Vetted Again

by K'Anne Meinel

  She sat down and signed on to the internet to look at their websites, checking on the rescue first to make sure they had all their pictures up properly. It had a header that read Sweetwater Horse Rescue and then a beautiful picture of a horse looking directly at the viewer that Allyssa herself had shot with the camera Fey had given her for Christmas one year. In fact, most of the pictures on the site were from her camera. Next, she checked the links below the pictures, checking each of them almost obsessively to be sure they worked. The first one read ‘About Us,’ the second ‘Our Horses,’ then ‘Adoption,’ ‘Sponsorship,’ ‘Donate,’ ‘Wish List,’ ‘Surrender,’ ‘Success Stories,’ ‘In Memory,’ and finally, ‘News,’ which was the blog site. The site even had a picture of the finished horse fountain with the 4-Hers proudly gathered around the artist.

  Next, she checked the practice website for Herriot Veterinary Services. Featured prominently on it was the EarthRoamer XV Xpedition with all its cartoon characters prominently displayed. She’d even found a way to animate them to a degree, so they seemed to leap off the page and move. She loved that RV. It had been such a find, not only for the practice but for Fey’s safety and comfort. She no longer felt guilty about not returning it to the lady, who tried to change her mind about selling it after her husband found out she had sold it for much less than it was worth.

  After answering a few phone inquiries and making note of one that seemed to be a legitimate request for Fey’s services, Allyssa looked up and out at the ranch. She missed the days when it was just her, the dog, and maybe some horses. Now, with the rescue and the therapists, there was always someone coming and going on the ranch. They had many more horses, a donkey, the Great Dane, a llama, and the chickens. But it was the people she had to interact with regularly that were annoying her.

  “Herriot Veterinary Clinic. How may I direct your call?” she answered the phone professionally.

  “Hey, babe. How about I get some pizzas for us and our guests tonight?” Fey’s voice came over the line cheerfully.

  “Sounds good,” she said quickly in case the cell phone lost their connection. She was relieved she wouldn’t have to cook. Just then, she was proved right as Fiona began to talk and the phone lost its signal. At least they both knew Fiona was bringing dinner home and Allyssa needn’t bother cooking.

  Renee returned, and while Allyssa smiled at her assistant and let her take over the desk once again, she also resented her presence to a small degree. She walked back out to gaze into the hills, seeing a splash of red there that intrigued her and held her eye until it disappeared. Rex nuzzled her hand, letting her know she wasn’t alone, but then, she was never alone on the ranch anymore. She gazed up at the trees that grew on a ridge not too far from the ranch, wondering if they were the same trees from back in Molly and Erin’s days or new trees that had grown up after a fire that was mentioned in one of the journals. She admired their beautiful fountain that was complete in the middle of their yard, a combined effort of the 4-H club she was so involved in and a local artist. She didn’t realize how long she had been daydreaming and wandering around the ranch yard until she heard someone driving into the yard and looked up to smile at her wife as she parked the Xpedition near the gas pumps. She slowly made her way over.

  “Hi, there,” she said as Fey unlocked the pump with her key.

  “Hey, baby,” Fey said affectionately, pleased to see her. She quickly unlocked the RV fuel cover to put the pump handle in and start filling the tank. She didn’t need to do this every day but had made it a habit, so her tank was always full, and she didn’t have to worry about running out of fuel despite the large fuel tank on the vehicle. “How was your day?”

  “I picked up the interns from the airport,” she said quickly, seeing someone approaching from the farmhouse.

  “Yeah, what are they like?”

  “You’ll see,” she said, trying not to influence her wife either way and nodding towards Althea, the approaching intern. She introduced Fey to her new intern and saw Buddy approaching a minute later. They both must have been watching for the Xpedition.

  Fiona was naturally curious, but her wife’s lack of information or input had her turning around to look at the young man and woman approaching. Giving them a big smile, she said, “Hello. Welcome to Falling Pines Ranch!” She would have held out her hand, but she was holding the nozzle in the big RV’s fuel tank.

