27

RETURN TO RED RIVER

When Wendy and Danny came in from feeding and cleaning animal enclosures the next morning, they found Kyle sitting on the living-room floor, programming the new telephone.

“From now on,” he told Wendy, “don’t answer the phone unless you can see on the display that it’s somebody you know. If you don’t recognize the name, let the machine pick it up, so we’ll have a record of the call.”

“Great!” Wendy said. “But you can handle incoming calls today, because I’m taking Danny to Red River Ranch.”

Kyle gave her a look. “I wish you’d stick closer to home.”

“Those criminals are the ones who ought to be locked up — not me!” Wendy said sulkily. “I promised Danny I’d take him to Red River Ranch as soon as he turned fourteen. Well, now he’s fourteen, and that’s what we’re going to do. I’m not going to cancel it just because of them!”

Kyle sighed. “I just think you’d be safer at home than out on the highway.”

“I don’t feel safe anywhere,” Wendy muttered. “Especially not at home. They found our phone number, so what’s to keep them from finding out where we live?”

“They don’t have the phone number anymore,” Kyle reminded her. He scribbled a number on a slip of paper and handed it to her. “Here’s the new one. Nobody has it but you and me and the phone company.”

Wendy took a look at the new number and committed it to memory. But just in case she forgot it, she put the paper it was written on her shirt pocket. “I do not intend to let those rats turn me into a prisoner. I’m going to do my best to live a normal life!”

Kyle sighed again, and said nothing. Wendy sighed, too. The real problem was that she wasn’t sure she could live a normal life knowing there were men with guns out there who wanted to get her.

• • •

Wendy had already talked to the McDermonts about taking Danny on as a volunteer. Despite his age, they were enthusiastic about someone she had trained, who had experience with both hoofstock and local wildlife. But naturally they wanted to meet him before saying yes definitely. They had told her not to tell him that he was being considered as a volunteer. If they liked him, they’d suggest it. Otherwise, he’d be treated like any other visitor to the ranch.

After being told that the McDermonts were “around somewhere,” Wendy and Danny wandered aimlessly among the cages, discussing the animals on display. They spied the McDermonts standing together next to an enclosure with a fat cougar lolling under a tree on the far side.

“How’re you doing, gal?” said Mrs. McDermont, giving Wendy a hug. “Is this your friend Danny you been telling us so much about?”

“This is him,” Wendy replied. “Danny, meet Mr. and Mrs. McDermont.”

Mr. McDermont stuck out his hand, and as Danny shook it, he asked, “Well, son, what do you think of Red River Ranch?”

“I love it!” Danny said. “Where did that cougar come from? Is he really the same one from the junkyard?”

“The very same,” Mrs. McDermont said. “Took forever to get him fattened up. But look at him now. A real butterball.”

“He’s in good shape physically,” Mr. McDermont told Wendy, “but mentally he’s a mess. We figure that junkyard guy used an electric cattle prod on him. Probably to keep him backed off when he opened the door of the camper to throw food in. The cat’s pure petrified of anything shaped like a stick. Somebody walks by with a cane, he goes ballistic. The staff calls him ‘Psycho.’”

“If he’s scared of people, couldn’t you let him go free?” Danny asked.

“Would if we could, son. But it’s illegal to release a wild animal unless it came from the wild, and then it has to be released in the area it came from. If it was captive-born or spent a long time in captivity, then it’s considered too dangerous to be turned lose. The Game and Fish people asked the junkyard guy where it came from, but he said he got it off somebody who was just passing through and didn’t know its history.” Mr. McDermont turned to Wendy. “What about the bobcat? You find out anything about it?”

“We did,” Wendy replied. “JuJu told Kyle that his dogs cornered it up in under an old camper shell and he blocked off the entrance. He said he would’ve sold it if he could find a buyer — as if anybody in their right mind would want a full-grown, totally wild bobcat. Otherwise, he intended to skin it and nail the hide to the outside wall of his office as a ‘conversation piece.’” Wendy made a face of disgust. “What kind of person wants a piece of a dead animal to show off to other people?”

