Hayden

Out of all the people who could’ve stopped to help me, I never thought it’d be Derek McLaughlin. It made two times in two days that we’d run into each other. His gentleness with the dog had surprised me. I never would’ve thought he’d put that much care into handling an animal.

“Where do you want me to park?” he asked. He turned down Main Street and was almost at the clinic.

“Out front will be perfect.” Luckily, there was a place directly in front of the door. I rubbed the dog’s head and whispered in his ear, “We’re here, boy. I’ll get you fixed up in no time.”

Derek got out of the truck and lowered the tailgate. I jumped out and unlocked the clinic door, opening it wide. Derek lifted the dog in his arms and carried him inside. “Where do you want him?”

“Back here,” I said, hurrying around the front desk. I led him to the first operating room, turned on the light, and pointed at the table. “Lay him on there. I’m going to put him to sleep and fix that gash on his stomach before taking X-rays.”

He did as I said while I washed my hands and prepped. “Do you need me in here?” he asked.

“That’s up to you. Do you get squeamish around blood?”

He chuckled. “I’m a football player. I see blood all the time.”

“Then I guess you’ll be fine.”

He stayed in the operating room while I sutured up the dog’s belly and did a thorough exam, including checking for a microchip to see if the owner could be located. There wasn’t a chip, though, and since he hadn’t had a collar on, I had to assume he was a stray. Once all of that was done, I took the X-rays, which confirmed what I had already suspected: The dog had two broken back legs and a fractured rib. I had to reset the legs and put them in casts that would stay for about six weeks.

“Is that all you have to do?” he questioned. The dog was wiped clean of blood and sleeping soundly on the table. The only thing I had to make sure was that his gash didn’t get infected. Other than that, his broken legs would heal, and he’d be up and moving around in no time.

I washed my hands and breathed a sigh of relief. “For now it’s all that can be done. I’ll probably stay the night and keep an eye on him. I don’t want to move him around too much. We do need to move him into a kennel so he can lie in a doggie bed. It’ll be much more comfortable than this table.”

Derek got to his feet. “Do you want me to carry him?”

I nodded. “That’d be great.” He picked up the dog and followed me to the back, where several other patients were kept. Amanda had taken the puppies again, so I’d have to wait until morning to see my Patch. “You can put him in there,” I said, pointing at one of the empty cages.

Derek laid him on the soft doggie bed and shut the kennel door. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay here all night? What about your car?”

I shrugged. “It’ll be fine. I can get someone to take me to it in the morning. But thank you for all your help. I don’t think I could’ve done it without you.”

He glanced at the dog and frowned. “No problem. I just wish there was more I could do.”

I rested a hand on his arm. “You did plenty. Now go. I promise I’ll be okay.” He didn’t look like he believed me, but he nodded and walked to the door. “Hey,” I called. Brows furrowed, he glanced at me over his shoulder. “It was nice meeting you. I can honestly say I didn’t think you’d be as nice as you are.”

“Am I supposed to be a dick?” he asked, chuckling.

“I don’t know. I guess I just had a preconceived notion that all you guys would be arrogant and complete jackasses. I will fully admit that I was wrong.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” He pushed the door open. “It was nice meeting you, too, Dr. Hunter.” As soon as he walked out to his truck, I pulled out my phone and called Michael.

“Hey, girl.”

“You will not believe what just happened.”

“Knock, knock,” Wilford announced, tapping a knuckle on my office door. Groaning, I sat up and stretched my arms above my head. My body hurt from sleeping hunched over my desk.

“I would say good morning,” I said, my voice raspy from sleep, “but it’s been one hell of a night.”

He sat down across from me, his gaze concerned. “Were you here all night?”

I nodded. “On my way home, I watched a dog get hit by a car. He was injured, so I brought him here and watched over him.”

“Is he okay?”

“He had a large gash on his stomach and two broken legs. For the most part, he slept all night, but he was barely able to move. I gave him some food and made sure he was medicated the rest of the time.”

He shook his head in awe. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone with your kind of dedication. You should’ve called me and I would’ve helped you.”

“It doesn’t sound like she needed any help,” Michael teased, leaning against the door frame.

I rolled my eyes, but Wilford was lost. “Why do you say that?” he asked Michael.

Michael waggled his brows at me. “She had a famous football star here to help her.”

“What?” a voice shrieked. Jessica came running down the hall and rushed into my office, followed by Amanda, Charity, and Jeremiah. Poor Margerie was left out in the hall because there was no more room in my office.

“It wasn’t that big a deal,” I exclaimed, holding up my hands.

“Who was it?” Amanda asked. “I see them all the time at the tavern.”

I glanced at them all; they were so eager to find out. “It was Derek McLaughlin.” The girls gasped, their eyes bugging out of their heads. “He found me on the side of the road and helped me bring the dog here. Trust me, it was nothing exciting.”

Michael snorted. “He also gave her his phone the other night after he broke her other one.”

“Oh my God,” Amanda squealed. “Why didn’t you tell me that? This is awesome.”

I stood and shook my head. “It’s over, that’s it. I probably won’t ever see him again except to give him back his phone.”

“All right, everyone,” Wilford said, “let’s give Dr. Hunter some room to breathe.” Everyone walked out except Jeremiah and Wilford. Michael winked at me before disappearing down the hall.

“You should’ve called one of us to help you, Hayden. I would’ve been happy to come,” Jeremiah offered.

“I didn’t want to bother anyone. Besides, it was nothing I couldn’t handle.”

Wilford patted him on the shoulder and laughed. “Haven’t you learned by now that Dr. Hunter is the stubborn one out of us all?”

“That she is,” Jeremiah agreed.

“Dr. Patton, your first patient is here,” Jessica said, leaning her head inside the door.

Jeremiah sighed. “I’ll be right there.” Then he turned back to me. “Next time, don’t be so stubborn. Call someone.” He walked out, but Wilford stayed.

I yawned and rubbed a hand over my face. “I think I need some coffee.”

Wilford chuckled. “I have a better idea. Why don’t you take the day off? You’ve been here all night, and I can clearly see that you need some sleep.”

“I can’t. I have patients.”

“As of right now, you don’t. They can be split between me, Michael, and Jeremiah. Now go.”

I slowly grabbed for my keys and then remembered I didn’t have my car. “I can’t. My car is still down the street.”

A wide grin spread across his face. “Well, then, why don’t I take you to it? You can’t use that as an excuse, young lady. I promise the animals will be fine while you’re gone.”

“Will you check on Bear for me? He’s the dog I rescued last night.” I didn’t know where the name came from, but it was the first thing that popped out of my mouth.

“Bear?” he asked. “Did you name him?”

“Looks like I did.” I laughed. “He’s going to need help with walking.”

He shoved me out of my office and shut the door. “I’ll handle it. Kellie has a device next door that helps dogs walk. We can put Bear in it and see how he does.”

We strolled up to the front office, and Michael raised a brow when he saw Wilford behind me. “You didn’t get fired, did you?”

“For the day, she did,” Wilford explained. “I’m taking her to her car, and then she’s going home.”

Michael snickered. “I’ll call you later, then.”

Once we were in Wilford’s car, he drove me to mine, and I was thankful it was still where I’d left it. “Thank you for dropping me off,” I said to him.

“You’re welcome, Hayden. You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for someone like you to come along.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.

He smiled. “You’ll find out soon.”