Page 96 of Out of the Cold

“I’ll be right there.”

Grabbing his jacket, he stepped into his boots and ran out the door. She was crying. Why would she be crying? Was she hurt or sick? She’d looked fine a minute ago.

He was breathing hard by the time he reached her door, and his heart raced liked he’d climbed a mountain. Lucy was sitting next to Hilde, who was lying on her side in the middle of the floor, surrounded by vomit.

“Lucy...”

Her face was flushed and streaked with tears. “Will you help me get her to the vet? She’s so sick, and she’s too heavy for me.”

“Of course.” He bent down and slid his hands beneath the dog. “Here, sweetie, I’ve got you,” he said, carefully lifting her.

Her head lolled to the side, and she groaned weakly.

“I already called the vet,” Lucy said, grabbing her purse. “I’ll sit in back with her. We can take my car.”

Hilde lay limp in his arms as they left the cabin, and her whimper when he set her on the back seat broke his heart. Lucy climbed in after her.

“You okay back there?” he asked.

“I think so.”

He shut the door and went around to the driver’s side. Lucy didn’t say anything for the first few minutes. She was petting Hilde, who was now panting.

“Thank you for doing this,” she said, her voice shaky. “I panicked when I walked in and saw her...”

“I’m glad you called. What happened?” he asked, his eyes meeting hers in the rearview mirror.

“I don’t know. She was listless at lunch time, that was all. She didn’t get out of her bed, so I went on a short hike on my own. When I got back...” She bit her lip. “I should never have gone. I can’t believe I did that.”

“You couldn’t have known.”

“She definitely ate something other than her kibble. I could see that from the mess in the kitchen. Whatever it was must have made her sick.”

He drove as fast as he dared, and he stopped checking the rearview mirror. Seeing Lucy up close again was killing him. He was grateful she was in the back.

“It’s coming up on the right in about half a mile,” she said sometime later.

He pulled into the parking lot and jumped out of the car. Getting Hilde out was awkward, even more so than getting her in, and his stomach lurched at how lifeless she felt.

They entered a waiting room where several other people sat with their pets.

“Can I have your name?” the receptionist asked.

“Lucy Pond. I called a little while ago, and someone said I could bring my dog in. We don’t have an appointment.”

“Right this way,” she said, leading them down a hall. “We’ll get your information after you see the doctor.”

She gestured them into an examination room. “Go ahead and put her on the table. Dr. Kim will be in to see you shortly,” she said, shutting the door behind her.

Gabriel lay Hilde on the metal table and stroked her fur. “I’m sure she’ll be fine,” he said, trying to sound confident.

She had to be okay. Lucy would be lost without her.

Lucy stood by Hilde’s head and stroked her ears. He looked up to find Lucy’s gaze on him, but she looked away as if she’d been caught out.

He wasn’t numb now, and the reality of what he’d done to them both nearly brought him to his knees. It filled the room until he could barely breathe.

He was starting to think he should wait in the outer room when a woman in a lab coat came in. “I’m Dr. Kim” she said. “Tell me what’s happening.”

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