Victoria Hamilton
When Hoppy Met Denver
Hoppy: I was here first. Mom came
looking for me… I mean, she told this nice lady who rescues doggies that she
would foster one, and the lady called her and told her they had a ‘special case’.
That’s me! I’m the special case. I
think that means something really good. (I
only know all this because Mom tells this story all the time, and she doesn’t
know I understand) They needed a foster mom who was home most of the time
because they had a puppy that had been found alive in a puppy mill, but one of
his legs had to be am-potatoed. That was me!!
Anyhoo, she took
me home and looked after me, and we fell in love with each other and lived
happily ever after! The End.
Not really the
end… I was just kidding. I’m glad I stayed. Jaymie needs me. I help when she’s investigating, and I helped even more
when Joel dumped her.
Denver, growling: The jerk! I don’t
even say his name out loud. I could have told her he was up to no good. He smelled
wrong.
Hoppy: Now tell everyone how you ended up living at Mom’s house,
Denver!
Denver: First off, my name didn’t start
out as Denver. It was Scram, or Getoutofhere, or ScatCat! I never had a real name. I lived with an old lady for
a while when I was a kitten, but when she went away and her kids came to clean
and sell the house, they kicked us all out.
It was the middle
of a freezing cold Michigan winter when I was driven out to the country and dropped
off. I tried to join up with a gang at a farm, but the ladies drove me off,
said they didn’t want any of my kind
around. I guess at that point ‘my kind’ meant male and intact. I scrounged a
meal or two then hit the road, sleeping in sheds and garages, heading back to
town. It was a tough time. By summer I was back in Queensville and I stayed
with a family for a while—they just called me Here Kitty—but then winter came
and they closed up their house and left. Never told me anything, just up and
took off one day while I was out and about.
And people wonder
why I’m crabby.
Hoppy, jumping around: Get to the part
where you meet us!
Denver: I will, I will! Stop licking
me! Hoppy, get off me! (sighing) I put up with a lot.
It was fall,
almost winter. I was chased out of about every backyard in town by humans or
dogs and even one hulking, mangy brute of a tomcat. He said it was his turf,
and I wasn’t welcome. Then one day I was skulking beneath some bushes and saw
this lady in her backyard playing with a dog. I don’t like dogs, but those two were
having fun playing tag, and I noticed he kind of wobbled when he ran, ‘cause he
only had three legs.
He was different,
and she liked him that way. But if she was a dog person, then she probably
wasn’t a cat person. People always say that, either they’re a cat person or a
dog person. I wondered, was there anyone who was both?
Hoppy: So you came to live with us and
we lived happily ever after! The End.
Denver, sighing: You’re such a… such a dog!
Hoppy: You say that like it’s a bad
thing.
Denver: As I was saying… I watched for
a day or two, and she saw me watching her. She put out a bowl of clean water,
and did it taste good after mud puddles! Then she left out some food… chicken
breast. (Licking his lips) It was so
good! Mice are all right, and almost anything will do in a pinch, but real food…
that’s almost as good as being warm
and dry. I found a space under the porch (I was still skinny enough to get
under there then) and hung around, just watching. She knew I was there, I could
feel it.
Hoppy: So then you came to live with us
and we lived happily ever after. The e—
Denver: Not yet! It took a few days before I trusted her enough to come out
and eat the food while she was there. By then I was gun shy, and I do mean gun shy. Someone shot bbs at me once;
good thing the kid had crummy aim and ended up nicking his dad’s car instead.
And a squirrel’s tail. Anyway, I didn’t know the nice woman’s name yet. Hoppy
was out in the yard once and he just called her Mom.
But to me she’s
Jaymie, and I’ll tell you how I know; she told
me. She sat down cross-legged in the middle of her yard, away from the plate of
tuna she left on the porch for me, and just talked. She told me her name. She told
me Hoppy’s name, and how he came to live with her (by the way, the dog has it
mostly right) and then she said… she said I could come in the house, if I
wanted.
Then she walked into
the house, leaving the door open.
I slunk through
that door into her warm kitchen. There was a doggie bed by the stove and a
thick blanket in the utility room on top of the dryer, where it was warm but up
out of the dog’s way. There was a catnip treat on the blanket on top of the
dryer.
And then… say it,
Hoppy!
Hoppy: We lived happily ever after!
Awoo!
Denver: What he said. I know I seem
crabby, but this is the happiest I’ve ever been. Even living with a dog.
Hoppy: The End!
~::~
To read more about Hoppy, Denver and Jaymie’s adventures pick up A Deadly Grind and Bowled Over, Books 1 and 2 of the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries by Victoria Hamilton.
Victoria Hamilton is the pseudonym for author Donna Lea Simpson. As Victoria she writes the bestselling Vintage Kitchen Mystery series and the upcoming Merry Muffin Mysteries, also from Berkley (Book 1 – Bran New Murder – September 3rd, 2013) Victoria loves cooking and collecting vintage kitchen utensils, as well as reading and writing mysteries. Check out her webpage for all the latest: http://www.victoriahamiltonmysteries.com and find her on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorVictoriaHamilton
See Melissa’s
review of Bowled Over here.
6 comments:
I love a happy or should I say "hoppy" ending!!! Denver and Hoppy are so sweet. Brat, our cat and Sadie the dog get along really well. Phoebe was the one that the cat really liked though because they would go racing through the apartment and play. Sadie is a little too pudgy and old to make a good game of catch. I just love these books. I'm trying my hardest to make Bowled OVer last, but it's so hard not to read it. Thankfully this is the girls spring break from school so it's a little easier. I can't wait for the next one to come out.
That was a fun read!
Yea Denver and Hoppy! I loved reading your story...here and in A Deadly Grind. Can't wait to see what you're up to in Bowled Over! And Denver, there are lots of dog people who love cats too; I'm one myself. Although, to be honest, and don't tell my Sam, but I'm more of a cat person!
Ooo that even made me tear up! I am very happy for Denver and Hoppy to have find such a good home at last. And Hoppy, you are so much more pretty than your picture on the cover of the first book! I had no idea what kind of dog you are. And now I will picture your true self in my head next time I read a book about you.
Me too. Very heartwarming story. I love a happy ending. Love your book cover.
Sue B
I had a cat named Hoppy. Unfortunately, my dad let her out of the house and she got hit by a big pickup and killed. I found her early the next morning near the pickup. She didn't come home during the night when I called. She was a very small cat and we tried to keep her in the house, but sometimes my dad lets cats outside.
The Merry Muffin Mysteries sounds like a great tagline for a series. I love muffins. I also have a cat named Muffin.
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