of them look bad.”
“Thank you.”
As Cat was putting the stuff back into the truck, she started thinking to herself, I probably did too good a job. I am sure they will find some reason for me to do community service till all the benches are done.
Dave came back. “Well, Cat, ready to drop this stuff off at the garage and head home?”
“Yeah, this has been an eventful day.”
“That it has. Want to stop and get some ice cream on the way home?”
“Aren’t you afraid that will spoil my supper?”
Dave laughed. “No, I ain’t seen anything to spoil your supper.”
Cat grinned. “You know I kinda feel bad for that old guy.”
“Well, you didn’t know.
“Yeah, I know. I would sure like to get to know him.”
“Your conscience bothering you, or is it because he knows a lot about shooting?”
Cat smiled, “A little of both.”
“I see. If there’s a way, I’m sure you’ll find it.”
By the time they got home and had supper, Cat was dead tired. She didn’t have any trouble sleeping that night.
*****
A few weeks had passed since Cat’s community service when she entered a local shooting competition. She took second place and won twenty dollars. That hooked her. There wasn’t a contest within forty miles that didn’t see Cat and her trusty .22. On a few occasions, she had been disqualified from a match. It took a bit for her to get used to following the rules and safety policies of the contests.
Cat liked and enjoyed shooting her .22 rimfire. Her dream was shooting center-fire rifles. Being able to hit a target at six hundred to one thousand yards, now, that would be some serious shooting. She knew that could only be a dream for now. It would take a lot of money for a good rifle and optics. Neither she nor her parents could afford that. Maybe if she could get to know Mike, he would teach her about long-range shooting.
3
After breakfast Cat and Ben went squirrel hunting in the woods behind their house. Ben liked to hunt once in a while but the computer used up most of his spare time. When he did go, Cat would always get the first squirrel. This irritated him a bit. Cat not only was a better shot than Ben but a little quicker and spotted the squirrels first. It was going to be different this time. Ben placed a piece of black tape over the lens of Cat’s rifle scope then put the lens cap back on. He could barely keep from laughing because he knew he was going to get the first squirrel this time. It wasn’t long until Cat spotted a squirrel sitting on a branch. Cat took aim, but she couldn’t see anything through the tape over the end of the scope.
“What the…?”
Ben saw the squirrel and shot it. He started walking over to pick it up, laughing all the way. Cat removed the tape. She took careful aim and shot Ben’s knife off his belt. She reloaded and put a bullet in the handle while it was on the ground.
Ben turned around. “What the hell are you doing? Trying to kill me?”
“Never mess with my rifle or anything else that is mine. I ain’t trying to kill you, or you’d be dead. Besides that, ain’t got time for a funeral.”
“You ruined my knife. I just bought it. It’s brand-new!”
“You can still use it, the blade’s fine. Just sand the handle down. The bullet will give it character. Maybe when you use it from now on, you’ll remember not to touch my stuff.”
“I guess.” Ben picked up his knife and the squirrel.
Betty knew something was up when the kids came back so soon and with only one squirrel. She cornered Ben and asked him what was wrong. Betty was not at all happy when she found out what happened.
Betty yelled, “Catherine, get in here!”
Cat knew that tone, plus Mom called her Catherine. I’m in big trouble! “Yes, Mom.”
“You sit there,” pointing to a chair. “Ben, over there.”
Betty walked over to the door and yelled at Dave, who was working on the lawn mower. “Dave, get in here!”
Dave walked into the house. “What’s up?”
“Do you know what your daughter did?”
“My daughter?”
“Yes, your daughter. She almost killed Ben.”
“Mom, if Cat was trying to kill me, you’d be making funeral arrangements instead of yelling at us.”
Dave was doing his best to keep a straight and serious face. Ben was right, but it was a stupid stunt. It wasn’t easy raising an “Annie Oakley.” It didn’t matter what punishment Dave came up with. It wouldn’t be good enough for Betty. She was more scared than mad. The kids were her life. If anything would happen to them…well, Dave didn’t want to think about it.
“All right, Cat. You know better.”
“I do, but Ben made me mad.”
“You’re going to have to get your anger under control. If you don’t, it’s going to get the best of you.”
Cat put her head down. “Yes, Dad.”
“And, Ben, you know that Cat doesn’t like anybody messing with her stuff.”
“But, Dad, she is always trying to one-up me.”
“Oh, the joy of sibling rivalry.”
“Cat, you gonna do another stupid stunt like this again?”
Cat looked down at the floor. “No, Dad. I’m sorry.”
“Ben, you gonna stay out of your sister’s stuff?”
“Yes, Dad.”
“All right then. Cat, bring me your rifle. Ben, get your laptop.”
“Why?”
“Just do it.”
Ben got his laptop and Cat her rifle. Dave took them. “You’ll get them back in a week. That should give you time to think about how stupid you two were.”
Cat and Ben both wailed, “Daaaad.”
“You wanna try for two weeks?”
“No.”
“Very well, now get out of here.”
Betty said, “Is that all?”
“What you want me to do, give ’em twenty lashes?”
