He shook his head and took a step back. “We both know you want that cat.”
She bristled. “I don’t want this cat. I can’t have this cat. Besides, how would I get it home? It makes more sense for it to stay here, with you.”
“Don’t be so stubborn.” He warily eyed the still-purring kitten. “You could keep it if you wanted—and you
do
want to.”
Andrea sighed, admitting defeat. She brought the kitten back to her chest and cuddled it some more. Poor thing had to be getting kind of tired of being tossed about like a hot potato, but it made no attempt to jump free. “I do. I really, really do. But I can’t, not as much as I have to travel. It wouldn’t be fair.”
Sean softened. “Well, you know, he is kinda cute and all.”
“I thought you didn’t want him,” she murmured petulantly.
“Well…” Sean smiled at the kitten. He held out a hand to stroke it and it rubbed its little head against his palm. “I might consider keeping him around. He wouldn’t be as needy as a dog.”
Andrea pushed the kitten against his chest, forcing him to grab hold of it. She patted him twice on the arm. “Thanks, Sean. I knew I could count on you.”
“Hey…wait a minute.”
“Don’t worry,” she called over her shoulder. “I’ll take him to the vet before I leave, make sure he’s got his shots and everything.” She padded back to his bedroom.
The look on Sean’s face before he disappeared from sight was priceless.
It was a miracle the horse was still alive.
Andrea held the animal’s bridle with one hand and stroked its mane of silky black hair to help keep it calm it as Sean and Charlie took pictures of its injuries. Anytime she tried to move away, the horse pressed closer to her. “Shhhh.” She caressed the animal when it nickered. “You’re doing great. Poor thing.”
The animal control officer lowered his camera. “You must really love animals. You’re good with ’em.”
Andrea did like being around animals, but she didn’t have much experience. She hated to see helpless creatures suffer.
“You have no idea,” Sean broke in. “You should see my new cat, Charlie. Andi rescued it and placed it in my care.”
“I knew ya were a good person, as soon as I saw ya.” The bigger man smiled at her. “But puttin’ it in this guy’s care worries me. What kind of cat is it?”
“A kitten,” Andrea said. She was worried about the horse. She wanted details before the horse’s owner returned to the barn. Right now, the man was giving his statement to Trey Parker outside. “Any idea what happened here?”
The wounded animal had survived the attack, but just barely. Andrea took one look at the area around her and knew that the horse had put up one heck of a fight. Bales of hay had been knocked over and there were small mounds of dirt kicked up where the horse had obviously bucked and struggled against something. Then there were the tracks that were identical to the ones she and Sean had found previously. Thirteen inches long with claw indents at the toes.
Charlie put his camera away. “Somethin’ got inside the barn, all right. If I had to guess, I’d say bear, judgin’ from those tracks over yonder.”
Andrea exchanged a look of disbelief with Sean, who had lowered his camera. “Do bears usually attack other animals like this?” she asked.
Charlie unbuttoned the sleeve of his uniform and rolled it up. “No, can’t say they do. Not inside a barn like this. Maybe it’s rabid or injured. The vet who treated the horse said tests should come back within the week.”
“Will the horse would be okay?” It was such a noble animal. It would be a shame for it to be put down.
“It should survive, provided the rabies test is negative.” Charlie finished rolling his second sleeve and wiped perspiration from his brow. “The gashes are deep, but with a little medicine, they should heal pretty good.”
“Good.” Andrea gave the horse one last gentle petting and moved away. It followed her, so she stroked it again. “Did the owner see or hear anything before the attack?”
Charlie finished packing his equipment. “Not a thing. He woke up around four o’clock because he thought he heard a noise outside, but he only turned on the light and glanced out the window.”
“So you’re sure a bear did this?” She maneuvered out of the stall, and the horse neighed. She blew the animal a kiss and moved away. “No chance it could have been—”
“Your werewolf?” Charlie finished for her, and laughed. “That’s one reason why I called Sean. Figured you might think that, but I told you before, Andrea. I don’t believe in werewolves. Sorry.”
“What if it’s not a werewolf?” She gestured toward the injured horse. “What if it’s like a werewolf, but a completely new type of animal we don’t have a name for yet? Don’t you think it’s possible?”
Sean stepped forward beside her. “There are reports of animals like this one reported all over the United States, Charlie. Some researchers think it’s possible.”
He seemed to consider the idea, briefly. “I suppose
anything
is possible.” He picked up his bag. “For now, I’d appreciate it, Sean, if you ran somethin’ in the paper warnin’ folks to lock up their pets at night. Keep an eye on their kids and their cattle. If there is a bear runnin’ around, it’s a brave one. That worries the hell out of me.”
“What if it’s not a bear?” Andrea asked.
“Still worries the hell out of me.”