  “Doctor Herriot,” Althea said, reaching out her hand.

  “I would shake it, but...” she left off, nodding towards the pump handle, which was always a little dirty. “It’s nice to meet you, Althea.” She looked up at Buddy as he arrived. “Hello, Buddy.”

  “Doctor Herriot,” he acknowledged.

  Both interns looked over the shorter woman. Her taller wife stood behind her, smiling. Doctor Herriot was a dark-haired woman of medium height with an engaging smile.

  “How was your trip?” she asked as she listened to the fuel pouring into her tank.

  “Not too bad,” Althea admitted. She’d only had two flights. She had met Buddy on the second, shorter flight from Portland.

  “Pendleton the biggest city in these parts?” Buddy teased.

  Fiona laughed. “Yeah, it doesn’t get the traffic of Portland or the other bigger cities, but it does all right. If you go farther east, you’ve got Boise but that’s across those.” Her chin took in the Blue Mountains that rose up beyond the ranch hills in the distance.

  “Do you have clients out there?” he asked, concerned.

  “Nothing that far, no,” she answered, relieved. “The drive through the mountains on a continual basis would kill me,” she admitted. “The hills and valleys around here are enough.”

  “Do you have a hard time with this?” he indicated the large RV she was filling.

  Just then, she heard the tank top off and the handle stopped the flow of fuel into the tank. She tapped it once in the tank, so it wouldn’t drip, and returned it to the pump. Allyssa reached for the attached book where they kept track of how much fuel they used as Fiona replaced the cover on the gas tank, locking it. They exchanged a small smile of thanks as she turned back to her interns.

  “No, this has actually made things easier. I can sleep in comfort when I need to stay with a client who has a particularly difficult case, and I have all my supplies around me when I see a patient. I can even use it to see small animals like cats or dogs.” She lovingly caressed the RV. “I’m sure you read on the blog where we acquired this.” At their nods, she continued. “I’m just going to park it and then, we can talk.”

  Fiona grabbed the rag that Allyssa kept near the pumps to wipe her hands as her wife locked up the pump. “I have them warm in the RV,” she whispered, referring to their pizzas.

  Allyssa nodded and headed towards the house. Fiona’s interns watched as she got in and maneuvered the RV into its place on the far side of the cabin, backing it in. She came out of the RV and Renee took the pad to restock the things she had used that day. Fiona turned and grabbed the two pizzas as Buddy and Althea approached.

  “Hope you both like pizza,” she said happily. They didn’t have pizza often, but she was enthused about it tonight. She’d been having cravings all day.

  “Oh, um, I’m lactose intolerant,” Buddy mentioned.

  “Does it have mushrooms?” Althea asked.

  “Well, I hope you brought Lactaid,” she addressed Buddy first as she pulled out the pizza boxes. “No, simple pepperoni and sausage,” she admitted to Althea. “Although, half of this one,” she said, lifting out the second box to place it on the first, “is Hawaiian. I’ve been having weird cravings.” She wondered if she had mistaken their tone of voice or if she was just tired. It had been a long day and she’d driven at least seventy miles as well as spending long hours with patients. “Let’s get to the house and wash up for dinner,” she said, trying to sound cheerful.

  “Don’t you log your visits?” Buddy asked as he fell into step beside the woman. Althea was on the other sid
e.

  “Yes, I’ll do that later when I catch up. Renee is restocking what I used today, but I usually do that myself,” she told them, hoping they would learn by example as they went along. She remembered her own internships long ago and how sometimes, interns were treated as nothing more than glorified servants. She hoped to teach these two something before they got their next couple internships that were due in the fall. “You were asking about the RV,” she addressed Buddy’s earlier question. “I find it incredibly helpful that I have what amounts to a mobile practice in a condensed space. The luxury of having not only a full shower and bed as well as room to work, stock up, and even treat a patient on the stainless-steel table when necessary is a luxury few large animal practices have. I’ve slept in the back of my wife’s Jeep a time or two, and let me tell you, getting a good night’s sleep is essential to this kind of hard work. I hope you both brought your sleeping bags and are ready for a lot of hard work. We just came off the lambing season for most of the ranchers, but now, we are heading into summer, and there are a million things that can come up.” She went on, outlining things she had seen in the various seasons. As they went inside she headed straight to the kitchen and laid down the pizza boxes, so she could wash up at the sink.

