Chapter Five
River
River heard her phone ringing in her pocket as she approached a small craft store down one of the side streets. Mrs. Thompson hadn’t been in the town square with the others, but one of the women there said that she was at a store not far away.
She’d followed the directions and found that it didn’t take long to walk anywhere in the town.
And then her phone started to ring. She sighed to herself and decided to ignore it.
There was no one calling her that would desperately need her, and she didn’t want to get sidetracked from finding Mrs. Thompson again.
The phone rang off, but then instantly it started to ring again. River growled to herself and pulled her phone out of her pocket and answered it.
“Yes?” she demanded.
“River, it’s your Aunt Betty, dear. I just had a call from Daniel. He needs you to go to his office. He says he has an injured animal.”
River didn’t need to hear any more. She hung up the phone and spun round on the spot, half-walking, half-running back the way she had just come. She was out of breath by the time she reached the office, and Daniel was screeching to a halt outside of it.
“What happened?” River gasped.
“It’s a long story, but I hope you are ready to save a life,” Daniel said as he grabbed his jacket with the wounded animal inside it and rushed towards the door to the office.
River was two steps behind him and feeling very confused.
Daniel was already in a side room she hadn’t seen before. It looked like the room for minor surgery, and he was already preparing the room for her.
“I am going to need to hear that story,” River said slowly as she came into the room and saw the injured mongoose lying on the table.
“Save his life and I will tell you everything, I promise,” Daniel said. “Now tell me what you need.”
River was surprised by how well equipped the small surgery was. It seemed like Daniel could handle most things in the small room, aside from major surgery. But she supposed with the hospital so far away, it made sense that he was set up to deal with so much.
Every instrument River asked for, Daniel had and handed to her. The mongoose was surprisingly docile and well-behaved, so she only had to use a local anesthetic to stitch up the wound in its leg.
“How long will it take to heal?” Daniel asked.
“Around two weeks for it to knit the wound well,” River said as she washed her hands and took off the apron she had borrowed.
“Two weeks!” a voice from behind her screeched. She spun around to find herself staring at a very naked young man where her patient had been.
“What the hell!” River screamed, scrambling back and crashing into a cart full of equipment. She tumbled over it and landed on the floor.
“River, it’s okay, calm down. I will explain. Duncan, you moron. What did I say about not broadcasting?” Daniel said crossly.
“But she said it will take two weeks!” Duncan complained.
“No, it won’t. You’re a shifter, anything that takes normal humans and animals weeks takes us hours. You’ll be fine to shift back before it’s time for milking. We’ll make a show of you needing to be off your injured leg for a while, but right now, shift back, shut up and go to sleep.”
River’s eyes flicked nervously to the doctor, who was acting very much like this was normal. He took a deep breath before he slowly approached River.
“What the hell is going on, Daniel?” she snapped, rubbing her eyes and hoping very much she was about to wake up in her own bed.
“Come upstairs and I’ll explain everything,” Daniel said gently and offered her his hand.
With him so close to her and speaking so softly, River knew she couldn’t refuse this man anything, and as much as a voice in the back of her mind was screaming at her to run from him, she wouldn’t do it. Not now. Not ever. He made her feel…safe.
Which was probably proof she’d completely lost her mind.
Still, she accepted his hand, and warmth bloomed through her at his touch, spreading from her fingers straight to her racing heart.
He pulled her to her feet, but her legs weren’t quite back under her control and she staggered into him.
His arms came around her instantly, drawing her close against the solid warmth of his chest, holding her there a moment longer than necessary, and she found she didn’t mind at all.
Every part of her body cried out for his touch, wanted more for him, wanted all from him. When she didn’t move, Daniel picked her up in his strong arms and carried her up the stairs, her arms wrapped about his neck.
He carried River to the couch and gently laid her down on the upholstery.
“Where should I begin?” Daniel asked as he knelt beside her.
“You called him Duncan,” River said with a shake of her head.
“Yes, that’s Duncan Jones. He’s the son of Mary and Barry, they run the dairy farm, just out of town,” Daniel said.
“And does he normally…do that?” she asked. She was pretty sure her aunt would have mentioned something like that.
“He’s what’s known as a shifter,” Daniel said, watching her closely. “He has a human half and an animal half, and can take on either form. When in human form, they have better senses, better reactions, and better instincts that ordinary humans. We can also communicate between our two forms.”
“We?” It came out as a whisper. “You said we. So…you’re one, too?”
“Yes, I am,” Daniel said. His not quite calm eyes scanned her face. “I know this is a lot to take in, and I wouldn’t have chosen to tell you about this in this manner, but without you, Duncan was going to die. He had to shift to make his injuries less severe and you are the only vet for miles.”
“What happens if the cows at the dairy get sick if there isn’t a vet in town?” River asked, not believing what she was hearing.
“They get isolated and the vet gets here when they can. Sometimes it’s the same day, other times it’s a few days after. There’s not a lot of choice. Vets aren’t exactly lining up to live here,” Daniel said dryly.
“I need to get out of here. I need some air,” River said.
All this talk of shifting humans and frankly appalling veterinary care was making her feel sick and light-headed.
She wasn’t entirely convinced that Daniel hadn’t drugged her somehow and that everything she was seeing and hearing wasn’t a hallucination.
She made her way slowly to her feet and Daniel didn’t try to stop her.
That, she decided, was probably a good sign.
If he’d been up to no good, he’d have tried to stop her, right?
She walked down the stairs and straight out the front door.
The cold winter air hit here with a refreshing blast that instantly cleared away how sick she felt.
Forget Mrs. Thompson, I need to lie down, she thought and made her way back to Betty’s inn.
“Oh, good, did you help Daniel?” Betty asked as she saw River step through the door.
“Um, yes. I’m sorry, Betty, it’s been a long day. I need to lie down,” River said with distraction and walked away from her aunt without any further explanation. She trudged up the stairs and into room thirteen before Betty could say a word in reply.
River collapsed on the bed and hugged the pillow under her head.
Why? Why did she always have to fall for assholes? It wasn’t fair.
She cried for what seemed like hours but the clock on the wall told her it was closer to twenty minutes. When no more tears came, she lay on her side and stared out of the window at the sky. She felt exhausted and she felt her eye lids growing heavy. In no time at all, she was asleep.
When she woke up, it was dark outside. The curtains had been drawn and a small light was on in the corner of the room.
On top of the dresser, there was a tray filled with cold ham, cold turkey, potato salad, some potato chips, and three Christmas cookies.
There was a glass of milk and a note that simply read:
I’m here if you need me xx
Aunt Betty, you really are a wonder, River thought as she tucked into her cold supper. When she was finished, she lay back down and went to sleep, this time in her pjs and under the blankets.
In the corner of the room, her phone buzzed and flashed. She half opened her eyes to look at her phone, but decided that whatever it was, it could wait until morning.