Trey Parker leaned against his patrol car, scribbling his notes. He looked up when Charlie, Sean and Andrea exited the barn. The owner had talked to Sean for a few minutes while they waited for the sheriff’s deputy to arrive, but had wanted no part of Andrea’s story. “Sorry, ma’am, but I ain’t goin’ in that there paper of yours. No way, no how,” he’d said.
The elderly man still eyed her warily. “I’d best get to my chores,” he told Trey. “Let me know if you find anything out, you hear?”
“Will do, Kenneth.” When the man had retreated to his barn, Trey smiled at Andrea. “I promised him I’d stick around until you two left. He’s a little paranoid having a tabloid reporter snooping around his place.”
Andrea waved as Charlie drove off in his animal control vehicle. She crossed her arms. “Do I look like I’m snooping? Jeez.”
Trey laughed. “Just doing my job, you know?”
Andrea noticed Sean was looking at her funny. He looked at Trey the same way. Trey was either oblivious to Sean’s tension or chose to ignore it. “If you were smart, Hunter, you’d consider adding this one to your staff. She’s one of the only reporters I’ve ever met that I didn’t want to shoot on sight.” He smiled at Andrea.
“How about that? Me too.” Sean crossed his arms and smiled, slightly.
Was Sean jealous?
Crazy. Trey and I have barely exchanged more than two sentences today
. The two men must have history, which didn’t bode well for her plans for Trey and Megan.
She stepped closer to Sean. She liked Trey and all, but whatever their rivalry, she didn’t want to become a part of it. “Does the sheriff’s office get called out to a lot of animal attacks?”
“We get some calls.” Trey nodded. “Last month or so, a lot. Before that, it was scattered.”
“Really?” Sean perked up. “I haven’t noticed any reports out of the usual.”
“Just a few pets that have turned up dead,” Trey said. “Charlie said it was probably coyotes. Aside from that, one of David Phelps’ cows was found mutilated last week.”
Andrea was shocked Trey didn’t seem more concerned. “You don’t think that’s significant considering you saw the werewolf animal yourself?”
He shrugged. “That’s why I’m here. Sheriff didn’t think it worth sending a deputy out to take a statement, not to any of those calls. That’s probably why you didn’t see any of my reports, Hunter. I’m guessing they’re still buried on Sheriff Bay’s desk.”
If not in his trashcan,
Andrea decided. She exchanged a look with Sean. “You told me when I first came here the sheriff was okay with the legend, but Trey thinks otherwise.”
Sean looked at Trey and frowned. “I thought he was.”
“Ah, you know how it is, Hunter. Election time is coming up. Sheriff Bay normally doesn’t care one way or the other about werewolves unless it can affect his ability to get votes.” The deputy grabbed both sides of his belt and shuffled on his feet. “Truth is, I wouldn’t believe either if I hadn’t seen it myself.”
Sean glanced back toward the barn. “Let’s look for more tracks. Maybe we can get an idea of which way it went when it left.”
“Good idea.” Andrea turned to follow. “You coming?”
“Nah.” Trey opened his car door. “Just promise me you’ll both be gone in fifteen minutes. I don’t want the old guy calling me back out here.”
She nodded. “We’ll be gone in ten.”
They followed the tracks to the edge of the farm.
“You know. I was thinking—Fluffy,” Sean said conversationally as they walked.
“What?”
“I’m thinking of naming the cat Fluffy. What do you think?”
Andrea was horrified. “You can’t name him Fluffy! That’s…that’s—”
Sean grinned, and she knew he’d only been baiting her. “Is this my cat or your cat?”
She didn’t respond. Heaven help her if she gave him any encouragement. She shook her head and turned away. She stopped and glanced at the ground. “Do you see any tracks here?”
He shook his head. “No, I think they’ve disappeared.”
Andrea surveyed the area. There was another farm visible in the distance. She pointed in that direction. “What’s that way?”
Sean followed her gaze. “A couple of farms. You keep going about a mile and you’ll hit David Phelps’ place.”
Really? Now that, she thought, was interesting. If memory served her correctly, the Phelps farm was the hub of the sightings and always had been.
“Sean, if this thing is attacking animals now—”
“It could start attacking people,” he finished. “I know.” He reached into his pocket for his cell phone. He punched in a number and nodded for Andrea to follow him back to his truck. “Meg? You busy?” He paused. “Listen, do me a favor. Make sure you keep an eye on Kelly and Jason. Keep them inside as much as you can and don’t let them go outside after dark, okay?”
Andrea listened to his side of the conversation as he explained about the recent animal attacks. They climbed into his truck.
“Dinner?” he said into the phone and glanced toward Andrea. Meg must have invited them both over tonight. She nodded, and he smiled, obviously pleased. “Yeah, we’ll be there. See you then.”
Andrea’s phone vibrated in her pocket. It was Reed.
