by Tara Sheets
Chapter Twenty-Two
When Kat returned home, the first thing she did was check on the butterflies. All seven had emerged, and every time she saw them she felt optimistic about the future. They were a constant reminder that change could be wonderful. After feeding them some sugar water, she walked over to the farmhouse kitchen, put a kettle on the stove to boil, and slumped into a chair, exhausted.
It had been a long day, and she wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep for the next forty-eight hours. But since she wasn’t going to get that before heading over to dinner at Emma’s house tonight, a double hit of Earl Grey tea would have to do.
The teapot whistled, and she dragged herself over to turn off the stove.
Opal entered the kitchen wearing a pink housedress and terry cloth slippers. She was relying heavily on her cane today and moving slower than usual. “My dear, you look like you’ve been through a blender.”
Kat chuckled. “I’m beat. But we found homes for three dogs and two cats, so it was worth it.”
Opal took a seat at the kitchen table. “Did you have a mad rush of people?”
“Hardly.” Kat pulled two cups from the cupboard. “But trying to facilitate good homes for the pets in such a short amount of time drains me of energy.”
Opal tilted her head. “How so?”
“Sometimes people decide they want an animal, but it’s not right for them. So I have to step in, and it’s not always easy.” Kat poured the tea and set one in front of Opal. Then she sank into the chair opposite her. “For example, today a young woman wanted to adopt a cat of ours named Princess Leia. The woman already lived with three roommates, a large dog, and a parrot. Princess Leia would have been miserable. She needed a quiet home with no other animals.”
“Is that what her former owners told you?” Opal asked.
“No . . .” Kat hesitated. It would’ve been so easy to just say “yes,” but she cared about Opal. She wanted to tell her the truth. “It’s what the cat told me.”
“Really?” Opal lifted her teacup, completely unfazed. In her pastel housedress she looked fragile and unassuming, but Kat had a feeling the old woman was strong as tempered steel on the inside, where it counted most. Would she be able to take the truth? Only one way to find out.
Kat took a bracing sip of tea. “The thing is, Opal, I was born with this ability to understand how animals feel, and I can communicate with them. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true. That’s why I work so well with them.”
“Mmm. That makes sense,” Opal said mildly. “You’re not the first person I’ve heard of with that ability.”
Kat sat up straighter. All her previous feelings of fatigue flew out the window. “Who else has it?”
Opal’s forehead wrinkled. “Well now . . . I can’t remember exactly, but my friend Sam was close with the Holloway family way back before your time. He said they had special talents, and I seem to remember one of them was a horse whisperer, or some such thing.”
A bolt of hope struck through Kat like lightning. It was so sharp and pure, it almost hurt. She’d told herself for so long that she didn’t need to know where she came from, but that tiny voice inside her whispered a little louder. What if? What if she did truly belong on this island? The intense, desperate desire to figure out her roots rocketed through her. She’d forgotten what it felt like because she’d kept it buried for so long.
“I’ll have to ask Sam,” Opal said vaguely. “He has a very good memory with these sorts of things.”
“That would be nice.” Kat concentrated on spooning sugar into her tea to give herself something to do. She didn’t want to show Opal how much her statement affected her.
“So you communicate with animals,” Opal said, like she’d just remarked on the weather. “And that’s what you had to do today, which is why you’re tired?”
“Yes. And the young woman was very adamant about adopting Princess Leia. I had to explain that they wouldn’t be compatible. The woman got annoyed and demanded to speak with Smitty, my boss.”
Opal pursed her lips. “And what did Smitty say?”
“She told the woman to forget it.” Kat felt a rush of gratitude at the memory. “Her exact words were, ‘If Kat says you’re not compatible with that animal, then you’re not compatible. End of story. Move along, chickadee.’” A wide grin stretched across Kat’s face. Watching Smitty Bankston go to bat for her had been the greatest thing Kat had experienced since she began working at the Daisy Meadows Pet Rescue. As grumpy as Smitty was, she clearly believed in Kat’s talent, and that meant a lot.
