Collecting the Pieces

by L. A. Fiore

  “What about Tigger and Stuart?”

  “They’re old and sleep all day and this little guy needs a family. If his presence upsets the others, then I’ll work to find him another place. I think even a few days in a real home would work wonders on him.”

  Rylee looked past me to Doc Cassidy. “Would you mind?”

  “No. Take him.”

  “You do realize that we now have three cats,” Rylee said, and though she was joking, I had the sense she wasn’t entirely joking.

  “Don’t forget the dog.” Since I was still feeding the stray.

  “How could I forget him?”

  “The more the merrier.”

  “I was afraid you were going to say that.”

  “What do you want for lunch?”

  “Surprise me.”

  “Doc?”

  “You’re going to Roberto’s?” he asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “The grilled chicken and broccoli rabe sub. Let me get you some money.”

  “No, my treat.”

  He stopped mid-motion of reaching for his wallet, accurately summing up that I wouldn’t budge on the point. “I’ll buy next time.”

  “Deal. I’ll be back.”

  Stepping outside, it was mild even though it was summer. At home, it could get so blistering hot in the summer and frigid in the winter, but here the temperatures weren’t as drastic. And seeing that mountain? The landscape in general? I loved the farmlands back home, but here I felt as if I should be charged every time I looked around.

  Halfway to my destination, my skin tingled and my body hummed just as I heard the sound of a motorcycle coming up behind me. I wasn’t sure I was ready to go another round with him. The man drove me insane.

  “Are you stalking me?”

  What an arrogant…I ignored him. He jogged up to join me. “Are you deaf?”

  “I was ignoring you.”

  “Why? When you go to the trouble of seeking me out.”

  I stopped walking, felt the need to put my hands on my hips, but I managed to resist that urge. “How exactly am I stalking you when I was here first?”

  He grinned. “You think about me. Don’t you? It’s okay to admit it.”

  “Don’t you have someone else to bother?”

  “But I like bothering you.”

  “Okay.” I started away from him; he easily kept pace with me.

  “You must keep your old man on his toes.”

  Had I? I never acted this way with Jake. “Are you the welcoming committee? Because I got to tell ya, you kind of suck at the job.”

  “Suck, interesting choice of words, Doc.”

  Why did I bother? “You might have the luxury of not needing to work, but I have a job. So, if you’ll excuse me.” He didn’t take the hint.

  “That’s what makes this so perfect. I’m only here for a few weeks, maybe a month or two.”

  “Makes what perfect?”

  “You and me.”

  “I’m seriously not following you.”

  “Come on, you feel it. You don’t want a ride?”

  “Ride what?”

  “Me.”

  Speechless, well, I was almost speechless. “Does this tact work in general for you?”

  “Usually I just need to bend a finger but being you’re a doctor, I’m willing to put in a little effort.”

  “And if I were to take you up on your offer, what happens in a month or two?”

  “I go back to Cheyenne. No strings.”

  “So you’re offering...”

  “Me.”

  Despite myself, I felt a quiver between my legs. It was lust, pure and simple.

  “And my old man?”

  I continued walking, he stopped, but he did call after me. “What he doesn’t know can’t hurt him.”

  That had me stopping, my head twisting back to look at him. “You really believe that?”

  “No.”

  “Then why did you say it?”

  The cocky expression changed; he looked almost serious. “You feel it too. I’m curious.”

  “Enough to condone cheating?”

  He moved closer and his voice dropped. “If you were mine, you’d be so exhausted from all the fucking this conversation would never happen with another man.”

  Did he just say that to me?

  Before I could put him in his place, he headed back to his bike calling from over his shoulder, “Think about that, Doc.” And then he was gone.

