Page 40 of For the Birds

But I could see it wasn’t enough for him, and I couldn’t help thinking it would be better to end it now for his benefit.

Several minutes later, it was our turn to board the Ferris wheel. I got into the seat first, and he sat next to me before pushing down the bar that locked us in. There was one more empty seat after us, and the ride started as soon as the next pair was seated.

Levi snagged my hand between both of his. “Rose, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed my own insecurities onto you. Can we erase the last ten minutes?”

I really did like him. I just didn’t like him as much as I’d hoped I would. As long as I was honest with him, I didn’t see the harm in the two of us continuing to get to know each other. “Sure.”

He continued to hold my hand with one of his as we looked out over Henryetta. He pointed in front of us. “There’s downtown. Where’s your farm from there?”

I pointed to the left. “About fifteen minutes north of town. Off County Road 24. If it’s too far to take me home, Ican—”

“It’s not too far. I want to see yourfarm.”

I grinned. “It’ll be too dark to see the farm. But you’ll see the farmhouse.” I instantly regretted my words. What if he expected to comein?

“Then maybe I can come back when it’s daylight, and you can give me thetour.”

“I’d likethat.”

I was quiet for the rest of the ride, and I had to agree with Neely Kate. Riding the Ferris wheel with the right guy could be very romantic. Unfortunately, the one guy who came to mind wouldn’t be caught dead here. Joe had been right. Momma had always considered the carnival frivolous, and there was nothing soft or frivolous about James Malcolm. I couldn’t see him willingly going on rides at a carnival. I had to consider that. Despite the turmoil of Levi wanting me to make more of a commitment, I’d had fun tonight, and I needed more fun in mylife.

When we got off the ride, I said, “I’ve had a long day, and I’m tired. Do you mind if we call it a night?”

He gave me a worried look. “No. Of coursenot.”

We headed out to the parking lot, which had only partially cleared out. As we got closer to our row, a mangy looking dog ran past us toward the street. Levi dropped my hand and took several steps in pursuit of the dog, leaning to glance around a car to see where the stray was going. Seconds later, we heard screeching tires and the sounds of a dog yelping in pain. Levi took off running as several people started screaming.

I ran after Levi, but a small crowd of teens had already gathered around the scene by the time I reached him, blocking him from sight. Through the mass of people, I saw Levi on the ground next to the dog, who lay on his side and was now unnervingly silent. A car sped out of the parking lot, presumably the one that’d hit the poordog.

Levi saw me and asked me in an urgent tone, “Rose?”

“Yes?” I said as I edged closer.

“Can you get my bag out of the back of my truck?” He dug into his jeans pocket, pulled out his keys, and then tossed them to me. “And get a blankettoo.”

“Of course.” I caught the keys and took off running to Levi’s truck. The black leather bag was in the backseat, along with several blankets. I grabbed them and ran back, pushing my way through the teenagers.

Levi took the bag and immediately dug out his stethoscope and listened to the dog’s chest and stomach. The dog, who’d started coming to his senses and was no doubt terrified out of his mind, released a low growl and snapped. Levi snatched his hand out of the way and reached into his bag, pulling out a vial and a syringe. He ripped the syringe out of its package more quickly than I would have thought possible and jabbed it into the bottle, pulling out some of the liquid. Then, without flinching, he turned back to the dog and immediately injected the syringe into the animal’s hip. The dog’s head bobbed, and he stopped growling within seconds.

As soon as the dog was out cold, Levi quickly wrapped him in the blanket and stood. “I’m sure he has internal injuries. I have to take him to my clinic rightaway.”

“Of course,” I said as I leaned down and picked up hisbag.

“Show’s over,” a man said to the teens. “Time to get on thebus.”

There were a few groans, but they followed him to the waiting bus on the backrow.

“I’m not sure how long I’ll be,” Levi said as he hurried to his truck with me at his side. “I suspect he needs emergency surgery.”

“It’s okay,” I insisted. “You do what you need todo.”

“But I’m your ridehome.”

We had reached his truck, and I opened the back door. Levi put the dog on the backseat and took the bag from me. “Ride to the clinic with me, and I can either take you home later—although I have no idea how long I’ll be—or have someone pick youup.”

“I’ll stay here and have Neely Kate or Maeve pick me up. This is closer.”

He shut the back door and cringed when he looked at me. “This was supposed to be my night off, but I don’t feel right pawning this guy off on Dr. Anderson.”

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