Free A Picture-Purrfect Christmas (A Klepto Cat Mystery Book 13) by Patricia Fry Page A

girl who comes over to play with him sometimes; he loves Charlotte. But I’ve never seen him react to any child like he did Marissa. I wonder what’s up with that.”
    “He didn’t like Esse, though, did he?” Shelly said, chuckling. Before Savannah could respond, she added, “I think Esse was a real plus in our class today. His critique of the kids’ photos was spot on and they seemed to like him. Would you mind if we meet at your house Wednesday? I’d like to invite him again.”
    Savannah shrugged. “Sure. It’s okay with me, I guess.”
    “You have reservations,” Shelly noticed. “What are they?”
    She kept her thoughts to herself, finally saying, “It’s nothing…nothing concrete, anyway.” When Savannah noticed Shelly staring at her as if waiting for an explanation, she said, “It’s just hard to trust someone Rags doesn’t like. We’ve had too many…situations…with him.” She shook her head. “But I’m probably overreacting. Sure, let’s see if he wants to come to the next session.”
    “If you’re certain,” Shelly said. She continued, “I want to do some still-life work with the students—you know—let them photograph some of your great decorations and unique furniture pieces. That’s a specialty of Esse’s—along with landscapes. He can teach them a lot about lighting.”
    “Sounds fun. Want me to have some fruit and vases and other doo-dads for the kids to arrange…maybe dried beans in different colors…?”
    “Good idea.”
    “Hey, I have some neat holiday decorations I can bring out—Santa figures, angels, elves...that might be fun for the kids.”
    “Yes. I’m loving it. So next Wednesday at two; your place.”
    ****
    “I’ve been thinking, Michael,” Savannah said that evening over dinner.
    “Uh-oh, about what?”
    “About taking Marissa for a horseback ride.” She leaned toward Michael. “You should have seen her today. She was in heaven with these animals. She and Rags hit it off really well.”
    He frowned. “Well, what’s this I heard about him attacking that man who was here?”
    Savannah shook her head. “I don’t know what happened, Michael. For some reason, Rags doesn’t seem to like him.”
    He took a deep breath. “Well, I’ll have to say I didn’t find him particularly charming myself, but when I met him he was probably planning to launch a lawsuit against us and your cat.”
    “Funny.”
    “So the child you mentioned—why do you want to take her riding?” he asked.
    “She’s such a sweet little girl and it seems she doesn’t have many opportunities for activities outside of school. As I said, she really liked being around our animals and was fascinated by the horse. She’s never even been close to a horse before, but she’s read every children’s storybook about horses ever written. She named some I haven’t heard of.” She paused before saying, “Michael, I know that horse-craving.”
    “Horse-craving?”
    “Yes, as a child, I could practically taste what it would be like to ride a horse and I wanted it so badly. I’d love to offer that opportunity to Marissa.” She picked up her phone. “I checked the weather for the weekend and it looks like it will actually be sunny—or at least partly sunny.”
    “Have you asked her yet?”
    “No. I need to check with Shelly about how to reach her. I’ll do that after dinner. I’m excited.” She looked over at Rags, who was sharing Buffy’s canopy bed with her. “Rags will be, too.” She frowned. “Only…”
    “Only what?” he asked.
    “Only, I’m not exactly sure what Marissa’s home situation is—what kind of privileges she has.”
    “Surely, her parents want their children to go out and have fun, don’t they?” Michael suggested. “And Shelly will vouch for you, being a stranger to the family and all…”
    “Sure,” Savannah said. “But, Michael, I don’t think we’re dealing with people who care much about their children. It’s just a sense I get about