Read Online Secrets in the Dark by KD Blakely - Free Book Online Page B

grinned and pointed in the tree next to us. There, a
small gray-brown owl, only a few inches high, had touched down on a
low branch, watching us with large yellow eyes. “Oh you cute
thing,” Olivia breathed, then laughed as it fluttered over to land on a branch just above her
head.
    “ That owl is staring at
you,” Faith said, moving closer to me, away from the spot where the
small bird perched. Her shoulder pushed so hard against me, she
almost knocked me over. “Why is that owl staring like that? In the
middle of the day! Owls come out at night, don’t they?”
    “ Pygmy owls are diurnal.”
She grinned at the confusion on Faith’s face. “They hunt during the
day.”
    “ Why didn’t you just say
so,” Faith grumbled.
    “ How do you know it’s a
pygmy owl?” Doug asked skeptically.
    Olivia, Faith and I
laughed. It was Faith who answered, “Owls have always been Olivia’s
favorite. She knows all about them. Naturally.”
    “ What do you mean,
naturally?”
    “ Olivia Willow Larson.
OWL.”
    “ I get that’s your name,
though why that would make you like owls…” He trailed off at the
expression on Olivia’s face. “Forget it. Anyway, foxes are mostly
nocturnal,” Doug said, and pointed back to the field on the right.
There, the orange fur and pointed ears of the fox were visible,
staring directly at Faith. “That fox is staring at you,
Faith.”
    “ Okay, I’m getting a bit
freaked out here,” I said in amazement as Faith moved closer to the
side of the road, staring at the fox with fascination.
    “ Isn’t anyone worried about this?” I gasped
as one of the creatures on the road suddenly rushed toward us.
Then, the racing beat of my heart changed from fear to pleasure as
a large cat jumped onto the low stone fence only a few feet from
me. The others watched as it walked towards me and stared intently
into my face.
    Olivia grinned at me. “It’s
Siamese. Your dream cat.”
    As if the cat heard her, it
blinked its blue eyes in pleasure, then stretched elegantly, first
one paw then the other, and jumped off the wall. It walked straight
to me.
    The others hesitantly drew
closer, watching as I smiled down at the cat. It rubbed its head
against my legs, gazed into my face and meowed. I stooped down and
laughed at the loud rumbling purr that came from its chest when I
stroked the soft fur on its back.
    I glanced up at the others.
“It’s not wearing a collar. I wonder where it belongs.” It sat at
my feet and looked like it was waiting for us to do
something.
    “ Um, do you think the
other animals are as nice as the cat?” Olivia asked, then looked up
startled at a flutter of wings. The tiny owl swooped down onto her
shoulder, hooting wildly. It sounded…happy.
    “ Okay, now I’m the only one freaked
out by all this,” Doug complained.
    Faith and Olivia were too
busy looking at their favorite animals to react, but Doug and I
both looked up at the sound of a bark. Only a few feet away, a Jack
Russell terrier had all of its attention focused on Doug, its tail
wagging so hard it was having trouble standing still. Brown patches
of fur circled both eyes and wrapped around both ears, and short
white fur covered its body.
    “ Jack Russell’s are my
favorite. Remember Rusty, Kat?”
    I nodded, feeling my throat
tighten at the memory of the feisty little dog that was Doug’s best
friend until last winter. When, shortly after its sixteenth
birthday, it lay down for the last time and never got back up. Doug
hadn’t said his name once since then. Now he said wonderingly,
“Rusty looked like that.”
    Faith said, “How can that
happen?”
    My voice sounded weak when
I answered, “Magic? Ronny said to be careful what we wished for.
Were any of you wishing about animals?”
    Olivia was staring at me. I mean really staring right at me.
“What?”
    “ You wished for something to help us figure things out in here.
Could they be here because of your wish?”
    Faith said, “You don’t
really think