Chapter 8
CHAPTER
EIGHT
Bailey had just sat down in her office with a Cobb salad and a delicious-smelling chunk of bread that Marina had brought back for her.
Bailey bought her staff lunch a couple of times a month, usually on a Monday or a Friday, to thank them for their hard work and in an attempt to be a good employer.
Today was neither a Monday nor a Friday, but she’d wanted lunch, and Marina had been willing to go get it.
The wind outside rattled her windows, and she looked that way as she popped the plastic lid off her salad.
The wind always seemed to howl across Wyoming, and though Coral Canyon sat in the mountains, they were no exception.
Still, they were coming out of winter now, and Bailey didn’t think it would snow again until fall.
Unlike Montana, she thought with a fond smile.
She’d seen it snow there in June before, and wow, she was glad not to be living there anymore.
From time to time, she did miss it. It was in Montana where she’d gone to college, gained her experience, and built her first practice.
She’d given fifteen years of her life to that state, and her life there hadn’t been trivial.
“It also hadn’t felt like home,” she said to herself.
She spread butter on the end of the baguette and took a bite of it, then dressed her salad and mixed it all together.
She enjoyed a couple of minutes of downtime, but inevitably pulled a file in front of her to read through for tomorrow’s off-site appointment.
She’d studied large animal veterinary care, and she had a herd of horses to look at tomorrow, if nine could be considered a herd.
“Bailey,” Trevor called, and she looked up at the urgency in his voice.
She hadn’t closed her door all the way, and her veterinary technician didn’t stop to knock before he barreled inside. “We need you in exam two right now.”
Bailey abandoned her lunch and pushed to her feet, though she’d been on them for hours. “What’s going on?”
She hurried after him, as Trevor had already left the office and was jogging down the hall. She did the same as he called, “A guy brought in his boxer who’s been stung by yellow jackets.”
Bailey’s heart turned to stone, as yellow jacket venom in large enough doses could kill other animals. “How big is the dog?”
“It’s a boxer,” Trevor said.
Bailey forced herself to slow down and think—he’d already said that.
He darted into exam room two, and Bailey slowed her step to a fast walk, so as to come off calm and competent.
When she entered the room, she found the dark brown dog already up on the lift, drool falling from his mouth, and him pawing at it.
“You’ve gotta stay still. You’ve gotta keep your paw down, bud.”
Bailey’s eyes moved to that familiar voice and found none other than Reeves standing there. Their eyes met, and an electric jolt moved through every cell in Bailey’s body.
“Reeves.” While she’d paused to assess the situation for that single moment, she moved forward again, pulling her stethoscope from around her neck. “How long ago did this happen?”
“Twenty minutes,” Reeves said. “We were hiking over on the Swain’s Creek Trail, and he ran over to a hole or a den. Then the bees started buzzing everywhere.”
“Trevor, we’re going need the oxygen here,” Bailey said, and her vet tech opened a cabinet. Bailey tilted her head and listened to Sir’s breathing. “Mild noise,” she said as Trevor positioned the oxygen next to her.
“Reeves, will you move over there against the wall?” She nodded behind her. “Right in front of him, so he can see you, but you won’t be in our way.”
He did what she said.
“Can you get him to lie down?”
“Lie down, Sir,” Reeves said.
Sir whined, and gagged, and coughed as more drool continued to drip out of his mouth. Bailey fitted the oxygen over his muzzle, which was puffy and swollen, the reaction moving up into his eyelids.
“Has he vomited?” she asked.
“No,” Reeves said.
“Do you want epinephrine, Doctor McAllister?” Trevor asked.
“I’m thinking an antihistamine and a steroid,” Bailey said. “He hasn’t vomited.” She ran her fingers down his neck and across his back, and then his front paws. “There are no hives.” She glanced over to Reeves again. “How many yellow jackets?”
“A whole swarm,” Reeves said. “He whined and yelped, and I called him back, but I didn’t have him on a leash, so I couldn’t pull him away. He retreated, and when I got to him, there were probably, oh, a half-dozen yellow jackets on his face.”
Bailey nodded, and she looked at Trevor. “I think it’s a moderate reaction, and since we don’t know how many stings, go grab the Epi and get a catheter tray.”
Trevor left the room, and Bailey stroked her hand down Sir’s back. He tried to paw at his face again, and she shushed him and put her other hand over his arm.
“You’ve got to leave it alone, bud,” Reeves said.
Sir trembled a little bit beneath her touch, and his breathing was still too fast.
“He’s breathing okay,” she told Reeves. “Trevor’s going to bring in an IV, and we’ll give him epinephrine if I think he’s going into anaphylactic shock.
He doesn’t seem to be right now, but we’ll give him an antihistamine, which will immediately help with the itchiness part of his allergic reaction.
