Tyler pushed up the sleeve of his jacket and looked at his watch. “About fifteen minutes, give or take.”
“What?” She froze in midmotion.
“He's not my dog.”
“I see. Do you know who he belongs to?”
“Not a clue. I suppose he was dumped. Lots of folks seem to think that the country is a wonderful place to abandon unwanted animals.”
“I know what you mean. I got three of my own dogs that way. No telling how many others just wandered off and starved to death.”
“Or became a coyote's dinner.”
“Don't remind me.” She shivered. So did the pup.
“Will you be able to save him?”
“I think his chances are good. He's young. That's definitely in his favor. We'll start by sewing up the gash in his shoulder, then X-ray the leg to see if it needs a splint or a cast.”
Tyler raised one dark eyebrow. “We?”
“A figure of speech.”
“Oh.”
“However…” She did need help. And he was handy. There was nothing wrong with having him assist her. Besides, he'd always been disgustingly overbearing. It might be fun to turn the tables for a change, to see how he behaved in a situation where he wasn't the one giving all the orders.
A slight smile lifted the corners of Kara's mouth. She bent over the puppy, letting her long, brown hair sweep across her cheeks to hide her amusement until she could get it under control. “I could give him a general anesthetic instead of a local, but I'm afraid his already depressed nervous system might shut down if I do. That's why I'd rather not operate to pin the leg bones.”
“Sounds logical. So?”
“So, I'll need you to hold him still while I work.”
“I have a lot to do at the ranch,” he alibied.
“Fine.” She straightened, managed to face him soberly. “I'll call Susan to come back in. Even if she's home, it could take her a while to get here, though. I'd rather do what's best for the dog.”
“Which is?”
“Start immediately. You don't have to help. I can always chase him around the hospital with a needle and sutures while he hops along on a broken leg.”
“Very funny.”
“Just making a point.” Kara's smile crept back. Mischief lighted her eyes. “Well?”
Muttering under his breath, Tyler shed his coat and began to roll up his sleeves. “Okay. You win. What do I do first?“
Kara was amazed at how competent her drafted assistant turned out to be. All she had to do was tell him once and he did whatever she said. Correctly. His compassion for the injured little dog was even more impressive.
They had successfully tended to the puppy's wounds, X-rayed his leg and started to set it. As soon as the bones were stabilized the pup had settled right down, exhausted.
Up to her wrists in the slippery solution that was part of the new, lightweight casting material, Kara realized she'd forgotten to pull back her hair and it was getting in the way. She blew it out of her eyes, tossed her head, rubbed her cheek against one shoulder…. Nothing worked.
Tyler was steadying the sleepy puppy, gently stroking its head and leaning close to speak softly to it as if Kara weren't there. “Your doctor's got a problem, kid. Yes, she does. I think she needs a haircut.”
She tried her best to ignore the taunt. A wild hair stuck to the perspiration on her forehead and tickled her lashes. When she tried to wipe it away with her forearm, it whipped into her right eye. Squeezing that eye tightly shut, she wished mightily for a second pair of hands. Hands that didn't belong to smart aleck Tyler Corbett.
“I think she's winking at me,” he told the pup. “Either that or she's making eyes at you.” He glanced up at Kara, giving her a lopsided grin. “Want some help?”
That was the last straw. “Oh, no. I'll just sit here and go blind while my hands become a permanent part of this dog's cast.”
“I take it that was a yes.”
“Yes.” She made a contrite face. “Please.”
“That's better. I hate it when people aren't specific. What do you want me to do? Cut it off?”
“My hair? No!” she snapped back without thinking. His resultant chuckle aggravated her. Of course he hadn't intended to actually cut her hair! How dense could she be?
Kara pulled herself together, helped by the fact that her eye was really beginning to smart. “There's a big clip in the right-hand pocket of my jeans. Use that.”
Hesitating, Tyler raised one dark eyebrow and eyed the slim hips encased in form-fitting denim. “I don't suppose you could hand it to me, could you?”
