Katarina was not in any rush to pack her remaining belongings. Her talk with Sianna brought back the surge of emotions she so carefully returned the some state of normal the night before. She hoped that the shower and fresh change of clothes would help in the process of calming her mind once more. Pushing back strands of her now dried hair from her face, she started arranging her shoes in the bottom of her bag.

Pushing open the front door to a chorus of barks from the dogs, Johnny stepped in and shut the door before he crouched to begin petting them. ?Yer fierce, ain? ya ? goo? protection, huh?? The speed that they calmed down and began begging for more attention put the lie to his comments. He grinned and straightened, beginning to whistle off-key. The talk with Locke had helped ? at least not everybody seemed to think the worst of him.

At the commotion, Patches sprang up from his curl on Katie's bed to go and see what the ruckus was about. She mumbled "traitor" as she instantly recognized the horrible musical quality of a fellow Smith. Perhaps if she was quiet enough, she could finish her packing and sneak out of the house. Finding hope in that option, she started to pack with more gusto, before muttering elvish curses that she had heard Locke produce. Her flats were right by the door, her feet considerably larger that Sianna's. She hoped that the dogs had brushed them to a hiding location.

No such luck. When he bent to pet the cat, Johnny spotted Katie?s shoes by the door. His whistling might have faltered for a moment, but it was already so off-key that who could tell? Finally he straightened again and walked back into the kitchen with the solid thunk of work-boots on wood.

She gave a frustrated sigh, before finally just tossing the rest of her things haphazardly into her bag. The single bag hardly contained the rather large wardrobe, but she wasn't going to waste more time trying to gather anything else. Shouldering the bag, she all but dragged her feet out of the room and down the stairs. She turned as if to head for the door, before gritting her teeth and throwing her arms up silently into the air. She turned around, and now all but stomped her way to the kitchen, "Hey, I didn' leave Sarah yer information er anythin', bu' I promise tha' she's taken care o'. I dun want her anywhere near Si. I'll keep her a' tha' inn until ya figure ou' else, yeah?"

About to pull down a glass from the cupboard, Johnny turned around to look at his obviously-upset cousin. ?Yer goin? ta keep her there? Lor? an? Skies, Katie, ya don? hav?ta take on tha? expense. ?S my responsibility, I?ll take care?a i?.? Some frustration leaked into his voice, ?An? wha? d?ya mean ya don? wan? her near Si? Ya thinkin? I was goin? ta star? forcin?em ta have dinner t?gether an? play nice?er somethin???

She all but sneered at him, "Well, ya brough' her here, didn'cha? Wha'd ya think would happen? I dun care 'bout th' expense, bu'... hells Johnny, ya should be jist.. jist appalled a' how she behaves!"

?Ya?d rather I tried ta hide wha? happened while I was gone, lie t?y?all abou? i? an? preten? nothin?s wron? an? leave a pregnan? woman alone in RhyDin City instead?a comin? straigh? home an? tellin? y?all I?m back? Hellfire, Katie, I be? there?s some li?l kids ou? there I could steal some candy from a? th? same time an? roun? i? all ou? with drownin? some kittens!? He blew out a forceful breath and ran his hands back through his short-cropped hair. ?I din? know she?d keep insistin? on? th? Whittaker-Smith thin?, I though? she?d finally given up on tha?. Other?n tha?, I don? remember her actin? anythin? bu? polite ta ya. Mebbe a li?l stiff, bu? polite.?

" 'm nah sayin' ya gotta lie, bu' ya didn' hav'ta bring her here! 'm sorray tha' yer friend died, bu'.. bu' ya gotta think fer yerself. Ya already miss'd ou' 'n so much here," she flung her arms about the room, "an' now ya gotta spread yer time ta some otha woman tha' nah par' o' this family? I know ya dun think she did anythin', bu' lemme tell ya somethin', ya weren' givin' her a lick o' yer atten'ion. I jist had'ta giv' her once glance an' know tha' she's nothin' bu' trouble. Trouble ya intended ta hold 'n ta."

?I ain? holdin? onta her more?n lon? enough ta help her fin? a job an? a place ta live. Tha?s i?, an? she knows i?. Won? take tha? lon?, an? ya don? hav?ta see her ever again if?n she bugs ya tha? much.? Johnny?s voice was frustrated, his shoulders and back knotted with tension. Whatever good the lunch with Locke had done was entirely gone, and just emphasized the dark circles under his eyes and lines of weariness on his face. ?An? ya shouldn? call her trouble, Katie. She?s had a rough time an? pu? up with i? better?n jus? abou? anyone I could?a imagined.?