4. Evie

"Hello,Cinder, we're going on a trip. I know you're scared, and so am I. How will Kylie find us if she gets home before us?" I looked at the men. "You might not like that Alpo and Tater are coming with us. You know Kylie loves Alpo and Tater as much as she does you," I said, spending extra time with Kylie's animals because I knew that was what Kylie would want.

"So Kylie has a cat; what is his name?" Rebel asked when he saw me carrying Cinder around." My bags were already packed.

"Cinder. His name was Cinderella until Kylie realized he was a male cat. He was shipped to her from Maine. He's a Maine Coon Cat, and as you can see, he's huge. And spoiled rotten. He doesn't get along with Kylie's other animals, but that's because Tater picks on him, and Alpo disturbs his sleep when he's outside," I explained.

"Do you have any animals?" Rebel asked.

"I only have one. I'll get him right before we leave; he's still sleeping," I replied, not mentioning that Snookum was a Ferret who loved everyone. He was so fast. If you weren"t careful, he'd be over at the neighbor's house. Is your yard fenced so our animals won't get lost?"

"We have a fenced-off section, so that should work. We have dogs; they stay in our yard most of the time and sleep on the porch," Rebel said.

"What kind of dogs are they?" I asked.

"I have a black Lab, and Spartan and Reaper have German Shepherds; we take them with us on jobs if we think we'll need them. We went to an earthquake that buried so many people our dogs helped us rescue some of them. We couldn't rescue all of them, but we were able to rescue some," Rebel explained.

"That's awesome that you were able to rescue even some of them. I've never been in an earthquake," I admitted, meeting Rebel's eyes.

I didn't even know I was holding my breath until I let it out. This guy was too good-looking for my own good and smelled so good. I just wanted to stand here and smell him. And I was just a music teacher who lost her job because I had to find my sister.

"I'm sorry your sister is missing," he said, his eyes softening.

"Thank you. I miss her so much; I still can't believe someone took her in broad daylight like that. What do these people think they're doing, taking women whenever they want? It's horrible, and the police tell me there is nothing more they can do," I sighed in frustration.

"I don't understand it either. Marcus and others have risked their lives to save women. But there isn't enough push from our government to punish these people and to run them out of our country. Until that happens, they will keep taking women and children. Let me see that cat," Rebel said, reaching his hand out.

"He doesn't do well with strangers," I warned as he touched Cinder, who promptly growled like a lion, warning Rebel he wouldn't put up with anything from him.

Rebel chuckled. "Maybe I'll wait until he gets to know me better," He said with a smile.

"I'll get Tater and Alpo ready for the trip," I said, turning toward my room to wake up Tater. Tater was Kylie's French brindle bulldog, he was so cute, but he had the stinkiest farts anyone has ever smelled. He was given to Kylie when she worked at the Veterinarian hospital because he wouldn't stop farting; the guy who owned him didn't want him anymore.

And then there was Alpo, Kylie's pet pig, who loved everyone and liked sitting in their laps. I was sure once she saw Rebel and Viper, she'd run to sit in their laps.

Mom was walking down the hall with my Dad. She smiled at me. "I hear we are going on an adventure," she said. I'm so happy we're getting help finding Kylie."

"Me too. how are you feeling today, Mom?" I asked, hugging her.

"I feel good today. Now, I want you to stop worrying about me. When we get Kylie back, we can get on with living our lives. I want you to live a life full of happiness. You've always been so happy singing throughout the house. I miss your singing; can you sing me a song?" Mom requested.

"Right now? You want me to sing a song with strangers in the house?" I hesitated.

"Well, you always sang in front of strangers before. So yes, I want to hear you sing again," Mom insisted like it would be nothing. It's different when I sing at the Fair or at school functions with the children was different. There are two strangers in our house, and it's not like singing in front of a group of people. But if it makes my Mom happy, then I'd sing.

"What do you want me to sing?" I asked.

"Sing me something, old country." Mom suggested.

"Mom, I'm a city girl. I'm not country," I protested.

"Sweetheart, you can sing those heart-throbbing songs better than anyone I've ever heard," Mom praised, hugging me tightly because she was the best mother in the world.

