Клэр Донелли - Hiss And Tell

They made polite chitchat for the rest of the drive to Sunny’s house. She apologized for taking Cale out of his way, but he waved off her concerns. “I want to do my shopping as far away from Wilawiport as possible,” he said as he held the door for Sunny. “How long do you think you need?”

“Could I have an hour?” Sunny asked. “I’d like to visit with my dad.”

*

Shadow knew howto wait, if he had to. He’d done it before, hunkered down in front of mouse holes, waiting for the prey to emerge. But it had been a while since he’d had to do that. And this wait seemed to stretch on for a long, long time.

He skimped on sleep, which was a very bad thing for a healthy cat. Shadow knew that, when he found himself nodding off in his water bowl. Bad, bad, bad.

The Old One tried to be nice to him, feeding him and talking to him. But it wasn’t the same as having Sunny around. And when the Old One settled himself on the long, soft chair, it just about drove Shadow crazy. He began to consider one of the things that made light on the table beside the sleeping two-legs. A little determined pushing, and it would fall to make a wonderful crash, sure to wake the Old One. If Shadow couldn’t sleep, why should this human get to?

Finally, Shadow was so tired, he decided to try for a light doze. He scrambled up onto the pillows away from the snoring Old One, then stretched to climb onto the very top of the couch, beside the window. The sun was coming in and it was very comfortable, but Shadow didn’t care about that. He wanted to see and hear what was going on in the front of the house, and this was the best place to do that. He draped himself along the top of the couch and peered out the window with eyes that grew heavier and heavier until finally his head slid down.

Just a short nap, he told himself, a little doze.

But when his eyes opened, the sun had moved quite a distance in the sky. Shadow blinked. What had wakened him? It wasn’t the Old One, who made his usual noises. No, it was the rumble of an engine. Shaking himself awake, Shadow saw a go-fast thing come up the driveway and stop. A strange two-legs got out and opened a door. Then Sunny came out!

Shadow gave a stifled mew of excitement and dashed for the door. He heard the rattle of keys, and when the door opened, he raced around Sunny in a dance of welcome. She’d come back! She’d come home!

But even in the middle of his greeting, he caught that spicy, strange scent he’d found on Sunny before. And it was much stronger. Shadow faltered. What was going on here? Everything seemed all right. Sunny and the Old One sat down and talked. But Shadow moved restlessly around, marking Sunny’s shins and ankles. Couldn’t the Old One smell the strange scent? Especially the hint of male beneath it?

Maybe not, Shadow thought. With all the stinks the Old One gives off, maybe he can’t smell anything anymore.

After a while, Sunny looked at the thing on her wrist. That was always a bad sign. When humans did that, they often jumped up and started running around, ignoring cats.

Sure enough, Sunny got up. Shadow followed, determined not to let her out of his sight. But when she climbed the stairs and got to her room, she closed the door in his face!

Shadow raised a paw to claw at the wood, but he knew that wouldn’t do much. Instead, he went across the hall and hid inside the room of tiles, barely letting one eye peek around the door frame. It was cool in there—cold, really—but he kept his post.

It was worth it! After a while, Sunny came out, and Shadow all but sprang across the hall, getting into the room before Sunny closed the door. He stretched up to look over the top of her bed—and his worst suspicions were confirmed. She had piles of clothing up there, not fresh from the wash, but with dead smells from sitting in a closet. He had to get very close to get any scents at all. What did she want with these old things? Was she going to get rid of them?

He heard Sunny’s footsteps in the hall and darted under the bed, peering out as she came into the room. Worse and worse. She came in with another one of those big things for carrying clothes and put it up on the bed, then began putting things in it. Shadow stayed hidden until she turned away to the closet. Then he made his move.

She’s not leaving without me this time, he thought.

11

Sunny lugged thesoft-sided suitcase down to the front hall. It was a bit unwieldy on the stairway, a little heavier than she’d expected. She hadn’t packed all that much, really—she’d just chosen the large case because she didn’t want the outfits to get crushed. Out of the clothes she’d arranged on the bed, she’d finally picked a pair of suits, one with pants, one with a skirt, both dressy without being too sedate. Then she went back to the closet and took out a party dress, its coral color a bit bolder. It worked well with Sunny’s hair and her tan, but didn’t show off too much. Along with the necessary accessories and the things she had up at Neal’s Neck already, Sunny hoped those outfits would take her through the next few days.

As she reached the foot of the stairs, she held the bag high, alert for Shadow. We are not going to have another game of detach the cat this time, buddy.

But Shadow was nowhere to be seen.

Still holding the bag awkwardly to avoid a sneak attack, Sunny went into the living room, where Mike sat on the couch.

“Shadow in here?” she asked.

Her dad shook his head. “I haven’t seen him since he took off up the stairs after you.”

“I had to keep him out of my room while I was packing.” Now she felt guilty about it. “He went a little crazy with the bag I took yesterday.”

Mike shrugged. “Well, he didn’t turn up here.”

Maybe he’s sulking, Sunny thought as she went down the hall to the kitchen. Often when Shadow got in a mood, he’d scowl down at the world from a perch up on the top of Mount Refrigerator.

But Shadow wasn’t there, either.

Now Sunny found herself torn. She didn’t want a scene like the one they’d gone through the last time she’d left. But she didn’t want to go without saying good-bye to Shadow, either. She was debating whether to check out a few more of his hideouts when the doorbell rang. That took the decision out of her hands. She came down the hall to see Mike at the door, speaking with Cale Kingsbury. Usually her dad would be more animated when talking with anyone with a connection to local politics, but Mike was politely silent as Cale chatted.

Polite—or maybe a bit standoffish? Sunny suddenly wondered. Years may have passed since the scandal that brought Cale Kingsbury down, but that didn’t mean it had been forgotten hereabouts. One of the more potentially negative aspects of the Kittery Harbor Way.

Either Cale didn’t notice or he’d gotten used to that reaction. Or both. He greeted Sunny and took her bag, said good-bye to Mike, and then escorted her back to the car. Cale deposited the case in the back of the station wagon beside his load of contraband (hidden from view under an old picnic blanket) and then held the door for Sunny. As he slid into his seat, his face had a cat-who-ate-the-canary expression. “This is gonna be fun tonight.”

“You know, it started out as a joke, but now it’s taken on a life of its own,” Sunny said. “Sounds as though you’re looking forward to this game more than Cillie and Carson are. I thought you were just the facilitator.”

“And you’re the instigator,” Cale reminded her. “But I think it’s the right thing. The kids need to cut loose, and this is a fairly benign way to do that. Besides, I figure buying the beer buys me an invitation, too.” His grin was infectious, and mischief danced in his eyes. “I got this Belgian ale, very high-octane. It’s gonna be a blast, and I intend to be there as soon as I can ditch the grown-ups.”