If Cars Could Think 9

Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

"I'll stay with the babies this time," Rose said eagerly.

Again? Cassie thought. She acted like it was only this once, but she'd been doing it all the time. "Thanks, Auntie Rose." Cassie nudged Audrey to her side.

It was nearing the middle of April, and finally, the weather was warmer and the grass was green, and almost ready to be mowed. A few green blossoms had appeared on some of the maple trees, and the scent of warm spring rain hung in the air.

Today, Cassie would be heading to a governmental lab about an hour away to deliver some young dinkemorts. It was her first time doing something this important, and, though the aliens never intrigued her all that much, it still felt good to be doing something important for the fleet. Now that she had Michael, everything seemed a little brighter, a little warmer, and the rest of the fleet didn't seem all that bad and miserable anymore.

Except Casey and that stupid boyfriend of hers. He hardly visited to see Skid, and, when he did, it was late at night, when everyone was asleep. When Cassie tried mentioning it to her sister, she got defensive and wouldn't let her go on. I know I don't act like it, but maybe I give a damn about her, just a little bit. Maybe I hate that boyfriend even more than I hate her.

"Ready to go, Cass?" Michael rolled up to her.

"Who else is coming again?"

"Us and John," he replied. "John's hauling a barrunge; it's a sickly one. They're going to see if they can nurse it back to health; if not, its theirs to experiment on. It was an older one we've had awhile... since the van your mom replaced was young, apparently."

Who did Mom replace? Nobody seemed to talk much about whoever it was. "Are we ready to go?" she asked. "Rose is taking care of four little ones."

"Kimberly will join her soon to help. She's out on her first patrol since Zane was born. And," he gave his springs a stretch, "we'll head out as soon as you're ready. I have to go find John."

He's probably sleeping in again.

...

"You know I'm not a sucker for gossip, but I'm also not a saint," John was saying as the three of them rolled down a path that skirted the woods.

This is my first time being here. What John was saying didn't really pique her interest.

"Go on," said Michael.

"I hear Casey and what's-his-face are thinking about getting engaged."

"I never heard that," said Cassie, suddenly interested.

"Yeah, well, rumors spread. Anyway," John continued, "I think she's pregnant again." His wheels hit a dip in the ground, and his huge dump bed slammed.

Cassie flinched. "We can't have another baby in the main facility," she said. "And clearly she hasn't learned any lessons about rushing into things."

"I'm telling you because personally I feel like that Mustang kid is bad news," John explained. "I heard he wants a bunch of kids with anyone willing to give him them just because he wants them to compete in his races. I tried warning Casey, but she thinks I'm full of shit."

"Where did you hear this?" asked Michael.

"Yeah," Cassie added. "I'd like to know, too."

"Uh... there's a different Mustang, who I talk to, and she knows him because she does those races too. And she knows a bit about him. I told Casey to watch out, but... I needed to tell someone else, because she won't listen."