Chez Stinky by Susan C. Daffron Read Free Book Online Page A

included Kat’s arms. Kat struggled to dodge the razor-sharp flailing talons and shove the rotund black body down into the carrier.
    At last, one of Murphee’s front paws slipped, and she fell down into the box. Kat slammed the metal door shut and let go of the breath she’d been holding. Mission accomplished. She checked her forearms, and it looked like there had been minimal collateral damage.
    Kat turned the carrier so it was flat on the floor and peered in the doorway at Murphee, who had her ears flattened back on her head and a look of rage in her squinting eyes. Kat threw a kitty treat in through the wire mesh door. “Good kitty,” she said. I’m lying, you nasty cat! I hope we don’t have to go through that again for a while.
    After packing her luggage, Kat strapped the kitty carrier into the front seat of her Toyota with the seatbelt. Murphee was decidedly not amused by the impending travel plans and began meowing quietly when Kat started the engine. As Kat backed the car out of her parking space, Murphee increased her volume, to make sure Kat truly understood the gravity of her unhappiness and how very wrong car travel was. “MEOW! MEEEE-YOOOOWLLLL!”
    Kat sighed. It was going to be an extremely long trip out to Alpine Grove. She tuned her radio to a heavy metal station and cranked the volume up a bit. Murphee seemed to get into the groove as she yowled along to Metallica. Kat shifted the car into gear and pressed the accelerator. Rock and roll.

    After listening to Murphee yowl for the entire two-hour drive, Kat was delighted to check into the Enchanted Moose motel in Alpine Grove. The lawyer’s description had been accurate. It was definitely not the nicest place in town and a better name might have been the Elderly Moose. But the plumbing worked and after being released from her carrier, Murphee was finally quiet.
    The next morning, Kat drove out to the property to meet Larry. She had finally gotten a good night’s sleep and now she was ready to tackle the changes in her life. Apparently, Murphee had been exhausted by recent events as well. After the trauma of the car trip, she had curled up quietly next to Kat’s head and didn’t move all night.
    As Kat drove down the driveway toward Abigail’s house, sunlight streamed through the canopy of evergreens, and Kat was again struck by the peaceful feel of her aunt’s little corner of forest. She got out of her car and inhaled the somewhat sweet damp mossy smell that was unique to this place. The aroma outside the house was certainly far better than the one inside.
    She turned toward the sound of a truck rumbling down the driveway. Larry’s salmon-colored Dodge came into view. The truck shook a bit, sputtered, and spit out a few last coughs as Larry killed the engine.
    Today Larry looked quite different than he had the last time Kat had seen him. Instead of his conservative drab brown suit, the lawyer was clad in old jeans and a black-and-red-checked flannel shirt. The geeky outdoors look didn’t quite work for him. What did the lawyer do with his weekends, anyway? She hoped he wasn’t going hunting, and peered at the back of the truck cab to see if there was a gun rack. It was undoubtedly the season to hunt something in Alpine Grove. Kat was sure she didn’t want to have a conversation about the best ways to blow away wildlife and prep it for dinner.
    Fortunately, there didn’t appear to be any obvious armament in the truck. Maybe flannel was standard weekend wear in Alpine Grove. Kat looked down at the cute, strappy black sandals on her feet. It was possible she might be a bit overdressed for the occasion.
    A clattering noise arose from the back of the house, and Linus the gigantic brown dog leaped out from behind the building and raced toward Kat. Although intellectually Kat remembered that Linus was a friendly fellow, that fact didn’t seem to register with the rest of her body, which tensed as the great beast approached her at an alarming