A Picture-Purrfect Christmas (A Klepto Cat Mystery Book 13) (2 page)

Savannah nodded and grinned. “A wedding present from my husband.”

“Wow!” Shelly said. She chuckled. “Seems appropriate for a couple of veterinarians. What did you give him, a cow, chicken, emu, turtle?”

“I gave him me!” she said, laughing. She then asked, “When does the program start?”

Shelly cringed. “Would you believe Wednesday? We’ll meet Wednesdays and Fridays and maybe one extra day for the off-site excursion.” She then asked, “Hey, what are you doing tomorrow? If you’re free, maybe we could ride out along the river. I know a good place where we could get some scenic shots as well as close-ups of waterfowl and maybe even a grouse, deer, migrating birds…if we’re not too late in the season.” Shelly put her hand on Savannah’s arm. “I got a great shot of a coyote the other day in a bed of those yellow flowers that bloom this time of year.”

Savannah was quiet for a moment, then said, “Yeah, I’d like to help with the photography class any way you think I can.” She smiled. “And I’d love to go riding.” Becoming more serious, she asked, “But if we find a place, how will we get the kids in there? Do they have horses?”

Shelly laughed. “No. We’ll have to drive the kids in.” She leaned toward Savannah as if sharing a secret. “The scouting expedition is just an excuse to go riding…and do a little photography of my own.”

“Ohhh,” Savannah said, grinning, “I get it.”

Shelly smiled. “Well, I’ve hit the jackpot today, haven’t I? A teaching buddy and a riding buddy. Way cool.” She touched Savannah’s arm again. “By the way, I have a trailer, so I can pick you and your horse up.” She looked at her watch. “Hey, I have to run. Let’s exchange cell numbers. Call or text me later and we’ll set something up.”

“Oh, you’ve got me excited.”

“Great. See you tomorrow,” Shelly said as she headed for the counter. “Hey Esse!” she called when she saw the clerk standing with his back to her just outside the door of the shop. “I need photo paper and some of those disposable cameras.”

“Well that’s odd,” Savannah said, slowing her pace to match Margaret’s once they’d exited the store.

“What?” Margaret asked, glancing in all directions.

Savannah gazed back at the camera shop while grasping her aunt’s arm. She whispered, “It looked like that shopkeeper was secretly photographing random people walking past the store. Did you see that?”

Margaret looked back at the shop. “No. Why would he do that?”

“Heck if I know, but isn’t it illegal or something to photograph people without their permission?”

“Well, Vannie, what do you want him to do—ask everyone who walks by if he can take a picture?” She frowned. “Why would he want photos of people he doesn’t know, anyway? Are you sure that’s what he was doing?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

Margaret glanced around at the array of people in the mall. “So who was he photographing—young girls wearing short skirts and low-cut tops?”

“Actually, I think he was shooting a couple of kids.” She pointed. “That boy on the little carrousel and those two girls.”

“Oh, aren’t they cute? I wouldn’t mind having a picture of those kids myself.” She looked at Savannah. “They look…what do you call it…photographic…photogenic…photo-worthy?”

Savannah straightened. “Well, I would not want a strange man…or woman…secretly photographing
my
daughter. There’s just something kinda creepy about it. I mean, what’s he going to do, exploit those kids all over the Internet?”

“Vannie, for heaven’s sake,” Margaret said, “you’d think he was committing a crime or something.”

Savannah thought about it for a moment. “Maybe he was. How do you know he wasn’t? He looked pretty sneaky when he was taking the pictures, if that’s what he was actually doing.” She shivered. “Makes my skin crawl.” Then, peering under the blanket covering the stroller shade and noticing that Lily was still asleep, she readjusted the shade and the blanket, making sure the baby was concealed from view before continuing on.

****

“So your mall walk resulted in a riding invitation, did it?” Michael asked as he relaxed on the sofa with his wife later that evening.

Savannah nodded. “And a chance to do a little photography.” She faced him. “Did I tell you I may enter a photo contest?”

“Yeah, you started to when Lily interrupted with demands for more watermelon.”

“Yes, bless our amazing gardener Antonio for his green thumb and the hothouse he built. He tries to keep watermelon on the vine year-round for her.” She took a breath. “Anyway, the winner of the contest gets to go on a photo-shoot trip to Hawaii.”

“Really? What pictures will you enter? Have you decided?”

