“I’m so sorry for your loss.” It was clear he wasn’t over his first wife. How sad life was sometimes. Sad and unfair.
Changing the subject, the doctor started pointing out things along the way. There was the mall. Down that road was the hospital where he worked as an ER doctor. There was a yummy barbecue place he claimed was “world famous” for their sauce. That was Cole’s high school, and so on.
I have to tell you, the one thing that really seemed weird to me was the color of the houses. In Texas, we use bricks on the outside of our homes. But around here they must use something else entirely because there were houses of every color. Pink, green, purple, blue…seriously, how weird is that?
I had to ask, “So what’s up with all the different colored houses? Where’s the brick?”
Evan spoke first, “Brick is more readily available in the South, so it’s affordable. It costs too much to ship brick this far North so they use siding instead. Siding can be painted.”
“Thank you, Evan-i-pedia.” Sometimes my brother’s uber intelligence was a little annoying. Then again, I really wasn’t in the best mood to begin with. I should cut him some slack.
“Well, gang, we’re here.” I watched the house as we pulled up into the driveway. At least it wasn’t pink! The doctor’s house was a dusty blue with darker blue trim. It stood two stories tall and had large trees growing around it. One of the trees looked like it had tennis balls hung like ornaments from all the branches.
“What are all those yellow balls hanging from that tree?” I had to ask.
“Oh, that’s a hedge apple tree. Those are its fruit. Don’t try to eat them though. Pretty much, just squirrels and birds eat them. I keep meaning to trim it back. When one of those darn hedge apples drops, it can leave quite a dent in the truck.”
Strange place, Kansas.
Before we even walked up the steps, the door flew open and out bounded a boy, all grins. This must be Cole, I thought.
“Hey dad! How was your trip?” He had an easygoing way about him that was immediately likeable.
“Hey Cole, everything went fine. Here are the kids I told you about,” he waved his hand and pointed to each of us in turn. “This is Meg, and Alik and Evan. And this,” he raised his brows as Maze jumped out of the back, “this is Meg’s coyote.”
“Holy cow!” he yelped as he jumped back a few feet. I had to keep myself from laughing; didn’t want to start off on the wrong foot or anything.
“His name is ‘Maze’ and he’s completely harmless, unless you’re a prairie dog or a rabbit,” I added trying to lighten his mood. “I found him as a tiny pup. His mother never returned so I took him and his two sisters home and nursed them to health. The sisters took off when they were big enough, but Maze never left my side.” Okay, I didn’t know why my mouth kept talking. I kept willing myself to shut up. Instead, more came out.
“When your dad offered to come get us, I just couldn’t imagine leaving him back at the ranch. He’s too domesticated. He eats dog chow, for goodness’ sake. I don’t even know whether he could hunt if he had to.” Shut up, shut up, shut up, I thought to myself. Why was I so chatty with this guy? Who cared what he thought of me or my Maze?
“A coyote for a pet? Wow. That’s just—different. Have you taught him tricks like you would a dog?” Cole seemed sincerely interested so I answered him honestly.
“Maze can do everything a dog can do and lots more. For starters, he can understand me. Not just simple commands like sit, lie down and roll over. Maze can understand directions, emotions and conversations. He is really amazing. That’s how he got his name, after all.” I was rambling again. Ugghh!
“Hum…really.” Cole said thoughtfully. Now this was weird to me because I couldn’t tell if he believed me or thought I was making it all up. I was too worried about how my clothes probably looked all wrinkled and how his cologne smelled so handsome.
I bit my tongue to keep from adding to my nervous chatter as we walked into the house. I stopped in the foyer to take in the sights around me. There was a beautiful sitting room to my left and further down the main hall was the formal dining room. To the right, was a comfortable area with a receiving table and chair where the doctor threw his keys and wallet. Next to that was a steep staircase that must be fifteen steps up. I assumed the bedrooms were upstairs.