Page 25 of Tom's Chance
“To let you know what I find out about Rose and Baby’s owner.”
“Ah, yeah, okay, sorry.” She was flustered and held out her hand and he placed his phone in it. She programmed his number, and walked him out. Afterhe left, she leaned against the door, leaned down with her hands on her knees and took several deep breaths. “Holy heck,” she whispered. “That man can kiss.” She stood, gave herself a good shake, then went upstairs to her spare room. After rooting around for several minutes, she found what she was looking for and gathered it all to take downstairs. She had just reached the bottom of the stairs when her mother walked through the back door.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Tom seemed to be here an awfully long time. Not that I’m judging, but I was wondering if you ran into any problems with the animals?”
“Oh, no, they’re fine. We were talking. Something happened earlier in town, and he explained it to me.” Though she loved her mother, she didn’t want to get into the details of what exactly happened, and left it at that. She was happy her mother didn’t question her.
“What do you have with you?”
Lorissa looked at her haul and then back at her mother with a gigantic grin. “It’s one of those padded lounge chairs and a sleeping bag.”
“What do you need those for?”
“I’m going to be camping out at night with Rose and Baby. I know I don’t have to, but I thought I’d be closer when the puppies need to be fed, and I can keep an eye on Rose.” She allowed her mother to helpher carry the items into the clinic, and after they set up the place where Lorissa would sleep for the next few days, Laurie walked over to the animals and looked at them.
With sadness in her eyes, she turned to her daughter. “Do you think the dog will make it?”
“Rose, her name is Rose. I don’t know. I hope she will, that’s why she had the IV in and sedated. Both Tom and I thought it would be best for the puppies to stay close to her so if she survives, the chances of her rejecting them after we handle them might be less.”
“Wow, I never thought that she might reject them. What’s going to happen next?”
“Tom is going to check in with the owner and let her know they are safe and in my care. He’s going to ask whether she’s going to want them back or not. You heard him say what she would do if Baby, the cat, was knocked up by someone without pedigree. I don’t know whether that’s true or not. If it is, then I’ll have to look for homes for them.”
“Would you turn them into barn cats?”
“Probably not. I know Pru and Ryan have three kittens he rescued months ago. I’ve seen them around the cabins. Cats make good mousers and would be perfect in the barn, but I don’t know if I want to do that to them. If I kept any of them, I would make sure they were spayed or neutered.”
“That’s a good idea.” Laurie went over and looked at the puppies, then turned back when an alarmsounded. She took instructions from her daughter and helped her feed them. As she did, she asked, “Can you tell if the father of the puppies was a Yorkie?”
“Not at this point. Maybe once they get their eyes open I’ll be able to tell better, but not now.” Lorissa looked up and asked quietly. “Why?”
Laurie shrugged, then sighed heavily. “I was thinking of maybe taking one for myself. I’d definitely have to talk to Duane about it, but I always wanted a cat or a small dog when you were growing up. I had them when I was little, just don’t be surprised if your grandmother comes sniffing around wanting a puppy.”
“Really? About wanting an animal when I was little? I didn’t know that.”
“I kept it from you because Peter was adamant that it didn’t happen. He wasn’t allergic, but I knew he would be jealous of you or I showing an animal attention and not him.”
“That’s his own damn fault, Mom. He was a cold bastard to both of us and only graced us with his presence when he was between skanks. I’m sorry if I’m speaking harshly of the asshole, but he brought everything happening to him on himself. He can’t control either of us any longer.”
“I know, it’s just that at times like this, I think about what he had said all those years ago. I’m glad you followed your dreams to become a vet, and that now you’re doing what you love.”
They both looked up at the small commotion at the doorway and Lorissa grinned when she saw her grandmother standing there. Before she could say anything, Lois spoke, and Lorissa threw her head back and laughed.
“When can I have one of those puppies?” Lois demanded. She turned to Laurie with a sappy smile. “Do you remember Ralph?”
“Oh my, I haven’t thought of Ralph in ages.” She turned to her daughter with a laugh and a sappy smile that matched Lois’. “Ralph was a Yorkie that my father brought home from work one day. He said he found him on the side of the road, and he rescued him. He was cold, and scared. I swear it took a week for him to stop shivering. We put up flyers, cleaned him up, took him to the vet for a checkup, and when no one came forward we kept him. The vet said he was only a few months old when Dad found him. We believe he was dumped.”
“How long did you have him for?”
“Twenty-years,” Lois said proudly as she picked up the last puppy to be fed and helped. “He died about six months before you were born.”
“Wow, that’s a long time for a Yorkie. Their life expectancy is usually between twelve and fifteen years.”
As the three of them finished feeding the puppies, Lorissa checked on Rose, Baby and the kittens and they went into the kitchen. WhenLorissa started opening the cupboard, Laurie stopped her.
