“Well, yeah, but I figured he was sniffing out mice or rats.”
“The only mice left in here have a death wish. And as for rats—sir, you offend me.” Camo had approached Arden as soon as she held up the can and she ruffled his ears. “Go bite him,” she stage-whispered.
Kyle chuckled. “Glad you don’t know any actual commands.”
“Actually, I would love it if you’d teach me some.”
His knee-jerk reaction was to ask her why because she wouldn’t be needing them in a few days after he and Camo were back in California. Instead, he said, “Watch,” and raised his arm to signal for Camo to come to him. Camo immediately snapped to attention and trotted to Kyle’s side. He twirled his hand and when he started walking to the barn door, Camo heeled.
“Impressive,” Arden said. “If you want, come back when you’ve let him in and you can see the cats.”
Kyle decided he would. After letting Camo in with strict orders to be good, he jogged back to the barn.
And stopped in the doorway. Jesus, was this a cat-breeding farm?
Arden looked up from the moving sea of fur churning around her legs. “Fraidy cat?” She smirked.
“No, it’s just that uh, wow.”
She laughed and went back to opening cans and setting them down.
Kyle started forward. “How do you keep them straight?”
“I don’t. Only a couple of them have names. The rest are strays or half-feral or both.”
“They just wander to the ranch?”
Arden opened the last can, set it down, and gingerly stepped out of the cat-mob. “Not all. Mr. Sanders always had a soft spot for kitties, but he’s allergic so he’d bring them to us.” Her face went soft and wistful as she watched the cats eat. Kyle resisted the urge to put an arm around her.
“You’ve known him a long time, huh?”
She nodded. “Mr. Sanders and my dad were friends. He’s older than my dad was, so he kind of took him under his wing when he married Mom not realizing he’d also married a ranch. Walter’s such a wonderful man, I wish you could have known him before the dementia.”
She shook her head. “I feel so bad for Ellie. She takes care of him by herself. Before the dementia got too bad, he begged her to let him stay on the ranch as long as possible. He was born there, and he wants to die there. She’s trying to honor his wishes as best she can, but it really wears on her. I do what I can to help, most of the neighbors do. We all look out for them.” She glanced from the cats to Kyle. “I was afraid it was him pounding on my door last night, which is the only reason I answered. It breaks my heart when he comes up here looking for Doc. That’s my dad…wasmy dad. Walter will see me and he’ll sometimes think that I’m my mom. ‘Sharon,’ he’ll say. ‘You look younger and younger every day.’ Ellie and I just laugh at that. Sometimes that’s all you can do, is laugh.”
God, now Kyle was physically restraining himself from taking her in his arms. “I was really sorry to hear about your parents’ death. Ellie said they died four years ago?”
Arden laid her hand against his arm and he swore he could feel its heat through the parka. “Thank you. Yes, they did. It was a car accident. They tell me... That they didn’t suffer. Mr. Sanders was very kind at the time, made sure I had help here. The dementia hadn’t really hit him hard yet. It’s been heartbreaking to watch. He’s like a second dad to me.”
Kyle lost the battle with himself and covered her hand with his. “I imagine it has been. Both for you and for Ellie. What about your brother?”
Her voice changed as her posture stiffened. She pulled her hand out from under his and he missed her touch immediately. “My brother was sad about it too, of course. But he’s always gone. When he turned eighteen, Sean was out of here like a shot.”
Sean. Kyle prodded. “He doesn’t come back for the holidays?”
“Yes, of course he does. Just not this year.” She sounded by turns irritated and then sad.
“In the winter it must be hard for you to take care of this place by yourself.”
“I get by. I manage just fine actually.” A defensive tone overtook her voice. “And, you know, when my brother is around, he helps out a lot.”
“But not this year.”
“Nope.” The sadness crept back into her eyes with a vengeance. “Not this year.” The cats were dispersing and she moved to pick up the empty cans and put them in a trash bag.
Kyle picked them up alongside her. “Why not this year?”
She paused long enough he thought she wouldn’t answer. When she did, Kyle wasn’t sure if she was speaking to him or to herself. “Well, it all started with a fight that we had. I mean, all siblings bicker, right? Older brother, little sister. It got hard after my parents died. I admit it. But, he had his life to live and I had mine. It just happened to be away from the ranch.” She looked far away. “I shouldn’t have ridden him so hard about not staying. He did come back for a while and helped me out in the beginning. But he had obligations. I couldn’t very well expect him to give up his entire life and come back here and help me. Just like he couldn’t expect me to suddenly pull up stakes and sell the ranch and find something else to do.”
