Page 66 of The Moment They Can Never Forgive
“Oh hey, Mrs. C.” She waved at the woman who was sitting outside drinking coffee.
“Good to see you back, dear. You bring Hudson to visit me soon.”
“Will do.” This town,she thought, shaking her head. Everyone was in everyone’s business.
She entered The Gnat and headed to reception, but no one was there. There was, however, a lot of noise coming from the rooms she couldn’t see.
“Just catch her, for pity’s sake. How hard can it be?”
“Deirdre is freaking the poor dog out. She keeps running at him and clawing his face,” a female voice said.
Leah thought she knew who it belonged to.
“Hello!” she called.
“Back here, Leah,” JD yelled.
She followed the noises and found Cill, JD, and a man she didn’t know in a room that had beds and smelled really good. Candles were lit, and Bradford was stretched out on the table, his lower half covered in a sheet.
“Leah, thank God,” Cill said. “This is Jessie. He’s amazing with hair.” She waved at the man. “Come in one day, and he can do something with yours.”
“Ah, okay,” Leah said, unsure what was going on.
“Thank fuck you’re here,” JD said. “This is your new dog.”
Leah looked at the small, scruffy brown animal he held out to her. “He needs a home, and you need a dog.”
“Dog?”
“Someone dropped him at my place, but my duck doesn’t like him?—”
“Duck?” Leah said.
“Velma,” JD said, sounding testy like she should already know that. “They don’t get along, and she was there first, so he’s yours.”
“Ah….” She had nothing else as JD thrust the little dog at her. Leah then received a lick on her chin from a raspy tongue.
“Aww, he never licked us once,” Cill said. “We were going to take him, but Jed said no, three dogs are enough.”
“Apparently he was found wandering on the side of the road. Miss Jonas has checked him out and given him shots,” JD added. “I brought him in for Cill today, but like she said, Jed said no. So now he’s yours.”
“Miss Jonas?” Leah had been forming sentences for years, but right then, they seemed beyond her.
“The vet. Sheriff Dans’s girl,” Bradford added.
“Right. I don’t know if we want a dog,” Leah lied. She’d actually been thinking that very thing. The dog was looking at her with its soft black eyes. Small, with brown-black hair, it was cute.
“Want me to book you in now for a cut? You look overdue,” Cill said. “Those eyebrows too. I’ll need a weed eater for those,” she added. “In fact, your nails could do with work. Girl, you need the full deal.”
“I’ve been a little busy for pampering,” Leah said, finding her words.
“Even more reason to get some,” JD said.
“I’ll think about it.”
“I’ll book you in for tomorrow morning,” JD added.
“No, you won’t,” Leah said with a little more force. You had to stand up to these people or they just stomped all over you.
