Warm Nights in Magnolia Bay by Babette Jongh (best summer books .TXT) 📗

and a thanks-for-trying smile. “I’ll text you a reminder about the kitten, just in case.”

Of course you will. Reva had already printed a novel-length set of instructions on everything from animal-feeding to tour-hosting to house-and-barn maintenance. Smiling at Reva’s obvious difficulty in releasing the need to control everything in her universe, Abby filled a water bowl from the mop sink and placed it inside the crate next to the food dish. “All set.”

“Call me before you make that decision.”

“What decision?” Reva had returned to a previous train of thought that had long since left the station in Abby’s mind.

“About when to let the kitten out. She might be more squirrelly than she looks. Let me check in with her and make sure she’s ready. Don’t want to have her hiding under the couch or escaping into the woods through the dog door.” Reva paused with a just-thought-of-something look on her face. “But I’d totally trust you to ask this kitten if she’s ready to join the herd. This summer at the farm will be a good opportunity for you to practice your animal communication skills.”

Right, well. Abby didn’t trust herself, even though Reva had been tutoring her since Abby first started spending summers here as a child. “I’ll call first. I’d like to keep the training wheels on a little longer if you don’t mind.”

Reva laughed. “Training wheels are not necessary. You just think you need them. You’re a natural at animal communication.”

Abby didn’t feel like a natural at much of anything these days. The fact that Reva trusted her to run the farm all summer attested more to Reva’s high motivation to get her license to care for injured wildlife than to Abby’s competency. Three months of an internship at a wild animal refuge in south Florida would give Reva everything she needed to make that long-deferred dream a reality. Abby was determined to help out, even though the responsibility terrified her. It was the least she could do.

Reva tipped her chin toward the open shelves above the dryer. “Put one of those folded towels on the lid of the litter box so she can sit on top of it.”

Abby obeyed, and Georgia started barking from outside. “That’s probably your ride, Aunt Reva. I’ve got this, I promise. You don’t have to worry.” She held out her hands for the kitten.

Reva transferred the purring kitten gently into Abby’s cupped palms. The kitten stopped purring, but settled quickly when Abby snuggled it close. “About time for you to go, right?”

Reva gave a distracted nod. “Don’t forget to make the vet appointment today. You want to go ahead and get on their schedule for tomorrow, because they close at noon on Saturdays. But call before you go. I don’t know why, but everyone at Mack’s office has been really disorganized lately. The last time I went in, they had double-booked, and I had to wait over an hour.”

“I will make the appointment today, and I’ll call before I go.”

“Oh, and don’t forget to drop that check off at the water department when you’re out tomorrow. Those effers don’t give you a moment’s grace before cutting off the water.” A car horn blasted outside.

“I won’t forget.” Abby put the kitten in the crate and shooed her aunt out the door. “I’d hug you, but I’m all muddy.”

“I know I’m forgetting something.” Reva glanced around the room one last time. “Oh well. I’ll text you if I remember.” She leaned in and kissed Abby’s cheek. “Bless you for doing this for me.”

“I’m glad we can help each other. Don’t worry about a thing.” As if Reva wasn’t the one doing Abby a big favor by giving her a place to stay when even her own parents refused, for Abby’s own good. They were completely right when they pointed out that by the age of thirty-three, she should have gotten her shit together. After all, they’d had good jobs, a solid (if unhappy) marriage, a kid, and a mortgage by that time of their lives.

It wouldn’t have helped to argue that up until the moment she didn’t, she’d also had a good job (dental office manager), an unhappy relationship (with the philandering dentist), and a kid (the dentist’s five-year-old daughter). Okay, so she didn’t have a mortgage. Points to mom and dad for being bigger adults at thirty-three. Whoopee. It was a different economy back then.

After Reva left, Abby showered and dressed to meet her first big challenge as the sole custodian of Bayside Barn—ushering in three school buses that pulled through the gates just after 9:00 a.m.

When the deep throb of the buses’ motors vibrated the soles of her barn boots, Abby tamped down the familiar flood of anxiety that rose up her gut like heartburn. The feeling of impending disaster arose often, sometimes appearing out of nowhere for no particular reason. Only one of the reasons she’d come to stay at Aunt Reva’s for a while. This time, though, she had reason to feel anxious. These three buses held a total of ninety boisterous kindergartners, enough to strike fear into the stoutest of hearts.

Abby hadn’t forgotten Reva’s warning about the timing of her tenure as acting director of Bayside Barn. Two weeks remained of the school year, and those last two weeks were always the worst; not only did schools schedule more trips then, but the kids would be more excitable and the teachers’ tempers would be more frayed.

Abby hurried to get Freddy, the scarlet macaw, from his aviary enclosure. “You can do this,” she muttered to herself, remembering the Bayside Barn mission statement that Reva made all the volunteers memorize: Bayside Barn will save the world, one happy ending at a time, by giving a home to abandoned animals whose unconditional love and understanding will teach people to value all creatures and the planet we share.

If that wasn’t a reason to get over herself and get on with it, nothing was.

Chapter 2

Abby stroked Freddy’s feathers on the way back to