Then I’ll give him a steroid. Both of those can be done with an injection that will suppress and control the inflammatory response. ”
“Why both?” Reeves took a step closer to Sir, then another, joining Bailey at the lifted platform where his dog lay.
“They do different jobs,” Bailey said. “The antihistamine will act fast and provide him some relief. The steroid works slower over time to keep it suppressed.”
“Do you think he’s going into anaphylactic shock?” Reeves asked.
Bailey gazed down at his beautiful dog. Sir looked up at her and whined. “I don’t think so,” she said, just as Trevor returned.
He pushed a cart with everything they’d need to insert an IV, should that become necessary. Bailey reached first for the cool compress, and she wrapped it under Sir’s muzzle and around the top of his nose, pulling the ends of it right up over his eyes.
“Can you hold this here?” she asked Reeves, her eyes locking onto his.
Something charged and powerful moved between them, and Reeves nodded as he put his hand where hers had been on the top of Sir’s head. “You’re all right, bud,” he murmured. “You’re going to be okay, because Bailey’s here.”
She looked at the cart Trevor had brought in, and she reached for the antihistamine. “Trevor, let’s do it back here in the hind leg,” she said.
Trevor moved around her, and she handed him the syringe and then picked up the steroid.
Bailey put one hand firmly on Sir’s front shoulder, whose breathing had slowed slightly.
She wanted to listen to his lungs again, but he hadn’t whined further, and she looked at Reeves.
“We’re going to give him two injections, one right after the other. ”
Reeves nodded, and she looked to Trevor and nodded at him too. He injected the medication into the thick muscle of Sir’s hind leg and pressed over the site, massaging it while he switched syringes with Bailey. In went the steroid, and he stepped back.
Bailey slid her hands down and rubbed along Sir’s hindquarters on both sides.
The dog had barely moved, and her heart filled with affection for the boxer.
“I want to listen to his lungs again,” she said.
“And I want to look at his gums.” She bent low over him again and closed her eyes as she listened to the air entering Sir’s body.
“His breathing has already cleared up a little bit,” she said.
“Reeves, can you pull that compress back?”
He did, and Sir looked at him miserably.
Bailey gently pulled the oxygen mask off and smiled at the dog as she moved in front of him.
“I want to look in your mouth, bud. Okay?” She smiled and even laughed lightly.
“Yeah, you look terrible, don’t you? But we’ve already given you some stuff to help with that. ”
His pulse was strong, and he seemed to be breathing great. “He doesn’t need an IV,” she said to Trevor as she gently lifted Sir’s upper lip to see his gums. “These are pink.”
She stepped back, fitted the mask back on Sir, and rewrapped the compress.
Her heartbeat settled, and she backed up a step and rested one hand on the corner of the cart.
“He’s swollen and puffy, but the antihistamine and the steroid will help with that.
The drooling seems to have stopped a little bit, but he didn’t collapse.
He doesn’t have pale gums. His tongue is a normal color, and he didn’t vomit.
I don’t think he needs more than what we’ve done.
” She glanced over to Trevor, and then looked at Reeves again.
“Well, besides time. I want you to leave him here with me this afternoon, and we’ll monitor his vitals, and I’ll bring him back to you tonight. ”
Reeves frowned mightily.
Trevor put the two used syringes on the tray and pulled it out from under Bailey’s elbow. “I’ll go put this away and check on where we can put him,” he said.
“Thank you.” Bailey watched him leave, glad she had such competent technicians in her clinic. She faced Reeves again. “I’ll put him in my office if I have to,” she said. “With the antihistamine, he’ll just sleep anyway, and I’ll be able to monitor him and help him if he needs it.”
Reeves looked down at Sir and stroked his hand down the back of his head and shoulder.
The dog laid his head on his paws, and a soft smile came to her face.
She had no idea what Reeves was thinking, as he never let much show on his face.
He finally looked up again, and the brim of his cowboy hat didn’t hide his expression any longer.
“All right,” he said. “What time will you be done here?”
“Six,” Bailey said. “It takes a little bit of time to close, and I’ll probably have him back to you by seven.”
He still didn’t seem happy about that, and he stroked Sir again, and then again, before nodding. “Thank you, Bailey,” he said.
Her heart warmed at the sound of her name in his voice. He’d called her wildflower while laying her in bed only a few days ago, and she wanted to ask him about that. She took a step closer to him, a tingle running up her arm and settling in her shoulder in anticipation of touching him.
Her fingers finally made contact with his wrist, and then she slid them up his forearm. “He’ll be okay, Reeves.”
He didn’t look away from her, but he swallowed mightily. “I was wondering,” he said, his voice low and almost rusty. “If you’d ever want to go to dinner with me.” His voice didn’t pitch up like a question, and he stayed steady and calm as he stood there in front of her.
Bailey blinked, equally surprised and thrilled at the idea of a dinner date with the delicious Reeves Durham.