  I was working, but damn it, I was thinking about him. I didn’t even know his name. He was vulgar, rude and arrogant and yet thinking about what he said, how he’d said it, my body ached. I intended to fight my baser needs because for three years I felt nothing for a man and to feel the sparks I felt for this man, no. He was wrong for me. Not at all my type and he wasn’t even from around here. How was it possible that I found myself daydreaming on more than one occasion about him? Imagining how soft his lips were, the feel of his beard on my skin, between my legs. I had to shut that down. It was simple biology. I should call Keith, setup that dinner meeting and why I hadn’t done so yet was not something I wanted to ponder.

  Mr. McNealy had called earlier. One of his horses, Lily, came down with a case of colic. Upon examination, I had to give Lily a nasogastric tube and administered some analgesics to relieve the pain in her abdomen. There didn’t appear to be an impaction nor was her colon twisted. Mr. McNealy had been with me for the examination, but he left a few minutes ago after one of his grooms came running into the barn. I finished up with Lily. She wasn’t pawing the ground or making uncomfortable sounds, the medicine was working.

  “I’ll be back tomorrow to check on you.”

  She nudged my hand and gave a soft whinny. She was thanking me. And people said animals were dumb.

  I stepped from the barn and didn’t see Mr. McNealy, so I closed it up, securing the doors, and headed to my car. I’d call him when I returned to the clinic to let him know I’d be back in the morning.

  I loved the drive to McNealy’s farm; the scenery was just breathtaking. A movement out of the side window pulled my attention, a flash of black. Pulling the car over, I caught sight of the stray dog I’d been feeding. What was he doing out this way when he had a regular food source at my house? I had hoped he was plumping up, but he was still so thin so he had to have been near death before I started feeding him. He was limping, favoring his front left paw. I took mental stock of what supplies I had in the car. There was a tranquilizer gun in the back. If I could sedate the dog, I could get him to the clinic. Whatever was wrong with his leg, it needed to be tended or he’d die out here and while I had him I could treat the mange. He stumbled, falling on his belly. It was now or never. Grabbing the gun as I climbed from the car, I was mindful not to startle him as I moved closer and had just aimed the gun at his thigh when he jumped to his feet. I made a few startling discoveries in the seconds that followed. My stray dog that I thought was only slightly wolf was seriously more wolf than I thought and bigger than any wolf I’d ever seen. And he was growling, but not at me. Turning slowly around, my heart dropped into my stomach. About a hundred yards from me stood a mountain lion. He was spectacular, though also a little too thin, which meant he was hungry and I stood in between him and dinner. I thought to shoot him, but I only had one dart. It was fast acting and would take out the cat before he reached my jugular, but if my aim was off I was in trouble. Retreat was my only option and maybe if he got close enough I could make the shot and save the wolf and myself. I slowly backed up, the mountain lion stalked closer but not to the wolf, to me. Walking low, his focus unwavering, I felt true fear that there was a really good chance I wouldn’t be getting out of this alive. And all those times that I wished I had died with Jake, I proved myself a liar because I wasn’t ready to die. My hands shook as I lifted the gun and took aim.

  I heard the motorcycle at the same time the cat did, his head jerked in the direction of the approaching sound. He stopped moving, gauging the new
threat. As the sound grew louder, the cat turned and fled. My legs gave out as I fell to my knees. Bile rushed up my throat as I worked to keep it down. I felt lightheaded so put my head between my legs. I heard him, before I saw him.

  “Are you fucking insane?”

  Likely.

  The dark energy pouring off him was frightening. He hunched down in front of me, lifting my face to his hard stare. “Did you seriously just try to go toe-to-toe with a fucking mountain lion?”

  “I didn’t know the mountain lion was there. I was going for the dog.”

  “What dog?”

  Looking past him, the wolf—he really was more wolf than dog—was right where he’d been. “I need to get him back to the clinic.”

  He twisted his head, spotted the wolf. “It looks half dead. Better you put the thing out of his misery.”

  “No!” I stood and pushed past him. “He just needs food and some medicine.”

  “It’s a wild animal.”

  “It’s a dog.” Partly.

