by Rachel Angel
She stared into the microscope, staring at the specimens, hoping to see something different. Her eyes started to play tricks on her from sitting still for too long. “This is what they mean about a watched pot never boils,” she mumbled.
“What was that?”
Savannah whipped her head around to see Ryland standing there, leaning against the door. “You startled me. I’m just disappointed not to see anything suspect or that is at least a piece of the puzzle in regards to Star and Street Smarts problems,” she said, putting her hands behind her head.
“Everyone needs a break. How long have you been in here?”
“Ever since we finished the island tour this morning,” Savannah replied.
“Come on. Let’s go in the house and have a beer, check on Street Smarts, and relax a bit. I didn’t invite you to help me with this to work you ragged.”
“I just don’t want to disappoint you or the horses by not finding any answers, Ryland.”
“I assure you that no person or any horse is disappointed in your efforts. How much you care is written all over your face and that really means something.”
“Thanks,” Savannah said, smiling softly. The look in his eyes melted her heart and made her sexual urges spring to life. It was so crazy. Those were two emotions that didn’t seem to blend well, yet she’d mastered them the past few days.
A short time later Savannah and Ryland pulled up to the house and went into the back room to check on Street Smarts. Miss Baker was at the back door waiting to greet him.
Does she have ESP? Savannah wondered.
“I was trying to reach you, Mr. Roth,” she said with pursed lips and a scrutinizing stare.
“Well, I’m here now. What do you need, Miss Baker?”
“I need to confirm that you’re going to San Francisco in two days for the meeting with your shareholders. They are all wondering and I need to finalize accommodations.”
“You’ll have to cancel that,” Ryland said.
“And what about…her,” Miss Baker said, looking at Savannah like she was a carrier of the Black Plague.
“I’ll be staying until we figure out what has happened to Star and Street Smarts,” Savannah answered before Ryland could say a word.
“Oh,” Miss Baker said. Then she turned to Ryland and asked, “Is there anything else you need from me, Mr. Roth?” Savannah couldn’t help but notice the emphasis on you and was shocked at how outwardly she wore her emotions.
“No, I’m fine, Miss Baker. In fact, why don’t you take the night off and fly into the mainland. You can bring me back some things from my mainland vet source and come back tomorrow. Is that good?”
“Of course,” she said, looking like she was just forced to chew a bug.
“Great,” Ryland said. Then he turned to Savannah. “Shall we check on Street Smarts and then prepare for dinner?”
“That sounds good,” Savannah said. Ryland held out his arm, indicating for Savannah to go first and the two walked down the hallway.
They opened the door and Savannah immediately sensed something was wrong with Street Smarts. She ran over and found that his fever was back and he had foaming at the mouth. He could barely hold his eyes open and was groaning softly, not having the energy to call out loud enough.
“What happened?” Ryland asked, not sure how to process what he was seeing.
“I’m not sure, but we need to get another IV in Street Smarts. He’s dehydrated and the fever has come back. I’ll need some ice packs too,” Savannah ordered.
Without hesitation, Ryland ran to start doing everything she’d requested and the two worked together quickly getting everything in place to help the poor sick colt the best they could.
Finally, after about a half hour’s worth of time, Savannah said, “We’ve done all we can and now we just have to wait. I suspect that it’s a Pomatic horse fever.”
“Doesn’t that have to do with the intestinal track?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have everything you need to treat that if that’s what it is? How can you tell what it is?” Ryland couldn’t stop asking questions and Savannah gently placed her hand on his, squeezing it to show that she would do all she can.
“Oxytetracycline is the most commonly used option for the fever. You don’t have any.”
“We do now,” Ryland said. He was on his telephone, calling Miss Baker, who was barely out the door to head toward the small airstrip on the island. A few seconds later he was off the telephone and sending a text, commenting that it was to his mainland vet.
“You can just get access to things without having them come out?” Savannah asked, astounded.
“Yes, but don’t think I didn’t have to prove my knowledge first. It took a good deal of time and some of these drugs are hard to come by, which is why I try to keep a full stock of medicine here on the island.”
“What about when it expires?”
“I don’t care. Money is irrelevant when it comes to the horses’ well-being.”
Savannah didn’t know what she expected for an answer, but she couldn’t have thought of a better one. She just smiled.
“So Doc, what do we do now?”
“Wait,” Savannah replied. “Within a half hour this should start taking effect. I know that you spent the night here last night so I can stay tonight. I’d feel better not having the colt be unattended…just in case.”
Ryland nodded. They both knew what the “in case” meant and neither of them dared to venture into that horrific thought. Street Smarts just had to pull through.
