Louie had run with the dogs inside, and occasionally in a fenced area outside. She had open runs for the bigger dogs, but the little ones that might look like hawk food were kept in the contained areas, well protected from predators.
Louie went to the door and scratched.
“Sorry, bud. No can do.” She tried to pet him, but he had other ideas—like meowing loudly, which stirred a few dogs. Nadine knew well enough that if one dog started barking, they’d all soon join in.
“Tell you what,” she said to Louie. “We’ll go over to my house to wait for him.” Which meant she also needed to tote over the cat box and bed and a food and water dish... What a bother.
Where was he?
She decided to make two trips, taking Louie over first so he wouldn’t get the dogs riled, and then coming back for all the other stuff. She was loaded down and crossing the yard when a vehicle pulled in.
She paused to look, and Amber hopped out of her big truck, Rookie with her.
“Amber?” Nadine stood there until Amber spotted her. Rookie ran over first to greet her.
“Hey there,” Amber said, already reaching for half of Nadine’s load. “Everything is fine, but Shohn’s held up at the park.”
Bummer. “For how long?”
“Right now he doesn’t know. Could be all night.” She looked from Nadine’s house to the office. “Where is this stuff going?”
“My house.” She started that way. “So what happened? Is anyone hurt?”
Amber shook her head. “Some idiot got lost. A group of guys were drinking too much and they got into an argument and one of the knuckleheads wandered off. Now they can’t find him.”
“It’ll be getting dark soon.” She peered in through the screen, didn’t see Louie anywhere, so she held it open with her shoulder while Amber went in first, followed by Rookie.
“I know. I hate when stuff like this happens.” She lifted the cat bed stacked with a food dish and a bag of food. “You got a cat?”
“No, Shohn did.”
Incomprehension filled Amber’s bright blue eyes before she grinned. “A cat, huh?”
“A very unusual cat.” Nadine looked around. “He must be hiding somewhere.” She nodded at Rookie. “Does he like cats okay?”
“Rook likes everyone, don’t you, buddy?”
Alert, the dog thumped his tail hard on the floor, his expression hopeful. Amber smiled. “You want to find the cat?”
Ears up, Rookie gave a loud, positive “woof!”
“Go on, then.”
He took off like a shot, running from the main room and down the hall. At Nadine’s bedroom he slid to a sudden halt that sent his tail past his head. His nails wheeled on the floor until he grabbed some traction, then he launched into the bedroom.
In a fast walk, the ladies followed and found the dog sitting at the ready beside Nadine’s full-size bed, staring at where Louie curled up, nose to butt, on her bed pillow.
Rookie seemed very pleased that he’d so easily located the cat. For his part, Louie lifted his head, seemed to give a mental shrug, and after a long stretch and toothy yawn, he lazily got up to greet Rookie.
Amber and Nadine both stood in the doorway.
At almost the same time, Amber said, “That’s Shohn’s cat?” while Nadine said, “Looks like they’ll get along just fine.”
Slowly Amber went in and sat on the edge of the mattress. Louie glanced at her, sniffed her outstretched hand and jumped down to play with Rookie.
“His reaction to Shohn is very different.”
“How so?” Amber rejoined her and they followed the animals back to the main room.
“He adores Shohn. It’s something to see.”
With a coy look, Amber said, “Everyone adores Shohn. Why should a cat be any different?”
“Speaking of Shohn...” As she arranged the cat’s stuff on the floor, she asked, “If he could call you, why didn’t he just call me?”
“He didn’t call. Adam was at the park for a field trip. They were just wrapping up the school activities when Shohn got word that the guy was missing. He told Adam to tell me that if I didn’t hear from him before eight-thirty, I should let you know what’s going on.”
Adam was Shohn’s cousin by marriage. His uncle Jordan, the town vet, had married Georgia, who already had Adam and Lisa. But if you asked anyone in the family, they were as much related as if Jordan had fathered Lisa and Adam himself. “I thought he was a gym teacher. Why would he be on a field trip?”
“One of the other teachers got sick last minute, so he filled in.” Amber pulled out a chair at her little table, the same chair that Shohn had used the night before. “Am I keeping you from anything?”
“Not at all.” Looked as if Amber planned to stay and visit. From one animal lover to another, she liked Amber a lot.
Plus, she was Shohn’s cousin.
“Can I get you something to drink?”
“Sure. Anything cold.”
After pouring them both colas, Nadine joined her at the table.
She’d just taken a big drink when Amber said, “I’m kind of glad we have a chance to talk.”
Nadine slowly lowered the can. Amber had a way of dropping bombshells on people. She always stated things so boldly, without any reserve at all. Nadine had learned to be cautious, so she hedged, saying, “I always enjoy visiting with you. You know that.”
“Yeah, yeah, same here,” Amber said, moving right along. “But that’s not what I meant.”
“No?”
“I think you should give Shohn a chance.”
Dreading the answer, Nadine asked, “A chance to do what?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe...sleep with you?”
Yup, a bombshell. Nadine rolled her eyes. “I can always expect the unexpected from you.”
“So will you?”
In many ways, Amber was as pushy—maybe more so—as Shohn. “What makes you think he even wants to?”
She crossed her arms over the table and leaned in. “He’s wanted to forever. He just didn’t realize it until recently.”
Nadine had to laugh. “You’re nuts.” Shohn was the most straightforward, on-track person she’d ever met. He always knew what he wanted, and he always went after it. “I remember when he was sixteen and decided he wanted to be a park ranger. A bunch of us were at your uncle Sawyer’s house. I think it was your brother Garrett’s birthday.”
“Probably,” Amber said. “Garrett’s only a year older than you.”
“Anyway, your uncle Jordan showed us a baby hawk that had gotten injured by some idiot campers.”
“Uncle Jordan probably crooned it back to good health.” Amber grinned. “He has such a knack for helping animals.”
“Shohn was pretty furious about it.” And since Shohn had such a congenial, easygoing nature, it was rare to see him fired-up. Usually it only happened when he was defending someone or something else—like injured baby birds, or chubby girls. “He announced he was going to be a park ranger, as if that’d keep anyone from ever injuring a baby animal again.”
“And here he is, a ranger,” Amber said. “And I’m willing to bet few dare go in the hills with the intent