Page 37 of Tom's Chance
“One of the horses over on New Double. Cole stopped by a couple of days ago to tell me what wasup. I went over and inspected them and decided to make a completely new set for her. I’ll take them over later this afternoon to put them on.”
“Oh, okay. What did you want to talk to me about?”
“I know Mrs. Bickers passed, and her husband is in jail. I know this. I don’t know what’s going to happen to Rose and Baby, but I would like to suggest that they get spayed. I don’t know how many litters they’ve had, but I think they should get fixed. That’s just my personal opinion. I believe that they should have at least one litter, then be spayed.”
“I agree, and that’s why I’m here.” He held up his hand and hurried out of the house, leaving a confused Lorissa behind.
CHAPTER 15
Lorissa had just finished tossingthe mess from the eaten muffins when Tom returned with a folder. He settled back in his chair and asked her to join him. She sat and looked at him in confusion. “Was it something I said?”
“No, I left something in the truck, and I needed to get it before we continued our conversation. It will make sense.” He nodded with his hands clasped, and resting on the folder.
“First, I agree with what you said. Allowing a female dog or cat to have at least one litter before they are spayed. This is just my personal opinion, but I also believe if you are going to breed them, they you should wait at least two years between litters. This gives the mother plenty of time to recover and get her cycle back on track. However, what I don’t agree with or believe in is the puppy mills. I detest themand feel they are cruel and abusive toward the animals.”
“Thank god, I believe in that too. That’s why I stressed to Dr. Henry to wait until the puppy he gets goes through two cycles, then spay her.”
“Agreed. Anyway, with that being said, I also agree with you that Rose and Baby need to be fixed, but I’d like to hold off until after the babies are completely weaned and at least ten weeks old.”
“Good. Now, the only question is, with Mrs. Bickers gone, what will happen to them?”
“Are you really willing to keep them?”
“I am.” She looked at him with a grin, then giggled. “When I settle down at night, I read on the couch. I have a TV, but I don’t really watch it. I love to read, whether it’s a medical journal, the latest procedures on animals, a sci-fi novel, or a romance novel. I don’t have a preference, as long as I can read. Since moving them into the house, every night I’m on the couch reading Baby climbs up onto my lap, and Rose lies directly on my feet. If I’m stretched out, she lies on my shins.” She laughed and shook her head. “Let’s just say I won’t need socks and slippers on my feet come winter.”
“Cold feet?”
“Yep.”
Tom smiled as he pictured what she described, but in his mind, he was sitting at one end of the couch with Lorissa leaning against him and the dogand cat snuggled with them both. On a happy note at the image, he looked down at the folder beneath his hands and sobered quickly. He drew in a deep breath and let it out in a rush.
“Earlier today, Mrs. Bickers’ lawyer called and asked if I could come in to talk to him. They haven’t had the funeral yet, because of the severity of the charges against Mr. Bickers they want to be thorough in the autopsy.”
“Get all their ducks in a row and have the physical evidence to back it up?”
“Yes. Anyway, her lawyer thought it would be okay to reveal part of her will to me. It seems that Mrs. Bickers had written in her will that I, Dr. Thomas Stolls, was to inherit Rose and Baby upon her death.”
“Oh, my.”
“Yes, anyway, there’s also a stipulation.”
“Which is?”
“If I keep them, my clinic will receive a five-hundred-thousand-dollar donation in their names.”
“And if you don’t want them?”
“I still get them, but I don’t receive the money.”
Lorissa’s expression turned sad as she turned to look into the living room where Rose and Baby were nursing their young. She only turned back to Tom when he took one of her hands in his.
“I asked the lawyer what would happen if you took them. I explained how they came into yourpossession. I also explained something else, and he said that as long as I was able to see them, then he was fine with fulfilling the contents of the will. There’s only one problem.”
“What’s that, wait, what did you explain?”
Tom drew in a deep breath and held it this time, only releasing it a little at a time as he braced himself for how she might react. “I explained that I liked you, and I wanted to date you. I’m not saying this should happen after the first date, but I want to date you exclusively. Just you and me, no one else. I like you, Lorissa, and I’m sorry for how I treated you that first day, but I don’t feel that way, and to be honest, I never did. I know it’s not an excuse, but I had a bad day the day before. It was the day my date was arrested, and I took it out on you. For that, I’m sorry.”
“It’s water under the bridge now, Tom. If I hadn’t forgiven you, I never would have agreed to go out with you when you went to the hospital.”
