“Cat! Cat!” Right. Hadn’t Ivy given him a name? “Kringle!”
Even though Julie hadn’t even called the cat by name yet, that word made him pause. Or maybe it was the dog in his path that had caused that.
Kringle stood in the path of her footsteps from an earlier excursion outside, his back arched. Opposite Kringle, Snowball had her rump in the air and her tail sweeping the drifts. Snowball gave a playful bark.
Apparently, Kringle wasn’t in a playful mood. He reared back and swatted the dog across the nose.
Yipe!
Julie winced as a red streak marred the white fur on Snowball’s nose. The dog whimpered and retreated a step.
Desperate, Julie shouted, “Kringle!”
The cat glanced at her with a wide-eyed look. To her surprise, he trotted to the porch. She met him at the bottom of the stairs and tried to lift him into her arms, only to earn herself a scratch and a hiss for her efforts. He fled up the stairs behind her.
Nolan, likewise, called for his dog. When Julie straightened, their eyes met. She didn’t know what her expression looked like. His gaze flicked to Snowball, who was slinking through the snow toward him, head lowered.
Julie trotted over to the edge of the nearest snowbank. “I’m sorry if Kringle hurt her.”
And she was. Snowball seemed like a nice dog, if overly enthusiastic when it came to cats. The curl of her tail beneath her rump made Julie feel like she’d slapped the dog herself.
“It’s fine.” The dog reached Nolan, who patted her gently on the head and crouched in front of her to look at her nose.
“Do you want to come inside? I have a first aid kit.”
“No.” He straightened and patted his thigh. “Come on, Snowball.” Before he turned away, he looked up at Julie and added, “Don’t worry about it. It was our fault. Snowball ran over when she saw Kringle. Guess she needs to learn that not all creatures love to play.”
Nolan left, and Julie hurried up the porch to where the cat was huddled next to the closed door. Ned was on the porch, trying to lean down to pat the cat, who looked distinctly like he was going to bite the old man’s hand.
“I’m sorry, Ned. I think he might be hurt. I don’t mean to rush you out…”
“It’s fine.” Ned straightened, though he looked concerned. “If he’s hurt, maybe you should take him down to the vet.”
“I don’t have an appointment—I’ve never even taken him to the vet there before.”
Ned shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. Susan will make room in her schedule for emergencies. We take care of each other here.”
Julie met his gaze then smiled. She thought Kringle was more shaken than anything else, but it felt good to know that there was a safety net in town if ever she needed one. Keeping one eye on the cat, she opened the door to the house wide enough for him to slink inside.
As he did, she noticed his limp and revised her opinion about going to the vet. How would he find a new family if he had an injury? Besides, Kringle might not be her cat, but there was no way she was going to leave him injured and in pain.
Even if he did give her three new scratches as she reintroduced him to the cat carrier.
Chapter 18
Nolan jiggled his knee as he waited in one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs of the Pinecone Falls Veterinary Services waiting room. He’d long since learned that if he was in the room with Snowball while she was being examined, she would only whimper more to catch his attention. She behaved better for Susan if he was outside of the room. And, given how deep those scratches along her snout looked, he needed her to be on her best behavior.
He was the only person in the waiting room. The receptionist had run out to grab lunch, and the vet technician was in with Susan, helping to hold Snowball still while her nose was cleaned and examined. Nolan had already flipped through the magazines next to the chairs, all pet-themed, and was growing more nervous by the minute. Hadn’t they been in there long enough? What if there was a problem? That scratch had caught the corner of Snowball’s nose itself, and he knew dogs’ noses were very sensitive.
Of course, it was his own fault. He’d noticed a second truck parked at the Cozy Holly Inn and had ventured over the property line to investigate. The cat had run out, and Snowball seized the opportunity for a new playmate.
He took a breath, smelling the fresh pine boughs that were arranged along the top of the counter. The smell of Christmas. He missed that smell at the lodge.
A huge tree strung with lights, candy canes, and plastic ornaments of animals was stuffed into one corner. Paper snowflakes hung at intervals from the ceiling—with his height, he’d already walked into one. The walls were papered with printouts of cats and dogs in winter gear or Santa hats, colored and signed by the local elementary school children. It was cheery and welcoming and exactly the way he wanted Barrington Lodge to feel. That was how it used to be on Christmas when his mother was alive. But how could he persuade his dad and grandfather to get back into the spirit? Nolan hadn’t had much success on that front so far.
The door opened, and Nolan, slouched in the chair, turned to look at who had entered. He stiffened when Julie stopped on the threshold, cat carrier in hand.
“Oh.” Julie’s gaze flicked from Nolan’s face to the floor, searching for Snowball. “Is Snowball okay?”
