Page 97 of The Billion Heirs Boxed Set

“No. Not yet.”

Such a lovely animal should have a name. In my mind, I call him Beau, because he’s so beautiful.

“Like you suspected, it’s an infection,” I tell Abe, “but I’m not a veterinarian. I can’t administer medication.”

“You have to do something.”

“Let me get some saline. I can wash out the wound and apply some antiseptic. Lexie’s sutures are holding and they look good.”

“I tried Lexie again,” the other hand says. “She’s still not answering.”

I furrow my brow. “That doesn’t sound like her. I hope she’s okay.”

He shakes his head.

She spent most of the day with me dealing with the dead body and then the questioning sheriff. Maybe she turned her phone off to get a good night’s sleep. Maybe she went back to the bar and found that cute cowboy for a little fun. I don’t have time to dwell on where my boss might be. I have a colt to help.

I rise. “I’ll be right back.”

I head to the vet’s office located in the next stable and I grab some saline, some antiseptic and gauze. On the bookshelf sit several books about treating equines. I wish I had the time to leaf through them, but the internet is quicker. I sit at Lexie’s desk and do a quick search.

Sulfadiazine seems to be the antibiotic of choice for equine infection. It’s given orally, which means I’ll have to shove a syringe down the poor thing’s throat. Side effects are rare. Does Lexie even have any here? The next entry mentions Gentamicin, but it’s generally given intravenously, and while I’ve watched others do it, I’ve never started an IV. Procaine penicillin is another option and is given as a shot, but it can cause an anaphylactic reaction and even death in rare cases. Yeah. No thanks.

I check the shelves and the refrigerator to see what Lexie has to work with. I may not be qualified to give medicines to animals, but I don’t have much choice now. It’s giving antibiotics, not the actual hernia surgery.

Thank God!

She has sulfadiazine. I check Beau’s chart for dosage, grab some anti-inflammatories for the fever as well, and then I hurry back to the stable.

Time is paramount, so I begin with the antibiotic and anti-inflammatory. I draw in a deep breath before administering the medication.

Trust yourself, Carly. You have to do this. If it doesn’t help, at least you did something.

After giving Beau the meds, I clean the wound with the saline and antiseptic.

“Now what?” Abe asks, looking to me.

“Now, we wait. His fever should go down, and if the antibiotics are working, we should see some improvement at the incision site in a few hours.” I grab my phone to check the time. “It’s two a.m. I guess we’re spending the night here, guys.”

They settle onto the hay and lean against the stall wall.

As I clean up, a clap of thunder sounds overhead. I look up, even though I can’t see through the stable’s roof.

Here comes a storm. Another one for the season. It might be too much water, but it’s better than a drought. I have time to think about the correlation to my life. It’s either crazy and insane or nothing. I have all the feels or none.

I have to decide which is best.

No, I don’t need time to decide. I know.

“Carly?” Someone shakes my shoulder.

I open my eyes. Blink. Rain is drumming on the roof of the stable. I’m surprised it didn’t wake me up, but then I’ve had a day. And a night. It’s the second time I’ve been woken up tonight.

“I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

My eyes adjust. It’s Lexie. She’s soaking wet from the rain.

“I’m so sorry, Carly. You too, Abe. Jim. I must’ve forgotten to plug my phone in last night, and it died. I don’t know what’s the matter with me. I’m just so… that body yesterday… but that’s no excuse. When I woke up a few minutes ago and plugged the phone in, I saw your message. How is he doing?”