Missed opportunities #2
The best treatment option would have been to send her straight to a veterinary hospital, and he had alerted his family in Inverness.
But the farmer felt conflicted about the whole ordeal, and Kendrick couldn’t blame him.
The horse was twenty-seven years old and the surgery would cost a lot of money, without a positive outcome guaranteed or even particularly likely.
So Kendrick had done what he could to make the mare more comfortable: he had inserted a nasogastric tube to allow any gases and fluids to escape, injected antispasmodic medication and painkillers and taken turns with the farmer to walk her around the yard in the cold and drizzle throughout half the night.
Unfortunately to no avail. Her blood pressure continued to go down, and at a certain point Kendrick had to acknowledge that she would not make it.
By then, it was too late to bring her to the animal hospital for emergency surgery.
The old farmer, who had seen so many animals come and go in his lifetime, had known it too.
So they had taken the faithful horse to her favourite paddock, and under the shelter of a mighty old oak tree, Kendrick had administered the lethal dose of painkillers and anaesthetic.
Putting animals down was the worst part of his job.
No matter how often it happened, he would never get used to it.
Then again, it was the last service he could do for a suffering creature.
He always felt the pain and despair of the owners as if they were his own, and often enough he cried along with them, no matter who might consider it unprofessional.
Most of his family had a better grip on their emotions in such situations and often implored him not to take it all too much to heart.
But how was that supposed to work? He didn’t know.
Maybe these feelings were the reason he didn’t have his own pet.
He’d been talking about getting a dog for years, and he liked the idea of a dog to keep him company on long cross-country drives and lonely nights.
Then again, how often had he declined to adopt a puppy at the last minute?
Heavens, maybe he really did need to get a grip?
Then he remembered that he had recently become a horse owner, and his anxiety soared to the next level.
Whether Azzedine would make a full recovery was still unclear.
Kendrick sat in the car in his ruined suit – the change of clothes he usually kept in the van freshly washed and drying on the washing line back home – and drove slowly along the deserted country road back to Kirkby.
When Rupert’s stables came into view, he briefly wondered if he could stop and check on his horse.
He felt an almost overwhelming urge to do so but decided against it, remembering the new security system that would undoubtedly alert Rupert as soon as he opened the stable door.
He had the code, but Rupert wasn’t going to leave anything to chance after the experience with the earl.
And what was Kendrick supposed to tell him if they met in the stable at one in the morning?
That he couldn’t resist the urge to check on Azzedine’s well-being right this minute?
No, that was a conversation he’d rather not have, even if Rupert would understand better than most.
So Kendrick drove on. Isla’s restaurant lay dark, but there was still a light on in her flat.
He hoped that the evening had gone well and imagined her talking it through with Jon, perhaps even celebrating her great achievement.
It was nice to have a person to share things with, successes and failures alike.
All of a sudden, he missed Glenna more fiercely than he had even right after the break-up.
They may not have been cut out to be lovers, but they had been best friends, and she had always been there for him when he came home from one of his nightly visits to a patient.
She had comforted him when he hadn’t been able to save an animal, had rejoiced with him when a difficult birth had gone well.
She had made him tea – no matter what time of day or night – and listened patiently to his retelling of the event.
And he had done the same for her. Glenna was the best veterinary surgeon he knew, but even she couldn’t save every patient.
When the worst happened, it had been up to him to hold her tightly and make her tea.
He had listened to her going over every detail and every step of the surgery again and again.
He really missed that. Damn! Here he was, alone with an empty, far too large house, while his ex now found all these things in Davina, and with a satisfying love life on top of it!
Wait a moment! Phyllis Montgomery was in Kirkby right now, at this very moment, holding a workshop – and he wasn’t part of it?
Alice Fraser gave Kendrick an amused look.
It was midday on Friday and the vet had swung by the stables after his morning appointments to check on Azzedine.
The swelling had gone down visibly on three of his legs, but the front right leg still looked pretty bad.
