Page 65 of Reckless Harmony

He nodded and slid behind the wheel as Rayna climbed into the passenger seat. She was already dialing a number on her phone as he drove down the long driveway toward the main road.

As he headed toward town, Rayna put her phone on speaker and grabbed the surrender form. She scanned it as the phone rang. Expecting to hear Nathan’s voice, Stark was surprised when a woman answered.

“Harmony Falls Vet Clinic.”

“Hi, Dr. Felton, it’s Rayna Abrams.”

“Hi, Rayna,” the vet said. “How are you?”

“Doing okay, but I have an injured dog. It looks like a coyote attack, but the wound is badly infected. Any chance you could see him tonight?”

The vet hesitated. “I’m on call this evening, but the rescue’s bill with the clinic is very high, and it’s past due.”

“It is,” Rayna said, “and I apologize for taking so long to pay it.”

“We have an agreement that once the account is a month overdue, we hold off on assisting the rescue until the bill is paid,” Dr. Felton said.

“I know, but I’m hoping you can make an exception this evening. The dog really needs to be seen,” Rayna said.

There was another long silence, and Stark’s stomach clenched when the vet said, “I’m sorry, Rayna. I can’t.”

“I understand,” Rayna said as defeat washed over her face. “Thank you, Dr. Felton, and I promise I’ll have our bill paid off soon.”

She ended the call, and Stark said, “You don’t want to take him to Nathan?”

Rayna rubbed at her forehead. “He’s my preference, actually, but our bill is even higher at Brandt Vet, and I don’t want to take advantage of Nathan’s generosity toward the rescue.”

“I can’t believe this other vet won’t help the dog,” Stark said.

“I understand why she won’t,” Rayna said. “Running a vet clinic is expensive, and she needs to be paid for her services.”

“So, you’ll try another vet?” he asked.

“There are three vet clinics in Harmony Falls,” she said, “and the rescue uses all of them, but PawPrints Vet clinic isn’t on call tonight. The three clinics share the emergency calls so that each clinic has every third month off, and it’s their month.”

She dialed the number anyway, grimacing when the call went straight to voicemail, and a robotic voice advised them to try the Brandt Vet Clinic or Harmony Falls Vet Clinic if their pet was experiencing a medical emergency.

“Call Nathan,” Stark said. “I’ll pay for the dog’s bill.”

“No,” she said sharply. “I don’t need you to pay the bill.”

“You kind of do,” he said.

She glared at him. “No, I don’t. Nathan will treat the dog and allow me to add the cost to the rescue’s bill. I know he will. I just hate to ask him to do it.”

“Then let me pay for the dog’s treatment,” he said.

She shook her head as her phone rang. “No, thank you. The money coming in from the fundraiser will allow me to pay off the vet bills. Especially since your cousin bid so much for -”

She stopped abruptly, giving him a look he couldn’t interpret as the phone stopped ringing, and Nathan’s voice said, “Dr. Henshaw speaking.”

“Hi, Nathan, it’s Rayna,” she said. “I have a badly injured bloodhound from Louis Hapson’s farm that he’s surrendered to the rescue. Looks like a coyote attack, but he’s let the wound get infected. It’s bad, Nathan. Maggot and pus bad.”

“That fucking guy,” Nathan said with genuine anger in his voice. “Christ, I hate him.”

“Me too,” Rayna said. “I hate to ask because I know our bill is high, but -”

“Bring him in,” Nathan said. “I’m still at the clinic, and so is Dr. Yale. She’s working on a blocked cat, but she’s almost finished, and I know she’ll stay to assist if I need help.”

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