Page 72 of Redeeming Harmony

“I’m going to check on Nathan,” Harper said. “I’m worried about him.”

Warren nodded. “All right. I’ll get supper started.”

“I won’t be long. Love you, Dad.”

“Love you too, poppet.”

She walked over the footbridge and crossed the parking lot to the clinic. The door was locked, but she used her key to open it and slipped inside, locking the door behind her. The front of the clinic was dark, but light glowed through the small square window in the swinging door.

She could hear the muffled sound of Nathan cursing, and she pushed past the swinging door. Nathan stood near the treatment table, his shirt draped across it and a solution of betadine and water in a bowl on the table. He dipped gauze into it and swiped it across his chest, wincing and muttering another curse.

“Hey, you okay?”

He looked up, frowning as he swiped across his chest again. “How did you get in here?”

“I have a key.”

His scowl deepened. “Only employees should have keys to the clinic.”

She swallowed her snarky reply. “How’s your chest?”

“Painful,” he said.

She watched him fumble to clean the scratches on his shoulder and upper back before joining him and holding out her hand. “Give it to me.”

He hesitated, and she dipped fresh gauze in the solution and wiped it across the scratches on his shoulder and the top of his back. “She really got you.”

“How’s your hand?” he asked, glancing at the band-aid on her hand.

“I’ll live.”

“You need to watch for signs of infection. If it swells and turns red, you’ll need antibiotics immediately.”

“I’m a vet’s kid,” she said. “I know the warning signs of a cat bite infection.”

He didn’t reply, and she paused before wiping the gauze along the scratches across his chest. He looked tired and defeated, and she hated to give him more bad news, but it was better he knew now. “Savina texted Dad. She’s at Walgreens, and people are already talking.”

“Let me guess,” he said. “Now I’m a cat murderer too.”

“Not exactly,” she dipped fresh gauze and resumed wiping the scratches, “but it’s not good. Mrs. Rathbone’s saying you deliberately let her cat escape into the park because she commented on the King incident.”

He muttered a curse before pushing her hand away and wiping off his chest with some paper towel. “The clinic is fucking finished.”

She couldn’t think of anything comforting to say. The despair on Nathan’s face turned to anger. “I should have never agreed to do the vaccine clinic. I should have listened to my gut, kept my head down, and let the gossip about King die down.”

“Doing the clinic was a good idea,” she said as irritation washed over her.

“Was it? Because now, in addition to being a horse murderer, they also think I released an innocent cat into the park to be eaten by goddamn bears. The clinic was a bad idea and has made everything worse.”

“Which is my fault, right? That’s what you’re trying to hint at,” Harper said. “If you have something to say to me, you need to just say it because this passive-aggressive bullshit you’re spewing is not a good look for you.”

“I didn’t say it was your fault,” he bit out before throwing the paper towel in the trash and walking toward his office. “It’s been a long day, and I’m tired. You should leave.”

She stalked after him. “If you think it’s my fault, then say so. I’m a big girl. I can handle the blame.”

“Not everything is about you, Harper.”

“I know that, especially in this particular case. I’m not the one who let a clearly incompetent woman hold her cat while it got poked with a needle, instead of using the vet tech,” she said.

---