Dr. Horatio vs. the Six-Toed Cat (9 page)

The heavy regard of a pair of eyes drew his attention toward the crowd. Seated in the middle, Julia Belchwater had a stare fixed on him. She mouthed a question,
Is that the papa?
Doc nodded, and her expression turned sour. He hugged the tomcat closer to his chest, determined to shield him from protective cat owners.

Wearing her best dark blue dress and with every lock of gray hair in place, Miss Ernie stood before a microphone stand that had been lowered to accommodate her height. “The Goose Creek Fall Festival would not be possible without the efforts of everyone in town. Thank you to everyone who helped. To Jacob Pulliam and his crew for overseeing all the construction.”

She paused to let Jacob enjoy a round of applause.

“To Little Norm for hauling the tents and setting them up.”

More applause while Little Norm, who was by no means a small man, took a bow.

“And this year I've had the best assistant any coordinator could have asked for in Alison Richardson.” Miss Ernie's gaze scanned the crowd. “Alison, where are you?”

In the second row of seats, Alison stood and waved a hand toward the crowd.

“Oh!” A grin lit Mother's face. “And there's Alison's beau, who came a long way to join us for the festival. Welcome, young man. Everyone say hello to Nick.”

The startled-looking man seated between Alison and Millie gave a shy nod. Doc examined him from the distance of a few yards. So this was the surprise fiancé. Funny. He didn't look foreign. At least Millie's smile seemed genuine, and even from here he could see that she'd
lost the anxious expression she'd worn all week. Even Al was smiling and appeared to be at ease.

From the stage, Miss Ernie continued. “And of course every business in town has contributed something. Cardwell Drugstore, and the Whistlestop, and—”

Her speech ceased abruptly. Doc looked from the Richardsons toward the stage to find his mother's gaze fixed on him.

“Horatio, what are you doing with Hornblower?”

“Hornblower?” He looked down at the creature in his arms, who was watching the proceedings calmly. “This is
your
cat?”

“No, he's mine.” Alison Richardson sidestepped out of the row and approached to lift the cat from his arms. “And his name's not Hornblower.” Her lips twisted and she addressed Miss Ernie, who had deserted the microphone and come to this side of the stage. “It's Jordan, after Robert Jordan.”

“What kind of a name is Jordan for a cat?” Miss Ernie shook her head.

“Robert Jordan was the main character in one of Hemingway's best known books.” She hugged the cat, who tolerated the affection with remarkable aplomb. “You can't name him after Horatio Hornblower. That book was written by Forester, not Hemingway.”

“I don't care who wrote it.” Miss Ernie waved a hand dismissively. “I like it.”

“Obviously,” said Lizzie in Doc's ear, her tone heavy with sarcasm.

The young man, who apparently was not from South America, left his seat to join Alison. He stared at the animal in her arms, incredulous. “I can't believe you stole that cat.”

“I didn't steal him.” Alison hugged the feline again and avoided her fiancé's eyes. “He followed me home.”

Nick's eyebrows arched. “From Florida to Kentucky?”

The delighted whispers of the townsfolk alerted them all to the fact that they had become the center of attention.

Doc stepped between the two young people. “I think we should
continue this conversation elsewhere. Let's go over to the clinic, shall we?”

“Good idea.” Lizzie spread her arms and proceeded to herd them all away from the inquisitive gazes of the townsfolk.

As they left the area, joined by Millie and Al, Doc listened to his mother rush through the fastest festival kick-off speech on record, so that by the time they turned the corner toward the clinic, she had overtaken them in the golf cart she drove around town on festival business. Alison and Nick hopped on, and the trio was waiting in the clinic's parking lot when Doc and the others arrived.

Inside, they all gathered in the waiting room. The cat, Hornblower or Jordan or whatever his name was, fidgeted on Alison's lap while she attempted to calm him by stroking his fur.

With a scowl that Al directed around the room, lingering longest on his daughter, he took control of the conversation. “Alison, tell us what's going on here. Did you steal a cat?”

“No,” she said quickly, and then bit her lower lip. “Well, I didn't really steal him. He kind of adopted me.”

Beside her, Nick nodded. “She's right about that. We were in Key West and there are all kinds of cats running around the island.”

“And chickens and roosters,” Alison put in.

