Page 47 of Oddly Fine

“Ready?” he asked, and she nodded again, holding her breath like she was about to dive into the family pool.

Beckett spun around and charged into the room. Rushing towards the bed, he grabbed the bedframe and flipped it onto its side in one quick move.

The metal frame gave a protesting screech, and in the dim light coming from the hallway, Beckett counted three pairs of eyes glowing in the dark before something clawed its way up his leg.

“No!!!!” he screamed, and he instinctively grabbed the thing on his leg with both hands and pulled hard. His fingers dug into something soft covered with several inches of fur. But as he struggled to get it off him, the creature dug its claws into his jeans. Tiny sharp needles digging into the flesh of his thigh and calf elicited an unhinged scream as he kept trying to get the creature to let go. Finally, he pulled it loose, only for it to slash one of his arms as he tossed the creature across the room. Its startled cry was quickly followed by several other cries of distress. He stumbled back towards the bedroom door, searching desperately for the light switch. At the same time, Hayes rushed into the room—alarmed by the screams he’d heard. Suddenly, bright light flooded the room. Beckett grimaced from the burning pain in his arm as Hayes reached for him.

“What is it?” Hayes asked, holding his Glock in his right hand while he wrapped his left arm around Beckett.

“I don’t—” Beckett said, then came to an abrupt halt as his eyes landed on the monster that Lilac had in her room.

“Is that a raccoon?” Hayes asked, looking just as shocked as Beckett.

And yep—yes, that’s exactly what it was.

Beckett put out a quick leg to stop Teacup—who’d followed Hayes up the stairs—before the poodle could attack the animal. It didn’t stop the dog from growling menacingly.

Cleverly hidden, and well protected, Momma Raccoon had built a nice little nest under a pile of stuffed animals. Her little ones nestled inside the warm hole she’d created for them under Lilac’s bed. Her babies looked about two months old, so they were more than ready for the next stage of their lives. Their small, black, beady eyes studied Beckett and Hayes intently, as if expecting them to provide a free meal and a ride out of there.

Momma Raccoon hissed at Beckett and Hayes like a frightened cat as she waddled over to her babies, and then wrapped herself around them protectively.

“How in the fucking—” Beckett complained, just as the wind blew hard enough to raise the curtains away from the open window that had no screen.

“One dollar in the swear jar,” Lilac chastised as she crept closer to look at the momma and babies, hiding behind Hayes this time.

“I need a raise,” Beckett said, turning to Hayes, who merely cocked his head to the side, as if to say—yeah, that sounds fair.

Hayes called 911, and the cops sent the local animal control services to the house. But of course, by then, the two boys had gotten out of bed and somehow Beckett ended up entertaining the triplets. It was almost 7:30 by the time the actual rescue operation was nearing completion. In the meantime, the children pestered Beckett with an endless barrage of questions.

“Do we get to keep the babies?” Jameson asked, looking over Beckett’s shoulder towards the uniformed officers in charge of Operation Raccoon Roundup.

“No,” he said firmly while watching the animal control officers and the police work together to safely capture the young raccoons and their royally pissed off mother. The raccoons would be relocated to a nearby wildlife preserve, which wasn’t what the boys wanted.

“Why not? We kept Missy when she had babies!” Nathan exclaimed angrily, crossing his arms over his chest as if bracing himself for a fight.

“Because the cops heard Jameson gave Teacup a haircut, and they’re afraid you’ll do the same to the racoons,” Beckett lied—his favourite sort of parenting.

Before Jameson could retaliate, a high-pitched voice interrupted them.

“Oh, dear!” Donna cried out. “Are you okay?” She bypassed Beckett completely, rushing towards her grandchildren.

“Did you see it?” Jameson asked as Lilac threw herself at her grandmother. “It was thisssssss big!” He held his hands about three feet apart.

“Did it hurt you?” Donna asked, ignoring Jameson as she examined Lilac.

“No,” Lilac said, surprisingly forthright as she smiled bravely. “I’m alright.”

“It was a dragon!” Nathan declared loudly and dramatically.

His grandmother turned to him with raised brows.

“No, it wasn’t!” Lilac refuted with a shake of her head. “It was a raccoon!”

Nathan stuck out his tongue at her, which had the intended effect of getting her riled up.

“You can’t do that!” she yelled at the top of her lungs.

Hayes moved to intervene, but Beckett beat him to the punch.