Double Trouble (6 page)

“My enemies . . .” he told Kim in a scared little meow.

Kim felt her chest tighten as she pet him gently. “Are . . . are they close?”

Flame shook his head. “Not yet. But I can sense them.”

Kim didn't even want to think about what that could mean. “We'll have to be very careful to keep you hidden then, won't we?” she said fiercely.

Flame seemed to relax a little and even began purring as she tickled him under the chin.

Just then Mia's complaining voice floated into the bedroom. “Stop wriggling, Bibi! It's your own fault you're all sticky. You're getting a bath and that's that!”

Flame's purr turned into a chuckle. “It seems baths are not Bibi's favorite thing!”

As Bibi gave another pitiful howl, Kim couldn't help laughing, too. “I'd better go and see if Mia needs some help!”

Remembering how sharp Bibi's claws were, Kim borrowed her dad's thick gardening gloves. She held the squirming, hissing cat while Mia squirted her with pet cleaner and showered her. By the time Bibi was rinsed clean, Kim and Mia were soaked through. Bibi only settled down after Mia had dried her with a hair dryer and brushed her.

“There you are. You look beautiful,” Mia said, admiring Bibi's long, silky fur.

Kim changed into dry clothes. Helping to bathe Bibi had been exhausting, but it was a small price to pay for saving the chicks. She was glad she and Mia seemed to be getting along better at last, too.

“I'm glad you don't have long fur!” she said to Flame affectionately as he curled up in her room.

Flame wrinkled his nose. “So am I. I hate baths, too!”

 

 

It rained heavily the following day. Sullen gray clouds hung in the sky. Mia and Kim went for a morning walk, but it was too wet to be outdoors for long even with umbrellas and rain boots. Flame and Bibi hated the rain and spent most of the time dozing in the bedrooms.

“What should we do now?” Mia asked when they got home.

Kim didn't want to read or watch TV. “We could make some cat toys. Mom's got tons of spare knitting wool,” she suggested.

She showed Mia how to wrap the wool around cardboard to make pom-poms. The toys turned out really well, but Bibi wasn't too impressed when she saw hers. She opened one eye to look at it and then went straight back to sleep.

Flame loved his toy. He seemed more like his old self and not as nervous as the day before. Kim and Mia played with him awhile. Flame was so funny, flattening his ears and play-growling as he attacked the pom-pom on its length of wool.

The phone rang and Kim went to answer it. It was Granddad.

“Hi, Granddad. How are you?” Kim said brightly. She told him about the cat toys.

“It sounds like you and Mia are having fun,” he said with a chuckle. “That's a really cute kitten you've got there. Tell your mom you're all invited over here tomorrow. Come straight on down to the dock. I've got a surprise for you,” he said mysteriously.

“Okay. See you tomorrow, Granddad.” Kim put down the phone and went to pass on the news.
I wonder what Granddad's up to
, she thought.

As she came back into the living room, a shaft of sunlight poured through the window. Kim saw that the garden was bright and fresh after the rain. Trailing the wool behind her, so that Flame chased after it, she went upstairs to check on the chicks.

As Kim focused on the hole in the shed, she saw a fat little bird perched there. It had speckled brown feathers, a fawn-colored chest, and yellow marks at the sides of its beak.

It was one of the chicks!

Kim watched with delight as the baby robin flapped its wings. Gaining confidence, it fluttered out and swooped across to the nearby apple tree.

Kim whirled around. “Mia!” she shouted. “Come quickly! The chicks are leaving the nest!”

Mia came running upstairs and into the bedroom.

“Take a look! There's another one at the hole!” Kim told her excitedly. “It's getting ready to fly off!”

Mia saw the second robin make it safely into the apple tree, then she and Kim settled down to watch as two more babies flew out of the nest.

“Only one to go,” Kim said.

The last baby poked its head out of the hole. It perched there, swaying slightly, its feathers ruffled by the breeze.

“It's a lot smaller than the others,” Mia said. “I hope it'll be okay.”

The baby robin didn't move. Opening its beak, it gave a little chirp. There was a flash of red as an adult robin flew onto the shed roof.

Kim pointed a finger. “It's one of the parents. Look, it's trying to encourage its baby to fly.”

Kim and Mia watched anxiously as the baby robin fluttered straight down to the lawn. It lay on the grass with its tiny wings outspread and then flew clumsily up to join the others in the apple tree.

