Page 55 of Redeeming Harmony

“Actually,” Harper said, “I thought maybe I could foster him.”

“Sure,” Rayna said. “Foster or adopt?”

Harper laughed. “Let’s say foster for now until I know for certain I can find a place in town that takes dogs.”

“I heard your dad had sold the house along with the clinic,” Rayna said. “I have a list of pet-friendly rentals in town I can send you if you’d like?”

“That would be great,” Harper said. “I appreciate it.”

In the lull of silence that followed, it was too easy to hear the voices of the older women at the table behind them. “It’s such a shame what Tammy is going through. I dropped in to see her at the ranch the other day, and I’ve never seen a woman suffer the way she is.”

“Well, it’s to be expected,” her friend said. “That horse was her life, and to have him murdered by that awful new vet is horrifying. Tammy begged Henshaw to call Doc Brandt, but he refused. Said he knew better than Doc Brandt about horses. Said if she didn’t let him put King down, she was the one responsible for King’s suffering. Can you believe that? Tammy would have died for that horse, and this Henshaw fellow accused her of letting King suffer on purpose. Why, I bet if Doc Brandt had been there, he would have fixed King up right as rain, just like he always has. I knew it was a mistake for him to sell to an outsider.”

Harper bit down on the inside of her cheek until her eyes watered. Nathan’s respect for her father was evident, and he would never be so cruel as to tell Tammy point blank that she was responsible for King’s suffering.

Rayna made a wanking off motion before muttering, “Ignore them, Harper.”

“Do you know, I had coffee with Sally Walters the other day, and she said that before she knew what a terrible vet this Henshaw fellow was, she took Bitsy in for a check-up with him,” the woman continued. “She said she should have known he was awful because Bitsy growled and tried to bite him.”

The other woman made a tsk tsk sound. “It’s a real shame how quick the clinic’s gone downhill in just a matter of weeks. I heard that the new vet has upped the prices, and he wouldn’t even give Robert Creston a payment plan for his old bloodhound, Blue. You know Doc Brandt always let Robert pay when he could. Robert had to give Blue away to Solomon Whitaker because he couldn’t afford treatment. Broke his heart to do it, you know. He’s had Blue since he was a pup.”

“Sounds like the new vet is in it for the money and not for the animals,” her friend said.

“That’s complete bullshit,” Harper said loudly.

The women turned to stare at her as Rayna pressed her lips together to stop from smiling.

“Why, if it isn’t little Harper Brandt. When did you get back in town from the big city, sweetheart?” The older of the women said.

Harper glared at her. “Nathan Henshaw cares about animals as much as my father does. He didn’t kill King. That horse was thirty years old, and Tammywasmaking him suffer by keeping him alive. He should have been put down months ago. The prices for the clinic haven’t changed, and you both know my dad stopped allowing Robert to do a payment plan last year, well before Nathan even joined the clinic.”

“That’s not what Robert says.”

“Robert is a liar and a drunk,” Harper said. “And he didn’t give Blue away. He took him to Solomon and threatened to shoot Blue if Solomon didn’t buy him from him. Because he wanted money to buy a damn bottle of whiskey. Solomon bought Blue to save the dog’s life, and then he brought him into the clinic to finally get the care he needs.”

She gave the women an icy stare. “Excellent care from Dr. Henshaw. Because he’s as good of a vet as my dad.”

“Well,” the older woman said, “I think there are more than a few people in town who would disagree. Sally’s dog Bitsy tried to bite him, and she’s just the sweetest dog you ever saw.”

“Also bullshit,” Harper said. “Bitsy Walker is a demon masquerading as a Shih Tzu, and everyone in town knows it. Sally’s been to the emergency room for stitches at least five times because Bitsy bites her all the time.”

“Dr. Henshaw saved the life of one of my foster dogs just last week,” Rayna said. “Not to mention the lives of her four puppies. He’s an excellent vet, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him to all of my adopters.”

Harper could have kissed Rayna for her support.

“Well, I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree,” the woman said with a sniff before standing and turning to her friend. “Myrna, I’m ready to go if you are.” She gave Harper and Rayna a brittle smile. “I’m sure your father is glad you’re home, Harper, but I must say, he didn’t do you any favours by letting you believe your art was good enough to be in a gallery. A year of your life wasted when you could have gone to community college right here in the Falls and gotten a real job.”

Harper’s stomach roiled with a mixture of anger and embarrassment. Unable to think of a single comeback, she glared at the two women until they turned and walked away. She slumped in her seat, her cheeks on fire, and stared dully at her sketchpad in front of her.

“Ignore them, Harper. You’re an amazing artist,” Rayna said. “They’re being dicks because you called them out for being gossips.”

“Yeah,” she said, but the apple she’d eaten sat in her stomach like a lump of coal, and her throat was tight, and holy shit, if she started to cry over what that nasty old woman said to her, she’d never forgive herself.

“Hey,” Rayna’s tone was a brisk,I don’t notice you’re about to start weeping,and Harper couldn’t have been more grateful to her, “even though what they said about Nathan was bullshit, I think you should know that a bunch of people in town are saying the same thing. I’ve had a few new adopters tell me they would never take their animals to Brandt’s Vet Clinic with Dr. Death working there.”

“Oh my God,” Harper groaned. “I knew it was bad, but I didn’t know it was that bad.”

“People are stupid,” Rayna said. “And Tammy has told so many people that Dr. Nathan killed King. It’s ridiculous.”

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