Page 119 of Redeeming Harmony

She stepped back, studying Viking’s face. Viking stared back at her before sniffing deeply and blowing air out of his nostrils and into her face. Tammy laughed and kissed the top of his nose. “I like you too, pretty boy.”

“What do you say, Tammy?” Nathan said. “Can you give Viking a home?”

Tammy stepped back, sniffing and swiping at the moisture on her cheeks. “Of course, I can,” she said briskly. “But I expect you to give him his first health examination for free.”

“I can do that,” Nathan said. He held out his hand, and after a moment, Tammy shook it. “Thank you, Tammy.”

Her face softened, and she blinked rapidly before saying, “Thankyou, Doc. I think Viking is going to do just fine here.”

Chapter 27

“It’s true. Tammy told me herself just yesterday afternoon. Not only did Doc Henshaw give her a new horse, but he made an additional donation to the rescue the horse came from, and he’s promised to examine the horse for free. She said he looked real sorry when he brought her the horse, and it was real clear he felt terrible about her losing King the way she did.”

Harper scrubbed at the dried coffee ring on the table, keeping her head down to hide her smile as she listened to the two women gossiping at the table behind her.

“Did you know he found Lady Nakia?” The other woman slurped at her coffee. “Betsy told Lauren, who told me that the doc sat in an alleyway not too far from here all night in that terrible storm last Friday and finally lured that damn cat in with some raw tuna.”

Okay, so not exactly the truth, but Harper wasn’t going to turn around and correct them. It was better for Nathan’s reputation if the town believed he took Lady N off the streets. Rayna would understand.

“About damn time,” her friend said. “That wretched cat tried to snatch Lou Albrecht’s pet bird right off his shoulder while he was walking past the Walgreens.”

“That cat is a menace. You know, I was never truly sold on the rumour that the doc let her go on purpose. I heard from Paula that Alicia’s been trying to get rid of that cat for months because it keeps attacking her in her sleep. And I have it on good authority that she was the one who let the cat go in that free clinic.”

“You know how I’ve always felt about the situation. Honestly, I feel sorry for poor Doc Henshaw and how people have been so mean to him. I’m glad the truth is finally coming out. I mean, the nerve of Alicia for even taking that devil cat to the clinic anyway. Shame on her for taking advantage of the doc’s generous nature and kindness. Everyone knows that clinic was for the less fortunate, and there she was pulling up in her Benz and most likely dripping with those damn diamonds of her, her hand held out for a freebie she didn’t need.” The woman’s voice was a mixture of annoyance and disbelief.

“Well, people are starting to see the doc’s side of things now. Erin told me that she tried to book an appointment for her Doodles earlier today and he was all booked until next week. O’course, she could have seen old Doc Warren tomorrow, but - and don’t you say a word to anyone about this - she’s fixin’ to set up her girl with Doc Henshaw.”

“I don’t blame her,” her friend said. “He’s a handsome devil, that one.”

“Speaking of the devil, did you hear that Pastor Norwood has that poor sweet girl of his standing on the streets handing out pamphlets and trying to convince people to join his church? I swear, he just uses her because she’s such a pretty little thing. Which, in my mind, is the real sin. Why, who knows what could happen to a bitty thing like her?”

“Lauren said she saw her handing out pamphlets in South Falls the other night.” The woman made a tut-tutting sound. “It’s like that man cares more about Jesus than his own kin. It just isn’t right.”

“No, it isn’t. And I heard from Denise that he…”

Harper headed back to the front counter, the women’s gossiping fading into the background noises of the busy shop. Despite how busy it’d been all afternoon, there was a lightness to her step, and she couldn’t keep the grin off her face.

Tammy had wasted no time telling others about what Nathan had done, and her complete one-eighty combined with Lady Nakia safely returned home meant the clinic had started picking up by Tuesday morning. Just last night in bed, Nathan had mentioned that he was fully booked for the week with a boyish-like glee that had made her laugh. She couldn’t have been happier for him and told him so.

He’d been sweet and insisted he couldn’t have made it happen without her help, and while she appreciated the sentiment, she wanted Nathan to take the credit he deserved. She glanced at her watch as she walked behind the counter. Only a few more hours and she’d be finished work for the day. She and Nathan hadn’t made set plans, but they’d spent every evening together this week, and she had no reason to believe it would be different tonight.

Yeah, because that’s what people in a relationship do - they spend time together.

She stopped with her hand on the bag of coffee beans she was about to pick up. Staring unseeingly at the shelf in front of her, she tried to ignore the apprehension working its way up her throat from her stomach. So what if she and Nathan were spending a lot of time together. That didn’t mean they were in a relationship. They just really enjoyed having sex.

True. And having dinner together, and binge watching Succession together, and cuddling in bed together.

So what? It was no big deal. They both knew what this was, and it worked fine for them.

Is it? Because this feels a lot more like a relationship and, honestly? That doesn’t seem to bother you too much.

“Oh no. Um, Harper? I have a serious SOS over here.”

Harper turned to see the new part-time girl, Nora, standing at the cash register. “What’s wrong?”

“Don’t panic,” Nora said, “but I think I might have killed the debit machine.”

Harper hurried over and glanced at the machine. “Nope, you’re okay. It does this sometimes. You just have to turn it on and off, like a computer.”

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