Free As You Were by Kelli Jae Baeli Page B

way, she did not wake her, but let herself enjoy the tension that had drained from the cab of the Cherokee since Brittany had closed her eyes and dozed off. Two hours later, with Boulder in the rearview mirror, she turned off Fall River Road, onto Castle Mountain Road, and crept into a long driveway, braking softly in front of the garage door.
    “We’re home,” she whispered. Brittany did not stir, and Tru leaned her head on the steering wheel and thought of all that ‘home’ used to mean. Softly, she began to cry, but shoved the tears away and patted Brittany’s arm. The young woman’s eyes fluttered and opened, to the view of the garage door, and a rock and cedar Ranch-style house. She looked over at Tru, a sleepy question in her eyes.
    “You’re home, Brit.”
    Brittany massaged the back of her neck and looked around the place. None of it looked familiar to her. She distinguished the glow of the front porch light from beside the garage, its beam peppered with the light snowflakes that were beginning to fall. “You’re the one who’s home,” she said.
     
    10
    TRU UNLOCKED THE FRONT DOOR AND MOTIONED Brittany inside ahead of her. “Have a seat, I’ll start a fire.” Tru set Brittany’s backpack on the floor by the sofa, and greeted the calico cat that appeared from the kitchen to rub itself against her leg. “Hey, Dropsi-doodle. Have you been lounging on the countertops since mama’s been gone?” The cat mewed a response, and continued to circle Tru’s leg affectionately. “I’ll feed you in a minute.” The cat noticed Brittany, then, and her eyes widened in recognition. She meowed loudly and ran to Brit, stretching up to put her paws on Brit’s leg.
    “She missed you.” Tru found that the cat’s response made her misty-eyed.
    Brit patted the cat’s head, then picked her up and stroked her.
    Tru took kindling from the cabinet beside the pit. Stacking it on the andiron, she set aflame the Fatwood Firestarter stick with a long match.
    As Dropsi leaned against Brit, purring softly, she inspected her new milieu. The smoke-gray sectional was positioned in an “L” configuration. She seated herself on the one facing the fireplace and watched Tru place a log atop the flaring tinder, as Dropsi settled onto her lap, still purring. She noticed the framed photo on the mantel of she and Tru posing with their arms around each other in a wooded area. “Where was that picture taken?”
    Tru glanced over and then up to the mantel. “That was in Nederland. One of our weekend camping trips last summer.”
    “Where’s that?”
    “It’s West of Boulder, in the mountains. Really quaint.”
    Brit’s stomach growled. “Got anything to eat around here?” She petted the cat absently.
    Tru turned from her squatted position to peer back at her. “I think there’s some roast left. I’ll heat some up for us.”
    Her first need addressed, Brit recognized her second. “Where’s the bathroom?”
    Tru blinked away the aloof tone of Brittany’s voice, and pointed toward the doorway. “Through there, second door on the left.”
    Brittany hauled herself out of the plush sofa and disappeared into the hall. Dropsi followed Brittany, knowing that a trip to the bathroom usually meant she could get some fresh water from the sink.
    Tru took the poker from its wrought iron stand and jabbed at the logs until satisfied that the flames had caught. She drew the wire mesh screen closed in front of the pit and sat on the carpet, leaning back on her hands. Obviously locked out of the bathroom, the calico returned and stepped into her lap, kneading her legs with her clawless paws, Tru stared into the pit and tried to concentrate only on the flames. They leaped blue, red, orange, and yellow, licking the wood and chewing it up, then spitting it out in small particles onto the stone of the fireplace ledge.
    “I thought you were going to heat up the roast?” Brittany said behind her, indignant.
    Dropsi jumped out of her lap and