“What’s up, kid?”
He sighed. “I am not a kid. I wish you would stop calling me that.”
“I wish you would stop smoking. What’s up?”
He told her about some photographs of animal prints he’d taken this morning. “I followed our map of sightings and found some fresh prints this morning near Roe Road.”
Sean had ended his call. She looked at him. “Where near Roe Road?”
“You know where the Phelps’ farm is? Out that way.”
She lowered the phone and shared the news with Sean. “Ask him to have dinner with us,” said Sean. “Meg won’t mind.”
A few minutes later, they exited at the spot Reed had directed them to. They found the tracks right away.
“Look, they head that way.” Andrea pointed in the direction they’d just traveled.
Sean nodded. “This is crazy, Andi.”
“I know.” She pulled out her phone again.
“Who are you calling?”
“That cryptozoologist, Jared Novotny.”
She didn’t know what was happening in Woodbine, but maybe the researcher would.
At least, she hoped he would.
“Uncle Sean! Uncle Sean! We got a dog!”
Kelly threw herself into Sean’s arms as soon as he walked through the door of Meg’s house. Happy to see the little squirt, he lifted her high and settled her on his hip. “A dog? What kind of dog?”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a medium-sized dog came tearing through the house. The shaggy Border collie mix jumped up against Andi’s stomach and almost knocked her down. It was a small, frail-looking dog, but it packed a powerful punch. The dog left a trail of slobbery licks along her arms and face.
Sean chuckled. “Ah, that dog.”
Kelly giggled and ran to answer the doorbell, letting Reed inside just as Meg rounded the corner with Jason at her side. They both looked harried. “Get down!” Meg clapped her hands. “Jason, put that leash on him, now!”
“You adopted a dog?” Sean asked, setting his niece on the floor to give the shaggy animal an affectionate rub. It kept leaping at Andrea, eager for affection.
Smart dog.
Andi tried to push it away and only succeeded when his nephew had it on a leash.
“More like the dog adopted us.” Meg ran a hand through her hair. “It just showed up yesterday and won’t leave. I’m so sorry it jumped on you, Andrea. It ran into the house, and we couldn’t stop it.”
Andi dusted fur and dirt off her sweater. “Oh, no problem.”
Reed lifted his hand as if asking for permission to speak. “Uh, if you’ve been feeding it, it probably won’t leave now. Just an observation.”
Meg sighed. “Yeah, I figured that.” She grabbed the leash from her son and dragged the dog toward the door. “Come on, big guy, it’s outside for you. We’ll get you a bath tomorrow.”
“Aw, mom, what about tonight? Can’t it stay in my room?” Jason begged.
“We’ll see, Jason.”
Sean ruffled his nephew’s hair. “Maybe Andi can help you give it a bath before we leave. Animals just love her.”
She shot him a dirty look.
“Speaking of which, you guys have to come over and see my new cat,” Sean told them.
“A kitty!” Kelly jumped and clapped her hands. “I want to see it!”
He laughed. He’d thought he might give the pet to Kelly when it was older, but he didn’t think that would be a good idea now. Not with a dog running around the house.
“Maybe you can come over tomorrow.”
Sean glanced around Megan’s dinner table as they ate. Reed and Jason had bonded over video games months ago, and Jason treated Reed like an older brother. They were engaged in a heated debate over which cartoon was better—
Avatar
or
Ben 10: Alien Force
. Andrea and Megan chatted like they’d been friends for years rather than days. Beside him, Kelly made shapes out of her mashed potatoes and giggled whenever he told her to stop playing with her food.
We’re like one big, happy family, and it feels…right.
Oh yeah. Sean wouldn’t mind having more evenings like this.
“Do you know Trey Parker?” Sean snapped to attention. Why was Andi asking Meg that?
“I’m not sure,” Megan said. “Sounds familiar. Why?”
Sean sat up straighter and zeroed in on the conversation. Meg would know who Trey Parker was if she saw him. The guy had been in the papers and all over the TV news last year for saving a pregnant woman and her toddler from a wrecked, burning car while he’d been off duty. Sean had always liked the tall deputy, at least, until the guy had made love-eyes at Andi. It had been obvious Trey would like to get to know Andi better, and that pissed Sean off to no end. More frustrating had been her overly friendly attitude in return.
“He’s a nice guy,” Andi said. “He’s a deputy here.”
“Oh, I don’t think I know him.”
“Tall, nice eyes, great smile?” Andi asked. Each description made Sean grit his teeth. “Kind of looks like Jim from
The Office
?”
Meg shook her head.
“Hmmm. Too bad.” Andi lifted her fork and swallowed a bite of grilled chicken. She looked distracted, thoughtful. Was she thinking about Trey? Sean banged his knee against the table, and everyone looked at him.