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“He’s quite the escape artist, isn’t he?” Sean said.
Mildred was already at the exam table, wiping her eyes and peering into the cage.
“I told Dr. Sam not to trust him. He got out of Dr. Sam’s grasp, and then someone opened the door, and out he went. I thought Captain Hook would get him.”
Sean frowned. “Who’s Captain Hook?”
“That three-legged cat who lives in the clinic,” she muttered. “He’s a scamp. A real scamp, I tell you.” Then her eyes narrowed as she looked at him closer. “You’re a Pope, aren’t you? I can spot them a mile away.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Sean said. “I’ll be going now. Take care.”
The wind had come up while he was inside, and it made the cold day feel colder. It was just after twelve by the time he left the parking lot. He thought of Amalie and then made a knee-jerk decision to drop by her office to say hello, so he would have a good excuse to kiss her goodbye.
Amalie’s last delivery arrived.
It was a painting of Pope Mountain in all its fall splendor, which was how she first saw it when she came to Jubilee. The painting was large and heavy, but she had a big wall facing the entrance in desperate need of attention, and this painting was perfect.
She was prepared for hanging it and had seen the need for extra-large picture hangers and a stud finder to make sure she got the hanger firmly set before the painting went up. But it quickly dawned on her that she was going to need a ladder, something she didn’t own.
Frustrated, she plopped down on the sofa and began going through her phone, looking to see where the nearest hardware store was located, when she caught a glimpse of movement from the corner of her eye. She looked up just as Sean walked in.
“Yay! A tall person to the rescue!” she said, and jumped up and gave him a quick hug.
Sean smiled. “I don’t think I’ve ever been greeted like this before just for being tall.”
Amalie pivoted out of his arms and pointed at the painting.
“Look! Isn’t it magnificent?”
Sean blinked and then moved for a closer look. “It’s Pope Mountain!”
“Yes! This is how it looked last year when I first visited Jubilee. They just delivered it, and I suddenly realized I was going to have to buy a ladder just to hang it.”
“Oh, nope. No need for ladders here. We’ve gotthis,” Sean said, and took off his coat. “Do you have a hammer?”
“Yes, and picture hangers and a stud finder.”
Sean turned with a total lack of expression on his face. “A stud finder, hunh? Well, here I am, so it already worked. Let’s do this.”
Amalie burst into laughter. “Oh my lord! It’s a shame you’re so lacking in confidence.”
He grinned. “I assume you want it on that wall?”
“Yes…centered on the wall behind the reception desk.”
Sean picked up the stud finder, ran it across the wall until he found a stud, and marked it for reference. After deciding how high on the wall the painting needed to hang, he nailed the heavy-duty hanger into the stud, then hung the painting for her, shifting it until it was level.
He stepped back. “How’s that?”
Amalie was standing at the entrance into her office, her hands clasped beneath her breasts as if she was praying. There were tears in her eyes.
“Perfect,” she whispered. “Thank you, Sean. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, honey. Are you planning to save any of these boxes?”
“No. They’re all from the things that were delivered this morning.”
“Then I’ll break them down and carry them to the dumpster out back, okay?”
