The chocolate Lab. The poor puppy who’d been abandoned. “Yes. We found the dog. That must have been what the goats heard.”
At least they’d solved one mystery.
“You know if the copperhead had gotten the dog, she’d be dead,” Lila pointed out. “You, on the other hand, are going to be fine because those boots my husband insists are the greatest footwear in the history of time stopped those fangs from sinking in.”
She’d always complained about them. She’d wanted to wear something more comfortable like sneakers, but the sheriff insisted on boots. “I will never wear anything else. And I’m glad it got my boot and not the dog.”
The dog had been staked out and left to die. The person who should have cared for the poor puppy had done that—left her in danger because it was more comfortable for the owner.
Yeah, she understood how the pup must have felt.
“I don’t like the fact that you blacked out,” Lila said. “You were out for longer than I would like.”
There was a knock on the door and then her boss walked through. Armie LaVigne was a solid presence in her life. He’d been both boss and big brother to her for the last couple of years. He’d given her a place to go after her ex had made sure none of the big-city departments would take her. “Hey, you’re awake. How are you feeling?”
Like a complete moron. “I’m good, sir.”
“She likely has a concussion,” Lila explained. “I would say, given the CT scan, that it’s mild, but I’m not the expert. The neurologist hasn’t sent back the report yet.”
“Whoa.” The parish offered insurance, but a neurologist was expensive and she had a pretty high deductible. “I didn’t need a scan. I’m fine. I’ll take some ibuprofen and be good to go.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Armie said.
“She needs to worry about it,” Lila countered. “It’s her brain. It’s bruised.”
“She’s worried about the cost.” Armie looked at his wife. “She heard the word ‘neurologist’ and saw dollar signs. I know I would. It’s okay. Lila’s brother is a neurologist back in Dallas, and she forces him to work for free. She’s mean that way, but it does save the parish a lot of money. The good news for Will is we don’t have a ton of head injuries.”
Lila shrugged. “My brother makes a godawful amount of money. He can give some back. But he’s whiny about being woken in the middle of the night.” Her cell trilled. She glanced down. “Ah, and there he is. I’ll be right back because he’ll yell at me for a little while before he tells me the results. It’s the price I pay.” She put the phone to her ear as she walked out of the room. “Hey, Will.”
Armie looked down at Roxie. “You need to do whatever my wife tells you to do. I’m not joking. We could have lost you tonight if you’d been out there alone.”
She started to shake her head, but the pain flared and she lay back. “I wasn’t going to call someone in because Archie Johnson’s goats got scared by some animal.”
“You didn’t know it was an animal at the time,” Armie replied. “And honestly, you shouldn’t be in those woods alone at all. Before you give me hell, I wouldn’t let Major go out alone, either. The other officers all grew up around here. They know how to work in the woods and on the water. You need someone who can back you up. I feel damn lucky Archie called in Zep. He might be an idiot most of the time, but he knows how to handle himself out there.”
He’d gone back into the woods and tracked down the snake that had bitten her. Well, bitten her boot. He could have been bitten himself. She didn’t intend to think too long about that. If there was one thing she’d learned about her neighbors, it was that they took care of each other. Zep might like beer and the ladies a bit too much, but she knew he cared about the people around him. She’d watched him do it, though he tried to ensure no one noticed.
But she watched him far more carefully than she should.
“Why exactly was he out there? Archie treated him like he was some kind of expert.” She closed her eyes because the light was too much.
“He’s good with animals. His father was, too. His father used to work with the sheriff’s office as something of an expert when it came to wild animals,” Armie explained. “Especially when it came to animal rehab.”
“He was a vet?”
“Nah, we haven’t had a vet in town since . . . actually, I don’t think we’ve ever had one. Eddie Guidry always liked animals, and he learned to take care of them. He also knew how to hunt, and that’s important out here,” Armie continued. “I’m not surprised Archie called Zep if he thought there was a bobcat or something out there in his barn.”