Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 69468 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69468 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Chapter Eleven
Carson
Jude was a pleasure to road trip with, and the hours passed quickly until we arrived in Fort Collins in the early afternoon. Even with several stops to check on the horses and to eat ourselves, we’d managed to outrun the worst of the heat. Traffic had predictably thickened as soon as we’d hit the Denver suburbs. I’d done most of my rehab in more central Denver, and despite growing up in the state, I’d never spent much time in Fort Collins, a smaller college town right outside metro Denver. As Jude navigated traffic, I took in the sprawling college campus, which was in full gear-up mode for the fall term. The veterinary school was comprised of multiple buildings and centers, including the equine hospital where we were headed.
“Wow.” I whistled as we arrived at the huge, gleaming glass-and-metal complex.
Second Chance Ranch had a world-class reputation as horse breeders, and the horse facility was accordingly large and modern. However, the equine hospital dwarfed the ranch’s operation several times over with an almost futuristic feel. Rather than unloading outside as I’d expected, an attendant raised a huge door and waved us into a spacious, covered loading bay.
“Phew. We made it.” Jude let out a long sigh as he turned off the engine. “It’ll be a relief to get the horses situated.”
“Yep.” I followed him out of the truck and around to the back of the trailer. “Tell me what you need.”
Despite being plenty used to being in charge and giving orders, I was happy to follow Jude’s lead. He was far more affable than many commanding officers I’d served under. As much as I missed being able to help with the driving, I enjoyed how Jude made me feel useful for more than conversation.
“I need to talk to the stable manager first and find out which stalls they’ve assigned us to.” Jude gestured toward a nearby office area surrounded by the cleanest stalls I’d ever seen. “If you want to check on the horses in the meantime, I’ll be right back.”
Jude returned in short order, accompanied by a tall woman around our age with long dark-blonde hair and well-worn boots. She showed us to two neighboring stalls where the horses could wait until we were summoned to one of the exam rooms. I let Jude handle the bulk of the small talk with the manager while I led RC and Linus to their temporary homes. I settled them in with food and water. Linus stamped around and shook his head, more restless and anxious than usual.
Brushing often seemed to soothe him, so I set to making him more comfortable. As I was working him over with the curry comb, Jude returned to the stall, this time alone.
“The drive certainly didn’t do Linus any favors, but you’re awfully good with him.” Jude was generous as always with praise. I was getting used to his compliments, even if they did make my skin heat.
“Calm will help the exam,” I said as I continued grooming him. I wanted the doctors to find what was ailing Linus without getting distracted by his unease after the long drive.
“Absolutely.” Jude nodded his agreement as he moved toward the stall opening. “You keep working with him, and I’ll see if the medical team can start with RC to give Linus a little more time.”
“Sounds good.” I continued soothing Linus, getting lost in the task as Jude made his way to the office. He returned with a coffee refill for us both and confirmation that RC would be first up.
As we finished the coffee, a male tech with a closely cropped fade summoned us to bring RC to an exam room. Like the rest of the facility, the room was spacious and pristine. It had a narrow stall with room around all four sides to house RC for his exam, and a variety of medical equipment lining both walls.
After we got RC situated, the medical team, consisting of an internal medicine attending doctor, a resident, and two vet students, joined the tech. Suddenly, the large room seemed much smaller. Beside me, Jude went unusually tense, back stiffening and mouth thinning out to a narrow line.
“Jude.” The attending doctor was around Jude’s age, or perhaps in his early forties, with silver temples and a pompous attitude I immediately didn’t like.
“Scott.” Jude offered the same sort of terse greeting.
Scott gestured at the resident, a small woman with short dark hair. “Doctor Song will run the exam.”
Jude stayed tense throughout the exam. I hung back at the corner of the room and let him handle the medical questions, but I tried to radiate some invisible support in his direction. After the team conferred with the attending, Dr. Song announced that they would perform a biopsy with the hope of removing the lump if it was benign. While they prepared the local anesthetic for the biopsy, the tech directed us to bring Linus to a different exam room, so he could be seen after the team finished with RC.