11 The Cats that Cooked the Books by Karen Anne Golden

Author:Karen Anne Golden [Golden, Karen Anne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-06-22T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

A few hours earlier, Stevie and Rachael had driven to Chester’s barbecue kiosk. Stevie thought it would be fun to eat their sandwiches while sitting by one of the wind turbines on his property. He turned off the paved road, onto a concrete pad, and parked. Nearby was the large, circular base of a turbine. “This is a good place,” he said.

They both climbed out of the truck. Rachael was holding the bags of food while Stevie fetched two lawn chairs from the back of his truck. “Oh, wait before we eat,” he said, heading back to his truck. He grabbed a can of mosquito spray and returned. “The flying vampires are out tonight,” he joked, handing the can to Rachael. She sprayed her arms, then Stevie did the same. They sat down and ate their barbecue. When they’d finished, they talked: Stevie first; then Rachael.

They talked about every topic under the sun, except about those people who might be incriminated and hurt their chances for a relationship.

Stevie even discussed, at length, his criminal past. Rachael listened. She didn’t offer criticism or rebuke him in any way. In turn, Rachael talked about her life, her many majors at school, her difficulty finding the right guy, and about her grandmother’s cancer. She skipped over her short stint of being a cat wrangler, and Stevie didn’t ask for more information. What she didn’t mention was that she was a criminal herself. Not an ex-criminal like Stevie, but a thief who had stolen a digital ledger from a mob boss, and thousands of dollars in cash from her ex-fiancé. Instead, Rachael ended the conversation with a comment about it getting late.

“Is it?” Stevie said, looking at his watch. “I guess it is.”

“And getting dark,” she said, swiping a hungry mosquito from her face.

“Okay, but before we leave, I want you to do something for me?”

“What?” she asked, studying his face for a clue of what he wanted.

“Look up at the turbine’s lights.”

Rachael stood up and looked. Each turbine flicked a series of red flashes. “Amazing,” she said in awe. “It looks like a million fireflies.”

“The lights are warning lights for pilots flying overhead.”

“Makes sense.”

“Here’s something else that makes sense,” Stevie said getting up. He pulled her into an embrace. “I really want to do this again.”

“Me, too,” Rachael said, hugging him back. She thought, I’ve changed my mind. I’m not leaving Erie tomorrow. I’m going to call Ray and meet him somewhere. I’ll hand over the flash drive and the money, and be done with it.

“One more kiss for the road?” Stevie asked tenderly.

Rachael smiled.

He took her face in his hands and kissed her a sweet gentle kiss.

“Thank you for everything,” she said.

“You bet.”

Then the couple grabbed their lawn chairs and walked to the truck. Stevie took both chairs and put them on the truck bed. Rachael climbed into the cab.

They drove back to Erie in silence, holding hands.

On the outskirts of the town, Stevie and Rachael noticed an ambulance shrieking by. A second one followed.

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