“What are you doing?” the boy asked as Gabe hurled the keys into the weed-thick field across the road.
“Think about what you did while you’re looking for those,” he said. “And think about how much worse it could have been. And if after you find those keys, you still think it’s a good idea to get behind the wheel drunk, wait for me to return so I can beat some sense into you.”
God, he wished he’d taken Joey’s keys when he’d had the chance. But he didn’t have time to think about Joey at the moment. He needed to get Lady to the vet and try to save her or, if she wasn’t going to make it, at least keep her from suffering any more than she had to.
He rushed back to the house and called the emergency number for the vet. Dr. Nelson wasn’t in the office on Saturday evenings but after Gabe’s breathless explanation, she promised to meet them at the office and do what she could for Lady. Gabe tried to coax Beau into the house, but he refused to budge from Lady’s side, so he decided to allow the stubborn dog to ride with them. He wrapped Lady in his shirt, lifted her carefully from the ground, and carried her to his truck. Her eyes blinked open and she whined, her brown-eyed gaze pleading with Gabe as she looked up at him.
“It’s all right, girl,” he said to her.
“She’s scared, Gabe,” Melanie said. “You hold her and I’ll drive. She’ll be calmer that way.”
He nodded, glad Melanie was here with him and holding it together. He wasn’t sure what he would have done if she hadn’t been there.
He maneuvered himself into the truck with Lady cradled on his lap. Beau sat at his feet, his massive blond head on Gabe’s knee as he whined at Lady and offered her an encouraging lick every so often. The drive seemed uncommonly long. He gave Melanie directions to the clinic, but was too choked up to talk. While sitting at a stoplight several blocks from their destination, she squeezed his shoulder, and he looked at her.
“She’ll be all right,” Melanie said. “Have faith.”
He offered a half nod, but the quivering of Lady’s flesh, her struggle to draw breath, and the chill in her skin didn’t instill much confidence in him. He crooned encouragement to her, probably more for his sake than hers, and ignored the burn at the back of his eyes.
Stupid stubborn dog, she shouldn’t have been playing by the road. He squeezed his eyes shut. Stupid f**king dog owner; he shouldn’t have let her get that close.
A vet’s assistant met them at the door and hurriedly led them to an examination room. The vet arrived moments later and began checking Lady. The dog was calm as Dr. Nelson’s skilled hands moved over her blood-matted fur.
At Dr. Nelson’s calm, succinct instructions, the assistant placed an oxygen mask over Lady’s snout and soon had an IV inserted into her foreleg—the one that wasn’t damaged. The doctor looked up at Gabe, who watched them work with a sick ache ripping at his stomach.
“I’ll try to save her,” Dr. Nelson said. “Her leg is broken and ribs are cracked. I’m not sure how much blood she’s lost. She also has internal swelling. I won’t know what I’m up against until I take a closer look.”
Gabe nodded, feeling numb.
“You should go sit in the waiting room. We’ll let you know how she is when we know more about her injuries.”
Gabe nodded again, but his feet were rooted to the floor.
A gentle, but firm hand grasped his forearm. He looked down to find Melanie looking up at him, her eyes swimming with tears. She had Beau’s collar gripped firmly in her other hand.
“Come on, sweetheart,” she said. “Let’s go sit down.”
Before I fall down, he thought dully.
He allowed Melanie to lead him out of the exam room and into a gloomy waiting room. Apparently no one had thought to turn on the lights. At Melanie’s insistence, he sank into a vinyl chair. Beau immediately jumped onto his lap and made himself as comfortable as an eighty-pound dog could get when crammed into a narrow chair already crowded by a pair of human thighs. Gabe stroked Beau’s ears.
“You’re worried about her too, aren’t you, boy?” he said to the dog.
Beau groaned and snorted, his big brown eyes fixed on the door.
“You okay?” Melanie asked. “Do you want something to drink?”
He nodded. Shook his head. Took Melanie’s hand and tugged her into the chair beside him. She sat and held his hand. Both his hands and hers were sticky with blood and her pretty dress was ruined, but she wasn’t being a girl about it at all. She was definitely a strong woman, the kind he needed at his side.
“I hate waiting,” she said.
“Thanks for driving,” he said. “And for realizing she was still alive. I thought… I thought she was dead.”
“I thought you were going to beat the shit out of that boy.”
“He needs someone to beat the shit out of him. Fifteen years old and already driving drunk. What’s he going to be like in his twenties? I should probably call the sheriff and send him after the kid to make sure he doesn’t get behind the wheel again. Hopefully, he’s still looking for those keys.”
Melanie chuckled softly. “I think that will keep him occupied for a couple hours. Do you want to use my phone?” She pulled it from her purse and handed it to Gabe, who struggled to hold the massive dog on his lap and dial for an emergency operator. Within minutes he was assured that someone would head toward his place and check things out. Yet he still didn’t feel he’d done enough. He’d done more than he had when he hadn’t stopped his friend Joey from driving drunk. One moment of adolescent courage just might have saved Joey’s life.
“Is something else bothering you?” Melanie asked. “You know it wasn’t your fault that Lady got hit.”
He did feel responsible for Lady, but that wasn’t all that was bothering him. Gabe’s sole regret in life was that he hadn’t taken Joey’s keys from him when he’d had the chance. He’d had let his friend get behind the wheel, drunk. Gabe glanced at Melanie, who offered him an encouraging smile. He didn’t like to talk about Joey. But Gabe wanted to share things, meaningful things, with Melanie. He trusted her. He liked her as his friend as well as his lover. And after the way she’d supported him this afternoon and continued to support him, he might even be in love with her. Maybe he’d feel better if he talked about the thing with Joey. People he’d grown up with knew the story, but he hadn’t shared it with anyone in recent years. It hurt too much.
