by Linda Bridey
“Wife and kids?”
“Yep. Millie is his mate and right now they have five kits. That’s what ferret babies are called,” Rick explained.
“I’d love to see them,” Gina said. “Oh, I’m sorry. That was a little forward of me.”
“No, it wasn’t. I’d love to show them to you and the kids,” Rick said. “As a matter of fact, let’s go have some fun.”
He stood and whistled softly. Curtis jumped down and followed Rick out the door. Gina followed and watched with a smile as Curtis made little running hops as he followed his master into the playroom.
Zach spotted the ferret and said, “Curtis!” The little boy’s blue eyes lit up with delight as Curtis bounced over to him.
As Gina came into the playroom, Rick shut the door. “I don’t want him roaming around the house. Joe hates Curtis and he always scares Joe. It happened again last night. It was very funny to see Joe jump like that. I’ll take it easy on him today, though.”
Gina nodded. “I’m sure it was.”
All of the kids were playing with Curtis now. Gina was glad to see that Ryan and Chloe weren’t afraid of him. Curtis became very excited and started bouncing all over the place, bumping into things and making little noises. The children tried to catch him, but he was slippery and agile. He easily evaded their hands as he scampered around the room. Curtis was having as much fun as the kids as he raced from place to place. He even took a tour through the huge dolls house at one point, which made the kids laugh even harder.
Then he took hold of one of the dolls and shook it. Gina laughed so hard her stomach hurt. She thought that Curtis was a delightful animal and couldn’t imagine why Joe didn’t like him. Rick watched Gina and when she smiled he noticed that she had a dimple in her right cheek. He thought it was pretty and liked seeing it.
Rick admitted to himself that he was attracted to her. He hadn’t been expecting that, but since it was a positive thing, he didn’t analyze it too much. He smiled when Curtis laid down and rolled over to be petted. He panted and lay very still as he rested.
“Aw, he’s tuckered out,” Gina said. “I would be, too, after all that running and jumping.”
Rick crouched and gave Curtis the whistle to get back into his pocket. The ferret instantly complied amid protests from the kids.
“Sorry, but Curtis is tired now. I’ll bring him again,” Rick promised. “What’s behind your ear, Ryan?”
Ryan checked and said, “There’s nothing there.”
“Hmm. I thought for sure I saw something. Let me check,” Rick said as he put a hand behind the boy’s ear.
He pulled a penny from behind Ryan’s ear and held it up. “See? I told you I saw something.”
Ryan laughed and grabbed the penny to look at it. “Wow. How’d you do that?”
“It’s magic,” Rick answered with a smile.
Gina watched as Rick played with the children. He sat cross-legged on the floor and did a few magic tricks for them before telling them a story about a boy who trekked through the jungle to find treasure. Gina was entertained along with the children and she lost track of time. Rick’s deep, slightly raspy voice had a hypnotic quality to it and his laugh was soft and attractive she found. There was a hint of stubble on his jaw and Gina wanted to reach out and touch it.
His chiseled cheekbones and sensual mouth drew her eye as well as his long, brown hair. Suddenly he turned his light brown eyes on her and Gina couldn’t look away as he smiled at her. Rick was surprised at the soft light in her eyes and the hint of color in her cheeks. He’d caught her looking at him and he smiled a little broader with the realization.
“So what do you think about coming out to see my critters?” he asked her.
“I’d like that and I know the children certainly would,” Gina said.
“Good. I don’t have to work until early afternoon tomorrow, so I could pick all of you up around ten,” Rick said.
“Yay!” Ryan shouted. “We’re goin’ to Rick’s house to see his pets!”
Rick grinned at the boy. “Yes, you are. We’ll have fun.”
Chloe said, “What kind of pets do you have?”
Rick said, “You’ll just have to see tomorrow.”
“Aww. That’s not fair,” Chloe said.
