The Christmas Letter

by Kathi Daley

  “We’ll be fine. Everyone I asked to help has done clinics before, and it doesn’t sound like you’re changing anything. I’m sure we’ll find some awesome homes for the dogs in your care.”

  The conversation paused when the waiter came to take our order. I chose a filet, Brady the salmon. The wine he’d ordered was delicious, and I found myself beginning to relax and enjoy the evening.

  “So, tell me about yourself,” I said as we began our salads. I figured I knew everything I needed to about the clinic but very little about the man.

  “There’s isn’t a lot to tell. I grew up in Portland, the middle of five children. I attended college in Boston with the intention of applying to veterinary school on graduation. After four years of biology, anatomy, and a bunch of other ologies, I found I was less than certain about the direction my life was taking, so, on a whim, I joined the army. After my first tour I took a short break before reupping. It was at that point that my life’s trajectory went slightly askew.”

  “What happened?” I asked.

  “I met a woman named Sheila while I was vacationing in Germany. She was bright and funny, and I fell instantly in love with her. Sheila was living overseas on a student visa but was about to return to the States, so I changed my plan to do another tour, applied to veterinary school, and came back home. After graduating, I asked Sheila, who I was living with by that point, to marry me and she accepted. I knew my uncle wanted me to take over his practice in White Eagle, but Sheila made it clear there was no way she was living way out here in the wilderness. She had a friend in Chicago who knew someone who had an opening in an established practice. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be one doctor among many in a large practice, but Sheila convinced me it was a great opportunity, so I told my uncle I was going to pass and took the job in Chicago.”

  “And then?” I asked, knowing at least part of the answer.

  “And then I came home early one day to find Sheila in bed with the man she claimed was only a friend, and I realized she had moved to Chicago to be with him in the first place. He was married and not interested in a divorce, and Sheila seemed to think getting engaged to me would make him change his mind.”

  “She was using you the entire time?”

  “It would seem. Anyway, I knew my life was a mess and, after looking at things objectively, I realized I’d made every decision since meeting Sheila to accommodate her. I broke off the engagement, quit my job, talked to my uncle, who thankfully still wanted me, and here I am.”

  “Well, I for one am very grateful you’re here, but I’m sorry you had to go through all that to get here. It sounds awful.”

  “It wasn’t fun, but I feel like I’m a better man for having taken the journey. So far, I love White Eagle, the people are awesome, and the practice is great. So, how about you?”

  I took a sip of my water before I began. “My life has been boring compared to yours. I was born and raised right here in White Eagle. I have one brother, Mike, who’s a member of the White Eagle Police. My father died in an accident when I was fourteen and my mom owns a restaurant with my Aunt Ruthie. I spend my weekdays delivering the mail and I have several hobbies I enjoy on the weekend.”

  “What sort of hobbies?” Brady asked.

  “I like to hike in the summer and ski in the winter. I also volunteer at the animal shelter, as you know, and I usually attend book club at the Book Boutique on Wednesdays, although I’ve missed the last few meetings. You already know I’m in a pretty serious relationship with my dog, Tilly, and now with Tang.”

  “Any serious relationships of the human variety?”

  “If you’re referring to friendships I have a bunch, but if it’s romantic attachments, not for quite some time now.”

  Brady seemed pleased with my response. I wasn’t sure that meant much, but it was something. I was about to ask him about his hobbies when his phone buzzed. He looked at the screen and frowned.

  “I’m sorry. I have to go. It seems a dog has been hit by a car. The driver of the vehicle is waiting for me at the clinic.”

  “Go. It’s not a problem at all.” I looked toward the kitchen. “I’ll wait for our entrees, have them boxed up, and bring them to your place. We can eat when you’re done.”

  “You wouldn’t mind?”

  “Not at all. Now go. There’s a life depending on you.”

  I couldn’t help but feel a bit of fear as Brady hurried across the restaurant and out the door. I supposed it was a good sign that the driver who’d hit the dog had brought him to the clinic, but being hit by a car was a serious matter that could very well lead to a lot of injuries.

