To Love Someone (Baytown Boys #14) - Maryann Jordan Page 0,27
street toward his apartment over the shop. Alone.
7
On the drive to her clinic, Samantha kept replaying the scene she’d walked in on at the AL meeting. Joseph kneeling next to the elderly veteran in the wheelchair, assisting him with his water while allowing the man to maintain his dignity. She wished it had only been his kindness that she’d noticed, but the way he looked, the way he tucked the single strand of blonde hair behind his ear, and the way his muscles bunched and strained against the worn cotton of his T-shirt… all combined to create a gorgeous package. Package. Snorting, she shook her head. “Yeah, girl, when he stood and turned around, you couldn’t help but notice his package.” It wasn’t unusual for her to talk to herself while driving, although singularly focusing on one gorgeous man instead of the upcoming case was not how she usually killed time.
Also hit with the memory of the giggling drunk women in the bar, it was hard not to think of him spending time with a woman’s naked breast or vagina exposed to him for an extended period of time while he tattooed or pierced. Ugh.
Pushing those thoughts away, she turned her thoughts to the conversation she’d had with Liam after the meeting. She rubbed her hand over her forehead, trying to dislodge the frustration. Liam told her a farmer had called the sheriff’s office, swearing he’d seen a wolf. She’d explained that many people could not tell them apart, but that coyotes were naturally in Virginia and wolves were not.
“I showed him pictures of the two, but he swore it was a wolf.”
“If it was a coyote, it could be after his cows,” she’d warned. “Of course, there could be wolf-hybrid or coyote hybrids which aren’t supposed to be on the Virginia Eastern Shore. But that doesn’t mean a coyote and dog didn’t breed in the wild.”
She made a mental note to call the animal shelter and ask if they’d noticed any aggressive animals being brought in.
Pulling into the parking lot, she observed Susan climbing from her vehicle and Nathaniel Tompkins jumping out of his truck and running around to the back. She had managed to call Susan to meet her at the clinic, apologizing that she was calling her instead of Tonya since Susan was single and Tonya had a husband and kids.
With Nathaniel carrying his dog in a bloody blanket, her mind focused, and she opened the clinic, allowing the three of them to rush inside. “Bring him back to the surgical area. We’ll need to get x-rays.”
Susan grabbed an apron and pulled it over her scrub top. While Nathaniel laid the dog on the table, Susan brought over the digital x-ray equipment. Samantha snapped on a pair of gloves and peeled the blanket away, getting her first look at the injury. Breathing a sigh of relief, she was pleased to see that while the dog’s stomach had a large tear, at first glance it did not appear that any of the internal organs were damaged. “Hey, old boy,” she crooned, gently rubbing the dog’s head.
“We’ve always had a fence on the south pasture, and I’ve never seen Toby try to jump over it before. I don’t know what he was chasing but it looked like a wolf… big, wild dog… or maybe a coyote. I didn’t have a chance to get my gun before Toby took off after it. Poor boy didn’t have the height to make it over without getting caught.” Nathaniel’s voice cracked, and he looked close to tears as he leaned over his dog.
Her head jerked toward Nathaniel. “Have you had other sightings of this wild dog? Or coyotes in your fields?”
“No, never. I mean, we have stray dogs around sometimes, but this one was big. It didn’t come after Toby so I can’t say it was aggressive, but if it was wild, I don’t want it hanging around the barn where my grandkids play.”
Nodding slowly, she offered a tight smile before turning back to the injured animal. The radiographs appeared on the computer screen next to the examining table, and she bent forward to carefully study them. “Nathaniel, we’re in luck. I know it looks bad, but I can get this sutured up. Once I get in there, I’ll take a closer look, but it doesn’t appear that the wire nicked any organs.” Looking up at Susan, she said, “I’ll start the IV and get him intubated.”