"Oh, Mark they're adorable," she cried and sat down to pet the mamma. She purred and leaned her head into the rub. "I can't wait to show Trevor," she added, as she gently ran her finger down the little orange one's head.
The mamma got tired of being used for only her milk and sauntered off, leaving the kittens crying out. "Will they be okay?"
"Of course they will. She just went off to get some food. She won't leave them long," he said gently.
"Can I hold one?" she asked him with hope.
"Sure."
She carefully picked up the pretty little orange kitten and cuddled it to her breast. It rooted around for a moment and when it came up empty, let out a frustrated cry, then quickly fell asleep. Emily didn't know how long she sat there cuddling the new kitten but soon it's mamma returned, so she reluctantly laid it back down to nurse.
"Are you keeping them?" she asked hopefully, trying to come off nonchalant but he wasn't fooled.
"Do you want to keep them?" he asked her.
"It's up to you," she stalled, trying to sound as if it didn't matter.
"You're so stubborn. Just admit you want to keep the kittens." He exhaled as his hand combed through his untamed hair.
"Fine, I want them to stay," she mumbled and folded her arms across her chest, pouting a bit. She knew it was irrational to be so against asking for even the smallest thing but the more Mark did for her and Trevor, the more she was afraid of losing it all. She was already impossibly attached. The kittens were just one more piece of a puzzle, linking her to the ranch.
"Now was that so hard?" he asked.
She realized she was being silly but she didn't know how else to protect herself. They'd been making love nightly for almost a month and he treated Trevor like a son. She was afraid everything was to perfect.
"We like to have a lot of cats around. They keep the mice and rats away," he told her.
"Rats are so much bigger than them," she exclaimed, looking around as if a huge rat was going to come pounce on the innocent things at any moment.
"I think the other cats will take care of the rodents until these guys grow up a bit more," he said with a chuckle.
Mark left her with the kittens, while he finished his chores. She hadn't realized how much time had passed, when suddenly Trevor was racing into the barn.
"Mom, Mark said you have a surprise to show me," her son said, trying to gain his breath, as he laid his head between his legs.
"Come over here and don't be loud," she whispered.
Trevor's eyes got big as he walked over to his mom and then he squealed when he saw the babies. "Are they all ours?" he asked with excitement.
"Yep, Mark said we get to keep them all," she told him.
"Yeah, can I hold one?"
"Sure you can. But you have to be really gentle and pet their mamma for a few minutes first."
Trevor obediently gave attention to the adult cat and then gently held the tiger stripped one. They stayed there for a while longer and then Emily had to head up to the house to get dinner ready.
"Can I stay out here with Mark, please?" Trevor pleaded. Emily looked down to where Mark was and he shook his head yes.
"Okay but be good and when Mark tells you it's time to come in, no fussing," she told him.
"Of course, Mom," he said like she was the one who was a child.
Strange things kept happening to Emily. It was several different occurrences, not one single thing that was too alarming but when all the things added up it was starting to creep her out. She'd received a dozen red roses, with a note in them that said they were from a secret admirer.
She'd thought Mark was trying to be cute and hadn't thought much about it, until he asked her where they had come from. When she showed him the note, he laughed it off and told her it was probably John, the young ranch hand who had a slight crush on her. She thought he may be right and didn't want to embarrass the kid, so she displayed the roses on the kitchen table and thought nothing else of them.
Then over the next few weeks she found little notes in the mailbox at the end of the road saying she was beautiful and smart. None of them were harmful in the least and she still wasn't concerned but then she also had the feeling someone was secretly watching her. When everything was put together, it was enough to really give her the creeps.
She thought the flowers could've come from John but not the notes. She knew he had a slight crush but he wasn't the stalker type. Plus the eerie feeling of being watched would happen to her when she knew for a fact John was nowhere near the house. She thought some of it could be the creepy ranch hand but again things were happening when she knew he was nowhere near the house.