Karen Anne Golden - The Cats That 03 - The Cats That Told a Fortune by Karen Anne Golden Page B
Authors: Karen Anne Golden
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Parsons glass-top aluminum table. Scout and Abra appeared out of nowhere and offered their help.
“Not happening,” Katherine said to the inquisitive cats. “I need to hide these so you pesky cats don’t break them, because if you do, my guests will be eating off paper.”
“Raw,” Abra cried, fishing out a roll of black crepe paper. She clamped her jaw on it and bounced off the table with Scout in hot pursuit.
Katherine sat down and laughed heartily. It helped reduce her tension and anxiety about the events of the day. She then got up to look for the Siamese. She found them in the dining room, unravelling the roll and streaming it across the floor.
“Okay, let me have it. I’m going to decorate for the party. You two go find something else to do.”
Scout and Abra sassed loudly as they scampered out of the room to pursue other feline adventures somewhere else in the house .
* * *
On Wednesday, an hour before the students would arrive for their computer skills practice session, Katherine was rummaging in the carriage house for a rake. She rarely ventured inside the restored building, because the space was completely packed with what she called junk, ranging from the old metal corrugated roofing panels stacked in a corner, to an ancient-looking golf cart. Someday, when the house was legally hers, Katherine planned to have the inside converted into a garage, so she could park her new Subaru.
Today, she noticed for the first time , a tall wooden ladder leading to an area she hadn’t explored. Carefully climbing the rungs to the ceiling, she pushed a trap door open and gazed into the entire upper expanse of the carriage house, where hay might have been stored long ago. It was littered to the ceiling with more junk. Not relishing opening a can of “cleaning worms” as she had when she cleaned the basement, she made a mental note to pursue it later.
While climbing down the ladder, she didn’t hear a vehicle pull up, nor see the two men who walked inside. Four feet from the bottom of the ladder, a rung snapped, sending Katherine into a free fall. One of the men caught her in his muscular arms. It was one of the Sanders boys. Unfortunately, it was the one who looked like he’d just been released from prison. The only difference in appearance was he seemed to have washed his hair, but it was still tucked back into a ponytail. The second brother wore a mullet. He cackled nervously.
“Be careful there, ma’am,” he said, setting her down. “That ladder ain’t no good.”
Katherine caught her breath and said, “Thanks. What can I do for you today?” She backed up and inched her way to the door.
“We met you the other day. I’m Stevie Sanders, and this is my numb-nuts brother, Bobby.”
“I ain’t a numb-nut!” Bobby objected.
Stevie ran his eyes over Katherine, up and down in a suggestive manner. “What can you do for me today?” he said in a sexy voice.
Katherine walked out and headed for the classroom.
Stevie caught up with her, “Hey, Lady, I didn’t mean to piss you off. I’ve come to haul the scrap metal away.”
It was then that Katherine realized two pickup trucks were parked in back. Two other tough-looking men sat inside one. She said cautiously to Stevie, “I don’t own this house. You’ll have to talk to Mark Dunn.”
“No need to bring a lawyer in it,” he said indifferently. “Can I talk to the old lady that lives here?”
“My great aunt Orvenia passed away last winter.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am. She gave me a note,” he said, tugging a torn piece of paper from his denim pocket. “She gave me the metal in exchange for putting on a new roof. I had to do some work … some time for the state, so I wasn’t able to git here right away.”
Katherine made the connection between the word “state” and prison. She looked at the note. From
“Not happening,” Katherine said to the inquisitive cats. “I need to hide these so you pesky cats don’t break them, because if you do, my guests will be eating off paper.”
“Raw,” Abra cried, fishing out a roll of black crepe paper. She clamped her jaw on it and bounced off the table with Scout in hot pursuit.
Katherine sat down and laughed heartily. It helped reduce her tension and anxiety about the events of the day. She then got up to look for the Siamese. She found them in the dining room, unravelling the roll and streaming it across the floor.
“Okay, let me have it. I’m going to decorate for the party. You two go find something else to do.”
Scout and Abra sassed loudly as they scampered out of the room to pursue other feline adventures somewhere else in the house .
* * *
On Wednesday, an hour before the students would arrive for their computer skills practice session, Katherine was rummaging in the carriage house for a rake. She rarely ventured inside the restored building, because the space was completely packed with what she called junk, ranging from the old metal corrugated roofing panels stacked in a corner, to an ancient-looking golf cart. Someday, when the house was legally hers, Katherine planned to have the inside converted into a garage, so she could park her new Subaru.
Today, she noticed for the first time , a tall wooden ladder leading to an area she hadn’t explored. Carefully climbing the rungs to the ceiling, she pushed a trap door open and gazed into the entire upper expanse of the carriage house, where hay might have been stored long ago. It was littered to the ceiling with more junk. Not relishing opening a can of “cleaning worms” as she had when she cleaned the basement, she made a mental note to pursue it later.
While climbing down the ladder, she didn’t hear a vehicle pull up, nor see the two men who walked inside. Four feet from the bottom of the ladder, a rung snapped, sending Katherine into a free fall. One of the men caught her in his muscular arms. It was one of the Sanders boys. Unfortunately, it was the one who looked like he’d just been released from prison. The only difference in appearance was he seemed to have washed his hair, but it was still tucked back into a ponytail. The second brother wore a mullet. He cackled nervously.
“Be careful there, ma’am,” he said, setting her down. “That ladder ain’t no good.”
Katherine caught her breath and said, “Thanks. What can I do for you today?” She backed up and inched her way to the door.
“We met you the other day. I’m Stevie Sanders, and this is my numb-nuts brother, Bobby.”
“I ain’t a numb-nut!” Bobby objected.
Stevie ran his eyes over Katherine, up and down in a suggestive manner. “What can you do for me today?” he said in a sexy voice.
Katherine walked out and headed for the classroom.
Stevie caught up with her, “Hey, Lady, I didn’t mean to piss you off. I’ve come to haul the scrap metal away.”
It was then that Katherine realized two pickup trucks were parked in back. Two other tough-looking men sat inside one. She said cautiously to Stevie, “I don’t own this house. You’ll have to talk to Mark Dunn.”
“No need to bring a lawyer in it,” he said indifferently. “Can I talk to the old lady that lives here?”
“My great aunt Orvenia passed away last winter.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am. She gave me a note,” he said, tugging a torn piece of paper from his denim pocket. “She gave me the metal in exchange for putting on a new roof. I had to do some work … some time for the state, so I wasn’t able to git here right away.”
Katherine made the connection between the word “state” and prison. She looked at the note. From
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