Member-only story
I Never Told You But
Small fists rubbed to get the sleep out of her eyes. Nearly stumbling down the stairs, Simone rambled to the kitchen, where she saw Boss and Trevor. Boss held a broom, ready to swing with a fierce expression, breathing hard. Trevor’s feet were planted as he struggled to keep ahold of Manfred, their chocolate Labrador’s collar. Her next yawn became a loud shriek when she saw the snarling, teeth-bared possum by the doggy door.
“Simone, quiet now.” Boss spoke over his shoulder. “Hand me the mop so I can push mister-uninvited back outside.”
Terror had her feet cemented to the floor,
Boss gently hissed, “Sweety, I need that long handle to push the animal out. Please hand it to me. We don’t want this thing loose in the house, do we?”
She moved and handed over the item with no further hesitation. She knew Boss would protect them.
“Trevor,” Boss coaxed, “I need you to scoot forward with Manfred to provoke and distract the critter. Then jump back so I can pin him and push him back out the dog door. Once he’s outside, we’ll pile weight against the opening until I can get the parts to fix it in the morning. I’ll add a lock on it so this doesn’t happen again.”
She watched her brother eye Boss and then heard the command
