[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

breakfast before I set Steve back into the wild.
 All right, I ll talk to you soon. Same meeting place, oh, and if I run across any delusional eighteen-
year-olds, I ll get a number for him.
 You re terrible, and you know I love ya for it.
 I know. I love you too. Bye.
 Bye.
Robin saw her mother watching her, and she felt a lecture was coming.  Another? Girl, when are
you going to let someone in? Shaking her head, she looked back to the stove.
 Mum, not now. We can talk about this tonight. Moira stopped when the two troublemakers came
stomping and cackling their way back into the kitchen.  At least they made up. She looked toward
the door to find the two of them with shifted ears, Elnie with cat ears and Duncan with those of a
horse. Robin sighed and shook her head because at least it was just the ears this time.
 Mum, you have to talk with her. She can t stay a cat for the rest of her life. At least Duncan is
civilized. She paused when she saw that he was sporting a tail too as he walked past her to sit down.
 Most of the time anyway. She furrowed her brows at the back of his head.
 Leave her be. She ll grow out of it. She waved her hand dismissively to Robin as she plated the
bacon and eggs.
 But she and Duncan are always mucking about. Mum, I ve heard people whispering. It s not
normal for a cat and a horse to be cavorting on the outskirts of town. Mrs. Sullivan was telling the
butcher yesterday that she swore they were laughing at each other! She took the platter of pancakes
from the counter and brought them to the table.
 Oh, all right, I ll speak with them about being more careful later. However, I don t think a talk is
going to reel in a pair of unruly eight-year-olds completely. Moira just shook her head, smiled, and
spied her youngest daughter, almost intact, sitting at the kitchen table. Elnie was still sporting the
ears, tail, and whiskers of her cat form.  Now, young lady, is that any way to show for breakfast?
You ll get egg and syrup stuck to yer face, so you just retract those this instant. And you  she
pointed at Duncan  if that tail so much as touches the table, you ll no be sitting at it anymore.
Robin walked back to the kitchen table and pursed her lips at the state of her little sister.  I wish
Mum wouldn t give in to you. Yer spoiled.
 I am simply an extrovert and am expressing myself. Quit being a snob. Elnie stuck her nose
dramatically in the air, pursed her lips, and closed her eyes.
Robin just rolled her eyes and set Elnie s plate in front of her and got smacked in the side with a
giant tail for her troubles.  Ya wee shite, I ll get you later.
Chapter Two
Free Time
Robin put her car in park behind Kelly s car in front of Boots. Her friend was leaning against the
side of her car, smoking a cigarette, and looking like a fire-breathing Yeti in what Robin guessed was
supposed to be a jacket.
Kelly barely waited for her to get out of the car when she rushed over.  First, where would ye like ta
eat? Second, tell us everything. They started walking, feet crunching in the melting snow.
 Let s go to Rancho Pancho. I m in the mood for a spinach quesadilla. A drink might be in order as
well. We re going shopping after lunch, right? So I ll have time to walk it off. I ll tell you all about it
when we get there. Robin let out a sigh and then raised an eyebrow.  What the bloody hell are you
wearing? It looks like an albino yak.
 Oh, thanks a lot, love. My mum gave it to us fer Christmas. She stuck out her bottom lip at Robin.
 I rather like it, makes us look like we should be in Vogue. Kelly sucked in her cheeks and gave her
best model s pose, at which Robin snickered.  Of course we re going shopping! How often is it that
we have a day to ourselves? She looked at her friend and stamped out her cigarette.  So, seriously,
it sounds like things didn t go too well.
 Not at all, but it s over with. She was starting to drift back to the scene between herself and Steve.
He had cried like she had never seen a man cry before. She was shocked but almost flattered that it [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]