“Good for her,” Opal said, beaming. “It sounds like you’re in the right profession, trying to find homes for those poor animals. It must be hard for you to see so many with no place to live.”
“It is,” Kat admitted. “My whole life, I’ve always wished I could have a big enough place to house all the animals who were unwanted. Especially the needy ones, like Lucky and Lulabelle.”
“Well, until that time comes,” Opal said, reaching out to pat her hand, “you bring them here.”
Kat’s heart filled with warmth, but she knew it wouldn’t be a real solution. “Thanks, but Jordan’s made it pretty clear he doesn’t want more animals roaming around. I know he’s trying to fix the place up to sell it.”
“So he says,” Opal said smugly. “But I do wonder.”
Kat gripped her teacup with both hands. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve watched that boy grow up, and I know his parents were irresponsible. He didn’t have the easiest time of it, but he just seems genuinely happier here now, as the days go by. You should have seen him when he first arrived. All sharp edges and clipped words and slicked back hair. He roamed around the place like a caged tiger, restless and broody. But the longer he stays here and the more he does—sorting, and cleaning, and fixing up the farm—the more relaxed and comfortable he seems. I just can’t help but feel like this is where he belongs.”
Kat wanted so badly for it to be true. She took a sip of tea, letting the sharp, bright taste of bergamot ground her. Yes, she liked Jordan a lot. More than a lot. Every time she thought of him, her heart felt lighter. But she had to stay focused and stick to her plan. She couldn’t afford to get carried away hoping for things that were beyond her control.
The clock on the wall chimed and Kat suddenly remembered her plans with Emma and Juliette. She rose from the table and gave Opal an apologetic smile. “I wish I could stay, but I promised my friends I’d meet them for dinner.”
Opal set down her teacup. “First, I have a favor to ask. Next Saturday the seniors are hosting the annual Summer’s End Charity Gala at the country club. It’s a black tie affair and a great big hullaballoo.” Her hands began to flutter with excitement. “There’ll be live music and dancing, and all proceeds will help fund our future activities. I want you to come.”
“A black tie affair?” Kat glanced down at her thrift store sandals. “It sounds wonderful but, unfortunately, I just don’t have the clothes for something that fancy. Maybe another time.”
“It’s still a week away,” Opal reasoned. “A pretty girl like you should have no problem finding something to wear. You look lovely in everything. If you change your mind, I’d be so proud to introduce you to my friends.”
Kat thanked her and promised to give it some thought, even though she already knew it was out of the question. She highly doubted she’d make Opal proud if she showed up in shorts and a tank top, or a tie-dyed sundress. Still, Kat felt a warm glow of happiness that Opal had thought to invite her. The more Kat got to know Opal, the more she liked her. How could Jordan want to leave when he had a grandmother like her? If Opal was her grandmother, Kat would hang on tight and never let go. But then, she’d always observed that people who had a family usually didn’t realize how precious it was until it was gone.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Kat pulled her car into Emma’s driveway, excited to find out what they’d discovered. The Holloway
house stood like a bright sentinel in the waning light. Its yellow paint with white trim seemed to glow with welcome, and once again Kat was struck by how much it felt like home.
Hank had already jumped out of the car to investigate the lawn, and he was now circling back to her in excitement.
“Even you feel it,” Kat said as she lifted him into her arms. Hank’s warm presence comforted her like a security blanket. She snuggled her face into his fur. “Come on, trusty sidekick. Let’s go see what all the fuss is about, shall we?”
Kat glanced up to see Juliette’s head poke out of an upstairs window. “We’re up in the attic.”
Gathering her courage, Kat approached the porch steps, suddenly overcome with nervousness. What if the house didn’t let her in this time? What if it had been a fluke? Kat was glad the other women were up in the attic, so they wouldn’t have to witness her failure if the house changed its mind about her.