“Think about what you did while you’re looking for those,” he said. “And think about how much worse it could have been. And if after you find those keys, you still think it’s a good idea to get behind the wheel drunk, wait for me to return so I can beat some sense into you.”
God, he wished he’d taken Joey’s keys when he’d had the chance. But he didn’t have time to think about Joey at the moment. He needed to get Lady to the vet and try to save her or, if she wasn’t going to make it, at least keep her from suffering any more than she had to.
He rushed back to the house and called the emergency number for the vet. Dr. Nelson wasn’t in the office on Saturday evenings but after Gabe’s breathless explanation, she promised to meet them at the office and do what she could for Lady. Gabe tried to coax Beau into the house, but he refused to budge from Lady’s side, so he decided to allow the stubborn dog to ride with them. He wrapped Lady in his shirt, lifted her carefully from the ground, and carried her to his truck. Her eyes blinked open and she whined, her brown-eyed gaze pleading with Gabe as she looked up at him.
“It’s all right, girl,” he said to her.
“She’s scared, Gabe,” Melanie said. “You hold her and I’ll drive. She’ll be calmer that way.”
He nodded, glad Melanie was here with him and holding it together. He wasn’t sure what he would have done if she hadn’t been there.
He maneuvered himself into the truck with Lady cradled on his lap. Beau sat at his feet, his massive blond head on Gabe’s knee as he whined at Lady and offered her an encouraging lick every so often. The drive seemed uncommonly long. He gave Melanie directions to the clinic, but was too choked up to talk. While sitting at a stoplight several blocks from their destination, she squeezed his shoulder, and he looked at her.
“She’ll be all right,” Melanie said. “Have faith.”
He offered a half nod, but the quivering of Lady’s flesh, her struggle to draw breath, and the chill in her skin didn’t instill much confidence in him. He crooned encouragement to her, probably more for his sake than hers, and ignored the burn at the back of his eyes.
Stupid stubborn dog, she shouldn’t have been playing by the road. He squeezed his eyes shut. Stupid f**king dog owner; he shouldn’t have let her get that close.
A vet’s assistant met them at the door and hurriedly led them to an examination room. The vet arrived moments later and began checking Lady. The dog was calm as Dr. Nelson’s skilled hands moved over her blood-matted fur.
At Dr. Nelson’s calm, succinct instructions, the assistant placed an oxygen mask over Lady’s snout and soon had an IV inserted into her foreleg—the one that wasn’t damaged. The doctor looked up at Gabe, who watched them work with a sick ache ripping at his stomach.
“I’ll try to save her,” Dr. Nelson said. “Her leg is broken and ribs are cracked. I’m not sure how much blood she’s lost. She also has internal swelling. I won’t know what I’m up against until I take a closer look.”
Gabe nodded, feeling numb.
“You should go sit in the waiting room. We’ll let you know how she is when we know more about her injuries.”
Gabe nodded again, but his feet were rooted to the floor.
A gentle, but firm hand grasped his forearm. He looked down to find Melanie looking up at him, her eyes swimming with tears. She had Beau’s collar gripped firmly in her other hand.
“Come on, sweetheart,” she said. “Let’s go sit down.”
Before I fall down, he thought dully.
He allowed Melanie to lead him out of the exam room and into a gloomy waiting room. Apparently no one had thought to turn on the lights. At Melanie’s insistence, he sank into a vinyl chair. Beau immediately jumped onto his lap and made himself as comfortable as an eighty-pound dog could get when crammed into a narrow chair already crowded by a pair of human thighs. Gabe stroked Beau’s ears.
“You’re worried about her too, aren’t you, boy?” he said to the dog.
Beau groaned and snorted, his big brown eyes fixed on the door.
“You okay?” Melanie asked. “Do you want something to drink?”
He nodded. Shook his head. Took Melanie’s hand and tugged her into the chair beside him. She sat and held his hand. Both his hands and hers were sticky with blood and her pretty dress was ruined, but she wasn’t being a girl about it at all. She was definitely a strong woman, the kind he needed at his side.
“I hate waiting,” she said.
“Thanks for driving,” he said. “And for realizing she was still alive. I thought… I thought she was dead.”
“I thought you were going to beat the shit out of that boy.”
“He needs someone to beat the shit out of him. Fifteen years old and already driving drunk. What’s he going to be like in his twenties? I should probably call the sheriff and send him after the kid to make sure he doesn’t get behind the wheel again. Hopefully, he’s still looking for those keys.”
Melanie chuckled softly. “I think that will keep him occupied for a couple hours. Do you want to use my phone?” She pulled it from her purse and handed it to Gabe, who struggled to hold the massive dog on his lap and dial for an emergency operator. Within minutes he was assured that someone would head toward his place and check things out. Yet he still didn’t feel he’d done enough. He’d done more than he had when he hadn’t stopped his friend Joey from driving drunk. One moment of adolescent courage just might have saved Joey’s life.
“Is something else bothering you?” Melanie asked. “You know it wasn’t your fault that Lady got hit.”
He did feel responsible for Lady, but that wasn’t all that was bothering him. Gabe’s sole regret in life was that he hadn’t taken Joey’s keys from him when he’d had the chance. He’d had let his friend get behind the wheel, drunk. Gabe glanced at Melanie, who offered him an encouraging smile. He didn’t like to talk about Joey. But Gabe wanted to share things, meaningful things, with Melanie. He trusted her. He liked her as his friend as well as his lover. And after the way she’d supported him this afternoon and continued to support him, he might even be in love with her. Maybe he’d feel better if he talked about the thing with Joey. People he’d grown up with knew the story, but he hadn’t shared it with anyone in recent years. It hurt too much.
