Read Online That Christmas Feeling by Catherine Palmer, Gail Gaymer Martin - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Catherine Palmer, Gail Gaymer Martin
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uniform in the bank window. Neatly pressed black shirt and pants, patch on each shoulder, badge, name tag and collar brass with the shiny initials BPD —Buffalo Police Department—all in place. He’d made sure his car was washed and waxed to a high shine earlier that morning. Nothing but the best for the Christmas parade.
“How about this weather?” the mayor asked as the two men shook hands. “You couldn’t ask for a better day. Sun’s shining, sky’s blue, temperature’s hovering in the midforties.”
“Just about perfect,” Rob concurred.
“Mrs. Hopper’s got the floats lined up in the right order. Don’t know what we’d do without Dorothy. I spoke to Claire Ross a minute ago, too. She said things are all set with the parking situation at the school.” He paused, eyeing Rob. “She’s down there near the chess club float.”
“Is that right?” Rob assessed the mayor, who appeared to be wearing the slight hint of a smirk.
“Just in case you were wondering, she’s wearing a green coat.”
“Aha.” Rob made a point of checking his watch. “Well, I guess it’s about time to get started.”
“Ten minutes ought to do it. Give the cheerleaders time to get situated on the float.” Bloom nodded. “Last Monday morning Jane Henderson called me about Florence Ross’s cats. I hear you all had quite a time rounding ’em up. I went on over to the shelter and gave them all shots and dewormed ’em.”
“I appreciate it, Mayor. That’s an important community service.”
“Yessir, took care of all ten cats. Did the spaying and neutering during the week. I guess you know Claire came over to the clinic on Wednesday and picked out three of ’em.”
“Three cats?”
“Two for her great-aunt and one for herself. Feisty little ball of yellow fluff. She didn’t tell you?”
Rob could see where this was leading. Somehow the mayor had gotten wind of the police chief and the schoolteacher spending time together, and he was not about to pass up the opportunity to pry.
“Haven’t talked to her since the day of the roundup,” Rob said. “I’m sure happy to hear Miss Ross has a couple of her cats back. That ought to take some of the sting out of her bite.”
The mayor chuckled. “I gather she was none too pleased about the raid. Jane Henderson told me Flossie was still squalling when she left. Said she hated to leave you and Claire there to chase down the last of the cats, but you didn’t seem to mind. Said you were planning to take a bunch of ’em over to Bolivar?”
“That’s right.”
“Ol’ Dandy’s sure makes good pizza. I’ll tell you what.”
Rob struggled to stifle his ire. One of the blessings ofsmall-town life—and certainly its greatest bane—was the grapevine. Everyone knew everyone else’s business, or made it a point to find out. Neighbors checked on each other, and folks spent a good part of each evening sitting on the front porch watching the comings and goings of the community.
For a policeman, this was ideal. If an elderly woman fell while checking her mailbox, no more than five minutes went by before someone found her. Kids had a hard time getting into trouble, with everyone snooping over fences and craning necks to see into distant living-room windows. If someone got a new car, or dog, or wife, the whole town knew about it within the hour. Calls to the police station generally came from friends and neighbors who had spotted a problem, and Rob considered it a privilege to do his part in resolving any disturbance that marred Buffalo’s quaint serenity.
But he had no desire to have his own private life strung out like grandma’s wash for everyone to see and discuss. He could just about clobber Andrew Rodman right now. No doubt the young waiter at Dandy’s had friends in Buffalo, and he had been eager to report that he’d seen the police chief kissing the schoolteacher.
Everyone in town probably thought they were an item, even though Rob had refrained from
“How about this weather?” the mayor asked as the two men shook hands. “You couldn’t ask for a better day. Sun’s shining, sky’s blue, temperature’s hovering in the midforties.”
“Just about perfect,” Rob concurred.
“Mrs. Hopper’s got the floats lined up in the right order. Don’t know what we’d do without Dorothy. I spoke to Claire Ross a minute ago, too. She said things are all set with the parking situation at the school.” He paused, eyeing Rob. “She’s down there near the chess club float.”
“Is that right?” Rob assessed the mayor, who appeared to be wearing the slight hint of a smirk.
“Just in case you were wondering, she’s wearing a green coat.”
“Aha.” Rob made a point of checking his watch. “Well, I guess it’s about time to get started.”
“Ten minutes ought to do it. Give the cheerleaders time to get situated on the float.” Bloom nodded. “Last Monday morning Jane Henderson called me about Florence Ross’s cats. I hear you all had quite a time rounding ’em up. I went on over to the shelter and gave them all shots and dewormed ’em.”
“I appreciate it, Mayor. That’s an important community service.”
“Yessir, took care of all ten cats. Did the spaying and neutering during the week. I guess you know Claire came over to the clinic on Wednesday and picked out three of ’em.”
“Three cats?”
“Two for her great-aunt and one for herself. Feisty little ball of yellow fluff. She didn’t tell you?”
Rob could see where this was leading. Somehow the mayor had gotten wind of the police chief and the schoolteacher spending time together, and he was not about to pass up the opportunity to pry.
“Haven’t talked to her since the day of the roundup,” Rob said. “I’m sure happy to hear Miss Ross has a couple of her cats back. That ought to take some of the sting out of her bite.”
The mayor chuckled. “I gather she was none too pleased about the raid. Jane Henderson told me Flossie was still squalling when she left. Said she hated to leave you and Claire there to chase down the last of the cats, but you didn’t seem to mind. Said you were planning to take a bunch of ’em over to Bolivar?”
“That’s right.”
“Ol’ Dandy’s sure makes good pizza. I’ll tell you what.”
Rob struggled to stifle his ire. One of the blessings ofsmall-town life—and certainly its greatest bane—was the grapevine. Everyone knew everyone else’s business, or made it a point to find out. Neighbors checked on each other, and folks spent a good part of each evening sitting on the front porch watching the comings and goings of the community.
For a policeman, this was ideal. If an elderly woman fell while checking her mailbox, no more than five minutes went by before someone found her. Kids had a hard time getting into trouble, with everyone snooping over fences and craning necks to see into distant living-room windows. If someone got a new car, or dog, or wife, the whole town knew about it within the hour. Calls to the police station generally came from friends and neighbors who had spotted a problem, and Rob considered it a privilege to do his part in resolving any disturbance that marred Buffalo’s quaint serenity.
But he had no desire to have his own private life strung out like grandma’s wash for everyone to see and discuss. He could just about clobber Andrew Rodman right now. No doubt the young waiter at Dandy’s had friends in Buffalo, and he had been eager to report that he’d seen the police chief kissing the schoolteacher.
Everyone in town probably thought they were an item, even though Rob had refrained from
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