Cats in Cahoots (A Klepto Cat Mystery Book 18) Read online

  Savannah grabbed her sister’s arm. “That’s because you’ve never let yourself get to know a cat before. People who never connect with a cat don’t realize they come with different personalities. A cat is not a cat is not a cat…know what I mean? They’re all cat-like, but they sure have different agendas—you know—habits, traits, characteristics…”

  Brianna thought about that for a moment, then said, “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Snowball is a cuddle-bug. She sticks close to me when I’m there. Frankie is a character—what a sense of humor. To Frankie, the whole world is a circus…and a jungle gym.”

  Savannah smiled. “I need to get over to Bud’s and visit them one of these days. I don’t think I’ve seen them since you and Bud rescued Snowball from that cat colony the night she gave birth to little Frankie.”

  “Yeah, that was some date-night,” Brianna complained good-naturedly.

  “Welcome to my world,” Savannah teased. “That’s what it’s like being married to a veterinarian.” She looked at her sister. “Don’t you ever get emergency calls in your medical practice?”

  Brianna nodded. “Sure do. But there are three of us who take turns being on call.” She suddenly grabbed Savannah’s arm. “Not to change the subject, but did Mom tell you Melanie is back in California with her family? They might actually be traveling through Hammond this week. They want to stop and see all of us while we’re here at Auntie’s old homestead.”

  “No, she didn’t tell me. Wow, that would be a blast, wouldn’t it? I haven’t seen Mel in…well, since we were kids playing together here at those fun family reunions. What was I, eleven or twelve? You, Mel, and Roxy were eight or nine, I think. Uncle Ray moved the family out of state shortly after that.” She hesitated. “So Mel’s coming back too, huh? Her sister Roxy told me she really hates those harsh Indiana winters. Where do they plan to live, do you know?”

  “They’ve been talking to Mom about jobs and schools in Los Angeles. She has advised them to look around the outskirts of the city—the San Fernando Valley or San Diego.” As the sisters neared the corral, Savannah said, “I’d better feed Peaches.”

  “Ho,” Lily shouted with glee.

  “Ho?” Brianna questioned.

  “Yeah, that’s Lily-speak for horse,” Savannah explained. “She loves the horse.”

  “And the cats and the dog.” Brianna chuckled. “You’d think she was the child of Dr. Doolittle.” She then asked, “What are we fixing for supper? …not that I’m the least bit hungry after that big lunch.”

  “Yeah, me neither. I was thinking about a salad.”

  “Perfect.”

  “I have a few frozen pot pies in case Mom’s hungrier than we are.”

  The two women had entered the kitchen, washed up, and changed Lily when Savannah suggested, “Why don’t you entertain the punkin while I make the salad. Maybe she’d like to play tea party.”

  “Oh fun. Come on, Lily, shall we have some tea?” She lowered her brow and addressed her sister, “Pretend tea, right?”

  “Yes. She’s too messy for the real thing.” Savannah took a few teething biscuits out of a package and offered them to Brianna. “Here are her crumpets.”

  Brianna laughed. “Tea and crumpets? How British of you.” She was showing Lily how to hold her tea cup with her little finger extended when her cell phone chimed. “A text from Bud,” she announced. After studying her phone screen for a moment, she reported, “Poor guys. He says the work’s grueling.” She looked up at Savannah. “I think they expected this to be fairly routine—inoculations, maybe a few abscesses—but he says there are a lot of animals with some serious problems. He’s pretty sure they won’t even make a dent in the situation during the few days they’ll be there.”

  “Well, that must be discouraging. I suppose they’ll call in more veterinarians.” She stared off into space. “At least I hope that’s a viable option. What a mess.” After spending the next few minutes working on the salad, Savannah turned and asked, “So how are things with you and Bud? You two seem happy. Do you see your relationship moving forward anytime soon?”

  Brianna gave her sister a blank stare. “Forward in what way?”

  “You look like a deer in headlights,” Savannah said, doubling over with laughter. Then containing herself, she asked in a more serious tone, “What are you—commitment-phobic? Don’t you want to get married and settle down?”

