Page 71 of Redeeming Harmony

“Whoa,” Lucas said. “Take it down a notch, lady. It’s not Nathan’s fault.”

“Of course, it’s his fault,” Mrs. Rathbone barked.

“I saw what happened. You’re the one who let go of the cat,” Harper said.

“How dare you,” Mrs. Rathbone said. “You’ve always been a snippy little bitch, but I won’t have you speak to me that way.”

“Alicia, enough,” Warren said sharply. “I understand you’re upset about your cat, and I promise you we’ll do everything we can to return her to you, but this was an accident and -”

“Was it?” Mrs. Rathbone said. “Or was this just another attempt by Dr. Death over there to kill a beloved town pet?”

Nathan would have laughed at her ridiculously dramatic tone if he wasn’t feeling so sick to his stomach.

“It was an accident,” Warren repeated. “Now, why don’t you let me disinfect that scratch, and we’ll -”

“I’m leaving. I’m going straight to the police station to file a report against Dr. Henshaw and the clinic for allowing my Lady Nakia to escape.” She turned an icy glare to Nathan. “Be prepared to hear from my lawyers, Dr. Henshaw.”

She stalked away, climbing into a Mercedes Benz that looked brand new before driving out of the parking lot with a screech of tires and a spray of gravel.

Nathan stared at Harper. Her face was pale and sick-looking, and it came out as a grimace when she tried to smile at him.

He studied the others one by one before dropping his head in defeat. “Fuck.”

Chapter 17

“Uh oh,” Warren said as Harper turned into their driveway. She parked her father’s vehicle next to her car and turned it off.

“What’s wrong?”

Warren stared at his phone screen. “Savina just texted me. She’s at the Walgreens picking up a few things, and there are already people talking about Nathan and what happened to Alicia's cat.”

“Are you kidding me?” Harper groaned. “It literally just happened, Dad. Mrs. Rathbone is the worst.”

“Alicia was probably on the phone with her bridge group as soon as she left the center,” Warren said. “And the bridge ladies are the biggest gossips in town.”

“Yeah, because their rich husbands avoid them, and they have nothing better to do than spend their husband’s money and gossip about the town. The Rathbone’s are one of the richest families in Harmony Falls, Dad. She should be ashamed that she took advantage of Nathan’s generosity.”

Warren sighed as he read a new text from his sister. “Savina says Mrs. Rathbone is telling everyone that Nathan deliberately released her cat into the park because she commented on how badly he screwed up with King.”

“Fantastic, now she’s straight-up lying,” Harper said.

She and Warren climbed out of the car, and she stared at Nathan’s truck parked in the clinic parking lot. After Lady N escaped, Warren had quickly vaccinated the remaining dogs, and they’d closed the clinic. They’d all stuck around to help clean up, but the mood was quiet and somber. She hadn’t spoken to Nathan, but the look on his face as he helped stack chairs, swept the gym, and thanked everyone for their help when they’d gathered in the parking lot after clean up, had spoken volumes about his mood.

“How’s your hand?” Warren asked.

“Okay,” she said.

“You should wash it again.”

She smiled at him. “I scrubbed it with soap four times at the center, Dad.”

“You know better than anyone that cat bites are nothing to mess around with,” Warren said. “If there’s even a small sign of infection, you need to let me know. We’ll get you on antibiotics immediately.”

It had been nearly five years since Harper had gotten the cat bite infection, but her dad had closely monitored any little cat scratch or bite she’d gotten since then.

“I will,” she said.

Her dad started toward the house, stopping when she didn’t follow him. “You coming?”

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