Page 44 of Lion's Share
“Do you think it was a wolf?” John asked Sidney, and she shook her head.
“I don’t know. I’ve treated victims of coyote attacks, and I can tell this wasn’t a coyote. Also, you’d need a pack of them to attack a herd of goats. Did you hear anything?”
“Nothing,” John replied, his expression now grim. “We had no idea anything was wrong until Patty went out this morning to milk them and found…well, found all that.”
Ben couldn’t even imagine. The neighborhood where he’d grown up in suburban Costa Mesa didn’t border on any wildland, and he didn’t think he’d ever heard of any coyote sightings there. And although the house he’d been renting in Yucaipa wasn’t too far from some open country, the people around there were careful about letting their pets out in the yard unattended. He had no idea what it would be like to go outside, ready to start your day, only to find your animals savaged by some unknown predator.
“Maybe a bear?” he suggested. This was grizzly territory, wasn’t it?
But both Sidney and John looked at each other, as if neither of them was sure how to respond, while Patty continued to stroke the neck of the goat she’d been treating. “The bears in the woods here very rarely come near town,” Sidney said after a brief pause. “And at this time of year, they’re pretty fat and happy. But I can’t rule it out, although again, these wounds don’t look like something a bear would have inflicted. Wrong size, wrong angle.” She released a breath, and her shoulders lifted. “I can’t say for sure. It’s not like I’m a medical examiner or anything close.”
“It’s all right,” John told her. “The important thing is that these ones were saved.” He looked over at the goat pen, expression puzzled. “It’s just that it seems like most of the bear attacks I’ve heard about involved livestock that was out in open pastures, not penned up like our goats were.” He shook his head. “And I’m not sure what to do with them tonight. I’m sure Harper would like them to stay inside with us, but I don’t really want to have goats in my house.”
No, that probably wouldn’t be practical. Ben kind of doubted the goats were house-trained.
“Light,” he said distinctly, and both Patty and John stared at him in confusion.
“What?” Patty replied.
“You need to have lights on the goat pen,” Ben said, and hoped they wouldn’t think he sounded crazy. “Light will keep away the thing that attacked your goats.”
“What if the power goes out again?” John responded, clearly unsure whether this was the best course of action to take.
“A generator,” Sidney said. “Do you have one?”
John scratched the back of his head. His hair was thinning, but Ben still thought it was probably only a fifty-fifty chance as to whether he’d go truly bald. “No,” he said after a long pause. “Patty and I have talked about it, but it never seemed to be in the budget.”
If they made their living selling organic goat’s milk and soap — and probably produce as well, since the field opposite the goat pen seemed to be full of summer crops like corn and squash — then they were probably operating on pretty thin margins. Generators were expensive.
“I can loan you the cash — ” Sidney began, but at once, John shook his head.
“That’s very kind, but you’ve already helped us out a lot. We have some money put aside for emergencies, and I suppose this classifies as one.”
Just as he was finished speaking, a Lexus SUV pulled up next to John’s big truck, and a pretty Asian woman who looked as if she was in her mid-thirties got out. She spied the group on the home’s front porch and hurried over.
“I came as fast as I could,” she said, and Sidney smiled.
“Thanks, Hope. They’re both stable, but we need to get them on some antibiotics to be safe.”
The other woman nodded. However, she still performed a quick examination of each animal. just enough to make sure their breathing sounded all right and they weren’t in any distress. Once she was satisfied, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a couple of vials.
“I brought the drops since I know that trying to get pills down a goat’s throat is an exercise in futility,” she said as she handed the vials over to John. “Give each of them two drops every six hours. If they develop a fever or their breathing sounds labored, call me right away.”
Her tone was too brisk and professional to sound accusatory, and yet Ben still got the impression that she wasn’t entirely thrilled about the way she’d been relegated to second string here while Sidney had come in to do the heavy lifting.
He could only hope the vet wouldn’t hold that against her. It wasn’t as if Sidney had solicited the Hendersons’ business or anything close to it.
“Sure,” John said, his voice neutral. “But I think they’re going to be fine.”
“I think so, too,” Hope replied. “Still, we need to plan for contingencies.”
“And we will,” Patty said. “Thank you for bringing the medication.”
“Not a problem. That’s what I’m here for.”
And after an additional admonishment to call her if the goats’ situation changed, she got back in her SUV and drove off.
“I think we can handle it from here,” Patty said, shifting slightly so she could reposition the goat in her lap. Ben wouldn’t have been surprised if one or both of her legs were starting to fall asleep. “Thank you so much, Sidney. When I found the goats, I — ”