  “Settle down?” Brianna asked. “What do you think I do after a day of listening to the complaints of our ailing elderly community, go clubbing? Nooo. I go home and read in a hot tub. If I were anymore settled, I’d be dead.”

  Savannah chuckled. “Well, maybe you should get married to spice up your life.”

  “No thanks. I’m happy right where I am.”

  “Really? You don’t want to get married? Don’t you and Bud ever talk about marriage and children—creating a home together?”

  After pondering the question for a moment, Brianna said, “No, actually. I think we both like the status quo—a date when we want one, and private lives in the meantime. No mortgage, no one to cook for on a regular basis. I like having a long-distance relationship.” When she saw Savannah staring at her, agape, she asked, “What? Does it make me a freak or something just because I don’t want to dive into a marriage yet?”

  “Oh, so you do want to get married at some point, right?”

  “Well, to tell you the truth…”

  Suddenly they heard a knock on the front door, then, “Hello, anyone home?”

  “Mom!” Brianna shouted, rushing into the living room to greet her. “Great timing.” She glanced back at Savannah and grinned.

  Savannah shook her head in disbelief at what her sister had been telling her. She picked up Lily and stepped into the living room to join the others. “Hi, Mom. Did you have a good trip?”

  “Yeah, it was okay.” Gladys set her satchel on the floor, then, smiling broadly, she reached for the baby and hugged her tightly. “Look at you, you beautiful child. Just look at you. How you’ve grown.”

  “Mama,” Lily said, pointing at Savannah. She then looked at Brianna. “Auntie Nana.”

  Gladys nodded. “Yes, there’s Mama and…” She squinted at Brianna. “Auntie Nana? That’s a new one on me.”

  “Well yes, Mom,” Savannah explained, “she just learned how to say Brianna. It comes out Nana. So she’s Auntie Nana. Cool, huh? Hey, I have the blue room ready for you—Bri took the healing room this time.”

  Gladys stared at her younger daughter. “Do you need healing, honey?”

  “Couldn’t hurt,” Brianna said, shrugging.

  “The blue room is fine. I love them both,” Gladys assured her. “You and Michael have done wonders with this old house.”

  “Ki-ki,” Lily said, pointing. “Oof-oof.” When Brianna picked up Lily’s doll, the toddler pointed at it and said, “Mine.”

  “She’s talking up a storm,” Gladys observed.

  Wish we could understand all that she tells us.” Savannah turned to her mother. “Hungry, Mom? Bri and I are having salad for supper. I have a chicken pot pie in the oven for you.”

  “Are you girls dieting?” Gladys asked, a look of concern on her face.

  “Always,” Brianna said, glancing down at her rather stocky curvaceous figure, then ogling her tall, slim sister. “We had a big lunch with Auntie.”

  “Well, I didn’t. The pot pie sounds marvelous. What brand is it?”

  “Huh? Oh, I made it. I make them and freeze them,” Savannah explained.

  Brianna shook her head. “Sheesh, what a Dolly Domestic. I could never keep up with you.”

  “Keep up with me?” Savannah said, narrowing her eyes. “Are we having a contest?”

  Brianna stuttered a bit. “Well no…I mean…it’s just that…”

  “What?” Savannah and Gladys asked together.

  “You’ve accomplished it all, Vannie. There’s nothing left for me to excel at.”

  Savannah rolled h
er eyes in Gladys’s direction, then said, “Bri, what an off-the-wall thing for you to say. You with your doctor credentials, medical practice, and definite knack for cooking. In fact, I was hoping you’d take over my kitchen one day while you’re here. You’re a fabulous cook.”

  Gladys nodded. “Yes, maybe you can make that breakfast casserole you told me about.”

  “Maybe I will,” she said. “In the meantime, where’s the wine cellar, Vannie?”

  “The white wine’s in the fridge and the red’s in the pantry. Help yourself. I’ll show Mom to her room.” She started to pick up her mother’s bags. “Hey, Bri, would you check on the pot pie?”

  “Okay,” she said heading to the kitchen. She turned and asked, “Want wine, Mom?”

  “Yes, the white is fine.”

