True Colors (26 page)

I froze as whatever it was shuffled across the porch. I thought of the ghost stories that Keith had told me and Nadine.

The hair rose prickly on my neck.

Something bumped against the door. I burrowed down into the couch, wishing I could hide under it.

Something, or
someone
, was outside.

What if it was Myrtle, come back for me, I wondered.

What if it wasn’t?

I was off the couch in an instant and snatched up Hannah’s rolling pin. Holding it over my head, I reached for the doorknob. What if the man with the hook was on the other side, reaching for the doorknob right now …?

I shuddered and cracked open the door.

Cat stood on the porch.

I held my breath, afraid if I blinked, Cat would disappear
and it would be just a dream, but last I’d heard, dreams don’t step into a kitchen and rub up against your leg.

I reached down slowly and Cat let me pick her up, but she gave a little cry and I saw why. Her right front leg was swollen to three times its normal size.

“Oh, Cat,” I said, softly. “What happened to you?”

Cat tucked her head under my arm. She was hot with fever, and I could feel her pounding heart.

My own heart was pounding, too. After all these weeks, I couldn’t believe I was holding her.

I sat by the fire, holding Cat as gently as I could, and scratched under her chin. I wished Hannah were home; she’d know how to doctor Cat. Because we didn’t have a telephone, I couldn’t call her or Dr. Todd, the veterinarian, and I didn’t know what else to do, so I simply sat and patted Cat. She even purred a little, sick as she was.

Cat made up her own mind when it was time to leave. I’d been hoping she’d stay the night where we could keep an eye on her, and I didn’t want to let her go, but she struggled and I was afraid of hurting her leg, so I set her on the floor. Cat limped to the door and stood there, waiting.

“Don’t go, Cat,” I said. But Cat stood, her nose against the door, and I knew I had to let her go. I could hardly bear to watch her hobble away.

I washed the dishes and was sweeping when I heard the bump again. I ran to open the door.

Cat held a small kitten in her mouth.

I knelt on the floor and Cat placed the kitten in my hands. I closed my eyes and held the kitten under my chin.

“Oh, Cat, he’s so soft,” I said, but when I opened my eyes, Cat was gone.

I stepped onto the porch.

“Cat!” I called out into the night, and I was still standing there, holding the kitten, when Hannah came home.

Hannah heated milk in a saucepan and showed me how to feed the kitten with an eyedropper. I told her of Cat’s swollen leg.

“Cat knew she couldn’t take care of her kitten anymore,” Hannah said. “She brought it to someone she knew would,” and looking into Hannah’s warm, gentle face, I wondered if my mama had left me here with Hannah for that very same reason.

chapter 35

A few days later, I found Cat’s body, and I buried her in the orchard. I buried the quilt with her. I’m not looking for my mama anymore. Who left me isn’t as important as who rescued me, and even if my own mama were to knock on our door tomorrow and want to take me with her, I guess I’d stay right here. Hannah might be my grandma, but she’s the only
mama
I’ve ever known.

“One person’s trash is another person’s treasure,” I’ve heard Hannah say, and it’s true. Someone threw Cat away but I loved her, and I know Hannah treasures me. We might not have much on this tumbledown farm, but we’ve got everything we need.

Raleigh’s living with us now. Hannah said he might as well, seeing as he’s family. The flood washed away his whole house, and I felt bad, at first, that he lost everything saving me, but Hannah said, “That’s just
stuff
, Blue. Doesn’t
hold a candle to a
daughter
,” and I see it’s true. Whenever I call Raleigh Daddy, his face lights up like a lantern.

I talk to Cat as I plant tulip bulbs on her grave.

“Don’t you worry, Cat,” I tell her. “I’m taking good care of your kitten.” Spencer’s getting bigger every day, and it makes me laugh to watch him chasing leaves.

“Blue,” Hannah calls. I see her in the doorway, eyes shaded, searching for me, and Raleigh’s already in the truck. We’re going into town to see the movie
The African Queen
, and Hannah doesn’t want to be late.

“Coming, Mama,” I answer. I pick up Spencer and run for home.

One thing I’ve learned this summer is that the
smallest
words are the most powerful, like
home
and
mama
.

And
love
.

acknowledgments

I want to thank, from the bottom of my heart, my family and dear friends. Seven years ago, my sister, an uncle, and a cousin died within six months of each other, and my writing voice died with them. Only with the love and support of family and friends were we able to get through that difficult time. With their help, my writing voice returned and I’m grateful to be back doing what I love, writing family stories. Genealogy was my sister’s passion, and I try to ignite that same passion for history and family stories in children and adults everywhere.

I want to give a special thank-you to my editor, Nancy Hinkel, who kept believing in me through those years, and whose unwavering support and encouragement made this a better book than it would have been otherwise. I hope the wait was worth it.

about the author

Natalie Kinsey-Warnock grew up on a dairy farm in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, where her Scottish ancestors settled in the early 1800s. She still lives there, with her husband, Tom, and the many horses, dogs, and cats she has rescued. Natalie has written several other books, most of them based on her childhood, her ancestors, and her true family stories, and she encourages students everywhere to look for
their
family stories. Her first book for Knopf was the acclaimed historical novel
Gifts from the Sea
.

Natalie is an athlete, naturalist, writer, historian, and artist, and her hobbies include biking, kayaking, cross-country skiing, hiking, bagpiping, fiddling, Civil War history, bird carving, quilting, and genealogy. She is developing a new history curriculum for schools, based on students researching their own family genealogy and history. You can learn more about Natalie by visiting her website,
kinsey-warnock.com
.