Cadence Reflection (Wheels & Hogs Book 2) (9 page)

I finally passed out, waking up in a field having no idea where I was.  I couldn’t move between the beatings and repeated abuse that those men had done to my body. I figured that death would find me in that field because after what I had just gone through, I begged, accepted and waited for my death to come, but that wasn’t to be.  When Des found me, I was so pissed off at him because I wanted to die, not be saved. Des took that away from me, but as time passed, I realized how fortunate this turn of events was for me.  Between Des, Doc, and Fern, I started to heal physically.

Emotionally was another story. I was crippled until Fern took me under her wing.  From holding me night after night because of my nightmares, to just being there for me to lean on, she pushed me to seek professional help when she knew she and Doc could not help me any longer. My pain was too deep and I was just too damaged emotionally for them to fix. I did seek out help back then, and have continued to do so on numerous occasions since, especially when the nightmares come or life is just too hard to handle.  Sometimes it just gives me some sort of direction in my life when I need it the most.

Fern became the mother that I needed. After the incident with Duke, I wouldn’t... no, I couldn’t speak to my own mother because I blamed her for everything as she brought Duke into our lives.  Fern fought to make me better. She protected and guided me, and I love her deeply.  When she got sick, I felt like my heart was being pulled from my body.  I have spent many of my nights in the hospital, or in the Murphy’s house with Doc, doing whatever I could do to help with Fern. There is nothing that I wouldn’t do for her.  Between changing her sheets when needed, to helping with the house chores, I cooked and fed Fern, even driving her to and from her treatments. She is the embodiment of a pure soul.  I always feel my best when I’m in the company of Fern and Doc. 

I sit up in my bed, holding my head as it starts to pound. My body begins to tense up tight as the thoughts of my past begin to take a firm hold over me, causing me to feel the familiar aches in my muscles while my eyes start to twitch. I push off the bed and walk to my bathroom to take the medication Doc gave me for my type of headache.  I take one with some water then walk to the kitchen to get some food in my stomach. Because the medicine is so strong, I have to eat to keep from getting sick. I grab some of Fern’s pasta that she brought to me and throw it in the microwave. 

After the microwave dings off, I pull out the food and at the same time, I hear a sound coming from outside. It’s pitch black out, so I grab a flashlight and head out down the stairs. Once I get to the bottom of the steps I can hear the noise coming from behind the dumpster. Whatever it is, it’s making a lot of noise so I walk cautiously toward the sound. I move the flashlight back and forth when something moves on my right, so I aim the flashlight in that direction only to see four eyes staring back at me.  I crouch down and snap my fingers softly, watching those four eyes attached to two straggly looking kittens slowly coming toward me.  They watch me closely and I don’t move. After a few moments, they finally make it to me and begin smelling the hand I’m holding out to them. I sit down slowly and wait for them to do what they need to do until finally the little black one bumps up against me, looking up at me expectantly while the other kitten is on my other side, rubbing up against my leg.  Almost at the same time, they both leap into my lap and I can’t help the huge smile that takes over my mouth.  It looks like I’ve made some new friends.

A
fter the first couple of days of not knowing what to do with my new, unnamed friends, I asked Wolf to stop by my apartment.  He didn’t ask questions, but I could see he was curious with my request. 

When Wolf arrives, I offer him a beer and lead him to the small bedroom where I show him the two kittens. When I open the door, they both escape down the hall and into the family room like tiny missiles, all short legs and hair.  I shout for Wolf to grab one as we both race after them.  We enter the family room just in time to see the kittens climbing up the leather couch with their dagger claws assisting in their upward approach.  Wolf very gently grabs the smallest kitten and cuddles it close to his chest. It cuddles up right under his chin, immediately starting to purr while the larger kitten continues to climb up onto the couch. Wolf grabs that one too and sits down, putting both of them in his lap. 

“Damn, Cadence. What have you got here?”  Wolf lets out a soft laugh, “What are these little cuties names?”

I shake my head, “No idea, dude. I’m lost here. If you want them, you can take them because I don’t have a clue what I’m doing. I found them a couple of nights ago and I’ve been on the internet trying to figure out what I’m supposed to do to take care of them.” 