  By the time the food was ready and packaged up, I’d paid for it, and driven to Brady’s place, he was just finishing up. The dog had been sedated and had a cast on her leg but didn’t look too bad considering the ordeal she’d just gone through. “Is she going to be okay?” I asked.

  He nodded. “The driver who hit her is from out of town and has no idea who the owner might be. You don’t recognize her, do you?”

  I took a closer look at the dog, who appeared to be a terrier mix. “No, she doesn’t look familiar. I’m sure her owner will come looking for her. There’s a local webpage where lost and found pets can be listed. I’ll post to the page. If we don’t find the owner that way, I’ll put some flyers up around town.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate it. Our patient should sleep through the night. Are you still interested in dinner?”

  “I am. I had everything packaged in microwavable containers. I’ll heat them up if you want to grab some plates and utensils.”

  “It smells good and I’m starving.”

  “I guess one of the downsides to having a solo practice is that you’re always on call,” I said when our food had been heated and served.

  “Being a one-man operation does have its challenges. One of the only things I liked about the clinic in Chicago was that I had regular hours and was only on call a few days a month. My uncle made it work as a single practitioner for a lot of years, but I’m talking to a friend about coming on as a partner. Running both the veterinary hospital and the animal shelter is a lot for one person, and having someone to share on-call hours will make it easier to have a personal life. Besides, if I’m going to commit to the search-and-rescue operation I’ll need someone to cover when I’m not here.”

  “That’s true. Having a partner would make things easier. It might be slow for two people over the winter, but in the summer I’m sure you’ll be glad for the help. Has your friend been working as a veterinarian for long?”

  “Lilly’s been practicing for eight years. She’s a fantastic doctor and a small-town girl at heart, so I think she’ll fit right in.”

  “Housing in the area can be difficult. She should start looking right away.”

  “I have a guest room. I figured she can just stay with me until she finds a place.”

  I hated the part of me that didn’t like that idea. Brady and I were just friends, and having his new partner stay with him in the short term made a lot of sense. So why, I asked myself, did I feel a tinge of old-fashioned jealousy?

  Chapter 6

  Saturday, December 16

  “So, tell me all about Dr. Cutie,” Amberley Wade whispered into my ear after I’d sent a prospective adoptive parent off on a walk around the indoor exercise track with the dog they seemed to have fallen in love with. Amberley was the daughter of Kurt Wade and the granddaughter of Austin Wade, one of Dillinger Wade’s three children.

  “I don’t know him all that well. He only recently moved to White Eagle.”

  “I know that,” Amberley huffed, “but I also know you had dinner with him last night, and it appears you’ve been put in charge of this little shindig in his absence. Which leads to my next question: Why isn’t he here?”

  “He had to attend orientation for the search-and-rescue team, so I offered to cover for him.”

  Amberley fanned herself with her hand in an overly dramatic fashion. “Woo-wee. A do
ctor and an S-and-R-team member. Talk about a catch. I’m assuming he’s single? I hadn’t heard anything about a Mrs. Dr. Cutie.”

  “He’s single,” I confirmed.

  Amberley smiled. “Good.” She looked around the room. “I’m not much of a dog person, but I may need to adopt one of these fleabags so I have a reason to come by on a regular basis.”

  I raised a brow. “Spending time with a man you’re attracted to is a terrible reason to adopt a pet.”

  “I suppose it’s a bit extreme, but with the scarce selection of datable men in this town, extreme measures might be warranted. Still, I suppose dealing with dog hair and slobber might not be worth it.”

  “Assuming you aren’t here to adopt a dog, which I highly doubt, why are you here?”

  Amberley pursed her bright red lips. “I told you, I thought Dr. Cutie would be here. I wanted to meet him. I figured I’d better jump right in before someone else got their claws into him. Do you know when he’ll be back?”

  “Later this afternoon.”