Standing up, Rick said, “All right, little people. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Ryan stepped over to Rick and held up his arms. Gina was surprised by this. Rick picked up Ryan with ease. The little boy put his arms around Ryan’s neck and hugged him tight. Then he kissed Rick’s cheek and wiggled to get down. Rick set Ryan down and smiled at him.
“You be good, Deputy Ryan,” Rick said.
He received the same treatment from Zach and Emily. Though she smiled at Rick, Chloe didn’t participate in the hugging. Rick gave her a wink and turned to leave. Gina followed him down the hall to the parlor.
“Thank you again for all of your help,” she said as they entered the foyer. “If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have a place to stay.”
Rick smiled and said, “I was happy to do it. I hate to see people suffer or go without. Have a good night. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Yes. We’ll see you then,” Gina said.
Rick gently cupped her jaw as he looked down at her. “Gina Silvetti, one of these days I’m going to kiss you. Yes, one of these days.” He smiled, dropped his hand, and left.
His touch had paralyzed Gina and she didn’t move for several moments until the shock his statement had caused eased its grip. Gina hadn’t been involved with a man since her husband’s passing.
It wasn’t that she’d been looking for a man until around June when she’d started writing Steve, but some male appreciation would have been nice, she supposed. But none had seemed interested in her. Yet here was a man she barely knew who had just informed her that he was going kiss her.
Gina was secretly amused by his forward behavior and it made her feel good to know that someone found her attractive. She thought about their outing tomorrow in a new light and lamented that she didn’t have anything very pretty to wear. She wondered if Lacey might have something that would fit her and hurried off to find out.
Chapter Six
The nightmare came again and Rick bolted up in bed, covered in sweat. His breathing was ragged and every sense was on alert. Pressing the heels of his palms to his eyes, he sought to block out the images and sounds that swirled around in his mind. A half-sob escaped from him and he tried to choke back the tears that were imminent. He tried to conjure up comforting images to use in calming himself.
It’s just a dream. It can’t hurt you. Those times are over. No one is going to hurt you like that again. Rick took several deep breaths and got out of bed. He didn’t drink except on nights like this. Going out to the other room, he got out the bottle of vodka he kept in a cupboard and attempted to pour it into a glass. His hand shook too badly so he sat the bottle down and willed his nerves to settle.
He knew what he needed. He went onto his back porch, which he had enclosed. This was where he housed his ferrets. He made kissing noises and the whole bunch came out of the little house he’d built for them. Rick picked up Mille, an albino ferret, and she nuzzled him. He smiled and started to feel better immediately.
In a while, he gave the critters some food and left them to their midnight snack. After pouring a generous amount of vodka into a glass, he put the bottle back and drank the vodka rapidly. The burning along his digestive tract was horrendous but it gave him something else to concentrate on besides the nightmare.
As the fiery sensation in his stomach subsided, Rick walked back to his bed and lay down again to wait for the vodka to take effect. In the meantime, he closed his eyes and used the meditation techniques he’d learned in China to help chase away the unwanted images. He concentrated on something pleasant and the image of Gina’s face rose in his mind.
He saw her beautiful eyes and the dimple in her right cheek when she smiled. With her rich, brown hair t
hat hung in thick waves over her shoulders and her sweetly curving body, Gina was very beautiful. Her laugh was a little throaty as was her speaking voice. Rick found it very pleasant and planned on making her laugh a lot just so he could hear it.
He’d meant what he said about kissing her. When he’d been leaving Joe’s house, he’d barely resisted doing it right then. Her skin had been soft and smooth under his fingers and Rick just knew that her lips would be just as soft. Thinking about her brought Rick a certain amount of peace and when the vodka started to act, he was able to sleep the rest of the night without the nightmare intruding again.
At breakfast the next day, Joe teased Gina about her ‘date’ with Rick once the kids had run off to the playroom. He didn’t know what they would think of such a thing, especially Chloe, and didn’t want to cause Gina any strife. She’d told him to knock it off, which only made him chuckle.
“It’s not a date,” she insisted.
Lacey asked, “Then what is it?” Her eyes held a mischievous light.
