Page 70 of Redeeming Harmony

The cat shot across the gym, sliding under chairs and slamming face-first into a terrier cross sitting on the floor next to its owner. The terrier yelped in surprise when Lady N skittered back and whacked him across the face before turning and racing down the wide aisle that separated the rows of chairs.

“Lady Nakia!” Mrs. Rathbone screamed again.

“Wyatt!” Nathan shouted as Lady Nakia ran toward the cowboy. “Catch that cat!”

Wyatt dove for the cat, his body sliding across the gym floor. Lady Nakia leaped gracefully over him and darted for the open exit door.

Nathan watched in horror as Lady Nakia, now a blur of white fur, streaked straight for the door. Harper appeared out of nowhere and threw herself at the cat. She landed on her stomach with a loud grunt, her arms stretched out above her head as her hand snagged Lady N’s back leg and yanked the cat to a stop.

Nathan’s sudden relief whiplashed back to horror when the cat turned on Harper and attacked. Screaming at the top of her kitty lungs, she sank her fangs into the soft webbing between Harper’s thumb and first finger.

Harper shouted a curse, her hand loosening around the cat’s leg. She reached for the cat with her other hand, but Lady Nakia let her go with another yowl of rage before turning and running out the door. Harper was up like a shot and running after her, Lucas and Emma and Kira following her.

His stomach threatening to eject its contents, Nathan ran across the gym and out into the parking lot.

“Do you see her?” Harper shouted to Lucas.

“No,” he hollered back as he jogged across the parking lot toward the bushes planted along the left side of the lot.

“I think she ducked under the bushes,” Kira called. She and Emma were scanning the bushes as Nathan and Harper, holding her bleeding hand against her chest, joined them.

“Shit, where is she?” Nathan said. He pushed through the bushes. “Here, kitty, kitty. Here, Lady N. Come here, girl. Come here.”

“Uh oh,” Lucas said.

“What?” Nathan said.

Lucas pointed across the street. The community center was directly across from the entrance to Harmony Falls Park. Nathan watched in dismay as the fluffy white tail disappeared into the thick underbrush of the forest that surrounded the falls.

“Fuck,” Nathan said.

Emma started across the parking lot, and Lucas grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop. “No point, Emma.”

“We might be able to catch her,” Emma said.

“Doubtful. She has too big of a head start into the woods, and you know how large the park is.”

“And how many bears live in it,” Kira said.

“Fuck,” Nathan repeated.

“Sorry, buddy, but that cat is bear chow,” Lucas said.

Nathan turned as Mrs. Rathbone, followed by Warren and Rayna, stalked out of the community center. Her face bright red, she held up her hand and showed Nathan the light scratch across her knuckle. “This is your fault! Lady Nakia would never hurt me! What did you do to her?”

“He gave her a vaccine,” Harper said. “Like you asked him to do. And considering that his shirt,” she pointed to Nathan where blood had seeped through the material, “is soaked in blood, Lady Nakia did a lot more damage to him than you.”

The way the blood poured from Harper’s hand, Nathan suspected that she, in fact, had gotten the worst of Lady Nakia’s wrath, but before he could say anything, Mrs. Rathbone said, “Where is my cat? Where is Lady Nakia?”

When no one replied, her face turned even redder. “Where is my cat, goddammit?”

Lucas pointed at the park. “She’s in there.”

“I - what? She ran into the park? Are you fucking kidding me?” Mrs. Rathbone screeched. “You let my cat run into the park? There are bears in the park!”

“And wolves,” Lucas said.

Emma elbowed him in the side as Mrs. Rathbone turned to Nathan. “You will find my cat, so help you God, or I will sue you and your stupid clinic. Do you hear me? I will destroy everything you love!”

---