Dinner was served sitting on the floor of the makeshift guest room for Street Smarts that night. His fever slowly tapered again, but he’d lost his appetite, not interested in carrots, apples, or even oats.
“Don’t we need him to eat right now?” Ryland asked, growing frustrated that he couldn’t find something for his small colt to enjoy.
“If he continues not to eat it’ll be a problem. He’s still fine, Ryland. Don’t forget, he’s lost his mother in the past forty-eight hours too. That is still imprinted in his thoughts, likely confusing him.”
“You’re right,” and with that the two sat there, not talking much, and eventually drifting off to sleep sitting up against the wall.
In the morning, Savannah woke up to a gentle whinny and the sweet gentle face of Street Smarts staring down at her. Her head was slumped on Ryland’s shoulder and she was stiff from the way she’d slept. She must have drifted off to sleep.
Savannah sat straight up and stretched her arms and pet Street Smarts head. She was happy to feel no fever and see that he had energy. His IV bag, which had been taped around his leg, was empty and he seemed to be fine at that moment.
Just as Savannah was about to wake up Ryland, who was snoring ever so softly, Street Smarts went up and nudged his nose. He opened his eyes, trying to focus on the large dark brown eyes staring at him. Before he could say a word, Street Smarts licked his nose, making Savannah burst out into laughter.
“A guy doesn’t wake up like that every morning,” Ryland commented, laughing too.
“He’s better. This is a good thing. I am going to take another blood sample from him right now to compare it with the one from last night. It will help show me if there are any differences between the two.”
“Great idea,” Ryland said. He stood up and as if it was an afterthought, he added, “You truly are a great veterinarian, Savannah…a caring one too.”
Savannah smiled, feeling a slight blush come to her cheeks. It wasn’t the compliment so much as the way it was delivered to her.
“So, I have to work this morning. Are you up for a driving tour? You just have to give me the word when you need me to stop,” Ryland offered.
“Sounds like a plan, but I think that someone should be watching Street Smarts all the time, letting us know if there’s any indicator he’s going to digress again.”
“I like that idea. I’ll get John up here. The horses will be fine without him for a
bit.”
“You trust your help in your house unattended?” Savannah asked.
“With the extensive background checks they go through before they work for me…yes I do.”
As soon as the stable worker arrived at the house, driving a gator at the speed of light to reach the boss-man quickly, Savannah gave instructions on what to look for and her cell phone number to call in case of emergency.
“Why not mine?” Ryland asked.
“Because I’ve seen how much you are on the phone when you’re taking care of business,” Savannah countered.
“Good point. Beautiful and brilliant.”
Please just take me now and relieve this aching in my loins, Savannah thought.
It was amazing how big the island truly was and how long it took to cover it. It was crazy, but it was fun. Too bad the mission was one that was so scary, figuring out what it takes to save a young colt’s life.
Savannah was staring down at some scat on the ground, trying to identify it. It was so near the natural spring that was a watering hole to various wild horses on the island. She took a sample, hoping she’d be able to find out more about it.
She turned around and bumped right into Ryland, who’d been standing right behind her, unbeknownst to her. “Oh my gosh, I didn’t see you there.”
“I know. You were very deep in thought…or shall I say observation. What did you find?”
“Scat. Not very exciting, but worth looking at nonetheless.”
“I was wondering if you wanted to help me exercise some horses this afternoon. I cleared out my meeting schedule and we could both use a break. No better way to do it than riding on the horses, feeling the fresh ocean breeze on your face.”
“That sounds fantastic!” Savannah didn’t hesitate to agree. She loved riding and got to do it far too infrequently the past year.
“You’ll find proper riding clothes in your room.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, I had Miss Baker get them.”
“I hope she survived. She really doesn’t like me, you know.”
“I know, but I do so I don’t care,” Ryland said. Savannah was pretty sure that she saw just how much he longed to touch her in his eyes, yet he didn’t. Why? She wished she knew.
* * *
“This is breathtaking,” Savannah said, smiling brightly. She’d just laughed so hard, watching Ryland walk and do his impression of his first stable manager he’d ever worked for as a young man.
“It’s one of the most magical places I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen many.”
“It kind of reminds me of Auckland…”
“New Zealand,” Ryland finished. “You’ve been there?”
“Yes, for a vet school mission project. It was amazing. I assume you’ve been there too.”
“I have. In fact, that very thought was one of the things that really appealed to me when I bought this island,” Ryland said.
