Coming Home (20 page)

"You are hardly in
a position to do much, Cade. I think you should leave it to the
authorities."

"He won't suspect
a thing with me looking like this. I'll have to take your car though. If I rock
up in the Ferrari, he'll probably double the price."

"I can't drive
that thing. I've gotten so used to my old automatic. Don't make me drive it,
Cade, please." The horrified look on her face amused him. At least she
wasn't crying over helpless puppies.

He laughed and ruffled
her hair. "Settle down, Rooney. It's the 400A, meaning it's an auto too.
The easiest car to drive, believe me. I manage with this damned support frame
on my leg. I'll go and see him in the morning and then call over to your place
and get you to check over whatever I end up with."

"Fine then, but I
hope the beast is insured."

He rummaged in his
pocket and held out the keys for her to take, amazed at letting someone else
drive his precious car. "Fully, so stop worrying."

When he went up to bed
that night, he gave little thought to what had happened at the hospital earlier
in the day. What was done was done and there was no going back. He just needed
to keep himself busy until the day of his final medical and not let it worry
him too much. Cade knew he wasn't going to go back to playing football. His
career was over the moment he went to Kate's rescue.

He leaned his crutches
against the wall and hopped to the centre of the room, glancing out the window
at the moon shimmering in the evening sky. Cade pulled his shirt over his head
and threw it on the chair in the corner of his room. Why the hell had he gotten
involved with his sister’s problems? It wasn't as though he really wanted a
dog, they tied you down.
No, it was because he'd always had her back. Except
the last time when she really needed him and there was no way history was going
to repeat itself.

 Tomorrow he would
do his bit and try to make up for not realising his little sister had needed
his help when she ran away from home. In the scheme of things, what he would
walk into tomorrow wouldn't be much but it was a small step toward proving he
was good for more than playing football and drinking his life away.

Cade hopped to the bed
and sat down, planning what he was going to say and do when he came face to
face with Stubbs. The first thing he had to do though, was find enough money to
pay for whatever he ended up with. He opened his bedside cabinet and took out
the old cigar box his father had left lying around one day. There had been one
cigar in it and Cade had stolen it, pleading ignorance when the old man came
looking for it.

He had smoked the cigar
behind the barn with a couple of mates, making themselves horribly ill in the
process. Now he kept his spare cash in it. Spare cash that was fast becoming
his only cash. He sorted through the notes and laid out two hundred dollars by
his phone. If the guy he was going to see didn't like the lure of cash under
his nose, Cade was going to be in trouble.

***

Cade drove sedately
down the rutted driveway and parked beside the barn Rooney had described. He
pushed the record button on his phone and clipped it into his front pocket
careful to make sure the camera eye was pointing out.

Before he could get
out, a rough voice called out. "What do you want?"

Cade opened the door
and put on his best star quality smile. "Mr Stubbs, my name is Cade
Williams." He struggled to stand and reached in for his crutches. "My
sister got a pup off you yesterday, you know Rooney, the vet. Well, it seems to
me you are the man to come to for animals and, since we are both local, it
makes sense to come here before I do the rounds of the pet shops." He held
out his hand, keeping the smile on his face from slipping as the dirty fist
headed his way.

Mr Stubbs grabbed his
hand and shook it. "No point going to the shops, they get all their
animals from me anyway." He looked Cade up and down, frowning. "What
do you want a dog for anyway? I thought you were some big football star or
something." With his hands jammed into his dirty overalls, he stood back
and eyed Cade off, waiting for an answer.

"Yeah, well it's
like this. As you can see, I've had a pretty major injury. Fact is, I doubt
I’ll ever play again. So I'm looking for a little companionship and Rooney
seems to think you might have something to suit me."

"Perhaps I do.
Don't normally do business this way though." He squinted against the
morning sun and shrugged his shoulders. "You won't be wanting a receipt
for this dog, would you?"

"No, not all. I'm
sure we can come up with a cash price that will suit the both of us."

"Follow me
then."

Mr Stubbs walked past
the barn with Cade following him.

The stench made Cade's
eyes water and he almost gagged. When his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the
shed, he looked around. Cages lined every wall, and in each of those cages were
dogs with puppies of all ages and breeds
. No wonder Rooney lost it last
night. This is disgusting.

"What are you
looking for exactly?"

"Not really sure.
I'll know it when I see it. You understand I'm sure, Mr Stubbs. I want the
animal that tugs at my heartstrings."
All of these poor little buggers
are doing that.
If you could show me everything you have available, I would
appreciate it."
It'll give me a chance to video everything too. The
more evidence I have against you, buddy, the happier I'll be.

Mr Stubbs muttered and
slowly walked the length of the building.

When they got to the
end, Cade noticed another door. "Are there more in there?"

"Nothing in here
suit you, then?" He looked annoyed and Cade's chest tightened.

"Actually, I'm not
too sure. Nothing has really said 'Take me home,' just yet. If you wouldn't
mind?"

He pushed open the door
and walked in with Cade behind him.

Cade made sure to walk
the length of this building too, videoing both sides of the barn. A whimper
caught his attention and he went to investigate what was in the dark corner amongst
empty feed sacks and cardboard boxes. Tied with a piece of hay baling twine, a
small collie lay in the dirt. He reached out a hand and it backed away,
cowering in the corner.

"That one's not
for sale."

"Why not?" Cade
held out his hand and whispered to the dog. It sniffed his fingers and a small
pink tongue risked a quick swipe against his skin.

"Past her use by
date. Didn't get in pup for the second time. Going to shoot her later, got no
time for dogs that don't earn their keep."

