Rough Stock(32)

Willow sat up and rubbed her eyes. “Seth?”

Rowan nodded. “To help get Kinka to the vet.”

Tired though she seemed, Willow jumped out of bed to pull on her clothes. They headed downstairs to find Seth seated on the couch next to Kinka, who gave them a thump of his tail in greeting.

“Mornin’, sweetheart,” Seth declared. “Did you sleep okay?”

Willow nodded.

“Did you, big guy?” Seth asked, looking at Kinka, who thumped his tail again happily.

Willow’s eyes went wide. “Will he be okay?”

“I think so. But we’re going to have Doc Chambers take a look. Just to be sure.”

Willow nodded as though that sounded like a good idea to her.

“Well, now, boy,” Seth said to Kinka. “Are you feeling well enough for me to lift you this time?” He wrapped his arms around the dog and heaved him off the couch and onto the floor.

The whole procession followed the dog slowly outside and down the porch stairs, with Kinka limping every step of the way.

Once they were outside, Rowan noticed Seth had taken a thick, blue tarp from the barn and now had it in the bed of his truck. She guessed that he’d gathered the carcasses of the wolves and hidden them, obviously intending to dispose of them himself. She was glad that Willow didn’t have to see them.

She was glad for the reprieve, too. Still, farm work was brutal, especially since it hadn’t provided the distraction she wanted. Nothing had been able to take her mind off Dad, or her growing feelings for Seth, or Court’s antics. All she could think about now was Seth’s body, pinning hers, his lips, his taste, his scent. She needed it again. And again and again. Rowan wasn’t certain how she’d ever get enough. Even just seeing him would be good enough—for now. Seeing his golden skin, dark eyes, and muscled frame would be enough of a fix until the sun went down again.

Tomorrow had become tonight.

Tonight, every night, Rowan hoped.

She was shaken from her thoughts when a low growl erupted from Kinka. The dog clearly knew what was hidden underneath the tarp, even if Willow was fooled.

Seth smiled. “Oh, it’s just a few more steps, old boy,” he said, though he gave Rowan a knowing look.

Rowan stepped casually between Willow and the truck’s bed, blocking the little girl’s view.

“We’re going to put him in the backseat with you,” Seth told her. “The royal treatment for such a good dog.”

At this, Willow brightened, and even Kinka allowed himself to be picked up again for the chance to go for a ride in Seth’s truck. The dog seemed undaunted about the bodies of his enemies lying in the bed, and Rowan pushed them out of her mind, as well, to lift Willow in beside him, onto the spare booster seat they kept in the closet, and buckle her lap belt tightly.

They rumbled along the highway toward Bill Chambers’ small veterinary practice just outside the Star Valley city limits. Willow was briefly distracted by the cows, horses, and even one llama that were apparently convalescing on the property in divided paddocks surrounding the old Victorian house that served as a business front on the first floor and living quarters upstairs.

Kinka gave a halfhearted bark when he realized where they were, having been coming here since he was born for his yearly checkup and apparently excited to see the place now. To Rowan, the Chambers place was as familiar and comforting as finally being back in her own home.

As they approached the front of the house, the front door opened. Instead of the robust Doc Chambers greeting them, it was a smaller, willowy figure with long blond, messy hair.

“Skye!” Rowan blurted out, finally recognizing the woman in the doorway.

Skye Chambers tugged at her unruly hair and waved.

“I didn’t know you were in Star Valley!” Rowan exclaimed as she climbed the steps of the front porch. “Emma said you had two more years left in Denver.”

Skye had been a year behind Rowan and Court in high school. And while Rowan had pursued nursing, Skye had gone to veterinary school. So much in the small town felt like Rowan had never left. She and Skye had never been particularly close, but they’d always been on friendly terms. Seeing her now, back from Denver, put a smile on Rowan’s face.

“I graduated a semester early,” Skye replied, glancing at Seth and looking surprised to see him. “Hi, Seth,” she said cautiously.

He smiled. “Skye.”

To head off any more awkwardness, Rowan stepped forward. “Sorry we’re here so early. But a pack of wolves came onto our property last night.”

Skye’s eyes widened. “Are the sheep okay?”

