Free The Summer of No Regrets by Katherine Grace Bond Page A

do,” he said, surprised. “They have no mother.
    They should be in a zoo.”
    “They live here,” I said. “It’s not their fault we shot their mother.”
    “We?”
    “Yes, ‘we.’ Consumerism. Greed. America shot their mother.”
    Luke raised his eyebrows. “Not bad,” he said.
    A ridiculous sense of pride overcame my irritation momentarily. My kitten nipped feebly at my finger. Onawa’s child. I had a sacred obligation to her. We had to keep the kittens secret. If I caled Fish and Wildlife, they would send Officer Mark. He’d shoot them with a sad, sad look on his face, Officer Mark. He’d shoot them with a sad, sad look on his face, but he’d shoot them. Or Buck Harper would do it and want to get paid. A cougar’s a cougar. Even a kitten would be a threat to people like Buck. “You haven’t lived here long,” I told Luke.
    “I’m not turning these little ones over to be kiled.” Luke sighed. “Isn’t there a zoo in Seattle?”
    “A zoo? Yes, there is a zoo, where these creatures, who are indigenous to this very woods and who have lived here for thousands of years could be put on display like circus freaks for the entertainment of spoiled twelve-year-olds whose daddies work at Microsoft and who would rather be playing Xbox. Is that the life you’d pick for the animal the Snoqualmie Tribe caled Protector?”
    “Wow,” said Luke.
    I blushed.
    “Brigitta.” Luke stroked his kitten. It was the first time he’d said my name. “How are they going to survive?” I had now officialy painted myself into a corner. I pictured Buck Harper coming onto the property with a hunting rifle and a bunch of cronies, including Officer Mark’s father, who he’d taught to hunt. They’d be accompanied by wildlife agents and zookeepers with huge cages on poles like the one in Horton Hatches the Egg . Felicity Bowen would be snapping pictures. I would face them all down. I’d block the cedar snag with my body. I’d call on the spirit of Onawa. “No closer!” I’d command, and I’d be so fierce that they would shrink back, convicted of their evil intentions. Luke watched me questioningly.
    “I’ll be their mother.” I decided it right then. “And if you’re interested, you can be their dad.”
    I couldn’t believe I’d blurted out such a bold suggestion. I couldn’t imagine saying something so pushy to Devon.
    Luke gazed at his kitten thoughtfuly. Then he smiled. “Okay,” he said. “See if you can find some water.”
    I had three jugs of it in the tree house. I fetched one. It took a lot of tries to get the kittens to drink. When we poured the water lot of tries to get the kittens to drink. When we poured the water into a bowl, the kittens wouldn’t lap it.
    Luke put some water on his finger and dribbled it into his kitten’s mouth. He had a scratch on his arm and was watching the kitten intently through his dark lashes. In my mind, Luke kept shape-shifting into Trent and I wondered what he was doing here. I was no better than Natalie. The kitten licked at the water.
    Luke dribbled more in. I remembered Natalie’s 4H project where she weaned a calf. I dribbled water into my kitten’s mouth and lured her to the bowl with my wet fingers. Finaly, finaly, the pink tongue darted in. Victory. When Luke’s kitten figured out the water trick, I thought he was going to do a jig. “Sweet!” he whispered.
    “So the cougars are gone from Ilinois?” I stroked my kitten’s ears.
    “Some people say they’re not.” He sheltered his kitten in his lap. “But I’ve never seen one.”
    “Same in Indiana,” I said. “I used to spend my summers there.”
    “Realy? Where?”
    “Cherrywood.” I felt exposed again for having said it.
    Cherrywood wasn’t a town. It was like sharing the name of my teddy bear. “I mean, Indiana. My grandparents’ place. They had a house, some acreage.” My throat tightened. I peeked through the white fluffs of fur in my kitten’s ears and examined them for mites. His