Patricia Fry - Klepto Cat 03 - Sleight of Paw (19 page)

“They were building a science project!”

“I remember you telling me that one of your boyfriends quit dating you because you were more interested in the movie he took you to see than in him.”

“Well, I guess maybe I am careful who I smooch with.” She pondered the concept for a minute and then wrinkled up her nose. “I really don’t like smooching all that much.”

“Well, I’d say you haven’t found the right smoocher, yet,” Savannah teased.

“Come here, Lexie,” Brianna said. “I’ll smooch with you—you are such a cutie.” She leaned over and ruffled the long fur on top of the dog’s head. She stood up and stared at Lexie for a moment. “She reminds me of a girl I know. Her hair is the same color—only out of a bottle—and she parts it down the middle just like Lexie’s.” She laughed. “She has a nose like Lexie, too—long.” She motioned, running her fingers alongside her own nose and out about a foot in front of her face.

Savannah laughed. She walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a bowl of fresh fruit. “What do you want to do today, Sis?”

“I don’t know. What is there to do here?”

“Whatever it is, I think Auntie wants to join us. We can take you on a tour of town and maybe do a little shopping and have lunch out. There’s a nice Italian bistro with patio dining.”

“Sounds good to me.” Brianna stared out the kitchen window for a moment before saying, “Oh, I think your horse is hungry. I can see her looking over here.”

“Thanks for the reminder. I’d better go take care of her. Wanna come?”

“Sure.”

“Here are some clogs you can wear—gets kinda muddy out there this time of year.” Savannah looked over at her sister, who was staring down at the shoes. “Yeah, they’ll be a bit sloppy on you. Just wear your slippers with them.”

“She reminds me of a horse I used to ride at camp,” Brianna said as they approached the corral. “She always tried to run home at the end of a trail ride. I hated that horse.”

Peaches raised her head up and down and whinnied softly.

“You’ve hurt her feelings,” Savannah said, patting the horse on the neck and murmuring to her.

“Sorry, Peaches. But that mare was nasty.” Brianna stepped out of Savannah’s way while she tossed hay into the feed bin. “She once stepped on my foot…on purpose! Do you remember that?” she asked.

Savannah walked over, turned on the faucet, and watched as the water trough began to fill with clean water. “Yeah, I do remember something about a broken little toe. You had to wear my shoes for a while to give your toes more room.”

“Yes. Now, if that wasn’t embarrassing.”

“Embarrassing, huh?”

“Well, not only were your shoes too big for me, they were ugly.”

“Ugly?”

“Yes, you wore boy shoes. I was into girly shoes, patent leather with bows.”

“My shoes weren’t ugly, they were…serviceable.”

Brianna laughed. “Yeah, serviceable if you were a combat soldier or marathon runner.” She changed her demeanor and said, “But I have to say, I like your grown-up style.”

“My grown-up style?” Savannah asked.

“Yes, you have some cute shoes in that closet of yours. I loved those you wore to Auntie’s last night.”

“Well, thank you. Feel free to borrow some if you break your toe while you’re here. Otherwise, I guess you still wear a petite size seven, right?”

“Yes, seven wide, I’m afraid. And what size are yours?” she asked as she looked down at Savannah’s rubber boots and the clogs she wore over her house shoes.

“Still a ten…narrow.” She reached over and gave her sister a little playful punch, you still five-feet-five?”

“And a half,” she straightened her posture. “You still seven feet?” she laughed.

“Five-nine-and-a-half in my stocking feet. I have a gal friend who’s taller. Well, you met her at the wedding.”

“Oh yes, Iris. How is she?”

“Very good. Happily in a relationship,” Savannah said while turning off the water spigot.

“She was cool. I liked her,” Brianna said as they headed back toward the house—Lexie racing out in front of them and reaching the porch first. They stepped into the kitchen and began to put breakfast together, when Brianna asked, “How tall is Bud—about five-eight?”

“Yeah, about that, I’d say.”

“So if I wear my stilettos, I’ll be taller than him.”

Savannah stared over her sister. “Do you have a date with Bud?”