Rowan nodded. “The flock’s okay, but Kinka got hurt fighting them off. He’s in Seth’s backseat. Can we bring him in? Is your dad awake?”

Skye frowned. “Well, he is. I’ll go tell him you’re here.” To Seth, she said, “Go ahead and bring Kinka in, straight back to the exam room.”

Rowan followed Skye inside the house with Willow in tow. Bill Chambers appeared in the kitchen doorway, coffee mug in hand.

“It’s Rowan Archer,” Skye told him as they moved down the hall. “Wolves got onto their property last night and tussled with Kinka.”

The old man grunted, turned back to the kitchen, and appeared almost at their side just moments later as Skye opened the door to a parlor that had been turned into an exam room about fifty years ago, or whenever Bill Chambers’ father had set up the family veterinary practice. Rowan was barely old enough to remember the Chambers patriarch who’d long since passed.

Seth brought in Kinka, helping the dog walk under his own steam. He lifted the Great Pyrenees onto the steel table, despite Kinka’s determination to do what he knew was wanted of him.

Doc and Skye worked in tandem, searching for wounds through the long white hair and clipping around them to get a better look.

Rowan was disheartened to see the damage was more extensive than she’d thought. That thick coat had hidden his puncture marks well, but it hadn’t been enough to keep the wolf’s fangs from tearing into him. Rowan kept her cool, barely, but beside her Willow whimpered.

Before Rowan could reassure her, Skye looked over at her and smiled. “He’ll be all right.”

“Really?”

Skye nodded. “Yep. In a few days, he’ll be right as rain. He’s had all his vaccines, and it wasn’t a bat or a skunk, so that’s good. There hasn’t been a known case of a wolf with rabies in Wyoming in my lifetime.”

“Nor mine,” said Doc, swabbing the worst of the bites with antiseptic. “We won’t stitch him, just in case there’s a bacterial infection, though. Easier to treat if there is. I’ll give you some Rimadyl for the pain, enough for a week. Should help him get back to work.”

Willow’s eyes widened. “Can’t he just stay in my bed till he’s better?”

Doc laughed. “Well, honey, you would. And I sure would. But Kinka here’s been in charge of that ranch ever since your granddaddy bought him from Randall Sayres as a pup. You try telling him he’s not allowed to protect his flock. Or you. He won’t like it much. This’ll slow him down some, for sure, but he’ll get the job done. He doesn’t know any other way, honey.” He grinned, and Rowan saw a twinkle in the old man’s eyes. “’Course, I doubt he’d object much to sleeping in your bed after his work day’s done.”

“Can he?!” Willow asked breathlessly.

“Dad!” Skye hissed. “You’re stirring up trouble.”

The old man winked at Willow. “Well, now, what are old men for if not for stirring up trouble?”

Rowan couldn’t help but see so much of her own father in the man standing before her. Surely they were cut from the same cloth. “We’ll see,” she told Willow, but Rowan—and Willow—knew it meant yes.

The little girl beamed.

Kinka wagged his tail, as though he’d understood the conversation, but the old man was scratching him behind the ear.

“Right as rain,” said Doc Chambers. “Soon enough.” He turned to the small cabinet on the wall and opened it to look through the array of bottles stored there.

“Just give us a call,” Skye told Rowan, “if he starts to look sluggish, or there’s vomiting, or diarrhea.”

“Ew!” Willow screeched.

“Well, here you go,” said Doc, turning back to them. He started toward Rowan, but Skye reached out and took hold of his wrist suddenly.

“No, Dad,” she said quietly, closing her hand around the small bottle. “Don’t worry, I’ll get it.” She quickly put the bottle back into the cabinet and retrieved a different one, same size, same color. She twisted off the cap to check the contents then secured it again.

The old man’s mouth turned down, and the smile from just moments ago was all but forgotten. He grunted. “I’ll go finish feeding the overnighters,” he announced and headed out the door with barely a nod at Rowan and Seth.

A long, heavy silence was left in the old man’s wake.

Skye’s gaze followed her father’s retreating form.

“Skye?” Rowan finally prompted.

The younger woman cleared her throat and held out the bottle. “I…this is right,” she insisted. “Give him two a day. You can bump it up to three, morning, noon, and night, if he looks like he’s having mobility problems. I can refill it.”