Shaking his head back and forth, Wolf says, “No way, bro. My house is overrun with too many orphaned animals as it is. Spirit keeps bringing home stray animals all the time,” Spirit is the dog Wolf saved from an abusive owner a couple of years ago, and now Spirit’s home is with Wolf, “Let’s take a look at these kittens first, okay?” The larger one is mainly gray with a few white strips on its back and belly. Wolf looks up at me as he lifts it up, “This one is a male, so name him Kibble.”  The smaller one has white paws that look like socks on its feet, while the rest of it is black, “This one is a male too, and he should be called Boots, don’t you think?” 

I just shake my head, completely lost, “Dude, I have no idea how to take care of them.  They are tearing my place apart and I worked my ass off fixing it up. I went down to the store and grabbed some of those cans of soft cat food and that’s it. The only reason I got that right is because it said “
cat food
.” I’ve figured out what to feed them, and now they seem to piss and shit all the time in that box I bought. They won’t go outside and do it so this place is starting to reek of piss and shit.” 

Wolf’s shoulders shake as he lets out a loud laugh, “Okay kid, take it easy. Shit, I thought you were the expert on pussy.”  I flip him the bird as he continues to laugh, “First off, let’s put them back in the room so we can kitty proof your house. Then we will go out and pick up the things they will need, okay?”  Wolf walks with both kittens in his arms to the room, gently putting them down before closing the door. 

Both of us go through the apartment, making sure nothing is available for the kittens to get into.  Wolf puts the throws that are on the back of the couch over the furniture’s cushions, tucking them in so they partly hang down to the floor. 

“This will let them climb up to be with you, but not ruin the furniture. Understand?”  I just nod.  After going through the whole apartment, Wolf approves of what we’ve done to make it kitty proof. 

“You got time to run to the pet store, or do you have some lady waiting on you?” 

“I got no one waiting on me so yeah, let’s go to the store if ya don’t mind.” Then off we go to get what I need for my little house destroyers.



After approximately forty-five minutes in the pet store, we roll a shopping cart filled with food, litter, toys and a scratching post out to the truck. I can’t believe how much this shit cost. We load up the truck then head back to my place.  Between the two of us, we set up the scratching post tower, put the bowls on the placemat in the kitchen and set up the other litter box in a corner by the sliding doors to the patio.  Wolf then grabs each kitten to show them the bowls, the scratching post and then the litter boxes. After around ten minutes of investigating, both kittens climb up onto the couch and fall asleep next to each other in the corner of the couch. 

“So that’s it? I spend a shitload of money to make this place suitable for them and they just pass out?”

“Bro, with any animal, they are just like babies. They depend on you for everything because they can’t do these things for themselves. You ever see a dog go shopping for his food? You ever see them jump up on the toilet because it’s the right thing to do? No, you don’t.  You’re like their mother and they will continue to bond with you, and each other, every day.  Just make sure to clean their litter boxes at least twice a day, kid. Also, keep dry food out for them and give them like a quarter can each of the soft canned food.  The more you handle them the friendlier they will be.  I’ll come back and help you trim their nails.  If you keep them trimmed there is less chance of being clawed all the time and less damage to your floors and furniture.  Now, if you don’t plan on keeping them, take them to the shelter so someone will adopt them, but know this, too. The longer you keep them, the more they will become attached to one another, and if you do decide to take them to a shelter, they probably won’t get adopted together. Just a thought before you make any decisions.” 

“Nothing has ever depended on me before, Wolf. Not anything or anyone. Some part of me kind of likes the idea of being responsible for something other than myself, though.  Do you think I can do this? Ya know, be responsible for them?  Take care of them by myself?” 

Wolf looks at me for a long time. His stare makes me squirm, not really liking what he’s possibly seeing in me right now. He walks toward me, putting both hands on my shoulders, “Cadence, I think if you put your mind to anything, you can do it.  Do you want to keep the kids?”  My head jerks up at Wolf’s play on words.  Does he know about Trinity, or is this just my guilt coming through?  I look over to the kittens cuddling together on the couch and I know that I want to keep them. I never had any pets growing up because I wasn’t allowed.  They are both so cute and playful, but more importantly, they need me.  I feel that this is a moment in my life that I need to take a chance. 

Going to the kittens, I reach down and slowly pet them as I say to Wolf, “Yes. I want to keep them, and thank you for all of your help tonight. I’ll probably be coming to you with tons of questions for a while, so I hope you won’t mind.”

Wolf grins, “Not at all, kid. That’s what I’m here for, buddy. Just call, and I’ll be available for you anytime, bro.”