“Of course not.” Kara suddenly understood exactly what was stopping him and her cheeks warmed in a bright blush. “Tell you what. Why don't you just come over here and hold the hair back for a few minutes. Get it out of my eyes. I'm almost done.”
Tyler wasn't in any hurry to accommodate her. He was still recovering from the bewilderment he'd felt when their hands had touched. Just because he was a widower and Kara Shepherd was a widow didn't mean he was interested in forming any kind of relationship with her. Or with any woman, for that matter. There would never be anyone like his Deanne. She'd been the perfect wife. Practically a saint.
Which meant he'd certainly be immune to any mild charm a prickly person like Kara might have, he reasoned logically. Pulling her hair back for her would be no more exciting than combing the tail of his favorite Quarter horse.
Reassured, he sauntered around the table. “Okay. No sweat.”
“Thanks.” She leaned her head to one side. “It's this eye that hurts. See if you can clear that first, will you?”
Tyler lifted his hand. Hesitated. Discovered he actually wanted to see what it felt like to touch that beautiful, silky hair. Until now, that kind of act had been reserved for his late wife. Transferring those feelings to any other woman was totally unacceptable.
Kara peered over her shoulder as best she could without letting go of the puppy's cast. “Well? This stuff is hardening. What are you waiting for?”
What, indeed? He didn't even like this woman. Surely, there was no reason to avoid touching her. He leaned closer so he could see the fine hairs against her cheek, reached out and carefully swept them back.
A tingle danced across Kara's face and skittered down her spine. His fingertips were rough, yet his touch was light, barely there. It was amazing that a man that big, that imposing, could be so gentle when he wanted to be. She shivered, aware of his closeness, of his breath on her cheek as he examined her eye.
“Did I get the hair out?” he asked quietly.
“I—I think so. Thanks.”
Tyler straightened. Stepping behind her he carefully gathered the rest of her hair in both hands and held it back while she worked. “Okay. Just hurry up, will you? I've got other things to do besides hang around here.” He knew his words sounded unduly harsh, especially since Kara was being a Good Samaritan, but he didn't like the feelings she'd awakened in him and he wanted to escape from her influence as soon as possible.
She continued to smooth the cast, glad the job was nearly done, because she could barely think straight with him standing so close. He made her miss the quiet companionship of a husband. Even one like Alex.
She blinked and sniffled, blaming the moisture pooling in her eyes on irritation from the stray hair.
Still holding her hair, Tyler leaned closer. “You all right?”
Kara felt his breath tickle her ear. She searched for words, any words, to answer and found none. His presence filled the room, overwhelmed her. All she'd have to do was turn her head and…
And what? Make a fool of herself? She was just overtired and stressed out. She must be. Only temporary insanity would make her think of Tyler Corbett as romantic.
She sniffled again, stalling for time to get her errant emotions under better control. Please, Lord, she prayed silently, simply, help me.
No bolt from the sky came to rescue her. No mountains crumbled. No seas pa
rted. Tyler still bent over her, and her heart continued to hammer. The only change in the room was the sudden wafting odor of…pizza?
Kara's head jerked toward the door. Tyler hadn't been ready for such an abrupt move and inadvertently pulled her hair. She yowled.
He let go and jumped back. “What the—?” His gaze followed Kara's.
Standing in the doorway, with a broad grin on her face and a pizza box in her hands, was her sister, Susan.
Chapter Two
Susan giggled. “Well, well. What have we here?”
“Not what it looks like,” Kara countered. “Mr. Corbett found an injured dog and we were…I was…just setting its broken leg.”
“Okay. If you say so.” Susan laid the pizza box on a chair and stepped up to the table so she could steady the puppy. It licked her hand and she smiled down at it.
“I do say so,” Kara insisted, stripping off her latex gloves and dropping them in the trash. “If I'd known you were coming back tonight, I'd have waited till you were here to help.”
