janet dailey- the healing touch Read Free

looked down at his daughter, who was tugging at his hand. Rebecca couldn't understand how he could resist those big blue eyes. She certainly couldn't.
    He couldn't either. Gently, he pulled his hand away from hers and turned toward the door. "Well," he said as he walked away, "if the good doctor thinks it's okay, it must be okay. I'm sure she knows more about these things than I do. I only hope she's right this time."
    Rebecca wished he hadn't sounded so sarcastic, but as long as he had given his permission and Katie had her baby goat, that was all that counted.
    Neil helped her as she gathered her things and placed them in her bag. Her work here was finished. At least, for the moment.
    Having said her goodbyes, she turned to leave, but paused at the door to take one more look at Hilda and her kids, Katie and Neil. Katie had her arms around the baby nanny's neck and was saying sweet things in her ear.
    Yes, Rebecca thought, I knew there was some reason why I became a vet. And this is it.
    The moment Rebecca stepped through the door of the Hair Affair beauty salon, she was accosted by a furry missile named Twinkle. Twinkle had been white the last time Rebecca had visited, but this morning the dog's coat was a strange shade of lavender.
    Rebecca had seen a lot of animals in her career, but she had never seen a purple Pekinese. She had her first clue as to what might have caused the mysterious skin irritation that Twinkle's mistress had described earlier on the telephone.
    "Oh, Twink," Rebecca said as she dropped to one knee and stroked the dog's ears, "what has Betty Sue done to you now?"
    The dog simply whined in reply and rolled her eyes pitifully.
    "I know, I know..." Rebecca accepted the wet kiss on her cheek. "I've tried, Twink, but you know how Betty Sue is. By the way, where is your mistress?" she added, looking around the empty salon.
    A door in the back of the salon swung open and a young woman in a hot-pink uniform entered, bringing with her the smell of permanent wave solution and nail
    polish. For some reason, Rebecca wasn't surprised to see that Betty Sue had dyed her own bleached, platinum blond hair the same shade of lavender. Nothing about Betty Sue shocked Rebecca anymore. But Betty had been born and raised in the heart of Hollywood, so Rebecca tried to take that into consideration. The poor girl probably couldn't help herself.
    "Hi there, sweet thing," she exclaimed, hurrying over to give Rebecca a warm hug. "It's our very favorite doctor, huh, Twinkle Toes...."
    "Don't give me that 'favorite doctor' bull," Rebecca said, shaking her head in mock disgust. "You're just trying to butter me up because you know I'm upset with you."
    "Upset?" Betty Sue batted her false lashes. "You're upset with me? Whatever for?"
    "You didn't hear a thing I said when I was here last time."
    "Why, that's not true. Of course I heard you. I—"
    "Then you didn't listen. I told you to stop doing weird things to this poor innocent creature."
    "But...but I..." she stammered. "I'd never do anything to Twinkle Toes that I wouldn't do to myself."
    Rebecca looked Betty Sue up and down, taking in the multiprocessed hair, the porcelain nails, the pounds of trowel-applied makeup. Betty wasn't what you'd call a natural beauty. That list of things she "wouldn't do" to herself or her long-suffering pet must be pretty short.
    "Betty Sue, you have to stop this nonsense. I'm tired of coming over here to treat problems that you have caused. You airbrushed this dog's toenails and—"
    "But she liked that. She was having fun."
    "She was high, Betty Sue. Twinkle was buzzing on the fumes! And remember when you gave her corn- rows down her back with those beads and feathers?"
    "Well, I thought-"
    "I had to cut them out. I had to shave the poor little thing. She ran around looking like a scalped rat for an entire winter."
    "But I knitted her a little sweater to wear."
    "You didn't finish it until spring."
    "My heart was in the right place."
    Rebecca stifled