His lips twisted as he leveled a disapproving stare on his girlfriend. “But not the six-toed cats. They're confined within a specially built wall at the Hemingway House, and the males are counted every night.”

“Which proves that Jordan is not a Hemingway cat,” Alison said. “We even asked the custodian if any of their cats were missing, and he said no. Jordan was hanging around the condo where we were staying, and he kind of adopted me. Followed me everywhere.”

Millie stroked the restless cat in her daughter's lap. “So he's a stray?”

“I doubt it.” Nick gestured toward the animal. “Look at him. He's healthy and friendly. He was probably somebody's pet, and I'll bet they miss him.” He gave the girl a pointed look, which she avoided.

Doc turned to his mother. “How did you end up with him?”

Miss Ernie rose and crossed the room to take the cat from Alison's lap. “Alison gave him to me.”

“Temporarily,” the girl added.

Miss Ernie returned to her seat, clutching the cat. “For an indefinite amount of time,” she corrected. “She couldn't keep him at home.”

“On account of your allergies, Daddy,” the girl put in. “Plus…” She slipped her hand into the young man's and smiled at him. “I knew you'd probably throw a fit about me coming home in love with an army man, and I didn't want to overload you.”

Nick softened visibly in the face of her smile. “But, sugar, what if he belongs to somebody? What if you took some little girl's pet?”

The cat hopped off of Miss Ernie's lap and beelined across the floor to the swinging door that separated the reception area from the clinic. No doubt he was fully aware of the four females confined in crates in the boarding room.

“I've called down there a half-dozen times,” Alison insisted. “I've checked the newspaper for notices, I've contacted the veterinarians in the lower Florida Keys, and even talked to the vet in charge of the polydactyls at the Hemingway House. Nobody's reported a missing six-toed cat. Dr. Clark down there told me that the polydactyl gene crops up every now and then around the island, not just on the museum property. She said Jordan is probably a distant relative of the Hemingway cats, but she assured me he isn't one of them.”

Nick enveloped her hand in both of his. “We can't take him to Italy, sugar. The army won't let us.”

Al jerked upright. “Italy?”

“Yes, sir.” Nick nodded. “Camp Darby in Tirrenia, Italy.”

“You're going to Italy?” Millie awarded the couple a grin wide enough to display her molars. “Not South America?”

“That's right, ma'am. The base is not too far from Livorno, where my grandparents lived before they came to the States. I've still got
cousins there, so we'll have family nearby.” He grinned at Alison and squeezed her hand. “My parents are planning to visit after we get settled in. You'll both be welcome too, of course.”

Tears sparkled in Millie's eye, and Al looked as relaxed as Doc had ever seen the man. Though glad for them, he needed to resolve the issue at hand.

He cleared his throat. “About that cat.”

Miss Ernie answered in a voice that brooked no argument. “When the young people return and set up housekeeping in this country, I'll give him back. In the meantime,
Hornblower,
” she grinned at Alison, “is staying with me.”

By the clinic door Hornblower, or Jordan, or whatever the animal's name was, let out a yowl.

“Then I insist on one thing.” Doc strode toward the cat and scooped him up. He stood to his full height and poured every ounce of authority into his voice. “He'll be neutered immediately. This little Lothario may not have free run of the town. We already have enough polydactyl kittens, thank you.”

“I was going to ask you to take care of that as soon as the festival was over,” his mother said.

Lizzie leaned forward to catch Miss Ernie's eye. “I can't believe you've had a cat for, what? Three months? And you never said a word to either of us.”

“I've been too busy with the festival to think about anything else.” She fixed a stern look on Doc. “If you visited more often you would have seen him.”

He ducked his head at the well-deserved reprimand. “Point taken.”

“And speaking of the festival.” Miss Ernie picked up her handbag and stood. “I need to get back and see to the vendors. If I turn my back for an instant that Abernathy woman will try to stage a takeover.”

“Go ahead,” Doc told them all. “I'll be right there.” He secured his grip on the cat in his arms. “First I'm going to make sure this scoundrel is out of harm's way.”

Wedding-in-a-Hurry Checklist

Reserve church sanctuary – Millie

Call Reverend Hollister – Alison

Obtain marriage license – Alison and Nicholas

Order flowers – Millie