Page 51 of Home Hearts Hooves

“Sorry. I just don’t know how to get him to agree to just stay home and leave the ranch to us. Could you talk to him?”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you’re a doc.”

“I’m a vet.”

“Same difference.”

“Not really.”

“Out here it is. You can tell him how important it is that he’s off his leg. Like scare him into resting. He’ll listen to you.”

“Maybe Sally-May would be better at convincing him.”

Nial shakes his head. “Her sister took ill a few days ago. She’s gone to help care for her. Please?”

I have no idea if Dean will listen to me or not. I do agree that he needs to rest, or it will probably delay healing. That is, as long as Nial is right and vets understand healing the same way as people doctors, and as long as people heal the same way animals do. I guess it’s worth a shot.

“Okay, I’ll try.”

“Awesome, you can talk to him tonight at dinner.”

“If Sally-May’s at her sister’s, who’s cooking dinner?” I ask, and he laughs.

“She cooked up a bunch of stuff and stocked the freezer before she left, Sky’s on reheat duty. Tonight I think it’s beef pie, mashed potatoes, and roast vegetables.”

“I’ll pass on the pie, but the potatoes and vegetables sound great.”

“Right, vegetarian. How’s that working out for ya?”

“Pretty good.” I laugh. “You should try it.”

“I would say that I’d give it a go, but I’d be lying. Come on, Atlas will be waiting with Loki. First, you can tackle the God of mischief, then we take on Dean, the god of stubbornness.”

Chapter seventeen

DEAN

INTRODUCING THE GOOD DOCTOR

Istompdownthehall, literally. Because this fucking boot won’t let me walk quietly if I goddamn wanted to. Cuddles is prancing behind me like he’s hopped up on happy pills, while these pills the doc gave me are hardly doing anything to ease the pain in my leg.

“Are you coming down for dinner?” Nial calls from the kitchen just as I reach the stairs.

“On my way, be down in a minute,” I call back, but really it will be more like five with how slow I have to take them. Cuddles is too scared to make his own way down, given he’s about the height of each step, I don’t blame him, and quickly scoop him into the sash I’ve come to wear to hold him and start on my way. The boot isn’t particularly heavy, just awkward, and while they offered me crutches, I opted for a cane instead. It’s only been a few days and I’m already starting to forget how easy everything used to be. Maybe that’s a good thing, seeing as I’ll be wearing this thing for six whole fucking weeks.

“Look at you up on your feet and taking on stairs already,” Preston says, smiling up at me from Nial’s seat while Nial is perched happily in Sally-May’s.

“I… umm, yeah, stairs,” I reply and pull out the chair and take a seat before I trip over and further embarrass myself. Fuck, why is it sometimes so easy to talk to Preston and other times I’m falling all over myself? Nial and Preston trade glances.

“You have bedrooms downstairs, don’t you?” Preston asks.

“Yeah, Gramps had a room down here, but he won’t take it,” Nial replies.

“I don’t need a room down here, the stairs are fine. I’m getting faster.”

“The dinner begs to differ,” Nial says, scooping a slice of the beef pie. “I’ll have to reheat this again now; can you reheat beef again if you just did?”

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