Gina thought, but couldn’t come up with an apt description. “I don’t really know. What would you call going to someone’s house to see their pets?”
“Weird,” Joe said and took a bite of toast.
Lacey swatted him and then lifted Timmy out of the bassinette that sat beside her. “Don’t tell her that. What’s the matter with you?”
Joe laughed and said, “Nothin’, darlin’. I’m just sayin’ that Rick’s tastes in pets seems to be a little on the unusual side.”
“Rick seems like a nice man,” Gina said.
Lacey said, “He is a nice man.”
“Yes, he’s a nice man except for when he scares the crap out of me with that rat he carries around,” Joe said as he cut up a piece of sausage.
“I like Curtis. He’s very cute,” Gina said.
Joe looked at her in disbelief. “You gotta be kiddin’ me? You like that thing?”
“Yes. You should give Curtis a chance. He’s very lovable,” Gina said.
Joe put his fork down and leaned forward. “Did he have that thing here when he came yesterday?”
“Yes. Why?” Gina said.
“In our home?”
Gina’s brows drew down and she said, “Yes. All of the children played with him in the playroom. We kept the door closed so he wouldn’t get out and run around the house.”
Joe nodded and then resumed eating. “Ok. I guess it’s ok if the kids play with it, but I don’t want it running through the house because if I come across it and it tries to bite me, I’ll kill it.”
“Joe!” Lacey said. “Shame on you! What do you have against poor Curtis?”
A frown settled on Joe’s face and he said, “I was attacked by a couple of rats when I was little and now I can’t stand anything that resembles one in the least. I’m sure it’s actually a nice animal, but I just can’t tolerate it.”
Gina’s heart went out to Joe. “I’m so sorry, Joe. If Rick brings him again, I’ll make sure it’s kept away from you.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it,” Joe said. Then he told them what had happened at the bar the other night.
Lacey tried valiantly not to laugh. Her face turned red from the effort to hold it in, but it finally burst forth. She put Timmy in the bassinette and went outside, but her laughter could still be heard in the dining room. Gina laughed softly and Joe even ended up chuckling.
“It’s a good thing I didn’t have to relieve myself at the time or else I’d have been very embarrassed. More than I was. Jake loves that rat and plays ball with it on the bar. I know Rick uses Curtis for work, too, so it does actually serve a purpose, I suppose. I just love Curtis the way the devil likes holy water,” Joe said as he finished eating.
His wife came back in, took one look at Joe and went back outside. Joe sighed. “I’m not gonna live that down for a while.”
As they waited for Rick the following morning, Gina chuckled as she thought about that conversation. Then she heard buggy wheels and horses’ hooves coming up the lane. She was startled when Randall seemed to appear out of thin air to answer the door.
“Good morning, Deputy,” he said in his British accent.
Rick gave him a nod. “’Morning, Randall. I’m here for Gina and the kids.”
“Yes, I believe they’re ready. Come in, please,” Randall said as he stepped back.
Ryan ran for Rick and the deputy caught him and picked him up.
“We gonna go see the critters?” Ryan asked.
“Yeah, we are. Unless you don’t want to,” Rick said.
“Yeah, I wanna!”
“Ok. We’ll go then,” Rick said and put Ryan down again. “Hi, Chloe.”
“Hi,” Chloe said. “How many do you have?”
Rick smiled. “You’ll just have to see.”
He looked at Gina and a current of awareness passed between them. “You look very pretty.”
Her smile was accompanied by a slight blush even though she fought it. “Thank you.”
Ryan pulled back Rick’s duster to see if Curtis was in it.
“He’s at home so you’ll see him there,” Rick said. “Off we go.”
When they pulled up in front of his place, Rick said, “Now, don’t go running off by yourself to pet the animals. I have to show you how to do it properly, ok?”
Both children agreed.
“That goes for you, too, Miss Gina,” Rick said as he helped her from the buggy.
“I’ll try not to run off, but I won’t promise anything,” she said.