“Looks like you did okay without me.” Her eyebrows arched as she glanced over Kara's shoulder at the flustered man who was doing his best to appear unconcerned. He'd thrust his hands into the pockets of his jeans, hiding them as if they might be considered evidence against him.
Now that the atmosphere in the small room was no longer romantic, Kara was easily able to resume her professional bearing. “Give that a few more minutes to set,” she told Susan, gesturing at the puppy, “then put him in one of the empty cages up here. I want him close so I can observe him tonight, just in case he has internal injuries, too.”
Tyler spoke up. “You're going to stay here? All night?”
“She does that all the time,” Susan explained. “That's why I brought the pizza. I figured she'd need something to eat besides the one brownie left over from lunch.”
“I didn't mean for you to have to go to so much extra trouble,” Tyler said, addressing Kara. “I just didn't know what else to do with him. Once I spotted him, I couldn't drive off and let him die. I wouldn't have brought him here if there'd been any other vet hospital close by.”
“Of course you wouldn't,” she said, trying to ignore the implication.
“I didn't mean it like that.”
“Don't apologize,” she said flatly. “And don't worry about me. I have a couch in my office where I sleep whenever I have to stay over. I'll be fine.” She turned her attention to the drowsy pup. “He looks good so far. I'll check on him every hour or so till I'm sure he's going to be all right.”
Susan was glancing around the room. “Where's the paperwork?”
“Well…” Kara's expression was apologetic. “Would you believe we didn't get around to making any?”
“In a heartbeat,” Susan said. She looked to Tyler. “I'll need a name to put on the cage for identification. What do you call him?”
He drew the fingers of one hand down his cheeks to his chin, thinking. “All I've called him so far is 'Road Kill.'”
“Okay,” she said. “Road Kill Corbett, it is.”
Kara interrupted. “You can't give that poor little innocent thing a name like that.”
“Why not?” Tyler was grinning broadly, obviously pleased with his witty selection.
The boastful look on his face did something strange to Kara's usually even disposition, making her decide to say exactly what she was thinking. “Because it isn't fair. What's he ever done to deserve a terrible slur like that?”
“You mean besides get hit by a car and nearly die?” Tyler's brows knit above deep-brown eyes that punctuated the question.
“Oh, that,” she said sweetly, smugly. “I didn't mean the Road Kill part. I meant Corbett.“
“I thought he was never going to close his mouth,” Susan said, smiling at her sister as they got the puppy settled in his cage and went back to straighten up the exam room together. “Did you see the look on the poor man's face?”
“See it? I'll never forget it. It was all I could do to keep from busting up laughing. If he hadn't stormed out of here when he did, I might have exploded!”
“I couldn't believe you had the nerve to say something like that in the first place. What came over you?”
“I don't know. I guess he made me mad when he told us he only came here because he had no other choice. I wasn't very Christian, was I?”
“No. But the whole situation sure was funny.”
“It was, wasn't it?” She grew thoughtful. “When, exactly, did you decide I needed a pizza?”
“On my way home. Why?”
“Oh, no reason.”
“Come on, Kara. We've been sisters for too long. You can't hide stuff from me and you know it. Fess up. Why is the pizza important?”
She busied herself wiping down the stainless steel table as she answered, “I just thought it might have been the answer to a prayer. But the timing's wrong. I didn't even ask for anything until long after you decided to come back.”
“It could still be an answer.”
“I don't see how.”
Susan put her arm around her sister's shoulders. “Because God knows what we need before we even ask Him.” She stopped being serious and added, “Although, I must say, I've never asked Him to get me a pizza before.”
“That wasn't what I prayed for.”
“I figured as much. What was it you wanted? Me?”
“Sort of. I wasn't that specific.”
“Then what?”
“You're not going to drop this subject till I tell you, are you?”
“Nope.”
Kara made a face at her. “Okay. I'd prayed for a little help. That's all.”
“With the puppy?” Puzzled, Susan studied her.