“I’m thinking about that gnarly close-up shot I took last year of the hummingbird in flight, or the one of Rags leaping out of the bushes after the bumblebee. But maybe I’ll get something better when Shelly and I go riding.”

He squeezed her hand and gazed at her admiringly. “So you’re going to be a teacher again?”

“Yes.”

“You enjoyed that before, didn’t you?”

“Sure did. But this will be even more fun. I get to pursue my photography. Only…”

“Only what?”

“Only these are at-risk kids. I don’t know what to expect—insolent kids who don’t want to learn? Will they bring machine guns to class? I must say I’m a little apprehensive about what I’m getting myself into.”

“Awww, hon, they’re probably just good kids without much family support.” He turned to face her. “I once helped a friend with a group of supposedly at-risk boys. We took them camping at the beach and had a great time. Not one of those kids was rude or unruly.” He thought for a moment before saying, “Well, there were a couple of kind of rowdy boys, but we helped them channel their energy in positive ways while making sure they were still having fun.”

“How’d you do that?” she asked, creasing her brow.

“We organized boogie-board and tug-of-war contests. We challenged the kids to see who could drag the largest batch of firewood back to camp…things like that. I learned that praise goes a long way with these kids—well, probably any kid.” He chuckled. “Look at how Lily responds to a little applause.”

Savannah laughed. “She thrives on it, doesn’t she? Without it, she may not have learned to walk until she was in kindergarten.” She then said, “Oh, by the way, can you and Adam entertain her tomorrow while I ride? You’re taking the day off again, aren’t you?”

“Sure. We don’t have anything planned, except I promised Adam we’d go to the mall and look at new skateboards. Lily can hang out with us.” He grinned. “Adam has his eye on a fancier skateboard—one that won’t embarrass him when he takes it to the skate park. He reminded me that Christmas is just around the corner.”

“Don’t I know it,” she said. “It’s coming much too fast to suit me. I have only about half of my shopping done and nothing wrapped.” She tilted her head and peered at Michael. “I wonder if Adam would like to ride with us tomorrow—he’s ridden Wilson, the gentle horse at the Teagues’ stable, a couple of times.” She thought for a moment, then said, “Maybe this wouldn’t be the best test ride for him—we’re going over the hill to the river and we hope to see some wildlife to photograph. Not sure that would be his cup of tea.”

“Yeah, why don’t you take him for a shorter ride one day while he’s here? He’s staying until Thursday.”

She nodded. “By the way, Michael, our first photography class is Wednesday. Maybe he can go over to Auntie’s for a while that day. He loves helping them out with the cats.”

“Why don’t you take him with you?” Michael suggested.

“To the class? I guess I could do that. I’ll ask Shelly what she thinks. He could use one of my point-and-shoot cameras if he wants to get involved.”

Michael chuckled. “Adam
want
to get involved? You know he will. He’s always interested in learning something new—especially if you’re the teacher.” He asked, “Do the other kids have cameras?”

“I don’t know. I have two I could let them use—well, one extra camera on Wednesday if Adam’s using the other one. I’ll learn more about it when Shelly and I ride.”

Suddenly, Michael flinched. “Look out!”

Savannah glanced up in time to see their oversized, grey-and-white cat race into the room. “Oh no!” she shouted. Before she could react, Rags leaped onto the coffee table in front of them and slid across a stack of photographs, landing not so gracefully on the floor. Obviously annoyed and maybe a little embarrassed, the cat swished his tail, then looked down at the pictures scattered around him. When he started to lick one of them, Savannah said, “No you don’t, Rags.” She grabbed the photo from him and began scooping up the others.

Michael leaned over and helped her pick them up. “These photos must have been developed the old-fashioned way.”

“How do you know that?” she asked. “Do they look different?”

“No,” he said, pursing his lips, “but Rags knows the difference.”

“Oh yeah, you’re right,” she said. “He likes the emulsion chemicals on the older ones. He doesn’t seem to bother those I print from the computer.”

“So he’s fussy about what chemicals he ingests, huh? Does that make him a health-conscious cat?” Michael joked. He then pointed. “Uh-oh, I think he just slunk away with one of your pictures. Rags!” he called, as he headed after the cat.

When Michael returned, Savannah asked, “Which one did he take?”

He looked confused. “What?”

“Which picture did Rags take?”

“What difference does it make?” he asked.

“Maybe a lot. Maybe he took a particular picture for a specific reason.”

