you to help me, Etta. I want you to tell me where to find Dr. McElroy.”
“You know what? I wouldn’t tell you if I knew.”
“What?”
“He’s bad news, Matt. I can give you some other names. Hang on.” He heard the shuffle of papers, then Etta said, “There’s L. M. Reynolds in Butte, Bob Murphy in Butte, Lyle Crenshaw in Anaconda—”
“Thanks,” Matt said. “I’ll try one of them.” He hung up before Etta could answer and found Craig standing behind him.
“We have a problem.”
Another one? “What now?”
“Your horse has bad scrapes on his back legs. The spotted horse.”
“What?” Matt headed out the door, Craig hot on his heels. Sure enough, Ready had dried blood covering most of one hind leg.
Matt clamped his mouth shut to keep from uttering the curses that were lining up on his tongue. The smooth wire fence was sagging from where the horse had somehow caught his leg—probably trying to kick through it at the horse on the other side.
“Shit,” he said as he opened the gate. He glanced at Craig, who shrugged.
“Mom’s favorite word.”
He put a hand on Ready’s rump as he leaned closer to assess the damage. The skin and hair were burned off the leg. Son of a bitch. He hoped there was no muscle damage. Matt went back out the gate, barely getting it closed when Craig handed him the phone.
Matt looked up the vet’s number and dialed. In all his years of having horses in smooth wire, this was his first injury. And even if there was no muscle damage, it was going to be a while until he was riding Ready again. The horse needed time to heal.
The vet’s assistant answered almost immediately and Matt described the problem as he wearily studied the practice horses in the next pasture over. Clancy, the horse Ready had probably tried to kick when he’d injured himself, was a nice horse. Lots of potential. But too green to be used for his comeback bid.
Damn.
He’d been counting on Ready, hoping that the horse would make it through the season unscathed while Matt worked at bringing Clancy up to speed for the next year.
So what now? Did he lease a finished horse? Try to get Beckett back?
He snorted. At best Liv would laugh in his face. At worst she’d publically accuse him of injuring another horse through carelessness.
Matt was in a world of hurt.
* * *
“GUESS WHO CALLED looking for McElroy,” Etta said as Andie walked into the office.
Liv flipped open the chart of her first after-lunch patient, skimming it quickly as Andie said, “Who?”
“Matt.” Etta paused, then added, “Montoya.” Liv looked up. She couldn’t help herself. “I tried to book him with you,” Etta said to her, “but he said he wants a male doctor.” She smirked a little. “So I gave him some names. My guess is that he doesn’t care if they’re male or not. He wants someone who’s good with a needle.”
“You don’t know that,” Andie said, flipping the file closed. “And you probably shouldn’t say it.”
Etta shrugged carelessly. “I dated him. I know his hierarchy. Roping, women, partying.”
“How long ago was that?” Liv asked, somehow pushing the words out of her throat in a conversational tone and ignoring the sharp look Andie sent her.
“Oh, let’s see...I was the one right before the one he married.” She smiled as she shrugged philosophically. “I had no illusions where I fit into the scheme of his life, but boy howdy, it was hard to walk away. He is hot. H-O-T—”
“We get it,” Andie said. “Have you made the appointment reminder calls today?”
“Getting right on that,” Etta said, reaching for the phone. Andie shook her head and went into her office, taking care not to look at Liv.
Why? Did she feel sorry for her?
Liv knocked on the open door frame and then walked inside, closing the door after her. Andie looked up from the lab report she was reading. “I don’t want to encourage her. Etta is good with the patients, but she gossips too much and I don’t like it.”
“Right,” Liv said. “And now I have a question for you. Most of McElroy’s patients were jocks or athletes of some kind, right?”
“They were people who were more interested in numbing pain than dealing with the cause.” Andie set down the report. “And he does this—” she gestured with one hand as she made a disgusted face “—growth hormone stuff that’s supposed to regenerate cartilage. Nothing proven or even approved by the FDA. I don’t like