Page 122 of Tell Me Something True

“Dr. McNabb prefers owners to stay out here.”

It was for safety reasons.

And, also, because some owners could be giant pains in the butt.

But mostly for safety reasons.

“How are you going to get him onto the exam table?”

“The same way we got a Mastiff onto it this morning,” she said, clipping the leash onto Titus’s collar. “We’ll lift him.”

It had taken both her and Sydney, the clinic’s vet tech, but they’d managed just fine.

Pulling Titus closer, he stepped back as if to stop her from wrestling him from his arms.

And she realized he wasn’t being difficult to make her life miserable.

He was worried about his dog.

So much for not softening toward him.

“Did the receptionist explain the procedure to you?” she asked.

Abigail, the receptionist, had had him fill out the needed paperwork before she’d left to pick up her son from daycare.

Reed shrugged.

Which did not, in any way, shape, or form answer her question.

Why was this boy such a trial?

“Would it help if I told you what Dr. McNabb’s going to do?” she asked, gentling her voice.

He nodded.

Progress.

“Because there are so many quills, Dr. McNabb will put him under, either a sedative or anesthesia. I’m sure Abigail went over the possible complications associated with sedation?”

Although his jaw tightened, he nodded again.

“After Titus is sedated, it’s just a matter of pulling the quills out. Once that’s done, Dr. McNabb will give Titus something to reverse the sedation. We’ll keep an eye on him for a while after he’s awake and then, when Dr. McNabb is certain he’s up to it, she’ll send him home with some antibiotics. You should be able to take him home within a couple of hours. Do you have any questions for Dr. McNabb before she gets started?”

He shook his head.

Boy of few words, this one.

If he’d been any other pet owner worried for their precious dog’s health and safety, she might have set her hand on his arm in a gesture of comfort. Care.

Instead, she wrapped the leash around both hands, gripping the fabric tightly. “Dr. McNabb will take good care of him,” she promised him. “We all will. And, if you want, I can come out here and keep you informed of where the doctor’s at with the procedure.”

“No.”

Look at that! A word.

Would wonders never cease?

Even more miraculous, he kept right on talking.

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