“Mindy can’t wait. She told me once we have the indoor ring she can ride every day even when it’s raining or snowing.”
Slade picked up the large platter and walked to the back door. “That’s the whole idea.”
“I’ll go find Mindy and have her wash up.”
As Slade disappeared outside, Tory put the salad bowl in the middle of the table then headed toward the front porch where she’d left Mindy earlier to play. The heat of a summer day blasted her when she stepped out onto the porch. A breeze ruffled the stray strands of her ponytail but did nothing to relieve the warmth.
She scanned the area. “Mindy.” Walking to the edge of the porch, she searched the yard. Mindy knelt by a bush along the front of the house, her face pressed down as she looked beneath the shrubbery. “Mindy, what are you doing?”
“A ba-by.” Mindy scooted closer to whatever she was looking at.
One of the kittens? Tory hurried down the steps to where Mindy was. Standing a few feet behind her and to the left, she stooped down to see what the child was so fascinated by. Curled in a ball was a small black fluffy animal with white markings.
Mindy started to reach for the animal. Tory shouted, “No.”
The fluffy ball uncurled, his dark eyes opening. It hissed, arching its back, its raised tail pointed toward Mindy. Before Tory could grab the child and yank her away, the baby skunk sprayed the arm still reaching toward it. Mindy jumped back, landing on her bottom. The skunk scurried away, disappearing under the house, its horrible odor left behind.
“Ph-ew!” Mindy waved her arm around, the pungent smell quickly spreading.
Tory covered her mouth and nose, her eyes blinking from the intense odor emanating from Mindy.
“I—thought—it was—a new—kit-ten.” Tears welled in the little girl’s eyes. “I—uh—stink.”
“I guess we found out what’s living under the house. A family of skunks.” With tears streaming down Mindy’s face, Tory couldn’t resist hugging the child, keeping her sprayed arm away from her. “We’ll take care of this.”
“The—play!”
“By Sunday. I promise.”
“Mindy, Tory, what’s going on?” Slade sniffed the air. “I smell a skunk.”
“Those raccoons under the house are really skunks.”
“We have a problem.”
“That’s an understatement.” Tory gestured toward Mindy. “She got just a little too close.”
He made his way toward them, a grimace forming on his face. “What should we do about the smell?”
Tory started walking with Mindy toward the house. “I’ll need you to go into town and buy several bottles of hydrogen peroxide. I have one bottle but I don’t know if it will do the trick.”
“Hydrogen peroxide?”
Tory waved her hand. “Go. I’ll explain later.”
Inside she had Mindy remove her shirt. “I’ll put this outside until I can get rid of it.”
After that Mindy sat on the lip of the tub while Tory went about mixing up a homemade remedy. Using the hydrogen peroxide she had on hand, she combined it with baking soda and liquid dishwashing soap. While foaming, she spread it on Mindy’s sprayed arm and hoped for the best.
Thirty minutes later, Slade hurried into the house with five bottles of hydrogen peroxide, ready to do battle with the odor. He stopped when he saw Mindy, dressed and smiling. He sniffed the air. The skunk scent still lingered but definitely not as strong as before.
“What happened?”
“I had enough hydrogen peroxide to take care of it this time. Thankfully the skunk sprayed Mindy’s arm. Not too large an area. We’ll treat the area again. The odor should wear off completely by Sunday. The more important question is what are we going to do about the family living under the house?”
“Good question. Skunks are definitely out of my expertise.”
“I’m not sure, either. We could try loud noises or bright lights. It may not be easy.”
“Well, we need to do something. I don’t want a repeat of today.” Slade’s nose wrinkled up, trying to get used to the faint odor that peppered the air as a reminder of their guests under the house.
“I—won’t—bo-ther—again. Prom-ise.”
“I know, honey. But I don’t think it’s wise to have a family of skunks living under the house. Do you think a loud noise will work?”
Tory shrugged.
Slade retrieved the stereo from the kitchen and placed it on the bench on the deck. He switched on a radio station with rock-and-roll music and turned it up loud.
“If that doesn’t drive them away, it sure will take care of me,” he shouted over the din.
Back inside the house the noise was marginally softer. At least they didn’t have to yell at each other to hear. But the sound of the bass vibrated the house and dinner was eaten in quiet to the background music of the eighties and nineties.
Afterward Tory began clearing the dishes. “Why don’t I ask around and find out what might work? I don’t think I can take much more of this noise.”
“Just our luck. We’ll drive ourselves nuts while the skunks have a good old time.” Slade went outside and switched off the radio.
Silence blissfully filled the air. Tory released a long sigh. Then she suddenly heard a crash and ran toward the back door. Slade flew over the railing and jogged toward the hose. He turned it on and pointed it toward a large skunk scurrying across the grass. From the safety of the other side of the yard Slade tried to drive the animal away. Instead, he ended up drenching the ground and forming several mud puddles.
The skunk disappeared into the meadow, out of reach of the water spray. Slade set his face in determination and stretched the hose as far as he could. It didn’t do any good. The water fell short of its target.
Mindy and Tory stood on the deck, watching the battle. Tory covered her mouth, trying to contain her laughter. Because the nozzle wasn’t on tight enough, it leaked water from the hose connection and ran down Slade’s arm and onto his pants and tennis shoes.
“Dad-dy—fun-ny.”
“Yes, very.”
He dropped the hose and strode
