Bobby implored her with his big brown eyes and gestured down the overgrown path that led to the structure, which could be partly seen through the brush. “Please? Momsaid,” he reiterated.
She knew her mom had already okayed it, so she nodded, but added a dramatic sigh so he would understand this was a concession on her part.
After all, she needed Bobby to remember who was in charge.
“I’ll check out the barn next to the house,” she said. “Cleo wasn’t scared of our sheep, maybe she made friends with the Mendozasheep.” She smiled, wanting Bobby to believe that they’d find her and everything would be okay. “Meet me at their house, okay? Thirty minutes, tops. Mom will have my hide—and yours, too—if you get caught in the rain.”
Bobby smiled and waved as he turned down the muddy and deeply rutted road, a small cage tied on the back of his ATV. She really hoped he found Cleo, because he was probably the only one who could get that darn cat into the cage and back to their house.
Avery continued to Gianna’s house. She parked the ATV between the garage and the barn and turned off the ignition. Thunder sounded in the distance and made her jump. A solid blanket of gray clouds covered the sky. The wind wasn’t too bad yet, certainly nothing that foreshadowed the storm everyone was worried about. But Avery had been through at least a dozen bad storms that she vividly remembered, including the one last weekend. And Grandma was baking more than usual, which told Avery she was worried.
Grandma’s motto was essentially, if you had enough food stockpiled, you could get through anything.
Avery left the casseroles in the ATV storage box and went into the barn. Immediately, she wrinkled her nose. Based on the smell, no one had let the sheep out this morning. They bleated at her rather frantically. Animals sensed bad weather better than people, but the McKenna sheep hadn’t been as agitated as these.
She flipped on the overhead lights and saw that all the troughs were empty. It was nearly ten—had the family gone out and couldn’t get back because the roads were already closed off? She doubted it, but maybe the sheriff’s department had blocked them off preemptively. Flash flooding often came after a rain, and last night it had dropped buckets on them.
The Mendozas only had fifty sheep, all recently sheared—Bobby and Lyla had come to help two weeks ago because of Mr.Mendoza’s arthritis. Now, they all practically ran to Avery, bleating and crowding, seeking her attention.
She turned the water on to fill their trough, then went over to the alfalfa storage bin and, one at a time, tossed three bundles into the center of their large pen, which took up half the barn. The family no longer had horses, just the sheep, so there was plenty of room.
After, Avery looked in all the empty stalls for the cat. She didn’t see Cleo.
Out of habit, Avery checked the doors to make sure they were secure so the wind wouldn’t blow them in, then let herself out. She’d leave the Mendozas a note that she’d fed the sheep, in case they had gone into town for supplies. Even though they had a four-wheel drive, the roads were deeply rutted and troublesome. The county said they’d be out next week to fix Orchard Lane, the road they lived off of, but Avery had no idea about others in the area.
Maybe Gianna was here alone; Avery would have come over earlier to keep her company.
She glanced into the garage, and while it was dark inside, it looked like there were two trucks. Odd. Maybe they had family visiting.
She grabbed the casseroles, crossed the side yard, and walked up the ramp that had been built over the stairs for Gianna’s wheelchair. She knocked on the kitchen door. All the drapes were still drawn, which suggested the family was away, but then why was their truck here?
“Mrs. Mendoza? It’s Avery.”
She listened and heard movement and voices inside, then suddenly the door opened and a man she’d never seen before stood there. He was tall with a thick beard and short dark hair.
She stepped back and held out the casseroles. “I brought these for the Mendozas.” She smiled but it felt weird, like a grimace.
“That’s nice of you,” he said. “Come on in.” He glanced downthe driveway, as if looking for anyone she had come with, then he looked at her and smiled. It didn’t reach his eyes.
“I’ll just leave them; I have to get back and help my mom with storm prep.”
Avery didn’t know why she was so intimidated. Except… she’d never seen this man before, and why was he answering the door at the Mendozas’ house? She tried to look behind him, but he was so big he filled the doorframe.
“I’m sure my aunt and uncle would love to chat.” He stepped aside and motioned for her to enter. Now she could see Carl and Rose sitting at the kitchen table, coffee mugs in front of them.
Relieved, she said, “Oh, hi, Mrs. Mendoza. Mr. Mendoza.”
Carl lifted his mug toward her and sipped. His hand was shaking.
Avery stepped in and said, “Grandma Penny made these casseroles since you might not be able to get out for a few days, you know how she loves to cook.”
“Thank you, Avery dear,” Carl said. “You can put them on the counter. Give Penny our best.”
Rose didn’t meet her eye. Something weird was going on. Gianna would know.
“I was also going to give Gianna this book,” Avery said, pulling the paperback out of her jacket.
They didn’t introduce her to their nephew. That was very rude—and the Mendozas weren’t rude.Definiteweirdness. Suddenly Avery just wanted to get out and tell her mom. But Bobby… he was going to meet her here soon.
