Cupid's Charm by Katie O'Connor

Author:Katie O'Connor [O'Connor, Katie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Snarky Heart Press
Published: 2021-02-01T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Liv sat in the office alone. She’d caught up on her filing. Restocked the food shelves; cleaned and stocked the exam rooms. The two dogs and one cat staying overnight had been fed, watered, and exercised. She felt guilty for it, but there was nothing to do besides read her book and wait for the phone to ring. Dr. Hardisty was away for the day, assisting another vet in a complicated surgery one town over. Tanis had stopped by with Andrea Jean and after a short visit had taken her adorable daughter home to bed. Now, it was just Liv and her novel. Alone.

She should be ecstatic, but her work ethic told her to find something, anything to do. It niggled at her conscience until she got up to fill the mop bucket. She could mop the floors though they’d been done after close yesterday and nobody had been here besides her.

She was scrubbing behind her desk when the door chime mooed. She returned the string mop to the bucket and turned to greet her client.

Max stood in the door; a blood-soaked blanket bundled in his arms. Her heart thundered in her ears. This wasn’t good. There was no doctor and it was 52 miles to the nearest vet. An animal who had lost that much blood might not survive the long trip.

“Where’s Dr. Hardisty? I found this dog chained up outside of town. He looks like he’s been attacked by another dog. He’s going to need stitches. At least. Maybe X-rays.”

“Oh no! The doctor is gone to help another vet. It is bad?” She hurried toward Max and peeked inside the blanket. She gagged. It was bad. Real bad. The small Yorkie was in rough shape, its fur stained with blood.

“He probably won’t make it to another vet,” Max said with a groan. “You’re going to have to do something.”

“I can’t do anything. I’m not a vet.” She paused. “I’m an assistant, I’ve started some training, but not for anything like this, there’s so much blood.” She swallowed back another gag. She’d never been affected like this, but the damage was overwhelming.

“He’ll die without help. Do something.” Panic rose is Max’s voice.

“Bring him back. I can at least look.”

Large lacerations covered the dog’s back and thigh. “Thankfully, it’s only one side. But I still don’t know what to do.” The dog whimpered.

“Come on. Can you call the doctor or something?” Max begged.

Liv puffed out an exasperated breath. “I can try.”

She picked up the exam room phone and punched in Dr. Hardisty’s cell number. It rang five times before she picked up. Liv put her on speaker and quickly explained the situation.

“This is what you do. Get a weight on him so we know how much to medicate. Then, you’ll have to stitch him up.”

“I can’t. I’m not qualified,” Liv objected. What if something went wrong? What if the dog died? She couldn’t be responsible for an animal’s life, or death. But if she didn’t do something, and the dog died, it would be her fault.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.