CHAPTER EIGHT
Jake walked along side Beth as they made their way through the halls of the veterinary clinic. He'd never particularly cared for such places, either those meant for animals or clinics for the two-legged versions such as himself. Doctors whatever their specialty had always given him the heebie-jeebies and somehow in the last fifteen minutes during a check-up of the cat who was now a bona-fide member of their household he'd found himself committed to joining one of the clinic's doctors for dinner the following night to discuss local fundraising functions. On a deep sigh he was already wondering if there was any possible way of getting out of it. So caught up in that piece of wishful thinking he didn't realize Beth had slowed until he'd practically walked into her. Glancing around it didn't take but a moment to understand what had stopped his daughter in her tracks. In the room to their right, a small dog, more of a puppy really, was being strapped to a board and unless he was way off base was being prepared to be put down. Lord, he hated that term. Hated the act and the very fact that in this world there was a need for such actions. Before he could think twice he asked the obvious.
"What's wrong with him?" he asked the young veterinary technician in the room with the dog. He was prepared to hear a gut wrenching diagnosis of one of the many deadly diseases that could attack the often vulnerable health of young animals.
The young man shrugged. "She got caught up in some wire," he gestured to the dog's back leg which lay limp at an irregular angle behind the small animal. "Gangrene set in before the owners knew what was going on."
"Couldn't just the leg be amputated?" Beth asked quietly.
"Probably," the young man spoke then realized what was really being asked. He looked at them with tired eyes that had already seen too much in the months he'd worked at the clinic. "The owners chose this instead of that, probably because of the cost." He wasn't going to judge, not beyond his own personal thoughts on the matter.
"Dad." Beth grabbed her father's arm, her low whisper barely loud enough for him to hear but hear it he did. How could he not when it was the first time in all the months she'd been with him that she referred to him in any way other than his given name. Without looking at her he placed his own hand over hers not altogether surprised to see it shook. It wasn't every day a man heard his grown child acknowledge what both knew but had rarely spoken of. It appeared his household was about to grow by yet one more member. "Who do I need to speak to about taking responsibility for the pup?"
"You want him?" The vet tech spoke carefully trying to keep the hope from coming through in his voice and his thoughts.
"Yes, we do," Beth spoke more forcefully than Jake had heard since she'd been with him. She stepped forward after turning to hand an armful of cat to her father. "Poor thing," she gently ran her hands over the small dog, working on her own to undo the straps that held the uncharacteristically quiet animal in place. Before the young man standing across from her on the other side of the table could speak the man Jake had agreed to have dinner with the following night walked in.
"What's going on?" He addressed his employee directly.
Jake stepped forward and spoke before anyone else had a chance to. He'd had his eyes on his daughter and knew whatever medical treatments the young dog needed she didn't plan for it to have them here. "We understand this young dog needs a good home and have decided to take responsibility for it."
Derrick Lansing weighed his words carefully. "His owners have already made the arrangements and paid to have the animal euthanized."
Jake turned now to face the man directly. "I'd be more than happy to speak with them personally. I can't believe they would have any type of problem with the dog finding a home somewhere else if they no longer want it which is apparent." He watched his words sink in. "And I'd be more than happy to pay any adoption fee needed to the clinic for its trouble." Translated, and everyone in the room knew it, I'll pay you in the event you have to refund whatever the previous owners paid to have it put to sleep.
"You're absolutely correct. I’m sure they’ll be very happy it has found itself a new home." He turned to observe the dog once again. "It's going to need extensive ..."
Beth spoke as she gathered the dog in her arms. "I'm certain it needs care and more. We have a friend who's coming into town later today who can take care of this for us." She gave the vet a forced smile. "Thank you for being so accommodating." Then walked out without another word leaving her father to deal with the situation.
Jake watched her move down the hall knowing without a doubt she'd be waiting for him in the car. He thought for a moment of Lizzie and how proud she'd be of her daughter. In those moments though he realized it had been difficult for her to take the stand as she had Beth had reminded him so much of the woman her mother had been. And she had called him "Dad." He wasn't even certain if she’d realized she had. And while a part of him wondered, another more important part understood they'd taken a big step somewhere along the way from being related to being family. There was a difference.
"Okay, let's take care of this." He shifted the huge furball in his arms so he could pull out his wallet. The secretary he and Mark shared at the newspaper could handle getting him out of the dinner plans for the next night. No way was he going to keep those plans. Even as he considered that he gave Derrick a pleasant smile as they walked toward the front desk where he quickly took care of the paperwork giving Beth ownership of the dog and the bill for it and the cat.
"So," he began as he glanced behind him at the backseat where he'd dumped the cat since Beth's hands were full. It took only moments for the huge ball of fur to stretch out to get its claws into the backside of the front seat. Within short moments it was stretched out alongside the quiet puppy. Almost too quiet he thought to himself. "So what friend of the family do we have who's going to do what needs to be done for this little one?" he asked Beth gently.
