Stirring Up Trouble (Stirring Up Trouble Trilogy 1)

“Good idea,” Sheree said, looking down at her designer heels. “I’d love to get off my feet for a minute.”

I pushed through the swinging doors into the back. I’d been back here once before. Cages lined the walls. Some of the cats and dogs had just been flea-dipped. Others were sick.

I spotted Jake’s lone form immediately. He had his back to me as he studied the cage in front of him intently.

Moving closer, I saw that Indiana wasn’t conscious. He lay in the cage, half covered in bandages. He didn’t look good. He had a splint on one leg. The outside of him looked bad enough. I couldn’t imagine the internal damage.

Jake didn’t notice me until I was by his side. He swiped at his eyes. He didn’t say anything and I suspected he was too choked up to talk.

The sight of the two of them was enough to make me cry. But I had a mission, and I had to stay focused. Indiana would be okay, and Jake would too.

I, on the other hand, might sport a giant green mustache by morning.

“Hey,” I whispered, putting my arm around Jake. “He’s going to be okay.”

Jake just nodded and didn’t turn to look at me. I knew he didn’t believe me.

He stuck his finger through the cage and rubbed Indiana’s foot.

The dog was out cold. The potion needed to be administered to him soon. I palmed the bottle in my pocket, keeping my arm around Jake. Comforting him when he was upset felt so natural. I didn’t feel any of the doubt about my actions I usually felt when I was around him.

Jake sniffed and turned away from me, swiping at his eyes again. I took advantage of his need to keep me from seeing him cry. I took my arm off Jake and pulled the bottle from my pocket. Quickly, I uncapped it. And with one smooth motion, I squirted it into the cage at the wounded dog’s nose.

By the time Jake turned my way, the bottle was capped and back in my pocket. I leaned closer to the cage trying to ascertain how much of the liquid had reached his mucous membranes. Several shiny drops trickled down his nose. I relaxed. That was enough.

“He looks so terrible,” Jake whispered. “I don’t see how he can…”

“He’ll be okay, Jake.” I put my arm around him again. “I just know it.”

“I hope so,” Jake said. He put his arm around my waist, and we stood together watching Indiana.

After a few moments, the dog began to stir. I knew the magic was working.

Jake tensed. “I don’t think they want him wiggling around like that. He might hurt himself worse.”

Before I could reply, Indiana opened his eyes. He stared at us for a moment, a light in his warm brown eyes.

“He’s awake,” Jake said.

Indiana made a playful sound, and sat up.

“They said he’d be out for an hour,” Jake said.

“I think he’s feeling better,” I assured him. “He doesn’t look like he’s in pain. He looks like he wants to play.”

“I’d better get the doctor,” Jake said.

“Pet him first,” I said. “He looks like he wants you to.”

Jake opened the cage. Fortunately, Indiana didn’t jump down and prance out of the clinic. That would have been suspicious. He was still a little drugged, and he wasn’t one hundred percent yet. He licked Jake’s hand as Jake tried to pet him.

One of the vet’s assistants walked in to check on him. “Oh my God!” she said.

Jake turned, panic in his eyes. “Is this bad?”

“No,” she assured him. “It’s good. He looks a lot better. His injuries must not have been anywhere near as serious as we feared.” She pulled out a stethoscope and listed to his heart. “He shouldn’t be awake, yet. But, a good response is a good response. I’ll bring Dr. McCarter.”

Moments after she left, she returned followed by at least eight people. Dr. McCarter and two of the other vets stepped to the front, and Jake and I moved out of the way.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” the redheaded female vet mumbled.

A man in a white jacket rubbed his chin. “I could have sworn there was internal damage. That kidney—” His comments got lost in the mumbling of the rest of the staff.

Dr. McCarter opened the cage and stroked Indiana’s head. “That’s one lucky dog,” he said. He turned to Jake. “Go ahead and pet his head. Stay away from that leg and his flank though.”

Jake leaned in to stroke Indiana’s nose.

Sheree and Dad must have followed the group in, because the next thing I knew, she was hugging Jake. “They didn’t think he was going to make it. But I guess they’ve changed their minds.”