“I can see why,” Savannah said. She felt so compelled to kiss Ryland at that moment, looking at the carefree and casual look he had. He made every nerve ending in her come alive and she longed to have him in every way possible. She wished she knew how he felt. He’d certainly made no attempts to go further than what had happened that first night. Maybe how fast she responded, even with clothes on, was a turn-off to him.
Ryland’s breathing had gotten heavier and he stared at Savannah with the same longing in his eyes. He leaned forward, making Savannah think he was going to kiss her, but then he simply whispered, “Let’s race.”
With that, they both mounted their horses as quickly as they could and took off at a furious pace toward the stable. The horses were masterful on the terrain and Savannah gave it all she had. Unfortunately she lost the race due to a bit of rustiness with barely riding over the past year and some “communication” errors with her horse.
“I think you trained this horse to make it lose to me,” Savannah said, looking at Ryland suspiciously.
“He just knows his master’s love of winning.”
“You’re the master? I would have pegged the horses for being your master,” Savannah countered, laughing.
Before Ryland could protest she began to brush down the horse, sensing that he was indeed staring at her ass. She pretended she didn’t notice though, enjoying the sexy feeling she had from him watching her.
Chapter 10
Sexual tension that only found a reprieve from the spirit of competition was what helped keep Savannah sane over the next few days. Her mind was on overload and her body so alert to Ryland’s presence in every way shape or form. It was nice, and not really unexpected, to be attracted to him mentally, but the physical response was what had Savannah so distracted. She was finding a sexual connotation in everything he said and every time he moved, it was like he was brushing up against her body, sending a tingle through it.
“So, we’ve each won a race in the past two days. That makes today the tie breaker,” Ryland commented, mounting Dominion, his horse of choice for the day.
“I hope you don’t feel too bad when you lose,” Savannah retorted, showing a cheeky smile to her sexy competition.
Ryland laughed at Savannah and before she knew what was happening he’d clicked his heel upon the side of his horse and was off. She did the same thing and quickly played catch-up on her horse, Slim Pickings. She was a beauty, having a black mane and a dark chocolate colored coat.
The two raced along the rolling green meadow enjoying their competition and the feeling of being on top the fine thoroughbreds. Savannah had learned the course and terrain pretty well over the past few days and she was set to push her limits, show that she still had that fearless rider in her. She knew just when she was going to do it too…at the bend between the canyon and the waterfall.
Leaning in and whispering down in her horse’s ear, Savannah suddenly kicked the horse into high gear and she went off at a faster pace, charging past Dominion and causing Ryland to immediately retaliate.
He kicked it into gear as well and the two were going neck in neck, giving it all they got. The bend came and they slowed down enough to master it, but right around it, in a spot you couldn’t see until it was there, was a fallen tree. Savannah tried to get Slim Pickings to jump it, but she couldn’t. Before she knew it, Slim Pickings had put on her brakes and Savannah was flying off of her, landing with a big thud just on the other side of the fallen tree. Ryland had cleared the tree and he jumped off of Dominion and ran over to Savannah. His eyes were wild with fear.
“Remain still, Savannah. Don’t move.”
“Ugh…I guess I messed up on that race big time,” Savannah said. She was embarrassed about falling and trying to show off so much that she’d lost control.
“That tree must have fallen from the winds last night. I didn’t think they were that strong,” Ryland said. “Can you move?”
“I think so. My ankle is really stiff though,” Savannah said, slowly sitting up and looking down at her right ankle.
“Do you think it’s broke?” Ryland helped slide off Savannah’s riding boots to inspect her foot closer.
Savannah felt it, trying not to wince from the pain, and shook her head no. She was pretty sure that it was just a severe sprain – thankfully!
“Here, let me make a small tourniquets for it to keep it steady, hopefully keep the swelling down too.”
“If you can help me over to the spring over there I can soak it in the water while you do that,” Savannah offered, pointing toward the waterfalls that ended in a icy cold pool of spring water.
“Great idea,” Ryland said. Without another word, he stood up and gently picked Savannah up, carrying her over toward the spring. His chest was pressed against her side and she could feel how rapidly his heart was beating below that muscular chest.
Ryland set Savannah down and helped make sure she was in a secure spot while her foot went instantly numb in the cold water. He came back with a few pieces of bark and had taken off his t-shirt, ready to rip it into strip
s.
“Now that is a creative tourniquet,” Savannah commented, looking at the materials that Ryland had gathered. “Box elder bark and a t-shirt. Where did you learn how to do that?”
“I had a desire to prove I could master the wild once and I did a survival course. The course was definitely challenging, but some of these little tips have always stuck with me from it.”
“Very interesting…you’re full of surprises, Mr. Roth.”
