Chapter 40 - Three Stairs [https://cdn.midjourney.com/3ee003b4-bf68-445d-aba3-2cfab58c4a9f/0_2.png]
Her mom snapped at Terry when he returned with empty hands. “We didn’t say we were going. She started back on the medicine this morning.”
Kennedy bit her lip. “About that…”
Her Mom’s face went red. “Kendie!”
“I need some time to think.”
After looking at each of the three women, Terry picked up the last cat cage and stood by the hotel door, waiting. The cat hunkered low in the swaying carrier. Kennedy’s Mom set her hands on her hips. “Does this cabin have a lot of stairs?”
When he shook his head no, her Mom grumbled, “We already unpacked and everything.”
Kennedy could see the full suitcases, exactly where she had left them. “Mom.”
Tim Tom moaned in his kennel.
Nana said, “I don’t know, Mary Lynn. Do you think we will be safe up there?”
With a snort, Kennedy’s Mom said, “You’ve had a bear in your house for three days. Why are you worried now?”
Kennedy moved to empty the water in the cat’s bowl and gather the animal’s things. That was all that her Mom had unpacked.
When Terry left, her Mom took an unsteady step toward the open door. All of her cats had left the building. Her Mom grimaced. “Where is he taking them?”
“He has a truck. I imagine that is where they are.”
Nana was putting her things together without comment as her daughter-in-law glared out the open door.
“Mom, I can have him put them in Nana’s car.”
*
The lady at the front desk seemed relieved to see them go and didn’t offer them one of her fake-painted smiles when they handed in the key. All three cats complained from Nana’s back seat as Terry placed a paper with detailed instructions into Nan’s hand. Kennedy climbed into Terry’s truck before the old ladies could tell her not to.
Driving slowly, they set a pace Nana could keep up with. The truck dipped into a rut and Kennedy bounced in her seat as the tire popped free. She was grateful he had taken the time to secure Nan’s rear seat belts around the travel cages.
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The cabin was pretty framed by the blue sky and Kennedy was relieved to see it. “Is Your mother still there?”
He shook his head no and made a soft snort.
“Do you miss her being around?”
He made a little scoffing noise.
“She seemed so mild and sweet. Just like my mom.” When his grin widened, Kennedy couldn’t resist trying to make him laugh. “We should seat them next to each other at the wedding.”
He arched his brows in question.
“If there ever was a wedding. I didn’t mean. I’m not saying.” Kennedy turned her face away, blushing. She hadn’t been trying to really say that. They hadn’t talked in a month, and they hardly knew each other. He reached over and claimed her hand.
*
With painful stiffness, her Mom pulled herself free of the car. The trip was straining her body. Kennedy wondered how much pain medication she had taken. Stalled at the bottom of the three steps that led up to the porch, her mother gathered herself. “You said there weren’t stairs. I knew we should have stayed at the hotel.”
Without asking permission, Terry came down the steps and swept her mother up into his arms. When she squawked in surprise, Kennedy laughed. The startled look on her mother’s face was priceless. Grinning, he carried her up the steps as Kennedy held the front door open for him and the startled old lady he was carrying. He didn’t take her to the living room like her mother was telling him to do.
Instead, he took her to one of the two downstairs bedrooms and deposited her on the bed. When she promptly started to sit up, he gently and firmly eased her back down. “Rest,” he grumbled. Much to Kennedy’s surprise, she lay back down.
Carrying her Nana’s suitcase to the other room, Kennedy paused to watch Terry arrange cats around her mother, like they were living poultices. With one hand on Mr. Pibble, her mother whispered, “Thank you.”
Heart happy, Kennedy continued to the second downstairs bedroom. Once Nana’s stuff was settled, she headed to check on her mother. Terry winked at Kennedy as he passed her in the hall. When she stepped into her Mom’s room, three cats turned to look at her. “Are you hurting bad? Do I need to unpack your meds?”
“I’ve taken what I’m allowed. The pain is just something I’ve learned to live with.”
Kennedy sat down on the end of the bed. “I think Terry might understand that kind of pain. When he had his first turn, he was alone, and he didn’t quite make it back all the way.”
“He didn’t die?”
With a shake of her head, Kennedy said, “No, but it damaged his palate. He told me it hurt all the time. Until a month ago, he lived with pain every day.”
“He’s lucky he made it back at all.”
Kennedy smoothed the covers of the bed. “Mom, I want the truth. Were you my Mom’s friend? Like Sandy is mine. How did you know her?”
Before she could answer, Terry came back into the room with a cup of water, two blue pills, and a green one. After placing the glass on the bedside table, he dropped the three pills into her Mother’s hand. Without a word, he touched Kennedy’s shoulder and slipped out again.
Her Mom reached for the water after popping the pills into her mouth without hesitation. “Now this might be an upside to knowing a vet. I bet my docs won’t check for whatever this is.” She downed them.
“Mom.”
“What if she was? What would it matter now, Kendie? I don’t even remember a lot of my life back then. We were stupid young girls who were running too wild for our own good.”
“What was she like?”