Page 2 of The Grumpy Vet (Vet Shop Boys Down Under #3)

Linus

The young koala lies limp on the table, its fur matted with blood, the deep bite wounds along its side raw and exposed.

"Fuck,"

Dario exclaims, racing into the room to assist me. His hazel eyes scan the injured animal.

"What happened?"

I peel back the koala’s torn skin, revealing the deep puncture wounds underneath.

"Dog bite,"

I mutter.

"A nasty one at that."

So much for a nice, quiet first day for Dario.

The grand tour of the clinic would have taken a total of five minutes, but I wanted to spend some time with him and go over things like station call procedures, protocols for treating native wildlife, common emergencies like calving complications, snake bites, and heatstroke in livestock, and perhaps the most important thing of all—methods for dealing with Scuttlebuttians while retaining your sanity.

I also wanted to get a feel for him as a person.

His résumé was impressive—despite a later than usual start in the industry, he's worked in some of the best clinics in the country—and he interviewed well, so I'm confident in his technical abilities.

But so much of veterinary work really is about interpersonal skills, both with clients and co-workers.

We're chronically short-staffed, and I need at least two more vets to make the workload bearable, but at the same time, I don't want to hire someone who's a bad apple and messes with the vibe.

We're a small, quirky team and may not be to everyone's liking, so we need a special kind of person who can fit in with us.

There was something in his tone and body language at the pub yesterday, a certain energy he gave off, subtle, but impossible to ignore.

When I reflected on it last night after coming back from the hospice, it made me think I need to keep an eye on him.

Yes, he's a good vet and Ryde's best friend, but he's got a certain…edge.

But all that will have to wait.

Before I even took my first sip of tea after arriving at the clinic this morning, a young farmer, Jonesie, rushed in with his kelpie, its leg torn open from a barbed wire fence.

At the same time, Dario and Muir were called out to help with a heifer struggling to calve.

After that, I barely had time to boil some water for my second attempt at my first cuppa of the day when we were hit by an avalanche—a brumby with a deep leg wound, an echidna someone found curled up on the side of the road, a burnt ringtail possum rescued from a smouldering paddock, a cattle dog who got too close to a kicking hoof.

It's been one thing after the other all goddamn morning.

My stomach growls loudly, and it draws Dario's focus away from the koala to me.

"I can take over. Sounds like you need some food."

"Is it lunch time?"

"It's two thirty."

The smell of blood and damp fur clings to the air. There's no way I can leave this poor fella. I don't have it in me. If an animal is injured, I'll work through hunger, exhaustion, anything, to help in any way I can.

"Let's do this together."

"Okay."

Dario grabs the oxygen mask, holding it over the koala's tiny face while I work fast, cutting away dead tissue and flushing out dirt and saliva. The wounds are fresh but filthy, and if we don’t clean them out fast, infection will take hold. Dario keeps the oxygen mask firm over the koala's nose, sharply focused on the slow, uneven rise of the creature's chest.

I grab the suture kit and get to work, sealing each wound with quick, precise movements. The koala twitches, its ears flicking slightly.

"Stay with me, mate,"

I mutter to our patient, working fast, stitching up layer after layer, my fingers moving on years and years of practice.

The koala twitches again, a faint sound escaping its throat, and I glance at Dario. There's a flash of hope in his olive eyes. He gives a small nod.

"Keep going. We're going to save him."

Hell yeah we will.

I tie the final stitch with a sharp tug as Dario adjusts the IV, then I take a step back. That's all we can do for the poor guy. Now it's up to him to fight.

Now we wait.

"I'd like to say this has been an unusually busy day…but that'd be a lie,"

I say to Dario ten minutes later in the staff lounge slash admin slash general office slash change room slash dumping ground for everyone's shit.

I'm standing over the sink, scoffing down a ham, tomato, and cheese sandwich and trying not to burn my mouth on a cup of Earl Grey.

"You shouldn't eat while standing,"

Dario says, seated at the dining table.

I turn around to face him.

"And why's that?"

"It's bad for your digestion."

"Sounds like bullshit to me."

"Can also lead to bloating and gas."

He tips his chin up and smirks.

"I guess I'll be the judge of that in about ten minutes."

And there it is. That edge. I don't know the guy well enough to know whether he's legit giving me shit or if it's just his twisted idea of being funny. We have a lot of that going on around here, and it did take me some time to get used to everyone’s distinct sense of humour.

"That so?"