“Hi again,” she said tentatively.
The porch light grew very bright for a moment, as if the house was saying “hi” back. Or maybe it was just a power surge. Maybe she was being ridiculous and all of this was just a bad joke.
She drew in a deep breath, lifted her chin, and began climbing the steps. Before her boot hit the top step, she heard the door unlatch. It swung wide to let her in, and she exhaled a shaky breath. So it wasn’t just a fluke.
“Thanks, house,” she murmured under her breath.
The door closed gently behind her.
Kat set Hank on the floor as Buddy came bounding around the corner. She instantly felt the Labradoodle’s intense joy at having company. He greeted them both with slobbery licks and occasional thwacks of his tail.
By the time Kat made her way to the attic, her trusty sidekick had abandoned her for a game of tug-of-war with Buddy in the living room. She pushed open the attic door to find Emma and Juliette sitting cross-legged on an old Persian rug. They were surrounded by trunks and stacks of books, and they were both scrutinizing something in an album.
“Hey,” Kat said. “What’s going on?”
Juliette waved her over without looking up. “Come and see this.”
Kat joined them on the rug and peered at the album. The pages were yellowed, and the black-and-white photos were very small. She was looking at the album upside down, so it was hard for her to make anything of it.
“Look here.” Emma turned the album to Kat. “These are old photos of our grandmother’s family.”
Kat looked at the series of farm pictures. A dog in a field. A copse of trees. Two girls sitting on the hood of an old tractor. One of them appeared to be twelve or thirteen, with curly hair and a floral dress. She was holding a fluffy white chicken in her arms. The younger girl couldn’t have been more than three years old, with the same hair and a shorter version of the same dress. Behind them in the distance stood the Holloway house. It looked exactly the same as it did now, only the trees surrounding it were much smaller.
“This little girl,” Juliette said, pointing to the toddler in the blurry photograph, “was our grandmother.”
“And the older girl,” Emma said, “was her sister Caroline. She ran off to join the circus when she was only sixteen, so we never knew much about her. My grandmother was still very young when Caroline left the island. They didn’t grow up together, and what little my grandmother knew was from an occasional postcard. I remember her saying that Caroline married someone in the circus and never came back.”
“So . . . you think your great-aunt who ran away might be related to me?” Kat asked.
“We aren’t sure yet,” Juliette said. “But look at the rest of the photos.”
Kat turned the page. Several images of birds. A crow standing on a pumpkin. Some chickens. A cat on the front porch of the Holloway house. “All animals . . .”
“Exactly,” Emma said, bubbling over with excitement. “We thought maybe this great-aunt of ours had animal magic. If you look through the photos, almost every picture of her has an animal in it. And she ran off to join the circus, right? What better place to go, if you like being around animals?”
Disappointment began to settle over Kat. The photos were a nice depiction of Emma and Juliette’s relatives, but they proved nothing. “There’s still no way to be sure.”
“Just keep looking,” Juliette said, placing the album in her hands.
Kat flipped through the rest of the pages. Many of the photos were just random farm images of scenery. But the photos of the young teenager always showed her with animals. Sitting in the grass with a dog. Standing on the stairs holding a black cat. Even an image of her posing next to a cow. The most unusual photo showed her sitting against a tree trunk, laughing, with her arms extended. Birds were perched along both arms, and there was even a bird standing on her head.
“It’s true, she’s always with animals,” Kat mused. “But making the leap from her to me is quite a stretch.”
“Take a look at this,” Juliette said. She thumped her hand on a small steamer trunk behind her. It was dark brown, with scratched sides and worn leather straps. There were three brass latches on the front, and handles on either end. Juliette grabbed a handle and dragged it onto the rug. “Emma and I found it this afternoon. I swear it wasn’t here the last twenty times we looked, so it has to be important.”
She unlatched the trunk and pushed it toward Kat. It appeared to be full of scarves and old knickknacks.
Both Emma and Juliette watched her expectantly.
