He stopped.
“I saw you stop by at our volunteer vaccination clinic last month.”
Heat crept up his neck, but he tried not to show his embarrassment. Instead, he shrugged. “I do have a dog.”
“And you and I both know she didn’t need a free rabies vaccine. Thank you for your donation to the Pets in Need Fund. Are you sure you don’t want your name on the wall of donors?”
“I’m sure. I wasn’t here on behalf of Barrington Lodge.” He didn’t know why people felt the need to shout when they gave what they could spare to a good cause, but Nolan preferred to give where he could, how he could, without all the spotlight falling on him.
“If you’re sure…”
“Yeah. Thanks, Susan,” he said, raising the leash to indicate Snowball. When he opened the door, the dog begrudgingly followed him out of the vet, looking morose all the while.
Before the door swung shut, he heard Susan ask, “And who do we have here?”
“The monster who put the scratch on Snowball’s nose.”
Nolan smiled to himself and unlocked his truck.
* * *
Julie staredafter Nolan’s retreating back, something in her softening. Okay, yes, he’d been annoying with his comment about her not remembering what winter was like when they’d first met, and he had acted a bit jerk-like in the diner. But, truth be told, the new boots were keeping her feet much warmer than her ruined suede ones, and now that he’d mentioned the rumor about her staying, she guessed she could kind of see why he had been angry. She might have been, too, if the roles were reversed and her gram thought she had a deal with the Millers, only to find out they were planning to renege on it behind her back.
Plus, he’d seemed so embarrassed to be put in the spotlight for the donation he’d made. It was cute. A lot of people would have used that donation as a stepping-stone to make them seem like they were better people.
Maybe Nolan was a genuinely good person, so much so that he didn’t have to prove it to himself or to other people.
“Oh, I’m sure that’s not true.”
“Hmm?”
The vet, Dr. Susan, was bent over, peering into the bars of the cat carrier. “No one’s at their best when they feel cornered. Why don’t we get this sweetheart into an examination room so I can take a look at him?”
Julie took charge of the cat carrier and followed the vet as she led the way into one of two small rooms. This one was decorated in the same fashion as the waiting room, with children’s artwork on the walls amid more traditional Christmas décor. The counter along the back wall with drawers of supplies and the stainless-steel examination table were clear of decorations. Julie set the cat carrier on the table and waited for the vet to close the door before she opened the carrier.
Kringle stubbornly did not emerge.
Julie sighed and peered into the carrier. He was huddled near the back, fur standing on end. When she reached her hand into the carrier, he scratched her. “Ouch!”
At least this time, the scratch hadn’t broken the skin.
“See?” she muttered under her breath. “Monster.”
“You’d be grumpy, too, if you were injured. What did you bring him in for?”
“He’s limping. One of his back legs, I think. He didn’t let me check.”
Susan, in a show of misplaced confidence in Julie’s opinion, donned a pair of latex gloves before she reached into the carrier. Maybe the latex gave her some protection, but she was able to coax the cat out, taking some but not all of his weight in her hands until he huddled on the table.
She peered at the cat. “You’re one of Myrtle’s, aren’t you?”
Julie sighed. “Soon. I found him in the Cozy Holly Inn. My family owns it, and I’m here to clean it up before the Christmas Eve party.”
Having now said that much, she hoped that Dr. Susan was one of those who had gotten an invitation.
“I heard about that. My dad got an invitation from Ida, and he hasn’t stopped talking about it since. He used to be the town veterinarian before he retired, and I took over the clinic.”
Everyone in town seemed to pass the family business on. Julie couldn’t help but smile. It must be nice, to have a town built on that legacy. Susan very gently examined first Kringle’s front legs and then his back legs, cooing to him all the while. Strands of her blond hair fell free from her ponytail, but she didn’t seem to notice.