I reply, shoving the rest of my sandwich into my mouth, chewing, then testing him to see how he responds to, "And here I was thinking you were concerned about me."

His face remains stoic as he says, "Wouldn't be a good look if my boss died on my first day at work… Again."

A grin tugs at my lips before I can stop it.

"Don't worry about that. I ran a background check on you, and your record is clear. Your secret is safe with me."

"So you're saying there wasn't any need for me to lace your tea with arsenic?"

he says at the precise moment I lift the mug to my lips.

"There really wasn't."

I take a long sip.

"But I sure am glad I installed video cameras in here that record everything. Including audio, in the event anyone should say something incriminating."

His eyes stay trained on me for a few long seconds before a low laugh escapes him.

"Well played, Linus. Well played."

His words sit strangely. I'm not really a playing type. Never have been. The guys around here have got banter and shenanigans covered. I'm happy observing and stepping in as necessary whenever an adult is needed. That's as close as I get to having fun. I'm the cool head. The boring boss. A pretty miserable bastard who lives a pretty miserable life.

I'm a sixth-generation Scuttlebuttian. I didn't so much as inherit the clinic as it was just naturally assumed I'd take it over from my father when he retired since I'm an only child, and if not me, then who?

My father is an imposing, rigid, and cold man. Despite being a vet and saving so many people's animals and pets, he's never been a popular figure around here. People respected him more out of politeness or obligation than anything else. But they never liked him.

I feared him as a child, came to respect him as I grew older, even though distance remained between us, and only now, as he wastes away in that godawful hospice, am I seeing his frailty for the first time. His vulnerability.

I’m also coming to understand how similar the two of us are. How much I, consciously or not, am becoming a lot like my father, minus his mean streak. I may not be the friendliest guy in town, but I'm pretty sure no one is outright scared of me. I'm quiet and keep to myself, but kids aren't crossing to the other side of the street when they see me approach. Just like my father, I love animals more than people, but I can still interact with them. Mostly.

"Did you want to go through some procedures?"

Dario asks, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Or are you preemptively worried about your future farting situation?"

His lips quirk, so I'll take that comment as a joke.

"No. I've got time."

I finish the rest of my tea and automatically make myself another one because a cup of tea, much like animals, never lets you down.

"Come into my office, and we can go over a few things."

Dario

I let out a tired yawn as Linus and I leave the clinic together after a brutal day. The first six hours of my shift were non-stop with case after case after case, reminding me of the one-year stint I did in one of Sydney's busiest animal rescues. After the last couple of hours, my head is swimming in calving assistance procedures, snake bite treatments, and hoof trimming.

Initiation by fire, but at least I survived.

"I know it was hectic, but you did great today,"

Linus says, accompanied by what I gather is his attempt at a smile.

"Thanks. I enjoyed it."

He opens the door and waves for me to go ahead. "You did?"

"Yeah."

We step out into a still brutally hot day, the afternoon sun carrying a sting as it lowers in the western sky.

"There's no word for the feeling of pushing yourself to save an animal. You've worked your balls off, you're tired as all hell, but it leaves you…almost high. That probably doesn't make any sense. Sorry. I'm rambling and beat."

"No. I know exactly what you mean. It's why I love being a vet."

Our eyes meet. His are hazel like mine, but they lean more towards deep-brown than green. I think he might just know what I mean. He worked hard today. Some clinic owners are hands-off and only step in as a last resort when absolutely necessary. Not Linus. He was in the trenches all freaking day.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then?" I say.

"Sure."

He draws in a breath through his teeth, his keys dangling in his hand.

"Do you want a lift to Ryde's?"

"Oh. No, thanks. It's not that far, and I should walk."

He tilts his head and glances down. When I do the same, I see that I've instinctively reached for my arch nemesis—Blug Blug.

I am not about to reveal my nickname for my recently expanded belly to my new boss, so I figure blurting out the horrible truth is actually the lesser of the two evils.

"Had a bad breakup, and I've piled on the kilos."

His lips press together as he studies me, but he doesn't say anything.

"Part of the deal I have with Ryde is that he's going to get me back into shape. I don't know if you've noticed, but he's got a banging body."

He sucks in another breath through his teeth, much louder this time.

Oops not oops?

I am genuinely too tired to have premeditated a fishing expedition to find out whether he thinks Ryde is attractive, but now that we're here, I'm watching Linus like a hawk.

He swallows then lets out a small cough before clearing his throat.