  “I don’t suppose you could put in a good word for me with the doc? Talk me up a bit to spark an interest? Maybe introduce us to cut through any awkwardness that might arise from a first meeting?”

  I shook my head. “Sorry. I gave up my matchmaking license just last week. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have applications to process.”

  “How about if I had some information you might be interested in? Would you be willing to trade a glowing introduction for a piece of juicy gossip?”

  “I don’t gossip.”

  “It’s about that old man you’ve been running around asking about.”

  “Pike?”

  Amberley nodded.

  I hesitated. The last thing I wanted to do was introduce Brady to the biggest sex kitten in town, but Amberley was a Wade, so it was conceivable she could know something beneficial to my investigation.

  “What do you know?” I asked.

  “Will you help me get acquainted with the doctor?”

  “I guess I can arrange an introduction.” I sighed. The reality was, White Eagle was a small town and the two were bound to meet eventually anyway.

  Amberley looked around. “Is there somewhere we can talk in private?”

  I nodded. “Let me tell one of the other volunteers I’m taking a break.”

  I led Amberley to one of the offices in the back and motioned for her to have a seat. “Okay, what do you know?”

  “It’s not that I actually know anything.”

  I frowned.

  “It’s more that I noticed some unusual behavior I thought might be of interest.”

  “Go on.”

  “A couple of weeks ago I was at my grandfather’s, visiting Fantasia. I was just leaving when a taxi pulled up with Pike Porter inside. I asked what he was doing so far out of town and he said he’d stopped by to speak to my grandfather. I asked Grandfather about it; he and people like Pike don’t normally spend time together, and he said Pike just wanted to catch up on old times. That sounded like a flimsy explanation to me, so I spoke to Fantasia—she likes to snoop—and she said Pike and my grandfather had business to discuss, but she didn’t have the details. The next thing I knew, Pike was dead. I find that curious. Don’t you find that curious?”

  “I do.” I glanced at Amberley. “But why are you telling me this?”

  “Because you promised to introduce me to the cute doctor.”

  “You do realize you may have just implicated your grandfather in Pike’s death?”

  “What?” Amberley looked at me with genuine surprise on her face. “My grandfather didn’t kill him. I just said he’d had a conversation with him. So, will you introduce me to Dr. Cutie?”

  After I once again promised Amberley I’d arrange for her to meet Brady, I sent her on her way. If Mike was correct that Donny had stolen Pike’s money but hadn’t killed him, the secret Pike was thinking about sharing with Andrew Barton was the only motive. Or at least the only one I was aware of. If anyone from the Wade or Weston family was involved in Pike’s death it was going to be hard to prove. Between the two families, they owned most of the land in town and controlled most of the wealth. The Wades and Westons were about as close to royalty as you could get in this part of Montana.

  “Please tell me Amberley wasn’t here to adopt a dog,” one of the other volunteers said after she left.

  “No, she just wanted to meet the new bachelor in town. Did the woman who came to meet the collie mix make a decision?”

  “She loves the dog and is filling out an application as we speak. Do you know if we’re supposed to take drop-offs today?”

  “Someone’s here who wants to drop off a dog?”

  “The man in the blue sweater standing next to the Ford truck.”

  “I’ll talk to him. Why don’t you check on the prospective adoptive parents who are walking on the exercise track?”

  It always made me sad when people surrendered their pets to the shelter, but at times life situations demanded such a decision. Still, in my opinion there were those who took their relationship with their pets far too lightly. One man actually told me that when he’d brought home a puppy he had no idea dogs shed. Seriously? Had he grown up on another planet?

  “I understand you have a dog you’d like to drop off?” I asked the man in the blue sweater.

  “I do. I think he might be lost. I found him on the highway a good twenty miles out of town. I’m just passing through on my way to the East Coast, so I can’t keep him. I figured he was better off with you than on the side of the highway.”

  “You were right, he is better off with us. Let me grab a leash and I’ll take him off your hands.”

