Page 8 of Something Unavoidable

Ryan pulled off his hat, ran a gloved hand through his hair, and sighed. “Don’t say it.”

Keegan didn’t have to. Ryan was well aware of his opinions when it came to Izzy King.

“Look, you need the help, and he needs a project. Just try not to kill each other.” Ryan paused, looking in the direction Izzy had disappeared. “Or cause permanent damage.”

As if Keegan had any control over that. Izzy was the one Ryan should be warning off. “I’m going to check in with Mason,” he replied instead of acknowledging Ryan’s request. “Find out where we’re at.” He would play nice for now. But if Izzy insisted on bringing his bad attitude to work, Keegan was more than capable of giving as good as he got.

After seeing George and Ben off, and promising to keep George updated, Keegan made his way to the section of the barn they used for quarantine. He could hear Mason ranting before he rounded the corner, and he hurried his pace, sure Izzy had already pissed him off. Instead, he found the old man hunched over, working on the chestnut mare. Izzy was at her head, gripping the nose band of her halter and distracting her with a handful of hay. “…like to see whoever did this put through the same,” Mason was saying, his deep voice pitched calm despite the volume of his words.

“How’s she looking?” Keegan asked, slowing as he approached. It was hard to say how much handling the animals had had, and sudden movements could put them all in a dangerous situation.

“They’re a fuckin’ mess. Prolly haven’t been worked on in a year or more. They’ve got thrush—smell’s a dead giveaway—and prolly more I haven’t uncovered yet. Shocking that the pony can still walk. I want a word with the fucker who did this.”

“You aren’t alone in that,” Keegan said, his heart hurting for the poor creatures. “Shame the law got to him first. I have somethoughts to convey as well.” From the corner of his eye, he caught Izzy staring but ignored it. “How much do you think you can do today?”

Mason grumbled to himself. “Not enough.” He flicked a hand at Keegan. “Hand me the Kopertox.”

Keegan did as he was told. He and Mason had an understanding when it came to things like neglected horses. Keegan might be the vet, but Mason had decades of experience on him. Keegan turned to Izzy. “She can’t have too much of that,” he said, gesturing to the hay. “We don’t know how long it’s been since they ate, and I don’t want her to founder on top of everything else.”

Izzy’s shoulders went tight, and he narrowed his eyes at Keegan. “Thanks for the tip,” he snarked. “Because I’veclearlynever heard of refeeding syndrome.” He turned away with a huff.

Keegan rolled his eyes. Typical. He made a statement of fact, and Izzy took it as a personal insult. “Better not to assume,” he said, keeping his tone mild. The last thing he needed to add to the emotional load of the day was an argument with Split Rock’s resident brat.

“Won’t help. You’re already an ass,” Izzy muttered, loud enough that Keegan was meant to hear him. He adjusted his hold on the mare when she tossed her head in an attempt to shake him loose.

Keegan breathed deep and held on to his fraying patience with both hands. This was proving to be a fantastic start to their working relationship.

The mare’s ears went flat against her skull, and her tail swished in agitation. Mason had the hoof tester out and was applying pressure to the sole of one of her back hooves.

“Careful,” Keegan warned automatically.

“Iknow,” Izzy snapped back, deftly stepping out of the way as Mason released her foot and the mare danced sideways. “Any commentary that’s not you stating the obvious?”

Keegan should have let him get bitten.

“That’s abscessed,” Mason stated, ignoring their sniping. “I’ll drain it and pack it, but it’s gonna need to be soaked daily.”

That was disappointing, even though he’d expected it. Treatment would mean opening the sole of the hoof to drain, soaking it in Epsom salts once a day to pull the infection out, packing it with a poultice, and wrapping it. With any luck, it wasn’t deep and would heal within a few weeks.

It was getting late, and they had identified two more abscesses—both in the pony. She was the worst off and the hardest to treat, despite her small size. Mason packed up and left, saying he’d done what he could and would be back in a couple of weeks, but to call if any of them got worse before then.

“Dammit,” Izzy hissed, gripping the lead rope as the little gray monster hauled backward, kicking over the bucket her foot was supposed to be soaking in. “Little demon.” She hadn’t given Mason as much trouble while he’d trimmed her hooves, but it was a different story now that she was more mobile.

Keegan held back his laughter at the sight of Izzy struggling to control a pony whose back didn’t reach the top of his thigh. “Need some help?” he called from where he was doing a final check of the gelding. The big guy was underweight but otherwise in the best shape of the three.

“I’ve got it,” Izzy bit out, not looking Keegan’s way as he dodged a flash of teeth.

Sure, he did. Keegan returned the gelding to his new stall and went to assist. As soon as he got close enough, the pony kicked out with both back legs, nearly taking out Keegan’s kneecaps. “Shit.”

As soon as her back feet hit the ground, her front ones left it. Keegan met Izzy’s wide eyes over her head. What the hell? Had she just been biding her time up until now?

As Izzy did his best not to get trampled, Keegan went for his supplies. He hated to sedate her without knowing her history, but—as she flung herself backward again and knocked over a stack of buckets—he decided it was the safer choice.

Estimating her weight, he drew up a dose of sedative. It would take a few minutes to kick in, but it would calm her without making her too unsteady on her feet.

Izzy saw what he was doing and angled the pony against the wall, pinning her there with his weight. Keegan got the sedative injected, then helped herd her into a stall to wait for it to take effect. Izzy slumped against the door and bent forward, palms braced on his thighs, his face flushed as he caught his breath. “Damn,” he said, chuckling a little. “She’s gonna be a fun one.”

Keegan huffed, amused despite himself. Fun was one way to put it.

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