Kylee picked up the phone and pressed the community clinic number.
“Dr. Fisher here.”
“Hi.” She paused, flustered. “Goliath is here.”
“Hey, Kylee.” He chuckled. “Fancy hearing from you like this. You have a great phone voice.”
She laughed. “Your patient—”
“Do I have to?” he groaned. “I’ll send two students up to get him.”
“He’s massive.” She had no idea why she’d said that.
“So are his teeth.”
Which made a lump form in her throat. “Be careful,” she murmured.
There was a pause. “I will.”
She hung up the phone, her heart hammering in her ears. She stared at the phone, cursing under her breath. She turned to Mrs. Schwartz. “They’ll be right with you.”
Kylee watched the two students take Mrs. Schwartz and Goliath to the back, trying to dismiss her anxiety. Fisher was a professional. He knew what he was doing.
For ten minutes, it was peaceful. Cutter and Shawn arrived early—probably because Shawn was so excited about tonight. Shawn was going to the Boone Ranch for riding lessons while Kylee worked her evening shift at Shots. Cutter drank coffee and Shawn knelt in front of the aquarium, watching and sketching the fish. There were two owners waiting to visit their animals in the hospital and another at Brad’s window, checking out. And every one of them froze when the barking started. When the barking stopped, everyone relaxed. Then there was a shout. Followed by a hair-raising growl and a scream.
Shawn ran to the desk. “What’s happening?”
“I’m sure it’s fine,” Kylee tried to reassure him.
Several students and two techs ran past the front desk and disappeared around the corner.
The desk phone rang. Donna answered it. “Yes?” Pause. “Yes? Of course.” And she hung up. “Kylee, I have to get Mrs. Schwartz to the hospital.”
“Need me to drive?” Cutter was on his feet.
“Cutter, yes,” Donna nodded. “Yes, please. That way I can keep her arm stable.”
“No ambulance?” Kylee asked.
“She doesn’t want one,” Donna explained. “I appreciate the offer, Cutter.”
Kylee didn’t know what to say or do.
“Brad’s here. And they’re sending up one of the students to help.” Donna patted her hand. “They know how to do this—they all have to work emergency shifts. Don’t worry.”
“Kylee?” Shawn’s voice was high, his anxiety clear.
“Come on back,” Donna encouraged. “You can sit right here by your sister.”
Shawn ran around the desk, sitting as close to her as he could. She placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, Shawn. Fisher’s back there. He’ll take care of things.” She meant it.
Mrs. Schwartz came out, her arm wrapped in gauze and plastic, leaning on a male student. Donna and Cutter led the way, helping the woman into Cutter’s truck.
Kylee knew she had to keep calm. This was her job now. A good job she’d be an idiot to lose because of a ruckus. It wasn’t like this was the first time she’d seen violence or blood—this was just a bad-tempered dog, not an abusive man. Besides, she couldn’t leave without knowing Fisher was okay.
Somehow she managed to take care of the rest of the patients. If she wasn’t sure of something, she jotted a question on a sticky note and attached it to the patient’s paperwork. Brad left for the day but Cliff, the student sent to help her, knew where everything was and had answers for most questions. Still, she was relieved when five o’clock rolled around and the students assigned to emergency duty arrived.
She clocked out, then packed her notes and the manual into her backpack, glancing down the hall again and again. She wanted to poke around, to make sure Fisher was okay. But that wasn’t her job and he wasn’t hers to worry over.