“Something like that.” A blush warmed Kara's cheeks. She turned away, hoping Susan hadn't noticed, but she had.
“What? Tell me. Maybe I can help?”
Kara was sorely tempted to make up a problem rather than have to let Susan in on the truth. Instead, she opted for honesty. “I just wasn't comfortable with the situation, that's all.”
“Because of Tyler Corbett? You weren't afraid of him, were you? Oh, don't be. Mark says he was so goofy in love with his late wife that he won't even look at another woman. The man's branded for life.”
Kara understood completely. All her emotions blended together when she remembered Alex.
I won't ever let myself be hurt like that again, she vowed. Not ever again.
Susan had gone, leaving Kara to her thoughts and sole ownership of the now lukewarm pizza. Taking a piece of it with her, she strolled out to the waiting room to look over her practice and assess it while she ate.
Alex's death had left her with a lot of unpaid bills she hadn't expected. Most of those accounts had been settled but there was still the day-to-day running of the hospital to consider. Overhead like that wasn't cheap.
Susan had taken one look at the books and offered to work for no wages. Kara had insisted she be paid. As soon as they could afford to add another warm body, they planned to get a kennel boy—or girl—to keep the runs and cages clean. Until then, they shared the dirty work, too.
Sighing, she switched off the office light. Darkness had frightened Kara before she'd married Alex. After a few months with him, however, she'd welcomed the dark as a place to hide whenever he got so angry he lost control and began screaming at her. Living with him had been like sharing her life with a time bomb.
She was about to return to check on her latest patient when she saw headlights and the shadow of a truck bearing down on the glassed-in front of the animal hospital.
Startled, she stepped back just in case the driver misjudged the distance and didn't stop in time. Whoever it was, he sure was in a hurry. She wasn't up to tackling another emergency. Yet she knew she wouldn't—couldn't—turn anyone away.
The truck slid to a halt in a shower of mud reflected in the outside light. Someone jumped out and ran up the steps to the porch.
Kara dropp
ed the slice of pizza into the trash, reached for her keys, and headed for the door. When she looked up she was face-to-face with Tyler Corbett. He was waving a white slip of paper.
She unlocked the door.
He burst through, his boots thudding on the tile floor. “I thought you didn't answer the door at night.”
“I do when I can see who it is. What's wrong?” She followed him down the hall.
When he got to the place where light from her office illuminated the paper in his hand he stopped and whirled to face her. “This,” he said, waving the paper.
Kara stood her ground. “Well, if you'll hold it still, I'll take a look.”
“You don't have to look, Doctor,” he said, exaggerating her title. “You sent it to me.”
“I what?” Suddenly, she realized what he had to be holding. Except he couldn't be. Not yet. Susan had only put the monthly statements in the mail that evening.
“Whoa,” Kara said firmly. “That's impossible.”
“Oh? Then what's this?”
“Well, it looks like one of our bills but it can't be. The postal service isn't that good.”
“This didn't come in the mail,” Tyler said. “It was hand delivered.” He unfolded the bill and held it up in front of her face. “Look at the part on the bottom. If you wanted me to pay for the puppy's care up front, you should have said so when I was here, not fired off a new bill before I even had a chance to drive all the way home!”
Susan. Kara's shoulders sagged. Of course. Her sister knew how badly she needed to keep her accounts current and in a fit of efficiency, she'd changed Tyler Corbett's bill to reflect the latest charges and hand delivered it to him, rather than put it in the mail with the others.
“I'm really sorry,” Kara said. “She…we… shouldn't have done that.”
“Well, you're right about that.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of crumpled money, thrusting it at her. “Here. Consider this a down payment. If there are more charges before the dog gets well, I'll pay whatever it costs. In spite of what you seem to think, I'm not a deadbeat.”
“This isn't necessary.” Cupping the bills in both hands so she wouldn't drop them, she realized she was trembling. “You can write me a check later. When everything's done.”
The Perfect Couple Page 2
