Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 50705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
“Okay, let’s get the board under him. We’ll need to do it gently.” I move as the girl jumps down to make room for me and Jeff. I squat down beside Indy and wait to do her bidding. “I need you both to lift him at the same time, as careful as you can. I’ll slide the board under. That will be easier than the normal procedure. The two of you will be able to lift him evenly.”
“Sounds good,” I mutter, hoping I do this right and don’t cause more damage to the dog.
“Where’s Jeff?” Indy questions.
I jerk my head back, looking for him. I just assumed he climbed in behind me. He’s out by the truck looking at the owner of the dogs like he’s seen a ghost. She’s staring at him in much the same way.
“Jeff?” she whispers.
“Jeff, get up here. I need to get some imaging done and take Otto back for surgery.”
Jeff nods, with one last look at the girl. Then gets up in the truck to help me.
Before I turn back to the dog, I notice the girl has yet to take her eyes off Jeff. I wonder if this is the girl that he spoke about earlier. She’s definitely looking at him like he means something to her. In fact, the hunger in her face when she looks at Jeff is almost painful to witness. I shake it off. I need to help Indy. I know instinctively that if she loses this dog, it will hurt her immensely.
I don’t know if I was a praying man in my past, but I send up a prayer now for the dog and for Indy because the last thing I want to see is my woman’s tears.
Chapter 16
Indy
I did everything I could. I know I did, but that reality lies bitter in my stomach. As I hold Lee and let her cry in my arms, I just feel like a failure. I can feel the tears rolling down my face, but I ignore them.
“I’m so sorry, Lee,” I whisper as Luna whines at our feet.
“It’s all my fault,” she whispers through her broken sobs.
“Stop that, Rylee,” Jeff says, surprising me. I hadn’t even realized he was in the lobby with us. I watch as he moves in front of me. He goes to the other side of Rylee and then pulls her from my hold and gently cradles her body against him.
“He died because of me. I wasn’t worth it. He should have saved himself,” she bawls.
“Bullshit,” he snaps. “Indy, can you leave us alone, please?”
“I …”
I like Jeff, but he doesn’t strike me as the kind of man who can be gentle, and Lee is broken in ways others don’t know. I do, but we have a similar past—although I get the feeling hers was much, much worse.
“C’mon, honey. Let’s give them some privacy,” Breaker says. I look up at him. He can see the question in my eyes. “It’s okay,” he mouths, not really saying the words out loud. He makes a motion with his head toward the couple in question. I drop my gaze to them, and I see the way Jeff has pulled her onto his lap and is finger combing her hair gently, while placing a tender kiss on her forehead. Something about the way he does that—combined with the way he’s looking at her—puts me at ease. I get up and quietly leave the two of them and Luna alone.
“I didn’t realize he knew Lee,” I whisper quietly when we get outside.
“I think it might go a little deeper than that,” Breaker says.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not sure, but judging from Jeff’s reaction to her, that little girl in there is one of two women, and both are pretty important to him.”
I give him a mean look. “Lee deserves better than that.”
Now Breaker is frowning at me as if he’s disappointed in me. “Jeff is a good guy, Indy,” he replies, and I can hear the annoyance in his voice. He doesn’t like what I said at all.
“He is, but Lee deserves a man who only cares about her—not her and someone else. No woman deserves to come in second to another, Breaker. Lee’s had a hard past. When she first moved here, she was kind of a shell of a person. The last thing she needs is a man who will hurt her—even if he doesn’t mean to.”
He studies me thoughtfully. Then a semi-smile spreads on his lips and his features soften. “It will be okay, Doc. Now, tell me, how are you doing?”
I sigh, feeling defeated. “I tried everything I could, Breaker.”
“I know, honey.”
“I couldn’t save him. The damage was too severe.”
“I’m sorry, honey,” he purrs, pulling me into his arms.
I rest my head against his chest and let his warmth seep into me. I pick at imaginary lint on his shirt and get up my nerve to tell him something that’s kind of been on my mind for the last few days. “Breaker?”