“Yes!” Kim yelled in relief. She grabbed Mia and they did a little dance of joy around the room.

Chapter EIGHT

Kim's curiosity about Granddad's secret grew stronger when she saw the cheerful decorations strung between the trees on the way through the woods.

“I bet Gran and Granddad have finished working on the
Sally Ann
!” she whispered to Flame. “Maybe we're all going on her maiden voyage.”

“What is that?” Flame seemed puzzled.

“It's when a new boat goes on her first trip,” Kim explained.

Gran and Granddad were already down at the small dock when Kim and Flame, Mia and Bibi, and Kim's parents arrived at the riverbank.

“Hello, everyone!” Granddad came out of the cabin to welcome them. He had a bottle of champagne in his hand. “The great day is here at last! Our dear old boat is shipshape and ready to go!”

The
Sally Ann
looked wonderful with her new paint job, gleaming brass rails, and new red window boxes. Gran had draped a colorful shawl over her bow to cover the houseboat's name. Big bunches of balloons had been tied to the cabin. They bobbed about cheerfully in the river breeze.

Kim felt excited. This was like a birthday party for the houseboat.

Granddad came and stood next to Kim. “I want you all to join with me as we celebrate the . . .” He gave a nod to his wife. Gran pulled the shawl away. “. . .
Sally Kim
's first voyage!”

“
Sally Kim
? But . . .” Kim frowned. She thought Granddad had gotten the name wrong until she saw the bright new name painted on the bow.

The
Sally An
had become the
Sally Kim
!

“Oh, Granddad! That's amazing!” Kim said with a broad grin. She threw her arms around him for a huge hug.

“Well, an old boat can't have a real maiden voyage, can she?” he said with a chuckle. “So we gave her a different name and now she's a brand-new boat!”

Everyone clapped and cheered. They all piled onboard and then Gran produced the bottle of champagne. Kim and Mia toasted the
Sally Kim
with glasses of lemonade.

There was a cake, too, with red and blue candles. Gran had made a clever picture of the
Sally Kim
in icing. It even had a tiny porthole window, just like the real boat.

Gran lit the candles and Kim and Mia blew them out.

“Did you make a wish?” Mia asked.

Kim looked at Flame, who was sniffing the candle-smoke-filled air suspiciously. “It's a secret.” She had wished that she and Flame would share lots and lots of trips on the
Sally Kim
.

“Isn't this fantastic!” Kim said to Flame around a mouthful of Gran's delicious cake. “I bet not many girls have a boat named after them!”

Flame meowed in agreement.

Granddad went forward to start the engine. “This is the big moment!”

Kim held her breath. There was a tiny squeak, then a little rumble, and the
Sally Kim
began chugging away from the dock.

Kim and Mia cheered as the
Sally Kim
made her way upriver and then fell down laughing as Kim's dad and granddad started singing together. “Oh! A life on the ocean waves . . .”

They soon reached a quiet stretch of the river, where willow trees and reeds grew more thickly, hiding the bank from view.

“Do you want to try steering?” Granddad asked Kim.

“I'll try,” Kim said. But she found it wasn't as easy as it looked. If she turned the wheel too far the
Sally Kim
went toward the bank. When she tried to straighten her up, she turned the wheel too far the other way.

Poor
Sally Kim
chugged along in a very wobbly line!

“Oo-er!” Kim said, laughing helplessly. “I'm terrible at this! Do you want to try, Mia?”

“Sure!” Mia took the wheel. She frowned in concentration as she looked through the cabin window. The
Sally Kim
glided along smoothly in a perfect straight line.

“Easy does it,” Granddad coaxed.

“You're a natural, Mia!” Kim said admiringly.

Mia smiled, blushing with pleasure. “I'm not bad.”

“Not bad?” Granddad patted Mia on the shoulder. “She's an expert!”

“I'll leave you two to it!” Kim said with a grin.

She decided to take Flame and go through to the front of the boat, where there was a small sun deck with padded seats.

Kim's parents and grandmother sat at the tiny table, chatting over cups of tea and cookies. They looked up and smiled as Kim pushed through the bead curtain in the open doorway and stepped down onto the small deck.

Kim patted a cushion and Flame settled beside her. She noticed that the clumps of weed here were very thick. They grew right out from the bank, making the river seem narrow and a bit mysterious.

Kim pet Flame's small velvety ears. “How do you like it on the
Sally Kim
?”