Chez Stinky by Susan C. Daffron Read Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Susan C. Daffron
speed. Kat squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for impact. A whoosh of dust hit her sandaled feet. When she opened her eyes, Linus was sitting in front of her wagging and panting at her. She reached out to pat his large brown head. “Hi. It’s nice to see you again, Big Guy.”
Larry smiled and said, “It looks like one member of the welcoming committee has arrived. Do you want to walk around and see if we can find the others while we wait for Cindy? She should be here shortly.”
Linus stood up and looked up at Kat as if to let her know he was ready to go. Kat said, “Okay, let’s look around. I guess there’s a barn over there.” She headed toward one of the outbuildings with Linus trotting along by her side. As she got closer, the term ‘ barn seemed a bit generous in this case. Even shed would be a stretch. Upon further inspection, the three-sided derelict structure appeared to be melding with the forest. Some form of vine was growing up the walls covering the dingy grayish wood that looked likely to collapse under the weight of the dense leaves. Kat approached the front opening and peered into the dark area within.
“I don’t want to go in there. I think this might be a massive spider habitat,” she said. “I’d rather leave them alone to do whatever icky things spiders do.”
The lawyer looked at the rickety structure and nodded. “I think you might want to wait until you’re wearing more suitable shoes.”
“A flak jacket might be good too.” Kat was not fond of spiders. Insects and other many-legged creatures freaked her out.
As if to emphasize the point, a disturbingly large, hairy, monster spider skittered out of the building and ran across Kat’s sandal. As its tiny arachnoid legs touched her bare skin, Kat half-shrieked, half yelped, “Ewww!” and jumped away. She shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself. “Let’s get away from here. I think they’re on the move!”
Larry smiled and said, “Spiders are a fact of life in the forest. They’re good for the garden, too.”
“I’ve seen the garden and it needs a lot more than spiders, Larry.” Kat rubbed her wrists and glanced around her, worried that more insect life could leap out of the forest and attack her. She was overtaken with a serious case of bug paranoia. Every whisper of a breeze on her bare forearms might be a creepy crawly. Kat took a few deep breaths in an effort to calm down. The lawyer probably thought she was a total weenie. How embarrassing.
A loud screeching noise came from the direction of the driveway. Kat and Larry looked back down the graveled path, where a rusty silver hatchback was slowly approaching. The whining noise increased in volume as the car got closer. After the vehicle shuddered to a stop, a man and a woman got out. Kat could tell by their body language that they were not happy with one another.
The woman said rather loudly, “Joel, I don’t care what you think; my Hyundai is a great car. Myrtle just needs a little love and then she will be good as new.”
“Myrtle is a piece of junk. It was a piece of junk when you bought it five years ago and it’s an even worse piece of junk now. Riding around in that thing is like being in a rolling tin can,” the tall man proclaimed as he slammed the door shut. The body of the little car swayed from side to side at the impact and a small automotive part clattered to the ground. Kat started to raise her hand to point at the part, but lowered it again. Maybe sharing that information wouldn’t be such a good idea right now.
The woman glared at the man and then turned to walk over to Kat and Larry. She held out her hand and said, “Hi, you must be Kat. I’m Cindy Ross. That loudmouth over there is my brother Joel. It’s nice to meet you.” As Cindy and Joel got closer, Kat could see the family resemblance. They both were tall with short sandy-colored dark-blonde hair and hazel eyes, which currently were squinting at each other in an almost identical
Larry smiled and said, “It looks like one member of the welcoming committee has arrived. Do you want to walk around and see if we can find the others while we wait for Cindy? She should be here shortly.”
Linus stood up and looked up at Kat as if to let her know he was ready to go. Kat said, “Okay, let’s look around. I guess there’s a barn over there.” She headed toward one of the outbuildings with Linus trotting along by her side. As she got closer, the term ‘ barn seemed a bit generous in this case. Even shed would be a stretch. Upon further inspection, the three-sided derelict structure appeared to be melding with the forest. Some form of vine was growing up the walls covering the dingy grayish wood that looked likely to collapse under the weight of the dense leaves. Kat approached the front opening and peered into the dark area within.
“I don’t want to go in there. I think this might be a massive spider habitat,” she said. “I’d rather leave them alone to do whatever icky things spiders do.”
The lawyer looked at the rickety structure and nodded. “I think you might want to wait until you’re wearing more suitable shoes.”
“A flak jacket might be good too.” Kat was not fond of spiders. Insects and other many-legged creatures freaked her out.
As if to emphasize the point, a disturbingly large, hairy, monster spider skittered out of the building and ran across Kat’s sandal. As its tiny arachnoid legs touched her bare skin, Kat half-shrieked, half yelped, “Ewww!” and jumped away. She shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself. “Let’s get away from here. I think they’re on the move!”
Larry smiled and said, “Spiders are a fact of life in the forest. They’re good for the garden, too.”
“I’ve seen the garden and it needs a lot more than spiders, Larry.” Kat rubbed her wrists and glanced around her, worried that more insect life could leap out of the forest and attack her. She was overtaken with a serious case of bug paranoia. Every whisper of a breeze on her bare forearms might be a creepy crawly. Kat took a few deep breaths in an effort to calm down. The lawyer probably thought she was a total weenie. How embarrassing.
A loud screeching noise came from the direction of the driveway. Kat and Larry looked back down the graveled path, where a rusty silver hatchback was slowly approaching. The whining noise increased in volume as the car got closer. After the vehicle shuddered to a stop, a man and a woman got out. Kat could tell by their body language that they were not happy with one another.
The woman said rather loudly, “Joel, I don’t care what you think; my Hyundai is a great car. Myrtle just needs a little love and then she will be good as new.”
“Myrtle is a piece of junk. It was a piece of junk when you bought it five years ago and it’s an even worse piece of junk now. Riding around in that thing is like being in a rolling tin can,” the tall man proclaimed as he slammed the door shut. The body of the little car swayed from side to side at the impact and a small automotive part clattered to the ground. Kat started to raise her hand to point at the part, but lowered it again. Maybe sharing that information wouldn’t be such a good idea right now.
The woman glared at the man and then turned to walk over to Kat and Larry. She held out her hand and said, “Hi, you must be Kat. I’m Cindy Ross. That loudmouth over there is my brother Joel. It’s nice to meet you.” As Cindy and Joel got closer, Kat could see the family resemblance. They both were tall with short sandy-colored dark-blonde hair and hazel eyes, which currently were squinting at each other in an almost identical