"I don't know," she admitted. "But I just couldn't leave her there." She ran her hand down the soft downy fur of the puppy that was a mix she knew of numerous known breeds and probably some that weren't. But the small dog's eyes were on hers almost as if she were trying to soothe Beth every bit as much as she was trying to do the same for it.
"Thought so." Jake put the car in gear and pulled his cell out. With a quick push of a button he heard the ringing on the other end.
"Who are you calling?"
"Court. And if he's not around we'll try Pete." He winked at her as he heard the sounds of a phone being answered. "Hey Court. Did I get you at a bad time?" He listened before continuing. After a brief explanation of their situation he listened more. Then with a smile at Beth he gave her the thumbs up sign. "Great. We'll meet you there. Give me some basic directions." After less than a minute he did the male version of goodbye, closed his cell then made a quick right on the next street they came to.
"What did he say?" Beth asked, anxious to know where they were going. She too worried the small dog in her lap was far too quiet. Not lethargic but close.
"One of his vast and seemingly unlimited relatives is a vet out at Rosemeade. Court is going to meet us there. He said he was nearby and from the way he talked is probably already there."
Beth looked out over the water. They were heading over the huge bridge that would take them into Illinois on the other side of it. "How far is it?" His wording suddenly made her ask. "What is it? A city?"
"A ranch or maybe a farm. I'm not certain which. Maybe both. But whatever it is it's a big one considering they have their own full time vet. Court said he takes care of most the pets in that area as well as on Rosemeade and everyone apparently loves him." He paused, thought about what Court had said and hadn't. "He may actually be one of the owners of the place. I'm not certain." He glanced at his daughter. “We'll figure it all out when we get there."
"Okay." She hoped. She gently ran her hand down the dog's back wishing it would at least whine. Anything. Minutes later she felt a sense of a relief mixed with awe as they turned d
own the road and travelled under the huge iron wrought sign telling them where they were going. Rosemeade Acres Farm.
"Court said to follow the dirt road until we see buildings, about two miles or so but he was guessing. Once there we go right when the road turns off to the barn area whatever that is. He said he'd be looking for us."
Beth was entranced by the land surrounding them. She knew the fields on her side were filled with corn stalks. You couldn't go far out of Burlington in any direction without seeing them. But here they seemed to go as far as the eye could see. On her father's side everything was fenced in with horses and a couple of cows meandering in the unbelievably green grass. At least she thought they were cows. Down the hill beyond the fences just before a wooded area was a huge lake. She squinted, she wasn't certain but she would swear that in one of the huge trees bordering the lake was a treehouse on one of the lower branches. A huge treehouse.
"There's Court." Jake slowed the car as he bore to the right and pulled up alongside the other man's truck. He looked over at Beth as she shifted to move the cat off her lap.
"What about Mandy?" she asked with a worried voice.
Jake looked at the cat. "Let's crack the windows and once we get in and see what we're dealing with we'll reevaluate."
Beth understood that to mean he didn't have a clue. With a sigh, she shifted the small dog against her chest, nuzzled the cat with her face as she moved off the seat and out of the car. If they got in there and the man had a cage she could stick her in for the next little bit she could always come back out for her. "I'll be back soon," she assured the cat then stood and walked over to join her father who now stood alongside Court and another man.
"Court," she acknowledged the man who was Mary's next door neighbor and somehow related to her in a distant way only relevant in small town life. She would never have understood the importance of all those connections before her arrival here where she found her own.
"Beth." Court took the hand she reached out, nodded to Jake. "This is Wes Meade, the vet I told you about." He slapped the man standing beside him on the back.
"This has got to be the family connection you mentioned." Jake looked from one man to the other. Wes was younger certainly, maybe by as many as fifteen years or so but the resemblance was still strong and he said so.
"Cousins," Court confirmed. "First cousins since my Dad is his mother's brother." Court continued his introductions. "Wes, this is Jake Kyle. You've heard me talk about my new next door neighbor. Jake is her cousin on her mother's side of the family and lives just down on Woodhaven."
"Pleased to meet you," Wes took the firm grip that was offered.
"Same here and I really appreciate this." Jake nodded at Beth. "And this is my daughter, Beth." He nodded at the dog held close in her arms. "And the patient who has yet to make a sound," he added with concern.
"May I?" Wes knew a little about Jake Kyle's daughter and what she'd been through. Had seen the tape she'd done with her father on YouTube. There'd been a place in his heart that ached for her. That same place wanted badly to know her better but he knew without any of his brothers telling him that this was a woman to be treated with kid gloves. And at the moment the young pup in her arms was obviously her only concern. He met her dark eyes without flinching knowing her gaze sought reassurance. "If he's been quiet like this with that leg the way it looks he could be in quite a bit of pain. I'd like to help him."
"Her." Beth spoke for the first time, softly but even as she did she lifted the dog away from the shelter of her arms toward the man offering his help.
"Pretty lady," Wes crooned to the dog knowing despite its silence it had to be on the verge of terrified. Surrounded by strangers and most likely in tremendous pain. "Let's go get some pictures of this," he turned and walked quickly back into his clinic. "I want to make sure I know what we're dealing with then we'll go from there."
