Page 30 of Unscripted Love
“You and me both,” I said before I left.
The Jenkins’ farm wasn’t too far outside town limits, so I arrived fast after the call came in. When I entered the barn, I found Buttercup lying in her stall breathing hard and covered in sweat. Her eyes were wide with fear and pain, and her whinnies tugged at my heart. “It’s okay, sweet girl.” I entered her stall slowly, so I didn’t cause her additional stress. I looked up at her fretful owners. “Can one of you kneel down and give her comfort while I examine her?”
Mara dropped to her knees beside her prone horse and began cooing to her as she stroked her neck and velvety nose. “It’s going to be just fine, baby girl. Dr. Vaughn will make it all better.”
I hoped Mara was right because I desperately wanted the delivery to go as smooth as possible and without serious injury to either Buttercup or her foal. “How long has she been in labor?” I asked while slipping my arms inside long, latex gloves.
“Right before we called you,” Stan told me. “Her water broke, and the foal’s hooves dropped instead of her nose.”
“That’s not completely uncommon,” I told them. “I’ll examine Buttercup to see what’s going on.” I looked back down at the horse and saw that Mara’s ministrations were working, and the horse appeared to be slightly calmer than when I first arrived. “Okay, Mara, she’s going to need some more loving because this could be pretty painful for her.”
“Okay, Dr. Vaughn,” Mara replied to me before she turned to her horse. “You’re doing good, Buttercup. I promise you that I’ll never put you through this misery ever again. Just hang in there a little bit longer.”
I slid my hand inside Buttercup and felt along the foal’s leg and was ecstatic when I felt the foal’s chest and neck. “She’s not breech,” I told them. “It’s still going to be painful for Buttercup while I try to position the foal better for birth.”
“She’s a tough girl, Doc,” Mara said proudly. “Do whatever you can to help her.”
It took an hour of working with Buttercup’s contractions, but I was finally able to line the foal properly in the birth canal and helped the horse deliver her beautiful baby. “They’re perfect,” I declared after I checked mother and baby over good. “Tired, but perfect,” I said, rubbing Buttercup’s neck. I smiled when her foal, Starla, attempted to take her first steps on wobbly legs that she would grow into someday.
“Thank you for everything,” Stan Jenkins said when he followed me to my truck. “Mara would’ve been crushed if something had happened to Buttercup or Starla.” Mara wouldn’t have been the only devastated Jenkins had things not gone as well as they did. I saw how damp Stan’s eyes got once Starla arrived safely, but I didn’t say anything about it.
It was noon by the time I got back to the animal hospital, and I was hours behind schedule. The downside of being the only vet meant I had to reschedule appointments when an emergency came up. In most cases, I worked through lunch and stayed late to make sure I got to the most critical cases the same day. It made for a long, stressful day, but it was worth it.
Alyssa assured me the carpenter would be there to begin replacing the door and busted shelves before we went home for the evening. Hammering and drilling sounds filled the animal hospital late in the day, but I was too busy to check out the progress. In fact, I hadn’t bothered asking the name of the carpenter because I didn’t care until I spied him talking to Chaz in the parking lot. “It’s that damn Andy again,” I groused.
“What’s wrong with Andy?” Terry asked. “He’s a nice guy.”
“Sexy too,” Molly added. “Oh, I know what the problem is, Terry.”
“Oh, I think I figured it out also. Dr. Vaughn doesn’t like Andy moving into his territory and making a play for his man.”
I thought of Chaz as my man, but it wasn’t a reality. Yet.
“Excuse me, ladies,” I said, brushing by them on my way out the door. “Well, this is a surprise.” Chaz and Andy both looked at me.
“I hope it’s a pleasant one,” Chaz said. He held up a carryout bag from the diner and smiled at me in a way that made the rest of the world disappear. “I thought you might be hungry after your long day.”
Oh, I was hungry all right, but it wasn’t for whatever food he had in the bag. “Perfect timing. I just finished for the day. I have a few—”
“Go on home, Dr. Vaughn,” Alyssa yelled out the door. “We’ll close the animal hospital for the night.”
“It will look as good as new when you come back tomorrow, Doc,” Andy said as he walked back inside with a bucket of nails.
“Thank you,” I said to both Alyssa and Andy without taking my eyes off Chaz. Hell, I don’t think I even blinked for fear that I imagined his appearance in my parking lot. It was the first time Chaz sought me out, and I liked it a lot. “Why don’t you follow me home so we can do this without an audience.” I didn’t need to turn around to see if my staff was watching us because I felt their attention on us.
Chaz leaned over and peeked around me. “Yep, they’re watching us all right.” He smiled broadly and leaned closer to me and said, “Too bad it’s not raining, or we could act out the famous kiss in the rain fromThe Notebook.”
I blinked at him for a few seconds as I registered two things: Chaz wanted to kiss me in the rain, and he didn’t care who was watching. I’d never been so tempted to try a rain dance in all my life. “Maybe next time,” I said.
“Okay then,” Chaz replied with a small smile.
My heart raced during the short trip to my house.Did I leave my underwear on the floor? Were there dishes all over the kitchen? When was the last time I scrubbed the toilet? Do I still have that extra toothbrush?I was a hot fucking mess by the time I parked in my driveway.
“What’s wrong?” Chaz asked. My panic must’ve shown on my face.
“You’re about to learn something about me that not many people know.”
“You have a sex dungeon in your basement?” Chaz asked.