  The dog who had been brought in looked to be a shepherd mix. Not only was he a lot thinner than he should be, but he had open wounds on the bottom of his feet. He’d be better off in the animal hospital than the shelter, so I took him there while another of the volunteers held down the fort. I wasn’t a veterinarian and didn’t want to overstep, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to clean and wrap the wounds before housing him temporarily in one of the holding cages.

  “Well, aren’t you a sweet thing,” I said as the dog sat and stared at me as I worked. I didn’t know if he was always this mellow or if he was so exhausted from his travels that he didn’t have an ounce of fight left in him. “I wish you could tell me whether you have people looking for you.” The dog didn’t have a collar, but he could have had one when he started out and lost it along the way.

  I poured a dish of dog food and a fresh bowl of water, then set them in one of the large pens, along with a soft, heated dog bed. The look of gratitude on the dog’s face when he sank into the soft folds of the warm bed made me want to cry.

  “Now you have a good nap. Doc Baker will be back in a couple of hours and he can take a better look at those feet.” The dog closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

  As long as I was there, I decided to check in with the two other hospital residents, the dog who’d been brought in the previous evening looked to be doing much better, and a cat who’d been found with a broken leg. Both patients were resting comfortably, so I imagined Brady had given them light sedatives to help keep them quiet. The lights in the pen were dim and there was soft music playing in the background. I almost found myself wanting to curl up on one of the dog beds and take a nap myself.

  By the time the clinic had wrapped up for the day we’d managed to find forever homes for half of the dogs in residence. I hoped the others would be placed once the prospective humans who’d shown interest in them had a chance to think things over a bit. The animals were all returned to their pens and the volunteers left, and I went back to the animal hospital to check on the patients. When I arrived there was a man waiting near the entrance. “Can I help you?” I asked.

  “I understand a dog was brought in last night who’d been hit by a car.”

  “Yes. Is your dog missing?”

  He nodded. “Chestnut. She somehow got out of
the yard a week ago and I’ve been looking for her ever since.”

  “Can you describe your dog?”

  “About forty pounds, long chestnut hair, soulful eyes.”

  I smiled. It sounded like he was describing a woman, not an animal, but his description fit the dog who’d been brought in exactly. “It does sound like your dog was brought in.”

  “Is she okay?”

  “She’s doing great. Doc Baker expects her to make a full recovery.” I looked at my watch. “The thing is, he isn’t here right now and I’m not authorized to bring anyone into the hospital. He should be back in an hour if you want to come back then.”

  The man shook his head. “I’ll wait. I’m not leaving without my girl.”

  Unfortunately, he did have to leave without his girl. At least temporarily. When Brady arrived he happily reunited the man with his dog, but explained that due to the severity of her injuries, he wanted Chestnut to spend another day or two in the hospital. The man worked out a time to pick up his dog on Monday, then reluctantly left. I felt sorry for the guy, but I thought Brady’s caution was warranted.

  “Tell me about the shepherd,” Brady said after the man left.

  “A man found him on the side of the highway about twenty miles out of town. He’s been resting comfortably since I brought him in. I wrapped his paws, but they’re in pretty bad shape, so you’ll want to look at them.”

  “I will.” Brady turned on the faucet and began to wash his hands. “How did the clinic go?”

  “Great. We found homes for about half the current shelter residents. How was the orientation?”

  “Good. It appears White Eagle has a close-knit group I’m going to enjoy being a part of. I can’t wait to get started. I explained that I needed to line up some help here at the clinic before I could commit to being on call, but until then, Tracker and I are considered part of the team and will be invited to train with them and attend team activities.”

  “That’s awesome.”

  I watched as Brady unwound the bandages from the dog’s paws and closely examined each one. The look of compassion on his face as he worked warmed my heart. After he methodically examined each paw, treated, and rewrapped it, he knelt down so he was on eye level with the animal and explained what the next few days were going to be like. I swear, it seemed as if he believed the dog understood.