Kat glanced back and forth between them. “What do you want me to do?”
Emma moved her hand in a swishy motion. “Just rummage through it.”
Kat looked at the pile of things in the trunk. “Rummage?”
“Yeah, dig around in there,” Juliette said. “That’s how it works. Sometimes new things pop up in this attic, depending on who’s doing the looking, or who needs something.”
Kat took a deep breath and dug her hands in the box. She pulled out a turquoise silk scarf with butterflies on it. It was so light and delicate, it almost seemed to flutter in the air.
“See? That wasn’t there before,” Juliette said triumphantly. “Not when I looked.”
“Nope,” Emma agreed, grinning.
Kat reached in again and pulled out more odds and ends. There was a sparkly white shawl that shed tiny snowflakes when she shook it. There were beaded necklaces that sounded like wind chimes when they clinked together, and a pair of long white gloves that smelled like champagne and roses. Near the bottom of the trunk, something flashed brightly. Kat reached in and pulled out a tarnished silver key with a three-leaf clover design.
“Ooh!” Emma squealed. “What is that?” She reached for the key, turning it over and over in her hands. It was old, but the clovers sparkled like polished emeralds.
“Never seen it before,” Juliette murmured. She nodded to Kat. “Keep going.”
Kat pushed aside a satin top hat and pulled out a small cigar box. When she opened it, a few postcards and old newspaper clippings slid out. She looked at Juliette and Emma.
Both women gave her an encouraging nod.
Kat opened the first newspaper clipping. It was an ad for the Bellamy Brothers’ Circus, promising “Earthly Delights Beyond Compare and Exotic Creatures from the Unknown.” Another clipping was a short biography about David Bellamy, the circus owner, with a picture of him standing proudly with his wife and baby beside a striped circus tent.
Kat gasped. His wife was the teenager in Emma and Juliette’s family album. “This must be your great-aunt.” She handed the newspaper clipping to them and continued sifting through the rest of the postcards. One showed a beach scene with a short message on the back. Kat read aloud. “We’re here on the coast for a few weeks. Darling Evangeline has grown like a weed. She’s wild and free and full of wanderlust, I’m afraid. XOXO Caroline.” Kat glanced up from the postcard and said, “Darling Evangeline?” The name seemed to echo off the walls.
A soft gust of wind swirled through th
e attic, surrounding the three of them, stirring their hair and kissing their eyelashes. It felt like a typical summer breeze, except no windows in the attic were open.
Kat shivered.
Emma and Juliette were staring at her, wide-eyed.
No one said anything.
Kat was suddenly aware of the deep silence that surrounded them. It was so quiet, she felt as though the house was holding its breath. “Evangeline,” she whispered. Could that be her mother? She started rummaging through the box, in earnest. The last postcard was from Ireland, written in the same looping script as before. Kat read, “We’ve retired home to Ireland. Evangeline left us a year ago to follow her own path. She goes wherever the wind blows her, but such is the way of things in our family, is it not? Still, a mother’s heart will always yearn for her child. Live well, dearest sister. XOXO Caroline.”
A hollow ache settled inside Kat. There was such a melancholy sense of finality to that last postcard. She cleared her throat. “What happened to Evangeline?”
Juliette took the postcard from her and studied it. “We don’t know yet, but we’re going to do everything we can to find out.”
“Is there anything else?” Emma asked, pointing to the steamer trunk.
Kat reached in to draw out the last item in the box. It was the sapphire blue gown she’d tried on before.
She clutched it in surprise. “Did you guys put this in here?”
“No,” Juliette said.
“Sometimes things show up in odd places,” Emma explained. “It’s the house.”
Kat slid a hand over the luxurious velvet gown, marveling at everything they’d discovered. She placed the dress carefully back in the box, along with the other objects. Her mind was spinning, and she was suddenly overcome with an equal mixture of frustration and elation.
“This is driving me crazy!” she said in a shaky voice. “What if we never find out for sure?”