“That’s ok. I’ll chase you down,” Rick said with a look that made her feel a little disconcerted.
Gina followed him into the small house. He hadn’t been lying when he’d said it was two rooms. It was neat but sparsely furnished. It was easy to see that a bachelor lived there. They followed Rick across the room they’d entered to another door.
He stopped and smiled at them. “Are you ready?”
“Yeah!” Ryan said.
Chloe nodded, her green eyes filled with excitement.
Rick opened the door and motioned them through. He pulled the door shut behind them and whistled. Curtis poked his head out from the ferret house and then came out when he saw the visitors. As they all crouched down to greet him, an albino ferret that was slightly smaller than Curtis came out.
“This is Millie,” Rick said as he picked her up and handed her to Gina.
“She’s beautiful!” Gina said as Millie bounced onto her shoulder.
Suddenly they were surrounded by five little ferrets that were very rambunctious and curious. The kits were friendly and easily handled.
“They’re so tame,” Gina said as one bounced against her.
“I handle them as soon as I can so that they get used to human scent right away. It’s important to hand raise them that way so that they’re friendly and don’t bite. Every so often you get one that’s not reliable, but for the most part, they’re all like this. You do have to discipline them, though. So if one of these little guys tries to bite you, hiss at it.” Rick said.
“Hiss at it?” Chloe asked.
“Like a cat hisses. Try it and see what they do,” Rick urged her.
Chloe giggled and made a hissing noise. The ferrets all stopped what they were doing and looked at her. They blinked their eyes and tried to figure out what was wrong.
“It worked!”
“That’s right. Anytime they’re doing something you don’t want them to do, hiss like that and most ferrets will stop and they’ll soon learn what they can and can’t do,” Rick said.
“So you raise them, but what do you do after that?” Gina said.
“Some people like them for pets, like me, but they are actually used by farmers who need to control rodent and rabbit populations to keep them from eating all of their crops. Which is what I intend to start selling them for around here soon,” Rick said. “Now, Curtis is a working ferret. He goes to the bar with me while I work as a bouncer and sometimes while I’m
working as a deputy.”
Ryan picked up Curtis and kissed him. “So he’s a deputy, too.”
Rick laughed. “I guess you could say that. He’s certainly good at helping keep the peace.”
Gina said, “A little animal like him?”
Rick took Curtis from Ryan and coaxed Curtis into opening his mouth. “See those teeth? You don’t want them latching onto you because they’re not going to let go easily. Guys in the bar tend to think twice about messing with me when they see those teeth. Plus, a ferret is fairly hard to shoot because they bounce around so much and their movements are unpredictable.”
“What does that mean?” Chloe said.
“Unpredictable? It means you never know what they’re going to do. Sort of like Ryan,” Rick said and ruffled the boy’s hair.
Gina said, “Maybe I should try hissing at him when he says something inappropriate.”
Rick laughed. “I’m not sure it works on humans, but it works on ferrets. C’mon, I’ve got some other critters to show you.”
Another hour into the visit found Gina and the children amazed at the number of unusual animals he had on his land. A pot-bellied pig roamed about freely, his name was Stan and he liked his back scratched. Pumpkin and Patch were two dairy goats. Rick not only had ferrets, but he raised skunks as well and they were just as tame as the ferrets. Several different varieties of birds flew about in the trees and some would come sit on Rick’s hat or finger.
He got some to do this and urged the birds to hop over onto someone else’s finger or even a shoulder.
As they walked down a path, Rick put a hand on Gina’s arm and said, “I don’t think you’re going to want to go farther than here.”
“Why?” she asked as she tried to ignore the way his touch made her feel.
Rick smiled and said, “There are some of your least favorite animals down there.”
Gina looked beyond Rick and asked, “Snakes?”
“That’s right. Nothing poisonous. Just some black snakes and gardener snakes, but to people like you, who don’t like snakes at all, they’re still a snake,” Rick said.
“I don’t want the kids going near them,” Gina said.