She shrank back, but instead of threatening her, the dog wagged his tail gently, then sat down in front of her and lifted his right front paw.
“Oh!” said Carrie.
He waved it at her, as if to tell her to hurry, and she took it, shook it once, then dropped it. He stood up, cocked his head, then woofed gently.
“Right,” she said, dazed. “Okay. Good boy.”
She closed the door and raced back to the truck.
*
“Who’s your vet?” asked Carrie, climbing into the truck.
She sounded calmer now. That was good. He needed her to drive safely but fast. Gun was pale and shaky from blood loss.
“Cherry Lake Veterinary Hospital,” he said. “Head back out toward town, then hang a right on Fourth Avenue. It shouldn’t take more than twenty minutes.”
He hoped the big dog would hang in there until then.
She maneuvered the big truck off the yard as easily as she’d driven the CAR. He shouldn’t be surprised; she was a Montana ranch girl, after all. They had skills.
“How’s he doing back there?” she asked, leaning over the steering wheel to check for traffic.
“Every time I loosen the tourniquet, he bleeds like a stuck pig.”
“Gunny, you hang in there, you hear me?” she said over her shoulder. “This is a ten-dollar t-shirt. I better not have ruined it for nothing.”
Ethan grunted a laugh and almost immediately, his throat tightened up at what she was doing for him. She’d come to him tonight to distract herself from her own problems, maybe even have some fun. Instead, she was playing ambulance driver on a wild ride to save a dog from a bear attack.
You had to admire her ability to roll with the punches.
“My cell phone’s in the console,” he said. “I’ll call the clinic, make sure they’re ready for us.”
“I can do it. You keep the pressure on.”
She slowed down and pulled to the side of the road but didn’t stop. With one eye on the road and one on the tiny screen, she scrolled through the contacts. “Dr. Morrow?”
“That’s him.”
She hit the button and told the receptionist what had happened.
“They’ll be waiting for us,” she said, tossing the phone onto the passenger seat.
“Using a cell while driving,” he said. “Speeding. Pornography. Is there no end to your evil?”
“Shut up.” She scowled at him in the rear view mirror.
“Atta girl.” He felt another laugh bubbling up. Probably stress. “Good for you, you wild thing.”
She snorted and took a corner fast enough that he had to grab the seat back to stay upright.
“You know it.”
“I’ve seen it.”
“Those photos? That’s just the testosterone talking.”
“Just working with what I’ve got, ma’am.”
“Is that it, ahead?”
Ethan craned his neck to see out the windshield. “Yup. Pull up in front of the main doors.”
He was relieved to see a pair of assistants waiting for them, with a rolling stainless steel table beside them.
The truck thumped up onto the parking lot and screeched to a stop. Without turning off the engine, Carrie hopped out and ran around to the side and yanked open his door.
“We’ll take it from here.” A technician wearing purple scrubs elbowed her out of the way. Lorena, said her name tag. She climbed in and tossed a big, heavy blanket over Gun. With deft, sure movements, she got the dog onto the blanket so they could use it like a stretcher to lift him out.
It also, he noted, acted as a barrier between them and Gun’s teeth.
Though the dog was barely responding now.
“You got him?” said Lorena to her co-worker.
“Yeah. Let’s go,” said the other girl. “You coming, Mr. Nash?”
“Go,” said Carrie. She gave him a nudge on the shoulder. “I’ll park the truck and be right behind you.”
He followed the techs inside, suddenly and surprisingly aware that his shirt was still wrapped around his dog’s leg. And that Carrie’s hand had felt very nice against his bare skin.
*
Ethan disappeared around the corner, following his dog and Carrie went outside to where she’d left the truck idling. Quickly, she nosed it into a proper parking spot, then turned off the engine. She intended to go back into the hospital, but her legs refused to move.