Kyron, page 18
“Damn it, where are you?” she muttered, immediately turning to look at her crazy neighbor’s place to see if he’d done anything. She glared in his direction and, not seeing Macintyre worried her more right now, as she raced down to the far side, hoping against hope that nothing bad was going on. When she got a little bit closer, she was tackled almost immediately and dropped to the ground.
“Stay here,” he whispered. “Your neighbor has been outside, moving around with his rifle,” he murmured. “He’s already shot at me once.” Her jaw dropped, and he nodded. “It’s gonna get ugly.”
“It already is ugly,” she stated. “I can’t even imagine trying to sell the place with that asshole around here making life difficult.”
“Did they give you a price?”
She mentioned the range they’d given. “But they weren’t prepared to commit to that without checking comparable sales and such, partly because of the condition of the house. They wanted to do some other assessments first.”
“And that’s also a typical real estate ploy to sign you up at a higher amount, and then force you to commit to a lower price later,” he stated, with a shrug. “Although, given the market right now, that actually doesn’t seem like it would be a bad price.”
“I would be thrilled if I could get that, but what if my crazy neighbor shoots at someone interested in the property? All my chances at selling this place will be doomed,” she moaned. “But, even if he doesn’t do that, even with money in the bank from selling this place, I still don’t know that I can buy anything else because, if that’s where the market is at on my acreage, then chances are I can’t buy those additional acres that I need because it will be out of my reach.”
“Which is also why you have to move out of town.”
“Any property close to you for sale?” she asked. “Something like that would suit me to a tee.”
“It’s possible,” he noted. “We’ll have to take a look.”
She nodded. “Well, obviously that’s not happening while I’m flat on my back hiding from my neighbor,” she stated, getting angry all over again.
He lifted his head and pointed. “It looks like he’s heading back inside.”
“So he missed you?”
“He may have missed hitting my body, but he did puncture my jacket.”
She stared at him. “That’s just unbelievable. How is that even slightly okay?”
“It’s not,” Kyron agreed. “And believe me. I’m heading off to my brother’s right now. The chores out here are all done, so I want you to go inside and stay there, until I get back.”
“Okay,” she said, with a warning. “But you know that this just makes me want to sell all that much faster.”
“So call the real estate people back and tell them to hurry up on the report because you’ve made the decision that you want to move forward.”
“Will that make any difference?”
“It sure will. In this market, they need to make sure that they get it on the market fast and before another Realtor snags the listing.”
“And what about the fact that there’s not a whole lot to be done about the condition of the house?”
“You let the new buyers worry about that,” he explained. “There’s a buyer for every house. Don’t ever doubt it.”
She pondered that, as he hustled her back into the house. “What will you do?”
“I’m taking my truck, and I’m heading to my brother’s,” he told her. “But you can’t go outside and don’t open the door to anybody.”
She nodded. “I won’t. As long as you’re not gone for too long.”
“I won’t be,” he said, “but I do want to have a personal talk with my brother about this and show him my jacket at least. It’s beyond stupid.” And, with that, he walked outside to his truck and tore off on his own.
As she turned to look around, Beth stood up on the back of the couch, staring as he left.
“You’ve already bonded with him, haven’t you, sweetheart?” Her tail wagged ever-so-slightly, but Beth looked over at Miranda, more warily than Beth looked at Kyron. “And I get it. He knows how to handle you. He knows what you’re comfortable with, while I’m still in the dark,” she admitted. “You’re an animal in need, and I’m here for you, but obviously he can give you a whole lot more than I can.” That explained a lot because Miranda had a ton of heart, but sometimes animals needed more than that. This was a prime example.
She headed into the kitchen, then phoned the real estate agent and asked them about a time frame. When they told her three to four days, she mentioned she might phone a couple other Realtors, since she was looking to get it to market as soon as possible. Sounding alarmed, they said they could get her an answer quickly.
“Well, that’s good,” she replied, “because I want to move things along.” And, with that, she hung up. She figured she would get numbers back fairly fast. Then she wondered if she should contact somebody else anyway and get a second quote. With that idea in mind, she quickly phoned another company and asked for a fast assessment.
“Is there a rush?”
“Only if you’re interested,” Miranda replied, “because I may sign with another Realtor.” And, with that, she hung up. They phoned back almost immediately, saying they could be here in an hour.
“Good,” she noted, “and then how long before you get me the information I need in order to set an asking price?”
“We can do that right on the spot. We’re already pulling comp reports for your area, so we’ll have what we need.”
“Good,” she replied. “I’ll expect to see somebody soon then.” She continued to clean while she waited, knowing that it was one of the reasons that the other company had said an awful lot of work needed to be done on the house. She didn’t know how good they were at seeing past everything or whether they even cared.
As long as they saw that they could sell it, that’s probably all that was on their minds. In what seemed like no time at all, she watched the vehicle pull up. She led them in, walked them around the house, and discussed what her plans were. “Okay, so what is it worth?”