  Allyssa had already set the table, and she grabbed the boxes, which smelled of the rich goodness of still warm pizzas. She didn’t flip open the boxes until Fiona had sat down at the table, indicating where the two interns could sit as they continued their discussions.

  Buddy had stopped in his room to grab some Lactaid, and he popped a pill. Althea, while she had wrinkled her nose at the fact there were no mushrooms on either of the pizzas, still managed to put away more than her share. By the time dinner was over, the two pizzas had been completely consumed.

  “That was good.” Allyssa teased her wife, “You make a good cook.” She took the empty boxes and put them on the pile of things they could burn in their burning ring. Tired of ‘vet talk’ with her wife and the interns, who had basically ignored Allyssa’s presence anyway, she headed out to the garden to do some much needed weeding and collecting. Two of the cats followed inquisitively.

  Fiona showed the interns the inside of the RV that Renee had restocked before she’d left for the day. She had left the inventory on the desk for Allyssa to go over in case they needed to re-order anything. Fiona showed them where everything was, and they admired the inside of the luxurious vehicle and the fact it not only had a full-sized shower but also beds to accommodate them all. The shelves were well stocked, and while neither of them would have organized it like the doctor or her wife, they wisely kept those thoughts to themselves as she explained their setup.

  “Well, what did you think of them?” Fiona cautiously asked Allyssa as the two of them got ready for bed later. Both interns had showered and headed to their rooms. Fiona had been surprised that Buddy was staying in the house but intended to ask Allyssa about that later when she got the chance.

  “I think there is a learning curve there,” she answered back just as cautiously. She’d already showered and was reading one of the journals. “We should plant some fruit trees,” she said, indicating the journal Fey had already read.

  “That’s a good idea,” she admitted, having admired how tenacious her great-great-grandparents had been despite the rawness of the land, the fires, and the weather. She finished preparing for bed and slipped in beside her wife, putting her arm around her slightly rounding belly, amazed at how beautiful she looked. She smiled up at her from her position in the bed and thought how lucky she was. “How are you feeling?” she asked.

  “I’m good. I had a few cravings today, but isn’t that normal?”

  Nodding, she answered, “Me too. That’s why I had the half Hawaiian on the pizza. I was craving pineapple.”

  “You’re lucky you got any of it the way those interns ate,” she teased. Both interns had eaten their fair share of the two pizzas despite their complaints.

  “I noticed you had a slice of that half too,” she teased, pleased when Allyssa scooted down to face her in the bed.

  “Well, I didn’t want to be rude. After all, you had brought it out from town.”

  “It hit the spot,” she admitted, leaning in to nuzzle along her wife’s cheek and inhaling her essence.

  “Mmm,” she responded. “I missed you today,” she said softly as she began to caress Fey’s body, noting the roundness.

  “Mmm,” Fey said in return, enjoying her wife’s warm hands on her body. “I thought I felt the baby move today, but I couldn’t be sure since I was examining a cow at the time and she had a calf in her.”

  “Fey, please be careful. I know it’s your job, but you can’t take chances...” Allyssa began.

  “I know. I’ve thought of those things too,” she admitted, starting to kiss where her nose had nuzzled a moment before. “I hope these two interns work out, so it is less work for me,” she admitted. She really didn’t want to talk about work or her interns. She wanted to make love to her wife.

  Slowly, Fey nuzzled into her wife’s warmth, pleased when she did the same. Often, she thought, If I do this, will you do the same to me? She smiled when her wife copied her. Her hand slipped beneath her wife’s t-shirt and met with soft, warm skin.