“Well, could be,” she said coyly.

“Really?” she asked, a questioning grin stretching across her lips.

“I like him. We have things in common.”

“What, besides your interest in gypsy curses?” Savannah wanted to know.

“We both went to medical school.”

“He went to veterinary school.”

“He finished? Why isn’t he practicing—I mean in his own practice?”

“Oh, lots of reasons, I guess. He’s comfortable just working as a vet tech right now.”

“He’s cute. Does he date much?” Brianna asked.

Savannah set a bowl of fresh fruit and a plate with home-baked apple muffins on the table. She sat down and looked over at her sister. “I wouldn’t know. I don’t recall him ever talking about a steady girlfriend.”

Brianna dropped down into a chair and leaned forward with both arms on the table, frown lines evident in her face. “He’s not gay, is he?”

Savannah laughed. Don’t panic, I don’t think so. It seems like he was interested in a young gal who used to bring her horse to us sometimes. Don’t know why it didn’t work out. Or maybe it did. He doesn’t bring his personal life to work.”

“Okay then,” Brianna said, settling back in her chair, “I’ll just have to do my own detective work.”

Savannah stared at her sister while taking a sip of tea. “You really are interested, aren’t you?”

Brianna looked up. “Is it okay with you?”

“Sure. We think Bud’s a great guy. Solid, reliable, stable. Uh-oh.”

Brianna stopped in mid-bite. “What?”

“Doesn’t sound like your kind of guy. Don’t you usually date the bad boy?”

“Maybe I’m ready to change all that. Too much drama with those guys. Maybe I’m ready to settle down like you and Michael.”

“We’d better get some breakfast in you. I think you’re losing it, girl. I’ve never heard you talk like that before. Here, let me feel your forehead.”

“Stop it and eat your breakfast,” Brianna snapped. And then she looked over at the clock on the stove. “When’s Auntie coming over?”

“She’ll be here around ten. You have plenty of time to get ready.”

“Hi Rags, watcha got there, boy?” Brianna bent down to see what Rags had brought her—and then she began shouting. “Oh, no you don’t! Give me that, you naughty boy!”

“What? What’s he got?” Savannah asked, leaning over to get a look at her cat who, by then, had raced past the pantry through an open door to one of the downstairs bathrooms. Brianna was hot on his trail. “Give me that. Raaaaaggggs, bring that back here now.”

Savannah began to laugh as Brianna attempted to grab the cat, who had done a three-sixty and was heading for the staircase, still carrying the object in his mouth.

“Darn it,” Brianna said. “Savannah do something. Tell your cat to drop it, will you?”

Still laughing so hard she could barely speak, Savannah finally managed to ask again, “What is it?”

“My birth control,” Brianna said indignantly. “He took it right out of my overnight bag. The thief.”

“I told you to keep things like that locked up,” Savannah said, still trying to control her laughter. “Come on, I’ll help you corner him.”

By the time the two had returned to their breakfast, both of them were laughing. “I guess I learned my lesson. I will use those drawers up there and keep my purses and luggage zipped. I don’t want to lose my birth control—that’s for sure.” She looked over at her sister. “Does he ever get yours?”

Savannah became more serious. “Well, I haven’t been using birth control since June. And still we’re not pregnant.”

“Oh that’s right,” Brianna said. Suddenly, she laughed out loud.

“What’s so funny?” Savannah sat back in her chair and stared over at her sister.

Brianna shook her head with a big grin on her face. She said, “I’m sorry, Sis. But I wouldn’t be so depressed about all of the fun you and that dreamy husband of yours are having trying to make a baby.” She giggled.

“Oh stop it.” Savannah slapped at her sister, a half smile on her face. She said, “Yes, it has been great. I have to tell ya.” Then her mood darkened. “But we really want a baby. And now that curse has me freaked out.”

“Don’t worry, Bud and I have a plan.”

“A plan?” Savannah perked up and then looked over at her sister suspiciously.

“Yes. He knows someone we can talk to who might be able to help.”

Savannah explained, “We’ve already been to doctors. Is that the kind of help you mean? The doctors say we’re both just fine.”

