LITMIR.BIZ

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both ways and don’t run.”

      “Yes, sir.” Eddy looked both ways, then dashed full tilt across the street and into Nancy’s house.

      “Is it all right for him to be in your house by himself?” Tim asked.

      “Unless he’s a budding burglar. Not that I have much to steal.”

      “I wanted to look some more, Doc,” Mike explained. “If we do find something bad, I didn’t want the boy around.”

      “Thanks. What do we do? Quarter the area?”

      “You got it. Work front to back. Nancy, you and Doc take the yard on the north side. We’ll meet in the back.”

      Fifteen minutes later they had worked their way to the edge of the woods at the back of Tim’s property without finding anything.

      “I’ll fill out a report and tell my boys to keep a lookout on patrol,” Mike said. “Probably kids from town drunk on beer and stupid. You hear any hoo-rawing outside last night?”

      Both Nancy and Tim shook their heads.

      “Well, let’s hope it’s an isolated incident. Nice to meet you, Doc. Bye, Nancy. Come see us.” He walked across the street to where his squad car sat behind Nancy’s car. He gave no indication that he noticed Nancy’s flat tire and dented bumper, although he must have seen the damage.

      As he pulled away, a bright red tow truck turned the corner from the village common and pulled up in front of Nancy’s house.

      “Nuts,” she whispered. “I haven’t even brushed my teeth, much less taken a shower. Can you see to getting the car onto the tow truck?” She started across the street. Tim followed.

      “My bad. My responsibility. I talked to my insurance agent last night. He should have made arrangements with your dealer to have it fixed by now. He said they’d furnish a loaner.”

      “Fast work.”

      “He’s an old friend.” He grimaced. “Actually I told him the accident occurred on private property, and that I intended to pay the tab personally. I’m not making a claim.”

      Nancy’s eyebrows went up.

      “Cheaper than skyrocketing insurance rates.”

      “It’s going to cost you.”

      “It’s going to cost Jason in the long run,” Tim said grimly. “By the time he finishes paying me back, he’ll be the safest driver in Tennessee.”

      BECAUSE EDDY REFUSED to leave his puppy to go with Nancy and Tim to get her car fixed and pick up a rental, Nancy suggested they take the pup and Eddy with them.

      “We can stop by the clinic,” she said. “If you’re going to keep him, then you really need a doctor to check him out. I’m good, but I’m a vet tech, not a veterinarian.” She turned to Tim. “A dog, even a healthy one, is a big responsibility. He needs shots, heart worm tests and medication, the right sort of food, vitamins, toys and when he’s better he’ll need exercise and a safe place to play. Dogs run loose around here, but it’s a bad idea, especially for a small one.” She didn’t want to add that despite her best efforts, the puppy might not make it.

      Tim put his hand on Eddy’s fair hair. “We can afford a little dog like this, can’t we, son? He’ll be mostly your responsibility, you know.”

      “I’ll take good care of him,” Eddy said, his pale eyes gleaming. He went into Nancy’s bedroom and came back a moment later with the pup in his arms. After she settled child and dog in the back seat of Tim’s SUV, she turned to Tim. “He’s too little to take full responsibility for a pet, Dr. Wainwright. The responsibility will be yours. Are you willing to accept that?”

      Tim grinned and shrugged. “My mission, should I choose to accept it? Yeah, I choose.”

      As they drove the twenty miles to Collierville, Tim said, “Jason and Angie are old enough to stay alone in the daytime. Frankly I doubt they’ll wake up before we get home, but I left a note for them. On weekends they can sleep around the clock. They have my cell phone number. At your clinic last night, I found Jason staring at a ewe and a couple of lambs. He actually seemed interested. That young man—Kevin, I think he said his name was—took him to see a horse under treatment.”

      “It’s Kenny. He’s our very own rescue project,” Nancy said. “He’s a rich kid from the neighborhood. We caught him in the act of vandalizing and put him to work after school. Complete turnaround.”

      “Hmm.”

      At the car dealership, Nancy was horrified to learn the cost of her repairs. She was glad she wasn’t paying for them. She had little enough extra money, and she was already culling some of her old growth trees to pay for a kitchen update on her cottage.

      The good news was that the car didn’t require as much work as she’d feared. She suspected the cost would be a shock to Tim as well. He couldn’t be making much as a high school teacher at Maybree. She almost considered splitting the cost, but gave up the idea. Let Jason pay his father back.

      “Should be done by Tuesday afternoon, Nancy,” said Ralph Simmons, the service manager, who’d looked after her last three cars. “Here.” He handed her a set of keys. “It’s not what you’re used to, but it’s the only loaner they could get today. They brought it over first thing this morning.” He pointed to a small, black two-door sedan. It looked as though it might hold two bags of groceries tops. Still, it was transportation. She wouldn’t have to rely on Tim and his brood to get her around anymore.

      “Follow me to Creature Comfort,” she said to Tim. “One of the good things about being on staff is that we can go in the back door and not have to wait. Dr. Hazard’s on duty this morning. He doesn’t generally work Saturdays.”

      Later, as he went over the pup, Dr. Hazard said, “Nice job, Nancy.”

      “Can you stitch up his wound?” Tim asked.

      Hazard shook his head. “Needs to heal from the inside out slowly. We’ll treat it with antibiotic ointment, painkiller and, after it starts to heal, hydrocortisone ointment. I’d like to keep him here until Monday in our intensive care. The biggest threat at the moment is infection. And pups his age can simply fade.” He glanced down at Eddy.

      So did Nancy. From Eddy’s narrow eyes and set jaw, she could tell he had no intention of relinquishing his charge without a fight.

      “I can look after him,” Eddy said. “He’s my dog.”

      “Obviously you can,” Dr. Hazard said. “He wouldn’t have gotten this far without you. You can visit him tomorrow. By then he may actually feel like moving around a little. But doing the best for our animals is not always the happiest thing for us humans.”

      Nancy thought Eddy would keep fighting. Instead he deflated. Her heart went out to him. One look at the concern in Tim’s face and her heart went out to him as well. “Tell you what. You and I will go settle him down in intensive care. I’ll introduce you to the people who’ll be looking after him. Your dad has to go fill out some papers anyway, so we can sit with him until he meets us. Okay?”

      Eddy shrugged and turned away, all the fight gone out of him.

      “Hey, you’re forgetting somebody.” Nancy pointed to the pup, who was scrabbling around on the slick table like a small brown seal.

      Eddy looked at her. “Can I carry him?”

      “Your dog, remember? Just because he’s here doesn’t mean you can let other people take over completely.” She handed him a clean towel. “Pick him up with this.”

      Eddy lifted the pup to his shoulder. He leaned his cheek against the little dog’s silky head while the pup snuggled tight under his chin.

      Nancy left Tim with Dr. Hazard as they walked down the hall toward the ICU area. “He’s got to have a name. We can’t just

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