Page 10 of Lost Boy (The Les’s Bar #5)

10

“ C hris! Chrissy. I need you. Now!”

Leo knew that his voice would be heard, even though Chrissy was all the way at the other end of the building cleaning kennels.

“Did you call a car?”

Lexie nodded. “Teddy will be here in a minute. The closest Uber was at least twenty minutes away.”

Teddy was a driver for a black car service. Much pricier than an Uber, but worth it. “I don’t know that I’d ask an Uber driver to deal with this anyway. Good call.” He looked toward the back hall again as he zipped into a hoodie. “Chrissy!”

One of his vet techs dropped a bag at his feet. “Go-bag.”

“Thanks, Louis. Lexie, I’ll call when we’re on our way back. Prep a room. Maybe the big one.”

“What’s wrong, Doc?” Chrissy came running, jacket in hand.

“Panicking shepherd caught in a chain link fence.” Leo picked up his bag. “I think you might be able to help.”

“Totally. You need me to call a car? I can find a K9 unit that’ll come.”

“We have a ride; it will be here any minute. If you think a unit will be helpful, then yes. The dog’s name is Archie, and he’s a patient of mine. He’s big, and his owner is a tiny woman, so I’m not surprised she called me for help.”

Leo led him out the door. “I thought you might have a trick to calm him enough that I can sedate him and get him unstuck.”

Chris followed, carrying his go-bag. “Of course. Sure. I’ll totally help. I’ve dealt with that one in the service.”

A quiet piece of him was trying to work out when he’d handed Chrissy his bag. Or maybe Chrissy had just taken it from him? Either way, it was interesting.

And validating too.

“Good. He’s a good boy. He’s protective of Elsa. She said he took off after something.”

“Aww… poor boy. I bet he’s scared. Scared critters bite and growl.” Chrissy nodded, chewing on his bottom lip. “What am I looking for, car-wise?”

“That.” Leo pointed as a black car pulled up. It was stylish and had dark windows and a young man hopped out. Leo reached for the back door. “Hop back in, boy, we can get the door.”

“Yes, Sir. Lexie gave me the address.” Teddy popped back into the driver’s seat.

“Fancy!” Chrissy winked at him, opened his door, then ran around the far side of the car to slide in.

“Fancier than we need for this errand, but reliable and fast.” The car took off as soon as they were in. “Teddy, this is Chrissy. He’s a working dog-trainer—K9 and military dogs.”

Teddy glanced at Chrissy in the rearview mirror. “Oh, wow. That’s so cool. Nice to meet you.”

Chrissy shot Teddy a quick smile, but it didn’t last. “Pleased. How far do we have to go?”

“I’ll get us there in less than ten minutes.”

Leo took Chrissy’s hand. He was anxious, and he knew Chrissy was feeling that. “Teddy’s a pro, and he knows Brooklyn better than anyone I know.”

“Yeah. She didn’t know anyone closer? It’s already been five minutes since you hollered for me.”

“She was afraid to call 911. He’s a big dog.” He shifted to put an arm around Chrissy. “She made the decision she made. So we’ll get there as soon as we can.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I hear you, Sir. I hate when they’re hurting, you know? It makes me nuts.”

“I know, boy,” he said softly. He knew this dog as well as he knew any of his patients. He wouldn’t leave his own practice in the middle of the day if he didn’t understand it was necessary. “Me too.”

“Oh, I know.” Chrissy turned toward him, touching his cheek, the touch aching with care. “I know. We’ll fix it for him.”

He could see the worry in his boy’s eyes. He turned his head and kissed Chrissy’s palm. “We will. You’re the first person I thought of when she called. You know dogs.”

“Almost there, Sir.”

Chrissy nodded, concern written clearly in those pretty eyes. “I do. I’ll calm him down.”

Teddy pulled up at a sidewalk near a small neighborhood park. “Stay, Teddy, we’ll take him back to my office when we’ve got him calm.”

“Yes, Sir.”

They got out and immediately heard a combination of snarling and whining.

Elsa was there with a few other people, and she came running over, panic in her voice and tears in her eyes. “He’s so upset, Dr. Aetos, and his whole scruff is stuck and his front foot.”

“Okay, can you ask your friends to step back please? Way back.”

Elsa nodded and did exactly as he asked, clearing the area for them.

Chrissy plopped down, back to the dog on the side where his foot wasn’t caught. “Hey, buddy. Archie, right? How’s it going?”

Chrissy’s voice was calm, gentle, the body language totally nonthreatening.

The boy got a whine and a low growl in response.

How’s it going?

Leo shook his head, but trusted Chrissy’s judgment. He put his bag down and started to prep a sedative, keeping his distance for now as he watched Chrissy do his thing.

“I know, Arch. This sucks. Give us a second, and we’ll get you out, huh? You just have to chillax, but I know you’re a good boy. I know you’re scared, but I’m going to help, okay?” The patter continued, Chrissy slowly backing up, letting the shepherd scent him, see him. Soon enough, he was close enough to pull the fence open, give the dog a chance to work himself free.