“No,” Brianna said. “I mean help breaking the curse.”

Savannah leaned forward, her elbow on the table and her chin crutched in her hand. “You really believe in that, don’t you?”

“Don’t you? If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be so upset. You must have some level of belief.”

Savannah looked off into space. “I’m trying really hard not to acknowledge it. But I guess a part of me is scared stiff that it’s true.” She looked intently at her sister. “How much faith do
you
put in these things?”

“I believe in being careful and thorough. Bud and I want to find out more about this particular curse and we are meeting with someone to talk about it this evening.”

That evening, Savannah picked up the phone. “Hi Mom, good to hear from you. How are you…and Bob?”

“We’re good,” Gladys said. “Are you girls having fun?”

“We sure are. I love having Brianna here. We went shopping with Auntie today and had a leisurely lunch at a bistro. Great fun. Tomorrow, we’re going riding!”

“Horseback riding? Does Brianna know about this?”

“Yes, I promised her a nice gentle horse. Belongs to a friend of ours. We’re taking a picnic lunch. I tried to get Auntie to go, but she claims she has too much work to do.”

“Now there’s something I can’t even begin to picture—my sister on a horse.”

“Yeah, I don’t think we’re going to see that picture anytime soon.”

“Is Brianna there?” Gladys asked.

“No, she’s out on a date.”

“A date? My, that girl works fast. Who’s she dating?”

Savannah thought for a moment and then said, “Well, maybe ‘date’ isn’t the right word. She just went someplace with our vet tech, Bud to…do some research.” She wasn’t ready to tell her mother about the curse or the fact that she was trying to get pregnant—not yet. She hoped she wouldn’t be sorry that she had told Brianna. This was something she felt was personal between herself and Michael, and it didn’t seem right letting others in on her private life. Even though she asked Brianna to keep their secret for now, she wasn’t sure her sometimes scatterbrained sister could do it. She tended to speak out of turn when it was least expected.

“Is he a nice boy—this Bud?” Gladys asked.

“He’s a nice young man, Mom—he’s twenty-eight or so. Same age as Brianna. She’s not dating boys anymore, is she?” Savannah laughed.

“No, I guess not. It’s hard to believe you girls are so…grown up.”

“Thought you were going to use the ‘O’ word for a minute.”

“‘O’ word?”

“Old.”

“Oh no, honey. That word applies only to people in my age group and your aunt’s.”

“Don’t let
her
hear you say that,” Savannah warned.

They both laughed.

“Mom, call back tomorrow if you get a chance and you can talk to Brianna. We should be home from the ride by dinner time. Speaking of dinner, Michael just came in and I’d better go finish fixing ours. Love you.”

“Love you, too, Vannie.”

“Your mom?” Michael asked as he took off his shoes and wriggled his toes. Michael loved wearing flip-flops and wore them most of the time, but drew the line for work. He often took his work shoes off and either went barefooted or slipped on his flip-flops as soon as he got home. And this routine held true no matter the season.

“Yes, it was Mom,” she said.

“She always calls on the landline phone, doesn’t she? Why is that?” Michael asked.

“I don’t know—old-fashioned, I guess. She calls on my cell once in a while. And she has a cell phone, but uses her landline most often.” She walked over to where he sat on the sofa.

“So how was your day?” she asked, slipping down next to him, sliding her arm around his neck, and resting her head on his shoulder.

He reached over and squeezed her thigh while leaning his head down to kiss her on the forehead. “Good. No emergencies. Everything went smoothly. I missed you, though.” He turned to face her. She sat upright and he kissed her on the lips. He then looked around and asked, “Where’s Brianna?”

“Out with Bud, would you believe?”

“Oh,” he said before taking her face in his hands and kissing her again. When he pulled away, he noticed they were not alone. “Hello there, Miss Buffy. How are you this evening?” He reached over and petted the cat.

“You sweet thing,” Savannah said smiling down into her clear blue eyes. “I’ll bet you guys are hungry.”

“Yes we are,” Michael said. “What’s for dinner? And what’s up with Brianna and Bud?”

