Page 78 of Always Salty

“I’ll bet you anything, though, that you won’t be driving this for long.” Nastya hummed along to a tune by Cody Johnson when she got to the station she wanted.

I frowned as we took the turn that would lead us out of the lake subdivision that the Semyonovs lived in. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that this is an older, unsafe car, and he’s going to have you driving a new one as soon as he can.” She rolled her eyes. “Not that I think it’s a bad car or anything. It’s great from what I can tell. It looks like you just rolled off the lot with it thirty years ago.”

I laughed. “It was my grandmother’s newest car. When she died, my grandad kept it in tip-top shape. Still keeps it in tip-top shape, really. Or my brothers do. I don’t think I’ve had to do anything but fill it up with gas in my entire life.”

“What is it about guys and cars? Dima, Shasha, and my husband all know how to keep them running. How is it that you can talk to almost any guy, and they know exactly what needs to be done? Even if it’s only a cursory knowledge of it? If something went wrong besides the battery on my car, I wouldn’t have a single clue what it was.” She shook her head. “I was driving my car the other day when I went to pick up Haze from work, and felt nothing wrong with it the entire drive. When Haze started driving home, he immediately noticed something was wrong. When he got back home, he fixed it. Meanwhile, I was still trying to figure out what it was that he was feeling that I wasn’t.”

We chatted for another fifteen minutes as we drove to the parking lot that would lead to the trail that would then lead to the field that Dima had found our four hellion cats.

When we got there, Milena, Maven, and two of Maven’s sisters-in-law, Athena and Bindi, were already waiting on us.

“Hey!” we all chirped as we waved and caught up.

“So are we thinking they’re gonna be here?” Maven asked as she carried a package of cat treats under her arm.

We walked and chatted, all of us having a great time catching up and making new friends.

Bindi, who was blind, walked slowly, her K9 companion at her side guiding her way.

Though she couldn’t actually look for the cats, she was here as moral support.

I absolutely adored Bindi and Athena, and only then realized that maybe if I met friends outside of work every once in a while, I might find that I have more women friends.

We made it to the field and started looking around.

“Oh, hey, Officer Assman!” Athena called. “What are you doing here?”

This Officer Assman smiled at Athena and said, “Looking for the congresswoman’s shooter’s location.”

I kept my mouth shut, smiling faintly while simultaneously trying not to freak out.

“What are you doing here?” Officer Assman asked.

“Oh, we heard a kitten when we were walking by here last, and we came with reinforcements,” Maven said, talking to the officer like she knew him just as well as Athena. “We want to catch the kitty.”

Officer Assman nodded and said, “What kind of cat?”

“The kind that is skittish and I only saw the tail end of.” Maven shrugged. “We’re gonna try to catch him. The thought of him being out here without food and water is breaking my heart.”

Officer Assman nodded and said, “Good luck to you all. I have to keep looking around.”

Then he was gone, leaving me with a racing heart and a nervous belly.

“Shew,” Maven said. “I didn’t want to have to return these cats to that woman that was breeding them. I would’ve had to had he been here when we found the kitties.” She looked around. “That’s probably why none of the cats have been found yet. This trail is deserted.”

It was.

Which was super sad.

The man that’d dropped the kittens off knew what he was doing when he dumped those cats here. He knew they wouldn’t be found.

“Shake your treat box,” I suggested.

Maven did, and we all started walking out into the field, calling “here kitty, kitty” in an upbeat voice.

The first one popped up near Brecken.

---