  “I’ll have white, too,” Savannah said. When she and Gladys returned to the kitchen with Lily a few minutes later, she asked her sister, “So what’s this nonsense about nothing for you to excel at?”

  Brianna took a sip of the wine and waved her hand in front of her. “You have this great house, a handsome prince of a husband, a beautiful child, and you can take care of it all like…like…you were born to do it. I’m a klutz when it comes to relationships and I’m a klutz in the kitchen.”

  “Now that’s not true, Bri,” Gladys said. “When did you start thinking like that? You’ve always been a creative cook who knows her way around the kitchen.” She paused, then chuckled. “You sometimes had trouble remembering where everything went when you were finished cooking or baking, though.”

  “And your room was always a mess,” Savannah added.

  Brianna grimaced. “Yup, and I blew it with every boyfriend I ever had.”

  “Bri,” Savannah asked quietly, “are you and Bud having trouble?”

  “Oh, heck no,” she insisted. “He’s as steady as a rock. No problems there. I’m in my comfort zone with Bud.”

  “Oh,” Savannah said, sounding disappointed.

  “Oh?” Brianna repeated, now looking intently at her sister. “What do you mean by that?”

  A bit flustered now, Savannah said, “Nothing. Just oh.”

  “Come on, there’s more,” she insisted.

  In the meantime, Gladys helped Lily fit a few blocks of different shapes into a form. She glanced up at her daughters and continued playing with the toddler.

  “Well, I was just thinking that maybe you and Bud are too comfortable in your relationship; maybe you need some…spark.”

  “Or fire,” Gladys interjected.

  When both women looked at their mother, Gladys grinned sheepishly. “With your father and me, it was fire.”

  The siblings raised their eyebrows at one another, then Brianna said, “Yeah, I’ve had sparks and they don’t last. Give me content anytime. I’m happy right where I am—with Bud, with my practice, and with my family. I admire your life, Vannie, but I don’t want any part of it for myself—not at this time in my life, anyway.”

  “Do you mean you aren’t going to give me any grandchildren?” Gladys whined.

  Brianna let out a sigh. She pointed at Lily. “How would I ever compete with that one? She’s…well, she’s the top of the line—unbeatable—too adorable and smart for words.”

  “There you go again,” Savannah complained.

  “What?” Brianna asked innocently.

  Feeling a little annoyed now, Savannah shook her head. “Oh forget it. Let’s eat. Is anyone hungry?”

  The Ivey kitchen was abuzz as the sisters and their mother shared their most current news with one another over dinner. Naturally, much of the focus was on Lily as the trio took turns interacting with her. Over thirty minutes had passed when Savannah examined the leftover pot pie and asked her mother, “Are you finished?”

  “Yeah, that was a large pie. With the salad, that’s all I can eat.”

  “Bri, want some of the chicken pie?”

  She shook her head. “I’m happy. My tummy’s happy.”

  “Well, I think I’ll toss it. There’s not enough for a meal and Max is cooking for us tomorrow night.”

  “Oh, I hate to waste it,” Gladys said.

  Savannah handed the pan to her. “Can you eat more?”

  Gladys thought about it and decided she could not. “But I can eat it for lunch tomorrow.”

  “We’re going out for brunch with Auntie and Iris tomorrow at the River House.

  Yeah, I think I’d better toss it.”

  Gladys smiled. “How is Iris? Does she like being a mother-in-law?”

  “I don’t think she could be happier. She has always loved Colbi and every mother wants to see her son happy.”

  “She seemed over-the-top happy at the wedding Saturday,” Brianna said. “Don’t you think so, Vannie?”

  “Yes. Almost as happy as the bride and groom.”

  “That’s nice,” Gladys said. She then changed the subject, “Oh, Vannie, Melanie and her family might stop by on Wednesday. I hope it’s okay.”

  “Yes, Bri told me. Sure, it’s okay. I’d love to see her and meet her family. When’s the last time you saw her, Mom?”

  “Three years ago, when Maggie and I flew back to visit our brother. Melanie has some beautiful children.”

  “Cool; can’t wait to meet them.”

  ****

  “Ready to go?” Savannah called out to her sister and mother around eight the following morning.