Savannah stood and headed toward the kitchen. Michael followed. “Dinner is whatever you want it to be. And I guess so are Brianna and Bud,” she quipped over her shoulder.

“What kind of answer is that?”

She turned to face him. “Well,” she laughed before explaining, “it’s sort of a potluck dinner. I brought home leftovers from our lunch at the Bistro, we have leftovers from last night, and there are a couple of homemade chicken pot pies in the freezer, if you’d rather.”

“Oh,
I
have to decide…after working all day?” He laughed. “Isn’t that why I married you, to have someone decide what’s for dinner?”

“Are you kidding me? Really?” she said playfully. “You married me for my brain?”

“Isn’t that what most women want to hear?”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed,” she said in her most sultry manner, “but I’m
not
most women.”

“You sure aren’t,” he said, moving toward her and pinning her against the counter, forcing a passionate kiss on her. “Hey, I know what I want for dinner,” he said giving her a come-hither look.

She stared into his eyes, a smile on her face. “I like your way of thinking, handsome—just let me feed the gang and I’ll be right there.”

He pulled her to him. “Meet you in the boudoir.”

***

The next morning, Savannah’s friend and riding buddy, Bonnie, drove over with her horse trailer and picked up Peaches. Savannah and Brianna met her at the stable. While Savannah saddled her horse, Bonnie introduced Brianna to Wilson. “We used to use this gelding in a program for children with disabilities,” Bonnie explained while brushing a wayward curl from one of her chocolate-brown cheeks. “He’s just about the most dependable horse on the property.”

“Sounds just my speed, then,” Brianna said. She walked over to look the horse in the eye. “Hi, Wilson. Pleased to meet you. I hope you don’t mind if I climb up on your back. I brought you an apple.”

“You don’t have to bribe Wilson.” Bonnie laughed. “He’s quite the gentleman.”

“Well, you can tell what kind of guys I’ve been hanging out with, then, can’t you?” Brianna said with a chuckle.

“Are you sure you won’t join us, Bonnie?” Savannah asked.

“Naw, I have a student coming this morning and I promised my husband I’d take his horse through his paces. He needs a little tune-up in the arena.”

“Sure do appreciate you coming out and picking up Peaches,” Savannah said.

“It’s great to see her again and I’m glad old Willie is getting some exercise. He doesn’t get out much unless you bring Charlotte over.”

Savannah gave the cinch on Peaches’s saddle one last pull before tying off the leather strap. She led her mare over to where Brianna was brushing Wilson. “Here, let me help you put that saddle on, Sis,” she said while tying the lead rope from her mare’s halter to the hitching rail.

“Thanks, I’m likely to get it on backwards or upside down,” Brianna confessed.

Once the horses were saddled and the riders mounted, the sisters took off down the dirt road toward the trail Savannah had ridden with Bonnie numbers of times. Bonnie’s Queensland heeler, Bella, chose to trot along, so they packed her collapsible bowl and an extra bottle of water in the saddle bags. After they’d traveled for a while, Savannah suggested they stop, check the cinches, and have a drink of water. They poured some for the dog, too.

“So how was your date last night, Sis?” Savannah asked after handing Brianna a bottle of water and taking a swig of her own.

“Not a date.”

“Oh, then how was your non-date?”

Brianna looked up at a blue jay in a nearby tree and said, “Really kinda fun, actually. Bud is a cool guy.” She then looked over at Savannah and asked, “Have you met his family?”

“Um, well, I guess I’ve met his mom a few times when she has come in to get something for their cattle or dogs. That’s all. Why?”

“Then you haven’t met the grandma?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“She’s a kick,” Brianna said slapping her own thigh.

“So you went to his house?”

“No, we went to his grandmother’s house.”

“Why?”

“Bud wanted to talk to her about your German letter and the curse thing.”

“Oh really?” Savannah’s interest was definitely piqued. “What does she know about curses?”

“It seems, Big Sister, that this woman either was or is a witch herself—a German witch.”

“What?”

“You didn’t know that?”

Savannah thought for a minute and then said, “Well, I guess I knew that the family was into some sort of unusual remedies and potions, but I didn’t connect it to witchcraft.”

