“I’ll be able to do some weeding.”
“Right.”
Finally she excused herself, stepped in through the front door, and yelled, “Riley, it’s time to go.”
She turned to see Simon staring at her, as though shocked by her yelling.
“Tell her I’m in the car,” she said.“What time should she be ready to go tomorrow to the climbing gym?”
“I have a slot at ten,” he said.“So, about nine fifteen?”
She nodded, thanked him again, and went outside to wait.
Well, that was awkward.At first, he seemed almost glad to see her, but soon his barrier had arisen again.What was it all about?
Perhaps he had been talking to one of Graham’s old friends and had been warned not to get too close.Graham seemed to be concerned about their cat arrangement, and his friend Chaz was a member of the climbing gym.He doubted Chaz had anything good to say about her.Any time she saw him around town, he merely nodded acknowledgement and crossed the street or left the room before he had to exchange words with her.
She sighed.
It was hard to be the one left behind, especially when all the so-called friends she had in this little town—a town she had loved when she first arrived—were loyal to a man who had failed to be loyal to her.
She turned on the car, and the radio sprang to life, so she listened to the five-thirty news break and contemplated honking the horn—an obnoxious habit, but one that would get her daughter’s attention.
Ten minutes later Riley still hadn’t come out, so she turned off the car and went back up to the front door and knocked.
Simon answered again, his hair ruffled.“We’ve had a bit of a problem,” he said.
“What kind of problem?”
“Dash escaped under the couch, and we’re trying to coax him out.”
“Do you need help?”
“Mom!”Riley came into the kitchen, her face distressed.“He doesn’t want to come home.”
“Should we leave him here until he comes out on his own?”Sarah wondered aloud.“We could always pick up Dash later, when he’s ready for bed.”She looked at Simon for his reaction.
“Nooo,” said Riley.“He has to come home now.”
Simon stepped back and motioned for her to enter, so Sarah set down her bag, kicked off her shoes, and rolled her shoulders back.She was ready for battle, or cat-catching duty at any rate.“Okay, lead the way.Show me where he is.”
Riley led her to the living room, where she found Sally crouched near the couch, peering underneath.“They’re under there,” she said softly.“But I don’t think they’re scared.”
“No?”asked Sarah, getting down on her hands and knees and hoping her skirt would cover her butt.She found two pairs of bright blue eyes peering back at her.
“I think they’re just being mischievous,” said Sally.
“I think you might be right,” said Sarah.“They don’t look frightened at all.”
“How are we going to get Dash to come home?”Riley asked, her voice rising to a whine Sarah felt down her spine.
“Well, we could try lifting the couch while you two crawl in, one on each side, to grab them.”She looked up at Simon to see what he thought of her plan, but he didn’t seem to like it.What an odd look he had on his face.Was he even paying attention?
“Is the couch heavy?”she asked him, finally getting his attention.
“Not if we pick it up together.Then one of you girls can crawl in and grab the cats.”
“I’ll do it,” said Riley.