  “How do you do that?” Brianna asked, yawning as she entered the living room.

  Savannah tilted her head, her hair brushing across one shoulder. “What?”

  “Look that gorgeous and have a baby cleaned up and ready to go so early in the day. I’ll bet you’ve even fed all the critters. Look at me, I haven’t had my coffee and my hair’s a mess.”

  “A mess? I love your hair curly like that,” Gladys said, “like God made it. I wish you wouldn’t damage it by straightening it all the time.”

  “I wish it was naturally straight and blond like Savannah’s,” she whined.

  Gladys grinned. “Sorry about that, dear child. You got the Brannon genes and your sister is a Jordan through and through, with her svelte figure, height, and light hair and eyes.”

  Savannah patted Brianna’s curly dark-brown hair. “Yeah, you were blessed with great hair, beautiful brown eyes, and flawless skin like Mom and Auntie. I look like a faded string bean next to you guys.”

  “Oh, that’s funny,” Brianna said, doubling over laughing. “A faded string bean. I must remember that one.”

  Gladys grinned and shook her head at her daughter’s sense of humor, then turned to Savannah. “What was the commotion I heard this morning?”

  She thought before saying, “Oh, I went out to feed Peaches and found the trash dumped.”

  “Dumped? Did a wild animal get into it?”

  “That’s what I thought at first, but actually, it appears that someone took something out of there.”

  Brianna frowned. “Someone went Dumpster-diving at your house?”

  Savannah chuckled. “It seems so.”

  “What were they looking for?” Gladys asked.

  “I don’t know, but they took your chicken pie. I had covered the aluminum pan so it wouldn’t attract animals and it’s gone, pan and all.”

  “Don’t you have those big plastic trash barrels?”

  “Yes, but I keep a covered container on the porch outside the door as a stop-off place for garbage, so we don’t have to walk out in the dark at night. Then I transfer it to the big barrel in the daylight.”

  Brianna nodded. “Oh, yeah, I’ve seen that barrel in the little cubby out there. Convenient. But someone got into it?”

  “Yeah, they seem to have taken the pie leftovers and a package of probably stale cookies I had found in the back of a cupboard. Either it was a person, which gives me the willies, or we have a sophisticated animal running around out there.”

  When Savannah saw the others looking suspiciously at Rags,
she said, “Oh, come on. He’s not that clever or discerning. He doesn’t even like cookies—I know, because Lily tries to share hers with him and he turns up his nose.” She picked up the diaper bag and placed a small purse inside. “They should be here any minute, shall we start packing the car?”

  “Do we have room for everyone in your car?” Gladys asked, as they stepped out into the driveway.

  “If someone rides in the very back, we do. Remember when we used the third seat that time we all went to Disneyland with our artist friend, Peter?”

  Gladys smiled. “Oh yes. Adam was with us. That was so much fun.”

  “I want to sit with Lily,” Brianna carped.

  “Here they are,” Savannah said when she noticed Iris’s car pulling in. “Looks like Auntie’s with her. Hi!” she called out as the two women exited the sedan.

  “Who’s that?” Gladys asked when she saw a car entering the driveway behind Iris’s.

  “Oh, that’s Helena. She’s cleaning today. Hi!” Savannah called to her as the others began vying for seats in her SUV. “Check’s on the table!” Savannah said as she stepped into the driver’s seat. “Have a good day.”

  Helena smiled and waved.

  ****

  A couple of hours later, after finishing a leisurely brunch on a deck overlooking a fast-flowing river, the women headed out with the baby toward a small shopping district.

  “I love visiting these quaint shops,” Iris said. “Makes me feel like I’m on vacation.”

  Savannah looped her arm in Iris’s. “Well, join the club—we’re all on vacation this week.”

  “How’re things going with the guys up north?” she asked.

  “I heard from Michael last night. He’s tired.”

  Brianna chimed in, “Bud said it’s really disheartening to see the conditions those animals were living in and to know how they were being treated, all because of ignorance.”

  “But Michael seemed in better spirits,” Savannah added. “They’re starting to see progress and results from their work. They’re staying an extra day because the need is so great.”