Read Venus in Blue Jeans for Free Online Page B

need to get on home. I just wanted to tell you your cat made it through the surgery all right.”
    Docia blew out a breath, ruffling the ringlets on her forehead. “So you did have to operate?”
    Cal nodded. “There were bullet fragments in his jaw. I think we got them all. He’s sleeping it off at the clinic and we’ve got him on antibiotics and saline. He’s still not a hundred percent clear, but he’s looking a lot better than he did when you first brought him in.”
    She closed her eyes, leaning her forehead against the doorway into the dining room. “Thanks. I don’t know why I went all nutsy on you at the clinic. I’m usually much more rational than that.”
    “That’s okay.” Cal shrugged. “Pets do that to you. They’re sneaky sometimes. They worm their way into your heart when you’re not looking.”
    “I don’t…this is the first time I ever had a cat,” Docia murmured, her eyes still closed. “We had dogs when I was a kid.” She opened her eyes then, smiling slightly. “That is, my daddy had dogs when I was a kid. I didn’t have one of my own. They were his hunting dogs, not pets exactly. He never let me get too close to them.”
    Cal tried to get his unruly body back under some kind of control. At least his scrubs didn’t show much. “Well, like I say, Nico made it okay. Now I need to get home.” He smiled at her. “Drop by the clinic tomorrow if you can. I’ll let you see him if he’s awake.”
    He turned toward the door, only to feel her hand on his arm. “Thank you so much,” she said softly. “Thank you for looking after him, Doctor.”
    “It’s Cal,” he mumbled, “Cal Toleffson. I should have introduced myself. Sorry.”
    Oh, you moron. Way to impress her.
    Docia smiled. “Then thank you, Cal Toleffson, for saving my cat’s life.”
    “Anytime.” He grinned back. “Anytime at all.”
     
     
    Docia leaned beside the window, watching him stride down Spicewood toward the intersection at Second Street. She wondered where he lived. She wondered where he came from. She wondered if there was any way she could invite him to Brenner’s without looking like she was trying to reward him for his services.
    That sounded more like Donnie Branscombe than Cal Toleffson. He might not even want to go out with her. Probably wouldn’t, in fact. Probably had all the action he could handle from the other women in Konigsburg without taking on a Konigsburg untouchable.
    She sighed and let the curtain drop back in place. Even though he might come across as the nicest guy in town, he could still turn out to be a loser. Somehow she’d always been able to magically transform Mr. Right into Mr. Oh My God without half trying.
    She glanced out the window again. A shadow moved across the pool of light from the streetlight on the corner. Somewhere out there was the person who had shot her cat.
    And her father was going to head over from Buckhorn to check things out any minute now.
    Docia started toward the bedroom, shaking her head. Maybe she could find a nice nunnery to retire to for a couple of weeks.

Chapter Four
     
    It took Margaret Hastings more than twenty minutes to get Señor Pepe ready to go for the day. The dog was really a trial—not nearly as adorable as those she’d seen in magazine pictures and on television before she’d bought him. He didn’t seem to like his wicker carrier, which she’d spent hours picking out. He wasn’t happy at the shop—he kept wanting to get up and walk around rather than sit on his velvet cushion and charm the customers as Margaret had originally envisioned. And he hadn’t made much of an impression on her friends, thanks to that peeing-on-the-floor incident at Rhonda Ruckelshaus’s salon last week.
    Margaret sighed as she stepped briskly up the walk to the Konigsburg Merchants Association offices. Señor Pepe shot her a doleful glance from beneath his eyelashes. The dog always looked like he was on the verge of tears no matter what she did. She