We both sit down and reach for our beers as I turn on the TV.  For once in my life I feel like I have a true home; my home.  Wolf stays around for take-out Chinese food, trying to give me some direction and advice on how to feed the kittens while showing me how to maintain the litter boxes.  We arranged the kitty houses in the small bedroom so they have somewhere to sleep when I have to put them in there when I had to be at work. We also put little pet cushions around the apartment so they could be comfortable anywhere they were.

After Wolf leaves, I clean up the nights mess then get ready for bed.  Once I set my alarm for work and settle in, I hear a very soft whining, then another.  I look down to see Kibble and Boots sitting on the floor by my bed, looking up at me with big eyes.  Kibbles eyes are green, while Boots’ are blue.  I reach down to pick them each up and immediately they each pick a side, cuddling up next to me.  Before my head touches the pillow, both kittens are sound asleep.

For once in my life I feel contentment in my heart, something foreign and new to me. If only I could find Trinity and straighten that part of my life out, especially now that I know she’s pregnant with my child. Even with thoughts of Trinity and the baby, I am finally able to drift off to sleep with no nightmares, and the warmth of my tiny little kittens each at my side.

A
s I enter the bay I notice that Cadence seems to be in a great mood. He probably got laid last night. I continue toward the kid, watching him work on the engine of a car and I hear music in the background.  I listen to the song and find myself actually liking it, “Hey, kid. Who is that you’re listening to?”

Cadence lifts his head to hear the song, “Some band out of Las Vegas called Otherwise. Pretty good, huh? They played in some bar in South Bend last summer. A bunch of us went to see them and I got hooked on their music.” 

I listen to the words for a minute, a song with the lyrics, “
I don’t apologize for taking back the life that I once had,”
and I have to agree with Cadence, “They’re not bad at all. If they come around again, let me know. I might be interested in seeing them.”

Cadence raises his eyebrows at this, “You gonna jump in the mosh pit too, Des?” As I shake my head, he just laughs.

“Cadence, you got a minute? We need to touch base on where we are with the Charity Ride and the Registry. We only have until the end of summer to make sure all our arrangements are set.  There’s not a lot of time left and with all the people involved, I don’t want anything to slip past any of us.”

D
es and I both head back to Des’ office which is filled with everyone from the shop, including our town Sheriff Joe Hound and some of the town council, along with business owners from town.  I’m shocked to see all these folks here. I had no idea that all these people were helping with Fern’s ride. I find an empty chair and take a seat. 

Dee stands at the front of the room and begins, “This is a huge undertaking and we thank each and every one of you that have volunteered your time, business, or some financial assistance to both Fern and Doc.  We can never thank you enough. I know everyone has things to do so we’ll get down to business.” 

As Dee starts going through list after list of what has been done, what is outstanding and who is doing what, my head starts to pound and spin. How does she keep it all together? Everyone is involved, asking questions and giving suggestions. After around two hours of this, Dee has given out all the work orders to finish up the preparations for the Charity Ride, and more importantly, the Registry to try and find a match for Fern. 

Des rises and takes on a serious demeanor and asks for everyone just a moment more of their time, “We have received a couple of warnings and threats in regards to this Charity Event,” My head jerks up as I hear others gasp, “Joe is looking into it but with these threats, we have decided to bring in some outside security to maintain that all are safe during this weekend event.” Joe doesn’t look too happy about this news, but Des explains that he has called some of his old biker friends to come out early and assist them. Des goes a bit further by explaining that his friends are not 1% bikers, but cops who formed a motorcycle club. They have the experience as they run a security business out West.  All the guys agree that it is the right move to make, having the extra help on hand as the threats seem to be concentrated toward the money the ride will raise for the Murphy’s.  Des doesn’t want to go through all this and have some assholes rip us off, so after speaking with his friends and Sheriff Joe, they all agreed that Joe was in charge of the security, but would have some assistance of ten to fifteen of the best security/cops from out West.  Des warns everyone to be extra careful and keep their eyes open for any strangers, or if we should see anything out of the ordinary.  The funds being raised from ticket sales and donations are in an account in the town bank and from what Dee stated earlier, the account is growing by the day.  With the local news now on this story, people are donating directly to the bank. Des closes out the meeting by thanking everyone for their time, informing them that they will be meeting every week going forward until the weekend of the ride.