Page 59 of Sweet on You
I pulled into Steve’s veterinary clinic in seven minutes. I had managed to drive fast, but also safely, without jostling my poor, sweet dog in the back too much.
As soon as my car was in park, I jumped out of the car and ran around to help Lex out of the back seat. Steve and Yvonne were already outside as well, ready to help us in.
Steve paused when he saw Lex, but to his credit, he only stumbled for a split second. My face grew hot. I hadn’t realized until just now that Lex had never put a shirt on in the midst of all the panic.
Yvonne cleared her throat. “Here. Bring him into exam room one.” She held the door open as Steve rushed to help Lex place Penny onto an exam table.
“Oh, ouch,” Steve said, pulling up Penny’s top lip to examine where the cuts were. Yvonne stayed slightly behind, handing Steve tools and materials as he needed them. “What flowers did you say he got into?”
“Tudor roses and lilacs,” Lex answered for me.
Steve glanced up briefly, his gaze landing first on Lex’s torso, then on his hand at the back of my neck, before trailing over to me. “Good. Neither of those are toxic to animals. If it had been a lily, he would be in a lot more danger.”
I stood behind Penny, stroking my fingers gently down his back. He was being so good, all things considered. He wasn’t snapping or growling despite the fact that he was clearly in pain.
Tears filled my eyes and I sniffled as I felt the weight of Lex’s hand knead the back of my neck, his thumb circling in reassuring movements over my skin. I immediately felt better with his touch, and sighing, I let my head fall back against his broad, bare chest.
“There’s a thorn in his paw, too,” I said, making sure Steve saw it.
My brother glanced at me, sending the most reassuring smile he could manage. I could tell because it was the same smile he gave me in high school when I was admitted to the hospital.
Steve moved to the sink, grabbing a vial of medicine and a needle. “The good news is, I’ve seen so much worse than this. Seriously. He’s going to be fine.”
My chest collapsed with the heaved breath escaping my lungs. “The bad news?”
“He does need some stitches, mostly around his mouth which is going to be a tough area to keep clean and from ripping open. There’s one thorn in his paw and one piece of glass I need to extract. But those are smaller puncture wounds. Basically, he stepped on the thorn and glass. I can remove, clean, and cauterize them easily enough. But much like his mouth, you’ll have to be diligent about keeping the wounds clean. I have little paw booties he can wear while he’s outside, but inside, you’ll want to remove them so the wound gets some air.
I nodded. “How long will he need to wear the booties?”
“You’ll see him start to feel better in a couple of days and he should have decent enough scabs in a week to be able to stop wearing the booties. The stitches in his mouth, they’re similar to the way you got stitches when you had your wisdom teeth out. The wound can get wet, obviously. And they’ll dissolve in a week or so. I’ll give you a sanitizing mouth rinse for him, too, that you can pour directly into his water bowl.”
“I can handle that.”
Lex gave my neck a squeeze and kissed the top of my head.
Then, after moving to a closet in the corner, Steve grabbed a folded scrubs shirt and tossed it to Lex. “For the love of God, please put this on so I can at least pretend you two weren’t doing what I think you were doing while this happened.”
I stifled a laugh and buried my face into Lex’s shoulder as he grinned and slid the shirt over his head and tugged it down his long, lean torso.
“You know,” I said, nudging my brother with my toe, “I’m best friends with your fiancé. Trust me when I say I’ve heard way too much about your situations—”
“Nope,” Steve said, laughing as he tapped the syringe. “Not listening. You two were playing Scrabble in the other room while this happened. That’s what I think and that’s the story I’m sticking to.”
Yvonne hid her smile beneath her fist.
“Sure,” I said, shrugging as Steve and Yvonne prepped for the stitches. “We were playing Scrabble,” I said. “NakedScrabble.”
Steve winced as Yvonne laughed out loud this time. “You didn’t actually think that would work, did you?”
Steve sighed. “One could hope, right?” He walked back over to Penny and placed his hand on his head. “I’m going to give him the sedative and pain killers now. He won’t be out entirely, but it will make him really groggy and lethargic for the rest of the night. The pain meds will also help keep him sleepy for tomorrow as well.” Steve paused, looking directly at me. “This part is not fun and I usually make my regular clients leave the room for it.”
The implication hung there between us. He wanted us to leave Penny in there to let him do the stitches without us watching.
I stroked my thumb along Penny’s hind leg. “Shouldn’t someone be here with him while you stitch him up?”
“I will,” Yvonne said. “I’ve assisted Steve on similar cases before and I’m not squeamish.” She swallowed and looked down at Penny while talking. “But if you’re not used to it, it’s not always pretty. Even with the medicine and sedative, he will still likely whimper and feel discomfort. It’s not easy to watch, and I think what Steve is saying is we don’t want to have to care for you as well as Penny if you pass out or start crying.”
My face hardened at that. I didn’t cry often. Even still, I nodded and looked to Lex who gave me the warmest smile, squeezing my hand. “It’s your call. I’ll support whichever you want to do.”