  “Oh, that feels nice,” Allyssa murmured, moving closer against her wife as she snuggled, her own hands making forays beneath the clothing she soon removed.

  Even after a few years together, each time they made love was new. Their lovemaking never felt dull or practiced. With both women being pregnant at the same time, they realized a hunger that only the other could assuage. Tonight, they felt almost a desperation to feed and to satisfy the other as quickly as they could. Fingers, tongues, and lips gave each other much pleasure as they sought to achieve orgasms. It was as she had a second, surprise orgasm that Fey realized how much this woman did for her, how much she looked after her, and not only in the practice. Allyssa wanted to please her, which made Fey want to please her even more.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Allyssa watched as her wife left with the interns in the early morning a few days later. They’d gone with her every single day, of course, and she’d laughed at the stories Fey confided to her late at night after she’d come home. They were getting an education all right. The arrogance the women had observed in both interns at the beginning was being worked out of them as they got the hands-on, practical training they both needed. She wondered if Fey had ever been arrogant like that, so full of knowledge but with no practical training. She doubted it.

  When the three of them were restocking the RV one day, Allyssa had been pleased to overhear Fey say, “Allyssa is my partner. If you don’t like the way we do things, you don’t have to work here. She works harder than I do somedays and that’s saying something. It’s because of her that this practice works. I couldn’t do it all without her. So, I don’t want you upsetting my wife. If you don’t like that, you can stick it.” Allyssa didn’t know which intern the comment had been directed to, but both seemed to be a little nicer to her lately, not nearly as arrogant or condescending. The interns seemed to take a genuine interest in the horses that Allyssa was bringing in closer to the ranch. Unable to ride them herself, she was using the 4-Hers to go on trail rides and bring the reluctant ‘escapees’ closer to the ranch. Both Woody and Rhonda had joined in the chase.

  “There are a few wild horses in the bunch,” Woody noted.

  “I saw a red horse that I don’t think I’ve seen before,” Rhonda added.

  “I think I’ve seen it too,” Allyssa mentioned, remembering the flash of red. “Did you catch it?”

  They both shook their heads. “I couldn’t get close enough to see if it was a mare or a stallion,” Woody added, feeling foolish. He felt he should be able to tell the difference at this stage.

  “It was too far away,” Rhonda pointed out, knowing how he felt. She knew a lot about horses too, but the red horse had eluded them both.

  That red horse
was spotted by the 4-Hers too, and because of its unusual and vibrant color it became a fascination for all of them.

  “What’s this about a red horse?” Fiona asked, having heard the children excitedly discussing the animal. She and the interns were working on one of the therapy horses for Woody, checking a sore on one of its hooves and putting on the special footwear that Allyssa had found. The company sold horse runner clips instead of metal shoes. They were like sport shoes for horses, and they were better for the horses. Allyssa had blogged about it, and many people used her detailed article as a reference. She was pleased when they had received many other similar items as free samples to try as a result. Now, Fiona and other vets in the area were using the clips. Even Jeff, their local mobile blacksmith, was using the clips on his patients.

  Allyssa told her wife about the sightings of the red horse and mentioned she had seen one too. She handed Fiona the tools she needed as she watched the vet shave off part of the horse’s hooves to make the shoe fit without irritating the sore, which was healing nicely.

  “I think I saw it too,” Fiona mentioned as she tapped the shoe into place and watched the horse’s reactions, looking for pain or discomfort once she lowered the hoof to the ground. “It’s probably the same horse. The odds of there being more than one with such a distinctive shade of red are not good.”

  “Well, I know none of the rescues are that vibrant a red,” she mentioned to her wife, putting the rasp back on the tray, so she would have it ready if Fey needed it again. Hooves on a horse are like fingernails, and pain in a hoof would radiate up the leg of the poor beast. She was pleased to see that the sore was healing.

  “We’ll have to watch for that red horse. Have you contacted anyone about the roundup?” she asked as she smoothed her hand over the horse, checking for other signs of distress.