They immediately named a figure within the range the other Realtors had suggested. “What about the current condition of the house? Will that drop it much?”
“I don’t think so,” the one Realtor replied. “Right now the market is hot, and we’ve taken that into consideration. People are trying to get in at this price point all the time.”
She nodded. “Interesting,” she murmured. “How long before I can close on it?”
“It happens right at the same time, unless you want a special contingency. Is it because of the animals?”
“Yes,” she stated. “I’ll need to know ahead of time, as we’ll need some time to move.”
“Right, and do you have another place to go?”
“Not right now,” she stated. “But I do have a place in mind where I could move the animals in the interim, while I find another place to buy.” She smiled at that because the one thing she felt confident about right now was that Kyron would be okay with it.
“Good,” one of the Realtors said. “In that case, we have a contract waiting. What do you want to do?”
“Let’s sign and get this moving,” she said on impulse. She quickly signed the documents.
The Realtor added, “We’ll have a photographer in and get the photos posted online, hopefully within forty-eight hours.”
“Well, I would like it sooner than that, if you can,” she explained.
They nodded. “Are you prepared to drop the price to make a faster sale?”
“No,” she stated bluntly. “I need every penny I can get for the sake of the animals.”
“Got it. We will see what we can do about arranging a photographer.” And, with that, they left, and she stood here, wondering if she’d made a huge mistake. When her grandmother called not long afterward, Miranda admitted in a heavy tone, “I may have done a stupid thing.” When she explained it, her grandmother’s reply was gentle.
“You did what you needed to do,” she stated. “That’s all anybody can expect of you. Your neighbor is making life very difficult, and I don’t understand why he’s not in jail,” she added.
“He took a shot at Kyron today.”
“Oh, good Lord. I don’t even want you there right now.”
“Well, particularly right now, as I’m alone, because Kyron left to go talk to his brother about this latest shooting,” she explained. “But, yeah, I want out. I want out now. The property’s already too small. I just don’t know what to do or where to go.”
“Have a little faith,” she murmured. “You said that Kyron has a really nice place.”
“Yes, it’s a great old place, and the best part is that it’s at least forty acres,” she stated enviously.
“Which is what you need.”
“Exactly,” she agreed.
“So tell me,” and then her grandma hesitated.
“What?” Miranda asked.
“I just wondered what the relationship was like between the two of you.”
“I really like him, but honestly, I hardly know him. I’m definitely not looking at his property as the answer to my problems.”
“Of course not, but—”
“No, no buts. Now, temporarily could I board the animals with him? Yes, I suspect I could. However, beyond that? No, that’s not happening.”
“Right, but at least that gives you an option,” her grandmother noted, with relief.
“Well, I’m hoping so, but he’s not here right now for me to talk to about it, but I’m hoping that, since I helped him out with these two dogs, he will help me out as well.”
“Sweetheart, he really likes you,” her grandmother told her, “and the vibes between you two are positively humming.”
“Sure, but that doesn’t mean we’re the kind of people who just pick up and move in together,” she argued. “He’s at a big transition point in his life, deciding what he wants to do next. Plus, he’s still dealing with a lot of his family issues.”
“As you are,” she stated quietly. “And nobody is sadder about that than me.”
“Maybe, but I can’t help my parents to see anything in my life in a positive way right now. They’re very determined to be completely absent.”
“And maybe absent is better than negative at this point,” her grandmother offered.
“Maybe,” Miranda said, thinking about Kyron’s family. “You could be right there, but, at the moment, it’s much more important for me and the animals to stay safe.”
“Absolutely.”
“And I am terrified about having the animals outside now.” She walked to the window, shuffling the curtains back.
“Well, Brant Macintyre is dangerous,” her grandmother stated. “I wish Kyron hadn’t left you there alone.”
“He needed to,” she replied, “and I’ve still got injured dogs and other animals to care for.”
“Is he at least helping out?”
“Yeah, are you kidding? He filled the cupboards with food,” she stated. “Which made me feel terrible because I haven’t had much time to shop lately.”
“Time or money from the looks of it,” her grandmother replied severely. “Why didn’t you tell me that it was that bad?”
“Because you’ve already helped so much,” she replied. “At what point in time do I have to not rely on you for groceries?”
“When you’re on your feet,” she stated simply. “Do you think I want to see you suffer like this?”
“Well, hopefully if I can sell the house—”
“You still have to find another place,” she responded.
“I know. I’m just not sure what to do about that yet. I just can’t be this close to town with this many animals and feel comfortable about it. You know it’ll just become more of a space problem here.”
“Absolutely, and you’ve already had warnings from the city, haven’t you?”
“Yes. I’m also in the process of trying to get the legal paperwork submitted to become a registered charity, but you know how that documentation is not all that easy.”
“None of it is,” her grandmother agreed. “But nothing worth doing is ever easy. It seems like you may have found a kindred spirit.”