“Way too many folks like that,” Mrs. McDermont sighed.

Wendy nodded. “Anyway, since the bobcat was caught locally, we kept her just long enough to fatten her up. Yesterday Danny and I took her to Ozark National Forest and let her go.”

“That was so cool,” Danny said. “The best day of my life!”

Mr. McDermont nodded. “A beautiful sight it is, seeing an animal running wild and free, the way it’s meant to. Sadly, we don’t have an animal on the place that could be legally released. Dump one of these captive-raised animals in the wild and they’d have as hard a time surviving as we would. And most of them would do just what we’d do — try to find their way back to civilization in hopes of getting a meal.”

As they talked, they walked past other cages, Wendy visiting with animals she remembered or exclaiming over new ones acquired since she’d stopped working at the ranch. Danny paused at one cage and asked, “Why is this one empty?”

“It’s not empty,” Mrs. McDermont turned to Wendy. “You remember Namu, the blind Canadian lynx?”

“Oh sure,” Wendy said. “Does he still spend most of his time in his den?”

“Practically never comes out,” Mr. McDermont said. “We were wondering if you’d take him. You know, it’s animals being on display that draws people to Red River Ranch. If we didn’t have paying guests, we couldn’t afford to feed them. One that won’t display himself is no help at all.”

“It’s because he’s blind,” Mrs. McDermont added. “Having strangers walking by all the time and him not being able to see them, that’s what makes him so shy. I personally think if we keep him much longer, the stress is going to kill him.”

Wendy stood gazing into the seemingly empty cage, remembering the blind lynx. “I always liked Namu,” she said. “He wasn’t friendly, but he had dignity.” Thinking out loud, she said, “I didn’t want to keep that junkyard bobcat in the quarantine cage for a month, so Danny helped me build a pen for her. Now that she has been released, we could use it. It’s not as big as the other enclosures, but Namu being blind, I guess it would be okay. It is on the far side of the farm. Nobody but Kyle, Danny, and I go back there.”

“Well,” drawled Mr. McDermont, “I don’t know how often Danny’s going to get back there from now on. We were thinking about asking him if he’d like to volunteer here on weekends.”

“Really?” Danny exclaimed. “Oh man! If you’ll let me, that’d make this the best day of my life!”

“We wouldn’t want the responsibility of somebody as young as you messing with the cats,” Mr. McDermont cautioned. “But we could use a good boy with the hoofstock. What do you think, Wendy? Would he be any use to us over there?”

“Danny is great with hoofstock. Machu and Picchu eat right out of his hand, and Dolly Llama lets him play with her cria all he wants.” Wendy gave Danny a sideways smile. “None of the llamas have ever spit on him.”

They walked on to where the hoofstock was kept, discussing what the work would entail. It made Wendy proud to see how tall Danny stood, and to hear the intelligent questions he asked. He was so much more confident than he had been three years ago!

As they were about to leave, Mr. McDermont handed Danny a sheet of paper. “You being underage, Danny, one of your parents will have to have to sign this form saying they won’t hold us responsible if you get hurt, okay?”

Danny took the form without saying anything. But from the way his shoulders suddenly slumped, Wendy saw that he doubted his mother would sign it.

“Give it to me,” Wendy said. “I’ll talk to your mom.” To the McDermonts, she said, “There’s a bus Danny can take that will get him here by eight on Saturday mornings. But I’ll bring him next Saturday when I come to get Namu.”

“That ought to work out just fine,” Mrs. McDermont said. “I just wish you’d come back, too, Wendy.”

“I’d like to,” Wendy said, “but I’ve got too many animals of my own now. No way can I look after them and yours.”

“That’s the way it is with a lot of our volunteers,” Mr. McDermont sighed. “Soon as they get trained, they go off and do their own thing with wildlife.” He grinned at Danny. “You gonna do that, too, son?”

Danny ducked his head and smiled shyly. “Probably.”

“At least we’re getting you young,” Mrs. McDermont said cheerfully. “You’ll be around to help us out till you finish high school, won’t you, Danny?”

“Oh yes ma’am!” Danny exclaimed. “For sure that long!”