Dr. McCarter nodded. “We’ll keep him for observation tonight. He’ll need the splint on his leg. The stitches can come out in a week.” He turned to Sheree who seemed to be crying more now than before. “I think he’s going to be fine.”

I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to find my dad. He winked.

I grinned. Saving Indiana was worth it. Even if it meant missing the dance.

Mom had her aerobics gear on when Dad dropped me off. “Hey, honey,” she greeted. “I didn’t expect you so soon.”

“Are you going to the gym?”

“Yep. Run up and change, and come along.”

“I don’t know…” Sweating wasn’t what I wanted right now. I really wanted to crawl under the covers in the fetal position and hibernate.

“Trust me. It’ll help.” Mom came over and hugged me. “I take it the dog’s going to be fine.”

I nodded.

“You’ll be fine, too, Zoe,” she said. “I promise.”

“You can’t promise, Mom.” I buried my head in her shoulder. “I really, really wanted that dance.”

“Hey,” she said, backing away and lifting my chin. “I’m not one-hundred percent sure anything will happen. I’ve been doing some research on the loop. Helping an animal is generally okay. It depends on what’s in your heart, whether you care as much about the animal as you do Jake.”

“Well, then I’m screwed. Because I don’t want to date the dog, and I sure don’t want to kiss him.”

Mom grimaced. “Thank God for small favors. We have to hope that that isn’t the test. Now, go change. You may be housebound for a couple of days. You can mope then.”

“You’re such an understanding mother,” I complained. But inside, I felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe helping the dog would be okay. Maybe Indiana hadn’t cost me the dance of my dreams.

Mom smacked me on the butt like a football player. She knows I hate that. “Run along and change.”

I ran. I wasn’t going to risk another swat on the butt. At least I’d be in good shape when I sprouted my horns, or my nose, or whatever.

After all the drama of the day, aerobics totally wore me out. I barely had the energy to take a shower, and I didn’t bother with the conditioner. Rinsing it all out again would take too long. I finally fell into bed with wet, tangled hair. I was too tired to care what would happen to me. I fell asleep almost instantly.

The fierce blare of my alarm woke me up at six thirty Thursday mornin

g. The events of the previous day immediately came back to me in a nauseating rush. Normally, I’d slam the sleep button immediately to silence the painful noise. Today, I couldn’t make myself move. Any movement could reveal some horrible curse on my appearance, and I simply couldn’t bear it. I couldn’t face the ugly truth this early in the morning.

I kept my eyes squeezed tightly shut and counted the buzzes to keep my sanity. At ninety-three, Mom came to my rescue.

“Zoe,” she scolded. “How can you stand that noise?”

I didn’t care how irritated she sounded as long as she turned off the alarm, which, thank God, she did.

“Thank you,” I said, careful to avoid any movement.

“I’ve never seen you act like such a chicken, Zoe.”

My eyes flew open. “Oh my God, Mom! Do I have feathers, a beak, what?” I frantically felt every inch of my face and head as I spoke.

“Relax.” She couldn’t help laughing. “You’re fine! Nothing’s happened.”

“Nothing’s happened?” I squeaked, my hands still on my breasts to make sure one hadn’t grown ridiculously larger than the other.

She shook her head. “I checked on you an hour ago. I think you escaped the wrath of Zeus.”

“You think?” My heart leapt at the possibility.

“I’ve never seen anything take this long. Why don’t you look online for some information about time lapses?”

I usually liked internet research, but the stakes were high, and I really wasn’t sure I wanted to know what was going to happen. “Okay,” I said with a sigh.

Mom left to finish getting ready, and I considered my options. Not knowing was simply not acceptable. I crawled out of bed and padded to my desk. Four passwords later, I was into the alchemist chat room.

Thirty minutes of searching provided answers, but not the ones I wanted. Apparently, there were situations in which punishments were delayed. One instance was where delay would make the punishment even greater. Like if you were already out in public when it appeared, the humiliation factor would be way higher. That way a smaller punishment could have more impact. Like, say going to school and then having something happen with hundreds of cruel teenagers there to witness it.