“How’s that?” Brianna asked.

“Let’s mount up and I’ll tell you as we ride.”

“Okay, now which foot do I put in the slot…er, stirrup, first?”

“Left foot from the left side of the horse.”

“Oh, okay.” She looked the situation over and then led the horse to a rock. She climbed up on the rock and mounted from there. “Ah, much easier.”

“You’re funny.” Savannah laughed.

“Yeah, don’t you make fun of me, girl—you with those long legs of yours. Not everyone walks on stilts like you do, you know.” She looked around. “It is so beautiful up here. Is the weather always this nice?”

“Yeah, except when it rains. It can get kinda messy. And it can get cold.”

“Does it rain a lot?”

“More than in LA, I can tell you that.”

“Well, I vote to have weather like this every day of the year.”

“I’m with you. It is a gorgeous day for December.”

“So, what about Bud’s family and their potions?” Brianna asked.

“Last year, there was a calf born on one of the ranches and he was having a hard time of it. Bud was there for the birthing and I guess he got kind of attached to the little guy. We treated the calf for what we thought ailed him, but he didn’t improve much. He just wasn’t keeping pace growth-wise with the others of the same age. He wasn’t thriving. One day, Bud asked us if he could bring something from home to use on the calf.” She wrinkled her brow and shook her head a little. “…a poultice of some sort. We told him it was okay with us. We thought we were going to lose the calf anyway and what Bud had in mind wasn’t going to be ingested. We said that if the owner agreed, we were all for anything he thought might work. Well, he brought this poultice. He said his grandmother whipped it up for him out of some rather unusual items, as I recall. And both Michael and I were astonished to see the calf begin to improve.”

“Did you ask Bud what it was?”

“Yes, he just said it was designed to ward off evil spirits or something like that. Didn’t resonate with me. I thought it was some sort of woo-woo stuff. I didn’t understand it—didn’t know if I wanted to.”

“And did the calf live to become someone’s steak dinner?”

“Noooo,” Savannah said, frowning. “The owners weren’t all that interested in keeping a calf that wasn’t in tip-top health and Bud asked if he could take him. The little steer still lives on Bud’s parents’ property.” She looked over at Brianna. “Doesn’t Bud live on that property, too? And the grandmother?”

“I haven’t been to Bud’s family’s ranch, but I understand that Bud has a small house on the back forty, so to speak. Oma—the grandma—lives in town in an apartment.” Brianna thought for a minute before saying, “Well, it may have been that Oma cast a spell on that calf or broke one with her poultice. She knows all about curses and things. She was quite familiar with yours, by the way,” Brianna said.

“Good grief, how many people know about this? I really didn’t want it advertised all over town. It’s private and kind of weird.”

“Don’t worry, Oma and Anika are sworn to a sisterhood or witch-hood oath of some sort,” Brianna explained.

“Anika?”

“She’s a friend of Bud’s grandmother. Oma sent us to Anika along with the letter.”

Savannah turned to look at her sister, who trailed behind. She rested her right hand on the back of the saddle and asked, “So what did she say?”

“Well, Bud and I had a good laugh about it afterward, because she kind of talked in riddles. She never came right out and said much of anything that you could hang a hat on.”

“Was she a fortune teller or what?” Savannah asked.

“Uh, I suppose something mysterious like that. I’m not sure. But she was familiar with this curse. She said it was used a lot by gypsies in the old days. She said it is a fairly easy one to break and she…well, she was all flamboyant, you know, putting on a sort of show for us. Not only that,” Brianna said laughing, “she had this bird that kept coming over and sitting on top of her head. It was hard not to bust out giggling during the session, but Bud and I sure laughed afterward. The people in the diner probably thought we were crazy or something because we couldn’t stop laughing.” She looked off into space for a moment as she recalled the evening.

Savannah reined Peaches in so Brianna and Wilson could catch up. Once her sister was next to her, she asked, “Sooooo, how do we break it? What did she tell you?”

“She didn’t tell us much. She gave us something.”

“What?” Savannah insisted.