode on Peaches and…what’s that other horse, Mommy?”
“Beulah.”
“Peaches and Beulah,” Lily said.
“They went on a horseback ride?” Gladys asked appearing confused.
“We found them in the mountains,” Adam said when he and Simon joined the others in the kitchen.
“Someone took them up there to be eaten by coyotes,” Simon explained.
“How awful!” Gladys exclaimed. “Poor little things.”
“I might get to take them home,” Simon announced.
Gladys smiled. “That would be real nice for them and for you.” She then said, “I think I’ll go freshen up a bit and maybe rest, if you all don’t mind.”
