Dr. Horatio vs. the Six-Toed Cat by Virginia Smith Page A

disappeared behind a blur of Millie’s tears.
    They ran down the stairs amid a shower of birdseed thrown by their guests. Laughing and crying at the same time, Millie waved at the couple as they ran to the waiting car. Nicholas sprinted forward and opened the door for his bride, who turned and called to her guests, “We’ll see y’all at the house!”
    â€œShe already sounds like him,” Albert muttered. “Did you hear that Southern drawl?”
    Millie laughed. “Imagine what she’ll sound like when they come back from Italy.”
    When the newlyweds’ car sped away, everyone else headed for their own vehicles. Albert started to leave, but Millie held him back with a pressure on his arm. He turned to her with an unspoken question.
    â€œI just…need a moment.” Again, her vision blurred, and she lowered her head lest anyone see.
    Albert pressed her hand and told their sons to go ahead. When they stood alone on the church lawn, he placed an arm around her waist.
    â€œAre you going to be okay?”
    Swallowing, Millie nodded.
    He pulled her close, and she rested her head against his shoulder, breathing in the unique blend of his aftershave, soap, and hair tonic. They were alone now. Truly alone. The last of their little birds had left the nest.
    â€œOur house will never be the same.” Her words were muffled against his suit coat.
    â€œWhat are you talking about, Mildred Richardson?” She heard a teasing tenderness in his voice. “We’ve been alone for four years, ever since she went to college.”
    She shook her head. “It’s not the same. She was just away temporarily. But we’re really alone now. She won’t be coming home.” A sob threatened to choke her, and she pressed her face harder against the stiff fabric.
    Albert hugged her a moment, and then pushed her gently back. “Here now. Dry your eyes. This is the way it’s supposed to work. We’ve done our job. And we’ve done a good job with all three of our kids. Now it’s our turn.”
    With a mighty sniff, she looked up into his face. “Our turn to do what?”
    A wolfish grin appeared on the familiar face. “Chase each other around the house, maybe?”
    The answer was so un-Albert-like that she laughed. Trust her husband to say exactly what she needed to hear. When the laughter died, she was left smiling at the man she had loved for more than half her life.
    â€œI hope Alison and Nicholas will be as happy as we have been.” She rose on her toes to place a lingering kiss on his cheek. “I love you, Albert.”
    â€œIt’s a good thing,” he replied. “I think you’re stuck with me.”
    Laughing, they looped arms and headed toward their car.

    Can’t wait for more antics and adventures from Goose Creek? Read more about Albert, Millie, and all their small-town neighbors in The Most Famous Illegal Goose Creek Parade , the first book in the Tales from the Goose Creek B & B series.

Welcome to Goose Creek!

    It’s ten years after the Fall Festival and Doc’s skirmish with the six-toed cat, and Al Richardson is perfectly content in his Goose Creek, Kentucky, home. The village is charming, the neighbors are friendly, and retirement is only three years and sixty-three days away.
    But changes are right around the corner for Goose Creek. Al’s wife, Millie, is hatching a scheme to renovate an old Victorian eyesore and open a B&B. The new veterinarian is mystified when her only patient is Al and Millie’s smelly dog. And folks are starting to take sides over who should give the water tower a new coat of paint…an issue that might just lead to an illegal parade.
    Retirement or not, Al is about to get a lot busier than he bargained for.
    A delightful, quirky comedy about a small town with a big heart.
    TO LEARN MORE ABOUT
    The Most Famous Illegal Goose Creek Parade,
    Book 1 in the Tales from the Goose