  “That thing is mostly wolf and it’s been out here on its own. It’s wild.”

  “I don’t care. I’m taking him to the clinic.”

  “And how the hell are you going to do that?”

  “I’m going to sedate him, put him in the cage in the back of my car and take him to the clinic.”

  “You’re going to do this anyway. Aren’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Again I have to wonder what the fuck your husband would think.”

  “He would help me.”

  “Fucking Christ. Do you know how to shoot that thing?”

  “I’ve never done it, but I know the mechanics.”

  “Give it to me. How long before it knocks him out?”

  “Five minutes, maybe a little less.”

  “Where do I aim?”

  “His thigh.”

  He lifted the gun, aimed and fired. The wolf jerked, the dart hitting him right in the thigh. The man handed me the gun. “Why don’t you put that away and get the cage open.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Save it. When the wolf takes a bite out of you, you can explain your irrational behavior to your husband so he doesn’t come after me.”

  It was on my tongue to tell him about Jake, but he was already walking toward the wolf.

  Even for all his grumbling, he was very gentle with the wolf when he placed him in the cage. “He’s really thin.”

  “Malnourished, weak from it. I hope it isn’t too late.” I couldn’t imagine what he looked like before he started eating what I had been leaving for him. Poor baby.

  “Are you okay with getting him into the clinic?”

  “Yeah. How did you happen by?”

  “McNealy called, told me one of his groom’s spotted a mountain lion, said you had just left.”

  “You came looking for me?”

  By the expression that rolled over his face, he thought I was slow. “Obviously.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I knew I’d find you in a situation like the one I found you in.”

  I wasn’t sure what to make of that. For all of his irritating ways, he had come looking for me and had he not, there was a very good chance that mountain lion—he saved my life. “Thank you.”

  He heard me and yet he ignored me. “Right to the clinic. Load up that gun in case you need to hit him again.”

  The warm fuzzy cooled. The man really was irritating and now I was indebted to him. “Can I get your name?”

  “We’ll save that for the next time.”

  And then he was gone. My legs were a bit weak, the situation with the mountain lion sinking in on how very close I had come. This wasn’t New Jersey; I needed to remember that. I reloaded the gun before I headed to the clinic. It was late by the time I got there. The clinic was closed, as I knew it would be. Pulling around the back, I ran in for the hand truck Doc had for medicine and food deliveries. It took effort and I banged the shit out of Rylee’s car, but I got the wolf into the clinic and in an exam room. Rylee must have gotten a ride home with Doc. I checked my phone and saw her message. Before I called her, I examined the wolf. His left leg was fractured, which explained why he’d been favoring it and why he hadn’t run from the mountain lion. Working on the wolf was going to take longer than I thought. I called Rylee.

  “Hey, I’m sorry I didn’t come back. I ran into a little trouble.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah. I saw my stray dog on the way back from McNealy’s farm. He was limping and he’s still so thin and then he collapsed. I was going to tranquilize him so I could get him to the clinic.”

  “I’m sensing a but.”

  “I wasn’t the only one eyeing the dog. There was a mountain lion.”

  “What! Oh my God. Are you okay? Where are you? Do you need me?”

  “I’m fine, Rylee. I’m at the clinic. Someone came by at just the right time.”

  “Someone who?”

  “No one, just…”

  “Sidney, who?”

  “The guy from the bakery.”

  “The one who made you catch your breath?”

  “He doesn’t make me catch my breath any more. It’s more I want to gather my breath so I can scream at him until he’s deaf.”

  “You’ve clearly had more encounters with him than you’ve shared.”

  “Encounters not worthy of repeating.” That wasn’t entirely true.

  “Really and yet he arrived just in the nick of time. How did that happen?”

  “You’re enjoying this.”

  “Of course I am. So how did he know?”

  “McNealy called to give him a heads up on the mountain lion since he isn’t far from McNealy’s farm.”

