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A Town Called Ruby Prairie

By Annette Gail Smith

Center Point Large Print

Copyright © 2006 Annette Gail Smith
All right reserved.
ISBN: 9781585478477

Chapter One

The little cat lay heavy, warm, and limp in Charlotte Carter'slap-bleeding right onto her new white pants. She strokedthe animal with one hand and struggled to hold the phone and punchnumbers with the other. After four long rings, an answer.

"Hello?"

Her words tumbled out in a hyperventilated rush. "Have Ireached Dr. Ross? the veterinarian?"

"You have. Who's calling?"

"It's Snowball ... I mean, it's Charlotte. Charlotte Carter. We metlast Sunday. At church."

There was a thoughtful pause. "Mrs. Carter. Yes, I remember. Youwere sitting by yourself, toward the back. Do you wear glasses?"

"Yes. Sometimes. I need them for reading. About my-"

"Of course, I remember now, Mrs. Carter. I'm a deacon at LightedWay, and I read your visitor card. You bought Tanglewood, didn'tyou? A great old house. I'm sure you'll fit right in at Lighted Way.You do realize that wasn't our regular preacher. Pastor Jock was outof town. But we were glad to have you anyway. Hope you'll comeback. Nice of you to call, Mrs. Carter."

"Thank you. Yes. I will. I mean I'll try to. Uh, Dr. Ross, what I'mcalling about is my cat. I know it's late, and I am so sorry to botheryou at home; but I didn't know who to call, and I'm afraid she justgot hit by a car. I-I found her in the middle of the street, a goodquarter mile from my house-which doesn't make any sense becauseSnowball has never been one to wander."

"Cats tend to roam when they're in a new place," said Dr. Ross."You did just move here?"

"Yes. Two weeks ago tomorrow."

"Mrs. Carter, have you ever taught Sunday school?"

"Yes, but Snow-"

"Wonderful. Now you know cats will roam till they get settledin. You might want to keep her inside till she gets used to the newplace. An old wives' tale says that if you put butter between a cat'stoes it won't try to go back to its old home. Never put much stockin the procedure myself, though." Dr. Ross chuckled. "I'm trying toremember now. Is it the third graders or the fifth graders who needsomeone to fill in?"

"Yes, sir. About my cat-I planned on keeping her inside for a while,but it's sort of too late. You see, at first I thought she was just an emptysack or some trash or something, but when I got closer ..."

This time Charlotte's words got through.

"You say she got hit? Your cat? How's her breathing?"

"Kind of funny."

"She trying to fight you?"

"No." Stroking the limp cat, Charlotte tried not to cry.

"We best take a look. Have you got a cat carrier? No? Well, then,wrap her up in a towel and put her in a box. I'll meet you at the clinic.You know where it is?"

"Just down from the post office?"

"That's right. Four Paws Pet Clinic. Sign's out front."

Charlotte wiped her eyes on the tail of her shirt.

"Don't get in any hurry. Be careful. Are you okay to drive?"

"I think so. Yes. I am." She had to be.

"Okay. See you in ten minutes."

Charlotte eased the injured cat out of her lap and onto a kitchenchair and raced through the house looking for a box. A shoe box, apacking box, any kind of box. But as she'd unpacked her things, shehad carted all the boxes to the curb, and the garbage truck had comeyesterday.

Think, Charlotte. Think. She made herself take a deep breath.

Pantry.

Crackers. They came in a box.

Charlotte grabbed the cracker box and emptied it out onto thekitchen counter.

"Mew," came a weak sound.

"Hold on," Charlotte called to the cat. The way the cracker boxwas shaped, she'd need to tape up the end and cut an opening inthe side. Masking tape? Duct tape? Did she even have any? Charlottescrambled through drawer after drawer but did not find a thing. Drat!What was she thinking? Snowball was not going to fit in a crackerbox! What now?

She dashed to her bedroom. Yes! She pulled out her lingeriedrawer and dumped all her underwear out onto the bed. This woulddo. Once she'd wrapped Snowball in a pink bath towel and set herin the drawer, off they went.

Or at least, off they went once Charlotte found her keys.

Dr. Ross, short, squat, and dressed in his everyday uniform ofblue work pants and a loose-fitting embroidered Mexican shirt, waswaiting when they arrived. It was almost eleven.

"Let's see here." He lifted Snowball out of the drawer and laid heron the exam table. Matted with blood and mud, the little thing wasso injured that she didn't even try to get away.

The vet snapped on a pair of latex gloves and flipped on a brightoverhead light. After giving the cat a shot to ease her pain, he proceededto look her over from head to tail.

"How bad is she?" asked Charlotte.

"Not good. See how her hip's positioned? Got some brokenhones in that back leg, probably in both back legs. I'll X-ray her.Probably has other injuries, too. Belly's hard as a rock."

"That's not good?"

"Internal bleeding."

"What can you do fot her?"

Dr. Ross sighed. "Mrs. Carter, after thirty-seven years of practice,I still hate this part. We've got a couple of options."

Charlotte stroked the cat's chin. She thought she detected a weaklittle purr.

"I can do surgery on her and maybe fix her up. But nothing's forsure."

"Surgery?"

He nodded. "Cats are tricky. Patching her up will be expensive.Could run close to a thousand dollars, and there's no guarantee thatshe'll be all right when we're done. It might be better to think aboutputting her to-"

"Can I pay it out?" Charlotte cut him off.

Dr. Ross looked up.

Charlotte bit her lip. "I'm not one to fuss over animals. I understandthere comes a time when it's best to put them down. But Snowball belonged to my late husband, J.D. He was a fool over her. Keptone hook baited on his trotline down at our little pond just so shecould have her fresh fish. So many times I've watched him sit andpick the bones out of a catfish and feed it to Snowball right out ofhis hand."

Dr. Ross peeled off his gloves and took a seat on a stool. "Howlong has your husband been gone, Mrs. Carter?"

"It's Charlotte. Six months."

"I see. I'm sorry to hear of your loss. I can't help but wonder what'sbrought a new widow like you to Ruby Prairie. We've not exactlygot a booming metropolis here. There aren't many jobs for a personunless you're a schoolteacher or a nurse or you own some kindof business, I don't recall any Carters in Ruby Prairie. Are your peoplefrom around here?"

"No. Just me." Charlotte wasn't inclined to share more.

The short-acting shot began to wear off. Snowball raised herhead, looked at Charlotte, then lay back down.

"I don't think I can let her go just yet," said Charlotte, her voicetight.

"Okay then." Dr. Ross stood up and patted Charlotte's hand."I'll do my best to fix the little gal up. Let me call Lindy, my granddaughter.She assists me when I do surgery. Soon as she can get uphere, I'll take Snowball back and we'll get started. In the meantime,you go on home and get some rest. Jot down your number, and we'llcall you when we're finished. It may take several hours."

Charlotte hesitated. "May I stay with her till you're ready tostart?"

"Sure." Dr. Ross went to make coffee.

"Poor baby." Charlotte stroked Snowball's bloody, matted fur."You're going be all right. Yes, you are." Tears fell. "Doctor's gonnatake good care of you. You'll be out catching a mouse before youknow it."

How in the world am I going pay for all this? She hadn't budgeted forsuch an expense. And until...