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“It’s fine. A little sore, but that’s to be expected.” She took a sip and made a face. “Ugh. Cold. I should make more. Do you want some tea?”
“Sure.”
I followed her through the beaded curtain and into the kitchen. She tossed the last of her cold tea into the sink and filled the tea kettle.
“Where’s Dad?” I asked. “Is he working today?”
“Who knows.” She made a flippant gesture with her hand. “You know him. Can’t sit still.”
That was true. He owned a construction company and had built many of the newer houses in Tilikum. When he wasn’t working, his idea of relaxation was building or fixing something around the house.
I helped her make tea for the two of us and we took our mugs to the table.
“What else is new?” Mom asked and blew on her tea.
For a second, I contemplated telling her about Preston Bradford and the date he was taking me on that evening. But it was just a first date, and, dreamy though he was, I didn’t want to give my mom any ideas before I’d had a chance to get to know him. “Not much. I’ve been busy with work and helping with Audrey’s wedding plans. That’s been fun.”
“How’s Zachary?”
“Apparently fine.” I shrugged and took a careful sip of my tea. “Annika said his injuries weren’t as serious as they could have been.”
“That’s good. Oh! Did you hear about the squirrel war?”
“Squirrel war?”
“You know how we tend to think the squirrels around here are all in cahoots.”
“Okay…”
“Apparently there’s trouble in paradise. A few squirrels had a stash of nuts out behind Tilikum Hardware. The employees would watch them on their breaks. And then, just the other day, there was a raid.”
“A squirrel raid?”
Mom nodded. “Another group of squirrels rushed in, dug up the nuts, and took off with them.”
“How do they know it wasn’t the same squirrels? Maybe they were just moving their stash.”
“I don’t think so. The original squirrels were there, squeaking and squawking from the trees while the intruders descended. The Squirrel Protection Squad is up in arms over it. They don’t know whose side to take.”
“Does the SPS really need to get involved?”
She wrapped her hand around her mug. “That’s what I said.”
I laughed. I honestly wasn’t sure if she was talking about a real thing that had happened or if she’d heard bits and pieces of a squirrel story and made up the rest.
Then again, this was Tilikum. A squirrel war wouldn’t be out of the ordinary.
The door to the garage opened and my dad came in. He was tall and fit from years in construction with tanned skin and bright blue eyes.
“Look at this, my two best girls.” He gave my mom a quick kiss. “Hi, lovebird. I missed you.”
My parents were ridiculously cute. They’d known each other since preschool, started dating in high school, and the rest was history. To an outsider, they might have seemed like a poor match—too different. But my dad’s steadiness and sense of duty was the perfect balance to my mom’s flightiness.
“I missed you too,” she said. “What have you been up to all morning?”
“I was over at Marigold’s.”
I blinked in surprise. “Why were you at my house?”