As I packed, belting out George Jones's "Window Up Above," memories flooded back of singing with Kylie despite her lack of musical talent. It was a shared joy, our voices blending harmoniously. When I turned around, Rebel stood in the doorway, applauding.

"Thank you," I acknowledged.

"You really are good. You should sing professionally?" he said.

"I prefer teaching music to children," I replied.

"You're a music teacher?"

"Yeah, I lost my job when I took time off to search for Kylie. I still sing with my old college band sometimes," I explained.

A look crossed his face, and suddenly, he began shaking his leg as he shouted. I looked at his pant leg, and my hand flew to my mouth.

"Stop, you'll hurt Snookum. I'll get him," I whistled loudly, and Snookum ran back down his leg, up my leg, and onto my shoulder.

"Is that a damn rat?" Rebel blurted out.

"No, Snookum is a ferret. He won't harm you. He's friendly," I assured him.

I saw his body shake and figured he was one of those dog-only people. "He's coming with us," I said.

"Just keep the rat in his cage," he replied.

"He's not a rat and doesn't have a cage. He's coming with me," I said again, shooting a warning glance at Snookum. "Stay away from him; he thinks you are a rat."

"I'll take that bag for you," he said, reaching for my bag at the same time as me. Our heads banged together. And he put his hand out and looked at me A warm sensation enveloped me. It spread to my core, and I knew instantly that I wanted this stranger to take me then and there. But he stepped back, breaking the moment.

"Is it time to leave? I'll get Tater and Cinder, and my Dad will get Alpo. We will need to walk her out before putting her in her carrier. That's when Dad walked in with Alpo.

"Alpo is a pig," Rebel queried, surprised.

"Shh, don't let her hear you say that. She gets her feelings hurt. She thinks she's a dog. Please don't insult her."

"Are you serious? The pig that thinks she's a dog?" he echoed.

"Yes, I am serious. You have to treat her just like you treat any dog, or she'll go sulk in the corner."

Rebel wrinkled his nose at the smell. "What the hell is that smell?"

"That would be Tater. He has a gassy stomach, he can't help it, but he farts, and it's powerful and stinky. That's how Kylie got him. Someone dropped him off at the Vet hospital where she worked. The man told Kylie to keep him. Poor Tater didn't understand why his family no longer wanted him. But this family does, so you must always be kind no matter how much he stinks," I said, glancing at Rebel.

Rebel burst into laughter. "So we have a pig who thinks he's a dog and a cat who doesn't like any of them; we can't forget the rat and the stinky dog,"

"I don't think goingwith you will be a good idea. It's very obvious that you don't want our animals going. I believe we can easily hide somewhere on our own," I said, taking my bag out of his hand.

"I'm sorry. I want your animals to come with us; I was teasing you. I won't say another word to you about the animals," he said as he reached for my suitcase. Snookum decided to jump onto Rebel's shoulders. I tried not to laugh, but I couldn't stop laughing at the look on Rebel's face.

"Sorry. Snookum, I told you that Rebel doesn't like ferrets. You have to stay away from him." That's when Viper walked up to us, and Snookum decided to jump onto his back.

"What the fuck is that?" he turned his head, and Snookum ran to his shoulder. "Get that fucking rat off of me!"

I took Snookum and shook my head. "You two are the biggest babies I've ever seen. How are you supposed to keep us safe if you are scared of a ferret?"

"Dad, I said," walking into their room. "We should just go somewhere on our own. We will rent a bus and drive until we are far away before renting a cabin or something. These guys don't want our animals coming with us. They keep calling Snookum a rat and are scared of him."

"Evie, Snookum does look like a rat, and no one likes it when he jumps on them. Put him in his carrier. All of them will have carriers on this trip, and you have to take care of them while we are staying at Rebel's mountain house."

"Dad, I can't believe you are siding with a stranger."

"I'm siding with all of us, not the strangers. I'm trying to keep you safe. I know they can do this."

"How do you know they can do this?"

"Because I feel it in my heart, Mama is finally smiling again. I want to ensure she lives to see both her daughters again. Please don't make something out of nothing. They are here to help us. Maybe we should put Snookum in a kennel if they have problems with her."

"I don't have time to call a kennel; besides, this is my pet. I'll keep him away from everyone," I said, wondering how to keep myself away from Rebel.