Page 86 of 15 Summers Later

Madison

Madi felt as if she had stepped out of the mountains and somehow tumbled into another dimension.

Her sister—prim, composed, elegant Ava—was in the corner of the big treatment room at the clinic, crooning softly to the bedraggled corgi and lathering her fur for a second time.

She never would have expected it. She thought Ava would have been in a hurry to retreat to their grandmother’s house so she could recover from their unexpected adventure. Instead, here she was, pitching in to help in an emergency.

Ava had been a rock all evening. Pregnant or not, queasy or not, she had jumped right in to help the two lost dogs as soon as Madi first heard the yelps.

How was she supposed to stay angry with Ava when she was trying so hard to be helpful?

“Looks like he’s got a sprained hind-right leg,” Luke was saying.

She turned back to focus on the border collie, sleeping now from the light pain reliever Luke had administered when he first carried the dog back. “It’s not broken?”

“The X-ray isn’t showing a break. Given how hesitant he was to use it, I’m guessing a sprain.”

“That’s a relief.”

“He’s still going to have to stay off it as much as possible. He’s also going to need a couple of stitches for that cut on his front paw.”

“So he’ll have to wear the cone.”

“Yeah. Looks like it.”

“Poor guy. He won’t be happy.”

“Better to wear the cone of shame than to die of dehydration and starvation in a pit.”

“True enough.”

While he bandaged the sprain, Madi continued pulling detritus from the dog’s coat, similar to what she could see Ava doing right now with the corgi.

“Thanks for helping with him, especially after you’ve already put in a long day of work.”

“I could say the same for you. Anyway, this is my job.”

“Mine, too, at least for another few weeks.”

His jaw tightened briefly, as if he didn’t like the reminder. He didn’t say anything. Instead, he angled his head toward where Ava was humming to the corgi while she brushed out her matted fur.

“That’s a surprise, isn’t it?” he murmured. “I didn’t expect her to stick around to help out.”

She immediately felt defensive for her sister, even though she had been every bit as surprised by Ava’s behavior. “I think she and the corgi have bonded.”

“We should give this one a bath before I do the stitches and wrap his leg.”

“Of course.”

With the rhythm developed over years of working together, they worked to cut out the burrs and briars stuck in the dog’s coat, then waited their turn to put the border collie in the washtub until Ava finished up with Gracie and had moved her to another exam table to brush her out.

She loved watching Luke. He possessed such a calming presence, with those warm blue eyes and his low, steady voice. Whenever things were chaotic or tense at the clinic or the shelter, he inevitably stepped in to calm any humans who might be stressed, as easily as he did the animals.

In this case, as they gave the dog a bath, they worked together easily, each focusing on a different part of the dog. Inevitably, their efforts intersected and her hands would touch his, or her body would brush against his hard strength.

Perhaps because of that kiss they had shared, Madi was aware of Luke on a physical level in a way she never had been before. She couldn’t seem to escape it. The heat of him, the leashed strength of him below the surface as he treated the dog with gentle care.

Finally, they were done cleaning up the dog and bandaging his wounds. As Luke carried him to the clean and sterilized dog run for the night, Madi glanced at the clock in the big treatment room. She winced. They had been caring for the border collie for nearly an hour. Ava had left the treatment room at least a half hour earlier.

---