"This is the one I
want." Cade stood and turned to Mr Stubbs.

"Not getting it
for free, if that's what you're thinking. I've had to feed and look after it
until now, should give me something for it."

Cade reached into his
pants pocket. "I have two hundred dollars here, take it or leave it."

A grubby hand snaked
out and grabbed the notes. "Don't go thinking you'll get any refunds for
that money either. Buyer beware."

"I appreciate your
help, Mr Stubbs. I wonder if you would be kind enough to give me a hand out to
my car with her, though? I'd hate to get tangled in her on the way out. I'm
sure you understand."

Cade stood back while
Mr Stubbs untied the dog and dragged her out of the barn. The walk past all of
the undernourished and dirty animals just about broke his heart, but he was on
a mission and had to get to Rooney before they took the next step.

Mr Stubbs opened the
car door and pushed the dog inside, slamming it before the terrified animal
could slink back out.

Cade lifted his hand in
farewell. "Thanks for this, much appreciated." He turned the car
around and headed down the driveway, stopping at the gate to switch off his
phone and glance over at the poor dog shivering on the back seat. "You
poor bloody thing. I'll look after you, girl. I promise. We’ll shut that
bastard down if it's the last thing we do."

He drove as fast as the
speed limit allowed and pulled into the car park at the practice. Before he
could turn off the car, his sister came running out the door followed by her
new receptionist.

"Oh Cade, we've
been so damned worried."

He grinned and shrugged
his shoulders before opening the door. "Don't know why. I told you I would
be okay."

"We know what Mr
Stubbs is like, Cade," Rhian said. "Just a little on the weird and
crazy side."

"Hi, Rhian. Nice
to see you again. Well, what do you think?" He indicated the poor dog
shivering on the back seat.

"Oh baby, look at
you." Rooney cooed to the animal and opened the door. She crouched down to
talk to the dog, holding her hand out. It sniffed her fingers and gave a
tentative lick, looking over at Cade. "I think it likes you,
brother."

"And why wouldn't
it? It's a girl after all." He laughed, relaxing now he was safely away
from the farm. "Can you take her in for me please and check her out.
Bastard was going to shoot her because she didn't fall pregnant two seasons in
a row. I couldn't leave her there hoping he didn't get around to it before the
authorities visited."

Rooney sat on the back
seat beside the dog and ran her fingers around its ears, talking soothingly to
it. When it relaxed, she took the length of string it had around its neck and
led it inside the surgery.

Cade followed with
Rhian and shut the door behind them. Rooney cut the string from around its neck
and let it wander around, sniffing. Rhian placed a bowl of water on the floor
and the dog took a sniff before drinking her fill.

"Poor little thing
is so malnourished and dirty." Rooney took a seat and watched the dog. It
looked around and sniffed at a bag of dog food on display before going to Cade
and sitting at his feet. "I guess she’s your dog."

"Looks like it.
I'll get Squirt to help me give her a bath after school and pick a name. Can
you give her the once over before I go please, Sis?"

"Sure, come in and
I'm sure she will follow you." Rooney walked into the treatment room.

"Rhian, do me a
favour will you?" Cade held out his phone to her. "Can you download
the video from my phone and save it just in case we need to use it."

"Sure. No
problem." She took it and sat behind the desk, her fingers skimming over
the keys.

Rooney watched the dog
hover around her brother’s feet as he hopped into the treatment room. He leaned
down and stroked her head, whispering to her before he wrapped his arms around her
and lifted her up onto the table.

"I could have done
that."

"No need. I'm not
helpless, Rooney. My leg is out of action for a bit, not the rest of me."

She stroked the dog
while looking into its ears and eyes. When she put the stethoscope into the
ears it shrank back, trying to get off the table.

"It's alright,
girl, shh now." She nodded for Cade to help hold the dog while she
listened to its heart and lungs. When she took its temperature, it cowed and
tried to get away from her. "Understandable, love, I wouldn't like it
either."

Rooney ran her fingers
down the spine and palpated the dog’s stomach before giving her verdict.
"She’s fine, Cade, just very malnourished. With love and attention, she
should come good in no time. I doubt she’s ever been vaccinated, so I'll do
that now too and give her some worm tablets."

The dog watched every
move she made and sat surprisingly still while Rooney gave her an injection.

"You need to give
her small meals to start with. I would suggest home-made or the brand I have
out in reception. It doesn't have fillers, just good ingredients."

"I'll ask Essie to
make something up for her. Can I get a collar and lead rope from you for her
please?"

"Sure, go and
choose whatever you want." Rooney lifted the dog down from the table and
watched her follow Cade from the room, glancing back once as if she couldn't
believe she hadn't been hurt.

Cade chose a plain red
collar and lead, dropping them on the counter. "Give me an invoice please,
Rhian. I may be able to claim this one day."

"Cade, you don't
have to pay for those." Rooney came up behind him.

"Yeah, I do. This
is your business, love. You need the money as much as anyone else."

"But you
don't..."

"Did Russ tell you
that? Figures. Mr Perfect can't keep his mouth shut."

Rooney felt for him.
Cade had always been the big spender in the family, never a saver like she and
Russ were. "Look, I know things aren't exactly going the way you planned
but hell’s teeth, you should have always had a backup plan."

"Yeah well, shit
happens. Listen, enough about my problems. Care to share a coffee with me
before I go while Rhian sorts out the video."

"Give me another
ten minutes or so and you can have your phone back. It's downloading now but
taking forever," Rhian said glancing up.