Kendrick reckoned that his horse must be in considerable pain, but the gelding was as friendly as ever and didn’t resist the medical treatment.
If anything, the gelding was possibly more even-tempered since the alpaca had been keeping him company.
Rupert had seen the two sticking close together even when they were outside in the paddock.
Kendrick knew they wouldn’t be box mates forever, as Azzedine would be joining the other horses in the paddock as soon as he was well enough to – literally – horse around with his peers again.
And Shona would probably want Nessie back any day now too.
But for the time being, the arrangement was a win-win.
Rupert invited him for lunch and Kendrick happily accepted, as he hadn’t got round to eating anything yet.
He hadn’t been to a supermarket in a while, just grabbing a bite for breakfast at the bakery in the morning.
The bakery which, to his surprise, he had found closed today.
As he enjoyed the first few bites of a fabulous shepherd’s pie, Alice had told him the reason: the famous Phyllis Montgomery was teaching a Highland dance workshop right here in Kirkby, which her girls had joined.
So for once, Kristy couldn’t feed Kirkby’s hungry morning crowd.
That seemed fair. If he had known about this opportunity, he would have postponed any appointments and transferred the emergency service to the animal hospital as well. Too bad he hadn’t known!
“Are you saying you dance?” Alice asked with a puzzled expression, and Rupert let out an unintelligible grunt.
“I do. I was in a dance class with my sisters all through school and I even carried on a bit when I went to university. Heavens, Phyllis Montgomery!” He sighed.
“I would have bet on many things about you, but no’ that you’re a dancer,” muttered Rupert, and it wasn’t quite clear if he was enjoying the idea or snorting disdainfully.
“Highland dancing is one of our most beautiful traditions and, contrary to popular belief, there is nothing unmanly about it. In the past, these dances were mainly performed by men. The warriors of the clans ...”
“I dinnae need a history lesson, lad. I know our customs well enough,” Rupert interrupted and held up his hands placatingly.
His smile was now definitely friendly. “I’m all for upholding traditions.
I just never had you down as a dancer. You look more like you’d throw tree trunks or pull ropes or something. ”
“Rupert, what silly prejudice is that?” Alice scolded her husband. “Just because you have two left feet and brute strength doesnae mean other men are without finesse. Marlin, as we know ...”
“Here we go again! For forty years, I’ve been listening to my wife praising my brother as this great dancer. I’ve heard enough!” Rupert rolled his eyes, but the corners of his mouth twitched.
Kendrick revelled in their banter, but he was still peeved about missing out on a workshop with Phyllis Montgomery right here and now. “I wonder how I missed the announcement …”
“You didnae. It wasnae really advertised. Colleen somehow talked her into performing tomorrow at the festival and teaching this workshop today. No idea how the lass did it. But Phyllis Montgomery only agreed to a class for ten people, and those spots went faster than Colleen could put them on the website.” Alice smiled sympathetically.
“If Colleen had known about your passion for dancing, I know she would have saved you a spot.”
Kendrick sighed. “Aye, it’s a shame, but nothing to be done about it now. I’m impressed Colleen pulled off such a feat. She must be very convincing. As far as I know, Phyllis only teaches at her own studio on the Isle of Skye, and she hasn’t performed publicly in a while.”
“Colleen looks so sweet and innocent, but when she set’s her mind on something, she winnae let it go. Determination is a good skill to have when you live with three Frasers and work for the mayor.” Alice winked mischievously.
“Anyway, it’s great she will perform at the harvest festival tomorrow. I can’t wait to see her dance. I’ll definitely put the animal hospital on call for emergencies. There’s no way I’m going to miss out on this one.”
“Good idea. I heard about old Johnson’s horse over in Eskadale. Horrible, that sort of thing. And in the middle of the night, too.” Alice patted his arm comfortingly.
“Quite,” he admitted. “And such a pity I didn’t get to have Isla’s menu. Everybody said it was sensational.” Everybody in this case was Jon, who had told him all about the evening yesterday.