Read Online Catch as Cat Can by Rita Mae Brown - Free Book Online Page A

stated.
    â€œI'm not part of any herd.”
Pewter proudly jumped down next to Murphy.
    â€œOf course not. You're a cat,”
Murphy said.
    â€œMurphy, this herd idea sounds good but you once said that dogs are pack animals and here I am—not with other dogs.”
Tucker waited for Harry to put her in the cab of the truck.
    â€œWe're your pack.”
Mrs. Murphy drove home her point.
“The fact that we're cats plus one human is beside the point.”
    â€œH-m-m.”
Tucker pondered this as the humans chatted.
“I never thought of that.”
    â€œMrs. Murphy, Cat Supreme.”
Murphy pushed out her chest, then laughed.
    â€œ. . . merrier.” Diego finished his sentence, which had started out “The more.” He had agreed to ride in the cab of the truck with two cats, one dog, and Harry. He didn't seem to mind at all.
    Harry drove them around the back way. They parked near the main intersection, walking the last block. The cats remained in the truck with the windows open. Neither one liked crowds, although they usually rode on Harry's shoulders if they had to enter a fray. Pewter complained about the marching music. She preferred Mozart. Furthermore, the trumpets hurt her ears. Mrs. Murphy thought it was time for her noon nap.
    Tucker eagerly accompanied Harry and Diego. As they reached the main intersection the people lined the road four deep, a lot for Crozet. At five feet ten inches, Diego could see over most of the crowd, but Harry, at five feet six, had to stand on her tiptoes.
    Diego gently worked his way to the front, reached back for Harry's hand, and pulled her up with him. When people saw it was their postmistress carrying Tucker they gladly gave way.
    They'd no sooner reached their place than the United Daughters of the Confederacy float rolled by, with Lottie and her pantaloons evoking comment.
    Harry heard Roger O'Bannon yell to a bystander, “Give me twenty bucks and I'll dump them all on the road.”
    Laughter greeted this offer. Lottie ignored it, of course.
    Spurred on by the laughter Roger stuck his head farther out of the truck, artfully concealed by the float. “Hey, Lottie, why don't you ditch the hoop?”
    â€œShut up, Roger.”
    â€œYou'd better be good to me. I'm driving this boat.” He laughed loudly. She ignored him again so he catcalled, “Lottie, oh, Lottie Pearson.”
    â€œRoger, for God's sake, watch where you're going.”
    They were cruising close to the side of the road.
    â€œJust trying to get you girls a nice cold drink.”
    Danny Tucker, Susan's son, rushed up, two drinks in each hand. The ladies eagerly reached down.
    â€œHow did women wear these things?” one young lady grumbled, for the finery was heavier than anything she had ever worn before.
    â€œThey didn't wear them every day,” Lottie snapped, then remembered her attention should focus on the crowd. She smiled big and waved, then she saw, really saw, Diego Aybar. Her smile froze. She recovered and continued to ignore Roger, whose suggestions grew ever more risqué.
    By the end of the parade the mood of the participants and the crowd was even more elevated than at the beginning. The reason for this was that the Veterans of Foreign Wars had a small brass band with two snares and they peeled out of the parade as it ended, marching and playing all the while. They marched straight into a small bar where they continued to hold forth.
    BoomBoom was taking a Polaroid of Don Clatterbuck and Roger at the float. The “belles” had all fled. The minute she clicked the picture both men made a beeline for the bar.
    â€œIs it always like this?” Diego asked.
    â€œMore or less, which means either they're more drunk or less.” Harry smiled.
    â€œAh yes.” He smiled back at her and it was obvious he liked her. There weren't a lot of women like Harry hovering about the embassy. She intrigued him. “You know for us the seasons