Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 119764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 599(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 599(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
Ribbit follows after the group, and the protector in me cannot let all my strays go off on their own. They are more vulnerable than a kitten wandering away from its mother. At least kittens are fast and know to duck into small places at the first sign of danger. My humans are not. They need me.
We travel over the ugly landscape with Ah-gee and Doh-dee talking constantly the entire time, scaring away any game that might be nearby. My ears prick at the sound of distant hooves—deer that were scared away by Ah-gee’s loud sounds. I lift my head and scent the breeze, looking to pick up anything else that might be in this area.
A male’s scent is here. Old and stale, but I recognize it. It is the same male that I scented back near Dakotah’s nest. It makes my hackles rise, and I skirt around the area, following the scent trail while the females converge on an old human-sized metal box and pry it open. After a few paces, I relax a bit. The scent heads away from our camp. My females are protected…for now.
This must have been where the older two females were staying before they met us. They pull soft things out of the metal box and begin to fold them up. Dakotah puts some of them in her pack while Ah-gee and Doh-dee continue to argue.
Ribbit comes to my side, her expression curious. “U ok Murr?”
I nod, her words slow enough that I can follow them, which I appreciate. I point at the metal box. “Caah?”
“Yes!” Ribbit seems happy to talk with me. “U want more words?” She gestures at her mouth. “More talk?”
I nod. More hand signals. I hope I have not been missing a hand language this entire time. “Ribbit words yes.”
She beams and squats down nearby, her hands flattening on a round dark object. “Tire.”
“Tiaah.” It is a hard sound to wrap my mouth around.
She points at more things, and when I know the word, I say it. I have words for tree, and cloud, and building, and she is pleased at my progress. Her fingers go to her face and she puts them at the corners of her mouth, lifting them up.
“Kith,” I announce, even though I know the word for this lip-stretching.
“What?” Dakotah’s voice raises high and she turns to stare at me and her daughter, horror on her face.
“No, silly,” Ribbit giggles, delighted at my response. “SMILE.”
“Smiiih,” I try, glancing over at her mother. “No kith.”
Ribbit just gives me a sly look. “Murr kith Dakota cheek.”
Good, she wants to know more about why I put my lips on her mother, too. This is a topic I wish to discuss as well.
Dakotah calls out sharply, storming over to her daughter’s side. “Rabbit!”
“Yes kith,” I agree and pat my jaw. “Kith face.”
“Mouth kiss better,” she continues. “Murr should kiss Mom on the mouth. Big happy.”
I put my hands on my hips, trying to decipher what Ribbit’s goal is. Dakotah is watching us, her expression one of mortification, not excitement. She does not want my mouth kith. There is something I am missing here. I lean in so only Ribbit can hear me. “Mouth kith…bad?”
Ribbit puts her hands in the air. “Immalet Mom hannel dis un.”
Dakotah just crosses her arms and scowls at the two of us.
CHAPTER 31
DAKOTA
My sweet daughter is selling me out. Here I am, trying to help Aggie and Dottie move their gear to our home, and she’s trying to distract me. All day I’ve been watching the two women, looking for clues that they might be misleading us, or telling half-truths to hide something. I haven’t been paying much attention to Murr because I’m fuzzy with lack of sleep and getting a headache from Aggie’s voice. She has two volumes—loud and really damn loud.
How am I supposed to focus on those two women when Rabbit is bringing up kissing? Now everyone’s staring at me, expectation in their eyes, as if I should fling my arms around Murr’s neck and just plant my mouth to his to satisfy their curiosity.
The worst thing about it? Now I’m imagining what would happen if I did. How would he react? Does he know what kisses lead to, or is he just the most intimidating clueless virgin left on the planet? He’s naked more often than he’s not, and while he’s not been walking around with his cock erect, what if kisses lead to that?
What if I’m in the process of scarring my poor daughter for life?
“Kissing is no one’s business,” I say sharply. “Let’s just pack this stuff and go.”
Rabbit ignores my tone. She skips over to me. “He kissed you on the cheek earlier, Mom. We all saw it. I think he thinks you guys are together.” Judging by the eagerness on her face, she loves this idea, probably because it involves a belly full of red meat and all the cats she can cuddle for the rest of her days.