Not quite fifteen minutes later after numerous tests and a thorough examination Wes handed the dog back to Beth. During the entire process the young animal hadn't once taken his eyes off of her as if her presence gave it a sense of calm and security.
Jake asked the question he knew his daughter hesitated to for fear of the answer. He too noted the intense process of the exam. While the doctor was young it was apparent he knew his stuff. "What do you think?"
Wes leaned back against the examination table positioned in the middle of the room. It was obvious his thoughts were on the dog and whatever he was thinking wasn't all good evident from the serious expression on his face.
"Dr. Meade, is she too sick to make it?" Beth asked the worse scenario question that she simply needed to know the answer to one way or another.
Her soft and slightly shaky voice seemed to bring Wes out of the reverie he'd been in. His first response was automatic. "Wes, just make it Wes. If you ever refer to me as Doctor anything in front of my brothers I'll never hear the end of it." He smiled at her gently then forged forward on what he had no doubt about. "Whatever injury she incurred the blood flow to that leg has been completely gone for a while. She's got one heck of an infection to top it all off which is what I gave her the injection for. I gave her some mega antibiotics which with some hope and prayer will kick in soon and help us get some control over that part of it." He looked up from the dog's quiet gaze to the young woman who held her. "I need to amputate the leg soon, the quicker the better. She can adjust to life without it." He moved his gaze to include Court and Jake. "If she makes it through the infection. I'd like it better if we had some time to let the antibiotics kick in more so I could hold off on the surgery but I just don't think she's got that luxury. The infection is stemming from that leg. It needs to come off...as soon as you give the okay...well, yesterday would have been better."
Beth looked to her father who gave her the quiet signal she recognized as his approval of whatever decision she made. She looked back up at the man who she intrinsically recognized as someone who would do what he said needed to be done even though she sensed he found it difficult and dearly wished it otherwise. "Could I stay in there with her while you perform the surgery?"
Wes studied her seeing an inner strength likely formed out of necessity. "It won't be easy."
"No." Was all Beth said.
Wes looked up as if he was pondering her question, which he was, but to also get a sense of what her father thought about it. In his mind it was a testament to him that he very obviously was leaving the decision in his daughter's ballpark.
"Okay." The decision made he moved to start preparations for the deed. "There are some scrub gowns in that room," he motioned to the small closet size room to their left. "Once you have that on over your clothes scrub up your hands before putting on the gloves." He prepared another injection. "This is going to make her a bit drowsy. Once we're ready we'll put her all the way under for the surgery."
"Beth," Jake walked over to his daughter before she could move away into the room the vet had pointed out. He took her gently by her shoulders. "Are you sure about this?" he asked quietly.
"Very." She smiled slightly. "I can do this."
"I have no doubt in my mind you can do this, I just wanted to know if you were sure it was what you wanted."
"Will you wait?"
"Like what else would I do?" he half joked.
For the first time in what seemed like hours Beth laughed, an easy sound that caught the attention of the other two men in the room. The expression on his young cousin's face caught Court's attention as well. That would most definitely be a conversation for another time he thought to himself as he shifted toward the door leading out of the room he knew would be used for the surgery.
"I can think of half a dozen things you could be doing other than waiting for me," she teased.
"None this important," Jake said simply, his gaze serious on hers. "But," he conceded, "I am going to run Mandy home and drop her off there. I'll be back right after that."
Beth watched her father exit the room with Court. It d
awned on her how comfortable she was with him. Had felt so for a long time if she was honest with herself. So why did it surprise her so? At the movement to her right she saw the doctor, Wes she corrected herself quietly, stop by the table, check the dog's eyes, then continue to gather the instruments he would need. She turned to do as he had asked. She knew it wouldn't be easy. For him to do or her to watch. And in her mind all the more reason it was important for her to be there.
"Do you think she'll make it?" Beth asked what she hadn't wanted to before the surgery.
Wes studied the dog, still unconscious on the table, but breathing steady and a temperature slightly lower than it was going into the surgery. "I think her chances are far better than they were a couple of hours ago." He looked up to Beth. She hadn't flinched in the last hour or so when many would. "We'll know better tomorrow."
Beth ran her hand gently down the dog's back. "Will you call me?" She didn't specify further, she didn't need to.
"Immediately," he agreed without any hesitancy. He understood what she was asking. She wanted to know if there was any change, good or bad.
"I'll be back tomorrow."
"No problem."
Beth turned intending to find her father as she worked on untying the ugly blue gown she'd worn during the surgery. She suddenly turned back to him. "Hope," she said. "Her name is Hope."
"Okay." Wes understood the need to name the dog. Without a name it was like she didn't matter enough. But he also understood that in naming her a stronger link was formed. One that brought greater grief when things didn't turn out the way they should. "Hope," he repeated. "I'll mark it down in her file." The one he had yet to make. He hated all the paperwork but recognized it as a necessary means to a more organized end.
Summer Street Secrets (The Hills of Burlington Book 3) Page 15
