“I’m not the one you need to convince, Doc.”
As if on cue, the door opened, and a man in blue scrubs covered by a white lab coat strode in. “Mrs. Hunnicutt? How are you feeling?”
“That’sDoctorHunnicutt,” Reece corrected. “She’s our town vet.”
Neve’s eyes darted to Reece, and he gave her an innocent shrug as he relinquished her hand. Yeah, he’d checked her in as Dr. Hunnicutt instead of Dr. Embry.
She recited her list of symptoms while the doctor examined her eyes, her digits, and prompted her with questions.
“Good thing your husband’s an EMT,” he remarked.
“Search and rescue,” she corrected. “Even better.” The look she sent Reece was filled with admiration so profound his chest ballooned.
The doctor gave Reece a head bob. “Had he not given your injuries the attention they needed, we might have been talking about surgery for the arm and a less pleasant outcome for your fingers and toes. The frostbite could have been worse if your husband hadn’t warmed up the affected areas immediately and in the proper way.”
She nodded. “I remember him bundling my hands and feet with warmers.”
Reece had layered them between cloths for the hour-and-a-half drive to Montrose; he’d also made her drink a thermos of hot tea. Mercifully, she’d slept for most of the drive.
The doctor went on to fill in blanks for her that Reece had already heard. She had a fractured humerus and a broken radius—impact from the crash, the doctor theorized—and she was lucky those broken bones were the worst of the damage. Ironically, the drug had made Neve’s muscles rag-doll-relaxed, so she’d survived the ejection from the vehicle—unlike Bunting. He went on to explain how the phenomenon was similar to a drunk driver walking away from an accident they caused while leaving fatalities in their wake.
The doctor made a few notes in his chart. “Well, I think you should be able to go home this afternoon, Dr. Hunnicutt.” He looked at Reece. “The ketamine appears to be completely out of her system, which was the last of my concerns. There may be residual effects, so I’ll give you a list of symptoms to watch for. You give me a call if you notice anything,” He handed Reece a card. “Otherwise, we’ll see you in a few weeks for a look at that arm.”
The moment he left the room, Neve gave Reece a blistering look. “You changed my last name?” He couldn’t tell if she was putting on an act or if she was truly annoyed.
“Seemed easier, and they didn’t fight me on staying with you that way.” He flashed her his most boyish grin.
“Who’s watching Pearl?”
“She’s making the rounds between her canine cousins’ houses, then she’ll hang with Grandma and Grandpa. She’s having a ball, and she’s earned it after helping me find you.”
“I never thought of pit bulls as trackers.”
“I don’t know that she’s atracker-tracker, but she was single-minded in getting to you. Oh, and with her gone, Mr. Whiskers is enjoying some much-needed alone time. But don’t worry. Cade promised to stop by at least twice today to make sure he has food and water.”
“Kitties don’t needthatmuch attention.”
“Maybe, but Cade needs his cat fix, so I’d call it a win-win.”
She turned her head and looked out the window at the late-morning sky, thoughts seeming to stream through her head until one caught. “I wonder what happened to him and where he belongs.”
“We’ll probably never figure out how he got injured, but wedoknow that he belongs with you or me.” He cocked his head. “I think it’s time you took him off your website.”
Her light brown brows knotted together. “You’re volunteering to be his forever home?” He nodded. “What about Vermont?”
“Who says a cat can’t move cross-country?”
“Oh. I guess that’s true.” She eased back against her pillows and shifted her eyes back toward the window. A faraway look clouded them.
“Neve, there’s something we need to talk—”
The door swung open. “Hey, hey, hey! How’s my favorite doc?” Shane strolled in, a grin stretching from ear to ear and a huge bouquet of flowersin his hand. In his other hand, he held a small bag that he lifted in Reece’s direction. “Hailey packed this with Neve’s stuff, like you asked.” Dropping the bag, Shane bent down and kissed Neve on the cheek. Unlike Reece’s disheveled appearance and ripe smell, Shane looked freshly showered and shaved—like he was going out on a date. “Glad to see the sparkle’s back in your eyes. How’re you feeling?”
Wiggling to a seated position, she gave him a warm smile that set Reece’s teeth on edge. “Not bad, considering. Are those for me? They’re beautiful.”
He thrust them at her like a proud kid. “Just like you. Picked ’em out special on my way here.”
Reece gave a mild snort. Shane made it sound as if he’d hand-selected each bloom when they both knew all he’d really done was stop at a grocery store and grab the first bouquet in a bucket.