Archie wiggled and whined, ducked one shoulder, turned his head and got free.

“Oh! Archie!” Elsa hurried right to him.

“All yours, Doc.” Chrissy grinned at him, eyes twinkling.

He smiled back and gave his boy a pat on the shoulder. “The friendly approach. I like it.” He didn’t waste any time and stuck the needle he’d prepared into Archie’s thigh.

“You’re amazing. Thank you so much.” Archie was half in Elsa’s lap already and slowly relaxed against her.

“Dogs are like people, ma’am. If they don’t feel threatened, you can do almost everything.”

She nodded. “Archie’s a good boy, too. Poor baby.”

“I’d like to get him back to my office and look after him. He’s going to sleep until tomorrow. I’ll call you and let you know how he’s doing after I fix him up, and I’ll have Lexie call you tomorrow when he’s awake.”

Elsa looked down at Archie and petted him where he wasn’t hurting. “Okay. No need to call tomorrow though. I’ll be there first thing in the morning.”

Leo nodded and closed up his bag. “I’ll have coffee on. I’ll carry him. Can you get my bag, Chris?”

“Yes, Sir!” Chrissy hugged Elsa gently. “He’ll be fine, lady. He’s in the best hands. You have my word.”

Elsa hugged him back, nodding. “I knew I called the right person. Thank you so much.”

What a sweet boy. He didn’t usually hug his patients’ owners, but it seemed totally natural for Chrissy to do it.

“We’ll talk in an hour or so.” Leo gave Elsa a nod and carefully picked up Archie. He put the pup in the back seat with Chrissy and he took the front with Teddy.

“All good?”

“Easy as pie. Chrissy has a magic touch.” Leo was so pleased.

“I just know dog behavior.” Chrissy’s voice was pitched low, easy, and he kept loving on Archie, soothing him even though he was out.

Teddy pulled away from the curb. “I guess you two are a good team.”

That made him smile. “I think so.”

“We don’t suck together.” Chrissy winked up at him.

Teddy tried to hide a laugh and failed.

“Boy.”

“Sorry, Sir.”

The boy didn’t look sorry at all.

Leo turned in his seat to look at Chrissy. “I only got a quick look. I think he’ll need a couple of stitches, but he didn’t seem too bad.”

“He’ll be bruised and sore, I bet. Poor baby. Better you than me. The idea of stitches makes me queasy.”

“I’m not a big fan either. But I have a Hello Kitty recovery collar.” Leo grinned. “Archie will love it.” He doubted that, but Elsa would be amused.

“I bet he has a great sense of humor. He seems like a goofball.”

“He’s a sweetheart with a very big bark. He’s been a patient since his bark was much smaller.” Leo shifted around straight in his seat again.

“Yeah? I learned my patience with a lot of hard work.” He got a teasing look. “The stubborn came natural, and no one can break me out of it.”

He rolled his eyes. “Then I’m glad you are not a patient of mine.” Archie was a good boy. He was only stubborn about making sure he knew Elsa was safe, a typical shepherd trait.

“Well, we’re both glad of that, given I’m not a dog, and you don’t need one in bed…”

Teddy snickered and Leo snorted, tempted to acknowledge that Chrissy did in fact know what he needed in bed, but he kept that nugget to himself. He was very comfortable in his own skin, but his bedroom practices were private as a rule.

Chrissy winked at him, utterly unrepentant.

Leo just smiled at Chrissy. He did love to swat a naughty boy, and his boy did seem to need a nice hard spanking. Maybe all of this had been more stressful for Chrissy than the boy had let on.

“Much less traffic on the way back,” Teddy said as the car pulled up outside his office.

“That was fast. Thank you, Teddy. I’ll be sure to get on the app and tip you appropriately.” Drivers like Teddy, who were discreet as well as friendly were worth paying a premium for.

“Thank you, Sir. Always appreciated.”

Leo hopped out and opened the back door, lifting Archie from Chrissy’s lap. He knew Chrissy would follow with his bag without having to be asked.

“Doc? Do I need to tip him or is that a phone thing?”

“A phone thing. At this level, no one ever sees cash. But you should put the app on your phone so you can do that for me in the future.”

He carried Archie, who was awake but out of it, toward the building, letting Chrissy get the door for him.

“Hey, Doc.” Lexie stood up from behind the desk. “All good? Big room is ready.”

“All good. Send one of the techs in please?”

Lexie nodded. “I’ll get Jake.”

“Thanks.”

“I’ll get back to work, Doc.” Chrissy brought him his bag. “Be good, pup. You’re in good hands.”

Jake stepped into the room. “I heard we have dog versus fence?”

“Yes.” Leo caught Chris by the arm on his way out. “Thank you. You did great work.”

“You’re welcome. I was happy to help.”

He made sure Chrissy saw his smile before letting the boy go. Happy to help . Yes, but the boy was still a little off. He was pleased that he could see it, they were learning to read each other well.

He closed the exam room door behind Chrissy. “Let’s get started, Jake. I want to try to send Archie home today.” There was a good chance Archie would be able to go. That would be a total win.