Page 35 of Reckless Harmony

“You need me to carry the dog into the clinic,” he said.

“I’m stronger than I look,” she said.

He ignored her and carefully picked up the dog. As they walked toward the clinic, the door opened, and a dark-haired man wearing just a t-shirt and jeans stepped out into the cold.

“Hey, Rayna.”

“Hi, Nathan. Sorry, it’s so late.”

“It’s not a problem,” he said. “Bring her inside.”

Stark carried the dog inside, following Rayna and Nathan through the front lobby to the swinging door that separated the treatment area from the rest of the clinic.

“Set her down here, please.” Nathan pointed to a metal treatment table covered with a blanket.

Stark set the dog down, and Nathan glanced at him. “I’m Nathan Henshaw.”

“Isaac Stark,” he said.

Nathan petted the dog with a gentle hand. “Hey, girl. Looks like you got yourself into some trouble.” He glanced at Rayna. “Is this the stray you’ve been trying to catch?”

“Yes,” Rayna said.

“Okay. Can you hold her upper half, please?”

Rayna nodded, and Stark stepped back to give them both room, silently watching as Nathan assessed the dog’s leg, prodding and manipulating it lightly, making soft noises of comfort when the dog cried out in pain.

Nathan stepped back, and Rayna said, “Do we need to amputate?”

“No, I think it looks worse than it is because there’s so much torn skin,” he said.

“Thank God,” Rayna said.

“For now, I’ll sedate, give pain meds, and clean and suture the wounds. I don’t think her leg is broken, but radiographs would confirm that.”

Stark watched as Rayna chewed viciously at her bottom lip. She studied the dog before taking a deep breath. “Are the x-rays necessary?”

“There are definitely no major breaks, but there could be a slight fracture.” Nathan glanced at the dog. “That being said, we can save costs by not doing the radiographs.”

“Yeah, okay, let’s hold off on doing them,” Rayna said, a tired defeat in her voice that made Stark’s chest tighten again. “I wish we could do the x-rays, but you know…”

“I do,” Nathan said sympathetically. He squeezed Rayna’s shoulder. “Is it better to do them? Sure, but sometimes you can only do what you can do.”

Rayna’s phone rang, and she glanced at it and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Sorry, I need to take this.”

She took a few steps away. “Hey, Nicole. What’s up?”

She listened for a few minutes before saying, “He’s not putting any weight on it? When did he fall down the stairs? Okay, I’m actually at Brandt’s Vet Clinic right now. Can you meet me here with -”

She stopped, listening quietly and pinching the bridge of her nose again. “Yeah, no, I get it. I’ll be there soon to grab him. Sure, no problem.”

She ended the call and turned to Nathan. “Mr. Magoo fell down the stairs.”

“Again?” Nathan said. “I told Nicole the last time that she needed to carry him down the stairs from now on. He’s too old and unsteady to use the stairs.”

“Yeah, I told her the same thing, and she promised me she would, but…” Rayna took another deep breath. “She thinks his leg might actually be broken this time but can’t bring him to the clinic because her husband is on nights and the kids are in bed. Do you think he should be seen tonight, or do you think I can save on the emergency fee and keep him quiet until the morning and bring him in then?”

“Bring him now,” Nathan said. “I’ll give you the two-for-one emergency fee deal.”

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