  “Wait, how do you know where he lives?” She answered her own question. “Ah, the encounters you have yet to share.”

  “Anyway, all is well. I have the wolf here, I’m going to be a while.”

  “Wait, you said it was a stray dog now you’re calling it a wolf.”

  “He’s part dog.” Very little dog, but what Rylee didn’t know couldn’t hurt her. “He has a fractured leg, so we can’t let him go until his leg heals but with the mange, he can’t be here.”

  “You want to foster the wolf.”

  I did. I really did, but I appreciated he was a wild animal. Any domestication he may have had was rusty or lost, which was why I was thinking of building a pen with a shelter in our backyard. In our profession, there was a good chance we’d be fostering a lot of animals. I shared my thoughts with Rylee.

  “There are rules about exotic animals.”

  “Like I said, he’s part dog, but I’ll take a sample of his blood to confirm.”

  “Well there’s that. We have to be smart and careful since we’re talking about a wild animal, but we can’t throw him back out there either. Maybe we could get Jayce and Duncan to help us build the pen and shelter.”

  “That would be awesome. I’m going to clean him up and set his leg while he’s out. I’ll be home later.”

  “I’ll call Jayce and see about getting started on that pen.”

  “I’ll move him to the quarantine kennel when I’m done so long as we don’t have an outbreak of something, he’s okay for a few days.”

  “I’ll see you soon. Oh and Sidney, I want to know the full story about bakery man.” She hung up before I could reply.

  Dropping my phone on the table, I washed up and keeping the sedative close, I worked on the wolf. The skin on his leg was torn, the bone broken. I cleaned and treated it with antibiotics before I set it. Then came the task of washing the poor animal and injecting him to kill the mites. I took some blood to confirm that he wasn’t pure wolf since Rylee had been right. Wyoming was one of twenty states that banned the private ownership of exotic animals. Not that I wanted to own this animal, but keeping him while he healed could be a gray area and I didn’t want any legal issues dropped on us. After I got him food and water, I moved him to the quarantine
kennel before sanitizing the exam room.

  I pulled up a chair and waited for him to come out of the sedative, since I hadn’t a clue how he would react. I must have fallen asleep because it was dark when I finally stirred. The wolf was awake, standing at the bars staring at me. His food bowl was empty as was one of the water bowls.

  “You look better. You’ll be staying with me for a while until that leg heals.”

  I was exhausted so I stood and put the chair back. I checked that I locked everything, including my guest. “I’m leaving you for the night. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

  He’d moved; he was sprawled on the floor. His head was up as if on guard, but he looked exhausted and I suspected he’d be fast asleep as soon as the threat of me was out of sight.

  “Night, handsome.”

  As I drove home, I couldn’t help but compare the wolf to my rescuer. Both were beautiful, wild and dangerous and under that, a bit lost.

  A week after his rescue, the wolf was set up in a shelter at the house. He looked good, bulking up from the steady meals, and growing stronger every day. His fur was still matted, but the mites were gone. I had borrowed Rylee’s car again, seriously needed to get my own, and made my way across town. My destination, the little cabin in the woods. I was determined to learn his name, to thank him again because I owed him my life and I didn’t even know what to call him.

  His bike was parked out front, which immediately had my stomach twisting with nerves. I reached for the tin of cookies I had baked. It wasn’t much, but I wanted to offer him something as a thank you. Jake had always loved my cookies. My hands were damp as I reached for the doorbell and everything in me went tight as I waited for the door to open. And when it did, seeing him standing there filling the space had my body responding in a very confusing, but not unpleasant, way.

  “Doc. What are you doing here?” To say he was surprised to find me on his doorstep would be fair.

  “I came to give you these and to thank you again for your help last week.”

  “How’s the wolf?”

  “He’s good. He’s gained a few pounds. His leg was fractured, so we’re keeping him until it heals.”

  “No more run-ins with the mountain lion?”

  “No.”

  He gestured to the tin I held. “What’s that?”