“If you mean Kyron, then, yes, absolutely,” she said, with a smile in her voice. “Believe me. It makes me smile and sleep a whole lot better at night knowing that he’s here, but I can’t be dependent on him either.”
Her grandmother sighed heavily.
“I can’t, Grandma. He could get up and walk out at any time. In a matter of days, he’ll be heading out to his place,” she said, with a laugh.
“No, that’s true. I forgot about that,” she noted thoughtfully. “I don’t know what he has there, but maybe you could move in and rent for a while.”
“I have no idea about that either, but, if the money I get from the sale of the house isn’t immediately tied up in real estate, it’ll be way too easy to spend it, and then I won’t have enough money to buy again.”
“No, that’s a good point,” she murmured. “I have been talking to your great-uncle, but he hasn’t made any decisions yet.”
“I understand,” she replied quietly. “And he needs to consider himself first. Plus, for someone like him, I’m probably just a crazy cat lady.”
“Maybe,” she agreed, “but he seemed pretty impressed with the work you’re doing, and he was very unimpressed with your neighbor.”
“Of course, but he seemed to hit it off with Kyron.”
“That’s because the two of them are servicemen,” she said, with a laugh.
“Yeah, I suppose if a man would impress him, it would be another one just like him.”
“Well, that’s good. I’m glad something worked out.”
And, with that, Miranda hung up, then walked around, cleaning up, doing dishes, and making spaghetti sauce instead of burgers with the ground beef Kyron had bought. It was a cold winter day, and, if there was something that she really enjoyed, it was a good spaghetti.
With that simmering away, she heard an odd noise at the door. She hesitated and then walked to the kitchen door and opened it, and, sure enough, the back porch was empty. She closed it tight and said, “See, Miranda? You’re just going crazy.” But when an odd mew came, she returned to the door again to see a cat, not one that she recognized, coming toward her, dragging an injured leg.
“Crap.” She bent down and picked up the small animal. It looked like a four- or five-month-old kitten.
“What happened to you, little one, and how did you find me?” She didn’t understand how all these animals kept finding her. It was great that they did because they needed care, but it always amazed her that animals in need seemed to show up at her door. Just then she saw the fresh blood. Frowning, she checked it out and found a wound at the side of the leg. It was remarkably similar to the wound on Grace.
“Did he shoot you?” She gasped in horror. Quickly she brought the little cat into the kitchen and examined her under the light, her heart breaking at the sound of an animal in pain. She immediately dialed the vet. “Hey, I think my neighbor now shot a cat.”
“Alive or dead?” he said, all business.
“It’s alive, a kitten, and hollering pretty loudly.”
“Of course it is. Bring it in,” he said. “Let’s take a look. I wonder when the hell the cops will stop this guy.”
“I’m not sure,” she replied. “Kyron’s gone to talk to them because he was shot at earlier.”
“Good Lord, this is terrible.”
“Yeah, well, it isn’t allowed, but, at the same time, the cops still need to stop this guy.” At that, she looked up just in time to see Kyron pulling into the driveway. “He’s back now, so I’ll head down with the kitten.” And she raced to her driveway, pulling on her coat and holding the kitten in a small cat bag.
Kyron took one look and frowned. “What happened?”
“I don’t know for sure,” she admitted, “but the wounds look remarkably similar to Grace’s.”
His frown deepened, and he swore. “He’s really a loose cannon.”
“He is, indeed. I presume your brother didn’t say anything helpful.”
“Another warning, basically they’ll take the firearm from him if he continues to be a shithead. But, so far, there’s only been misdemeanor charges or fines for hurting animals.”
Miranda took off with the kitten, while Kyron remained behind to look after the other animals.
Hating what he’d just heard, Kyron raced into the house and headed back outside, finding the tracks of the kitten and where it came from. The blood trail was a direct line to the neighbor. At that, Kyron swore.
The neighbor came out with a big sneer on his face. “Hey, I’m looking for a kitten,” he called out. “I thought you might have seen one.”
“You mean, the one you just shot?”
“I wanted to put it out of its misery,” he said, with a shrug. “After all, it was injured.”
“Injured doesn’t mean it needs to be killed,” Kyron snapped, “and you’re the one who injured it.”
“You can’t prove that though, can you?” he noted, with a laugh. Then he went back inside.
This was becoming an all-out war; yet, at the same time, his brother hadn’t been very optimistic. As Kyron went back inside, he called Allen and replayed the conversation with his brother.
“A case like this is notoriously hard to deal with,” Allen had said quietly. “You know that.”
“I do know that,” he stated. “I just don’t understand why, when he’s shooting at me, not just animals.”
“That was a misfire,” Allen replied.
“And he misfired at Miranda too? You know that’s BS.”
“I know it, and you know it, but, short of any kind of proof either way,” Allen continued, “he’s been given a warning. “If he does it again, that’s a different story.”
“And yet he had already shot at me and punctured my jacket,” he reminded him, “as I showed you earlier.” His brother went silent on the other end of the call. “But I guess you’ll say that’s just coincidence too, right, Allen?”