"Uhh… Yeee… Iiii…"

Okay. Him being reduced to single-syllable sounds establishes there is some level of mutual physical attraction. I bite my tongue, not wanting to smile and embarrass the guy any more. The tips of his ears are turning red, and that's probably about as far as I should push it.

On my first day, that is.

"It's all good,"

I say with a wave.

"See you tomorrow."

"Yeah. See ya."

I take off towards Ryde's place, my backpack bouncing against my shoulders. I take no more than a few steps when Linus calls out, "Hey, Dario?"

I spin around. "Yeah?"

Linus scratches his arm and walks over to me.

"Listen, I have a little gym setup in my carport. I haven't used it in a while…"

That's obviously a lie.

Before we wrapped up for the day, we got changed out of our work gear. Linus replaced his long-sleeve khaki shirt with a black tank top. The only reason I stopped myself from shamelessly checking out his massively wide shoulders and arms thick with muscle is out of loyalty to Ryde. But man, if it weren't for that, I'd be ogling away to my horny little heart's content. The man is jacked. Hasn't used his gym in a while, my ass.

"You're welcome to come over and use it whenever you like."

"Oh."

I'm caught off guard. Ryde's never even been to Linus's place. I know this for a fact because he's complained about it multiple times. That tells me Linus's offer is out of character, but I don't analyse that. Instead, I see this for the opening that it is.

Another one of my brilliant plans starts to take shape in my head.

"Sure. That'd be great. Do you mind if Ryde comes along as well? He is my personal trainer, after all."

And the award for world's best wingman goes to…

"Uh, sure."

Linus rubs the back of his neck.

"Of course. That's no problem."

His words don't match the slight strain coming through in his voice.

"Great. Do you want me to call ahead or anything? Let you know when we're coming."

"Nah, don't worry about it. I have two carports on my property. The gym setup is at the end of the second driveaway. It's so far from the house I won't even know you're there."

"Okay. And how do we get in?"

"Mate, this is Scuttlebutt. No one locks their place up. Just make sure you shut the roller door properly when you leave. Don't want any snakes or creepy crawlies getting in there."

"Consider it done. Thanks, Linus. This is really kind of you. I appreciate it."

He clears his throat.

"Don't mention it."

And with that, I turn around and walk back to Ryde's. I cannot wait to see his face when I tell him about this.

"Oh my fucking god."

Ryde releases a high-pitched shriek as he launches into me, and I'm pretty sure one of my eardrums just burst.

I hug him back and try to remain upright at the same time.

"It's no big deal, buddy."

He grabs my shoulders and pulls back, blinking rapidly, his whole face lit up with excitement.

"Are you kidding me? You managed to do in one day what I haven't been able to in two years. You're… You're… You're a Linus whisperer."

I chuckle but don't move back, enjoying the physical proximity.

"You make it sound like I've found the cure for ice cream brain freezes."

"This is waaay better. You've scored an invite to Linus's, and you've found a way for me to tag along."

He hugs me again.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you."

I close my eyes and try to focus on how great it is that I've made Ryde so happy and not on how much it sucks having a body I know I can never have pressed against mine. I'm not even mad at Ryde about it because he doesn't know how I feel since I've never told him. He's a walking temptation, and it sucks because I know that no matter what happens with him and Linus, nothing will ever happen between him and me.

"When should we go over?"

he asks, his deep-blue eyes darting from left to right, like he's mentally trying to recall our work schedules to find the first available opening.

"I'm not sure. I'd need to look at my roster,"

I say, and he draws back, looking at me expectantly.

"Oh. You want me to do it right this very second?"

He nods hard.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

I grin as I pull my phone out of my pocket.

"Okay, let's see. Looks like we're both free in the afternoon the day after tomorrow?"

"Great. We'll go then and—"

He catches himself mid-sentence, a look of realization flashing across his face.

"Shit, sorry. I'm getting ahead of myself. Assuming that's okay with you?"

My grin grows into a smile. Even if it was the last thing on earth I wanted to do, I'd do it just to keep this happy look on his face.

"Of course it is. Let's do it."

With another joyful squeal, he wraps his arms around me and hugs me with all his might.

"You're the best, Dario. I love you."

I squeeze my eyes shut as his familiar scent washes over me, his body heat seeping through the layers of fabric between us and warming me up in a way I really wish it didn't. Talk about right words, wrong context. But if friendship love is all that's on offer, then I'll take it.

I swallow around the lump forming in my throat and run my hand through the back of his hair.

"Yeah. I love you, too, buddy."