Page 89 of Tough Love

Sergeant lopes past me, with a distraught Addy. She reins the gelding to a sliding stop and the cattle scatter. She jumps down and hovers over Charlie. I swing out of the saddle and run to where she is kneeling between the herd of cattle, heads down, their sights on the dog. Mack trots over, ushering the mob away from us.

“He may have a broken leg,” she says as I drop to my knees on the other side of Charlie. He’s panting, whimpering every other breath. “Shhhh, little man. Stay here with him, will you, so I can grab some painkillers before we move him?”

I nod, and she takes everything in stride. A moment later, she is back in the dirt beside me, syringe in hand. She administerssomething into his skin by his shoulder and sweet-talks him. When she rocks back onto her heels and wipes her forehead, I can’t keep my eyes off her.

“He will be numb in a moment and then we can move him into your truck and into the clinic.”

“Sure thing.”

Her brows are stuck down tight. “He’ll need an X-ray, and then we’ll go from there.”

“Yup, tell me what you need me to do.”

When Charlie has settled, I lift him from the ground, and Addy leads Sergeant back to where Harry and Reed stand watching us. Harry takes Sergeant’s reins and walks the horses back to the barn. Addy pulls some gear from Mira, and we make our way to the truck. She holds the door open for me and I lay Charlie in the center on the bench seat. Addy hops in and I round the truck, jumping into the driver’s seat. I fire her up and we head into town. Addy is quiet.

“You alright?” I ask.

“Yeah.” But worry lines her face as she checks the pup every other minute.

“He’ll be okay. He has a brilliant doctor.”

Forcing a sad smile, she stares out the window.

The clinic is closed when we arrive, and Addy unlocks the doors as I carry in a very sleepy Charlie. She hits the lights, and we head to the X-ray room. She takes the picture while I wait outside.

When she walks back out, she holds up a tablet with Charlie’s images. “It’s not too bad, only a cast and painkillers, thankfully.”

“That’s great. Do you do that now?”

“Yes, if you can help hold him still?”

“Anything you need.”

Addy walks into a treatment room, and I follow her. Charlie is on the floor on a bulky blue blanket. Addy goes about pullingout supplies. She drops to her knees and clips away the hair on his injured leg before wrapping it up in a soft bandage. When the plaster comes out, she selects a navy color and gets to work. “Hold him still, Huddy.”

“Sure.”

When the cast is finished, she leans against the wall with a sigh. She looks exhausted. A week on a horse will do that to a person. Addy’s phone buzzes on her desk. She ignores it.

“Talk to me, Addy.”

She closes her eyes. “I’m just tired and really, really need a shower.”

Her phone buzzes, inching closer to the edge of the desk, and she snatches it up and slides a finger over the screen. She rolls her eyes, muttering something that sounds a lot like “leave me alone” before locking the screen and tossing her phone onto the desk. If someone is harassing her ...

“Addy, is everyth?—”

“Hello?” Pa’s voice comes from the waiting room.

Why is he here?

“Huddy?” Ma, too.

I push up and wander out to the waiting room. “What’s going on?”

“We wanted to make sure you two were okay.” Ma squeezes my arm.

“Addy back here?” Pa asks, already walking down the hall. I hear as she stands and says hello before explaining Charlie’s injury.

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