Michael shook his head. “Savannah, don’t be…”

“Really, Michael,” she insisted, “which one did he take? Let me see it.”

Grimacing, he held the photo up and stared at it. “Hmmm,” he said, raising his eyebrows, “it’s a picture of him.” He chuckled. “Maybe he wants to decorate his toy closet with selfies.”

Savannah laughed. “It’s not a selfie, Michael, unless he took the picture himself.”

“You never know about that cat,” he said, sitting down and handing her the photo.

She stared at the picture for a few moments. “It’s actually a pretty good shot of him. I took it when he was about eight months old. Yeah, Rags, you were a handsome young devil. Trying to recover your youth? Is that it, old boy?”

“You’d better put these up where he can’t get them or he’ll wreck all your pictures,”

Michael suggested. “Why do you have them out, anyway?”

“Oh, I was just working on my self-esteem,” she admitted.

“What?”

“I don’t have any training,” she explained. “I just shoot by the seat of my pants. I don’t know if I’m good enough to help with the class or to enter the contest. So I dug out some of my old photos to…sort of build my confidence.”

He pinched her playfully around her ribs. “So, did it work?”

“I guess so. Kinda,” she said, squirming under his touch.

“Good,” he said, yawning. Then, burying his face in her neck, he whispered, “Let’s go to bed, shall we? Six o’clock in the morning comes early.”

“Why are you getting up so early on your day off?”

“Uh…wife of mine, where have you been these last twelve months? Our daughter does not sleep in. And Rags doesn’t allow Adam to sleep in, either. I predict this whole household will be wide awake by…say…six thirty.”

****

The next morning, Michael sat at the kitchen table with his two children watching his wife prepare for her ride. “All set for your outing? Got your horse fed and your camera batteries charged up?”

Savannah nodded. “Yep, Peaches and I are ready. It’s blustery out there. Guess I’d better wear my gloves and beanie.”

“Do you have any of those fingerless gloves so you can work your camera while keeping your hands warm?” he asked.

When she shook her head, Adam suggested, “You could make some—just cut the fingers off.” He jumped up from his place at the table. “I’ll do it for you. Where are the scissors?”

“No thanks, kiddo,” Savannah said, smiling. “I think I’ll just wear the gloves the way they are and take them off for shooting.”

“Shooting?” he repeated, wide-eyed. “It sounds like you’re going hunting.”

“I am…hunting for wildlife…to photograph,” she said, tousling his hair.

“Are you riding from here?” Michael asked.

“No. Shelly’s picking me and Peaches up. We’ll leave the trailer at the trailhead.” She faced him. “I’m sure glad we set up that round corral where Peaches can stretch her legs every day. I lunged her yesterday, so she should be in shape for the ride.”

“Yeah, I imagine she behaves better when she works out before you take her somewhere.”

“Well, she’s such a willing mare, but yes, it seems to take the edge off if I exercise her before a ride.” Savannah glanced out the window. “Here she is.” She opened the kitchen door and called out, “Hi Shelly. Come in and meet my family.”

When Shelly stepped into the kitchen, she glanced around the room. “Nice house.” She smiled at Lily, who sat in her high chair eating bits of fruit and cereal puffs with her fingers. “Hi, little one. Nice to see you again…awake, this time.”

Lily laid her head on the tray and smiled up at Shelly.

“Perfect,” Michael said with a sigh, “rub your hair in your food.” He laughed as he tweaked one of the baby’s feet. “We aren’t going to get away with just a sponge bath today, are we?” he said, standing to greet their guest.

“You thought you’d get off easy, huh?” Savannah teased. “Oh no, she loves her baths—water bath, food bath, it doesn’t matter.” She then said, “Shelly, I think you met my husband at the clinic.”

Shelly removed a glove. “Yes, small world, isn’t it?”

Just then, Adam shouted, “No Rags, you can’t have that! Give it back,” he demanded as he raced after the cat, who had run out of the room and headed lickety-split toward the staircase.

Michael laughed and apologized to Shelly. “Sorry about that. The boy and the cat are either in cahoots or having a dispute about something. It looks like Rags helped himself to one of Adam’s ninja-turtle figures this time.” He extended his hand. “You’re Tiger’s and Olive’s mom, aren’t you?”

She took his hand. “Yes, and you’ve yet to meet the rest of my menagerie—Bootsy, Tuesday, and Fred.”