Read Online Crying for the Moon by Sarah Madison - Free Book Online
Authors: Sarah Madison
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in this small community, homosexuality wasn’t exactly embraced with open arms. That Tate would be so open with him was humbling. He also understood with sudden clarity the protective coloring of Tate’s sloppy manner of dress. “I’m, um, between things at the moment.”
Tate nodded in commiseration. “Things are tough for a lot of people right now. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help, okay?”
Alex found this unexpectedly touching, even as the offer struck him as extremely ironic. “Thanks. So, what did you do today?”
Tate accepted the redirection of topic without batting an eye.
“Today, I saw a little dog that had been bitten by a copperhead.” The gleam in his eye was far too amused for the story to have an unhappy ending, Alex realized.
“Really?” Alex felt no hardship in supplying the required prompting. In fact, it felt like he’d been Tate’s sidekick for years. “Is that fairly common around here?”
“It’s not unusual. A little late in the season, but the owners had recently moved their woodpile, so Sparky must have disturbed the place where it had been holed up. I seldom see any fatalities with copperheads, though you can never take them lightly. This past summer we saw a couple of dogs die from snakebite, even with antivenin, but I strongly suspect a rattlesnake had bitten those dogs. The attacks had all occurred at higher elevations and I think the drought is driving the snakes down farther than usual. Anyway, the snakebite dogs usually come in with a big, fat, swollen leg. Sometimes, it’s their face, if they put their nose on the snake and get bitten there instead.” Tate took a swallow of his soda and chased a French fry around his plate for the last of the ketchup.
“The first four to six hours are the most critical,” he said, munching on the fry. “A lot of the time, that window of time has passed before the client realizes there’s a problem. Usually by the time I see them, we’re talking about mostly tissue damage and infection.” He paused, frowning. “I’m not grossing you out talking about this kind of thing over food, am I?”
Alex couldn’t help but smile. “I’m not very squeamish.”
Tate’s face lit up with relief. He rubbed the end of his nose ruefully. “Good. I’ve been known to clear out entire restaurants blithely discussing cases over dinner. Anyway, so this dog’s been bitten and I’m trying to talk to the client about the implications of this, as well as the treatment, but she interrupts me. She tells me it’s impossible for Sparky to have been bitten by a snake because she has invisible fencing.”
Tate’s eyes sparkled with mischief. He was obviously waiting for Alex to comment on the ridiculousness of this assertion but when Alex said nothing, he continued. “You know, the radio-controlled fencing that keeps dogs in the yard when they wear the receiver on a collar?”
Alex knew. He’d seen the commercials. He just couldn’t believe that the client didn’t understand how they worked. “What did you say to her?” He smiled, shaking his head.
“I told her it’s not a force field , for crying out loud!”
They both laughed.
“Maybe she needs to buy some little collars for the snakes,” Alex suggested, just as Tate was taking another sip of his drink. Tate choked and had to wipe his chin.
A moment later, Tate pushed back his plate, obviously done with dinner. Alex felt unexpectedly disappointed when he couldn’t think of any way to prolong the evening. This has been fun , Alex thought, as they got ready to leave. “You’re not taking that with you?” He pointed at Tate’s plate.
Tate had left part of his sandwich and some fries behind. He wrinkled his nose. “I’m not so good with leftovers. Besides, it’s not enough for another meal. I could box it up and take it to Peter, though.” He grinned briefly and picked up his coat but did not put it on, folding it over one arm instead. “I need to stop by the
Tate nodded in commiseration. “Things are tough for a lot of people right now. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help, okay?”
Alex found this unexpectedly touching, even as the offer struck him as extremely ironic. “Thanks. So, what did you do today?”
Tate accepted the redirection of topic without batting an eye.
“Today, I saw a little dog that had been bitten by a copperhead.” The gleam in his eye was far too amused for the story to have an unhappy ending, Alex realized.
“Really?” Alex felt no hardship in supplying the required prompting. In fact, it felt like he’d been Tate’s sidekick for years. “Is that fairly common around here?”
“It’s not unusual. A little late in the season, but the owners had recently moved their woodpile, so Sparky must have disturbed the place where it had been holed up. I seldom see any fatalities with copperheads, though you can never take them lightly. This past summer we saw a couple of dogs die from snakebite, even with antivenin, but I strongly suspect a rattlesnake had bitten those dogs. The attacks had all occurred at higher elevations and I think the drought is driving the snakes down farther than usual. Anyway, the snakebite dogs usually come in with a big, fat, swollen leg. Sometimes, it’s their face, if they put their nose on the snake and get bitten there instead.” Tate took a swallow of his soda and chased a French fry around his plate for the last of the ketchup.
“The first four to six hours are the most critical,” he said, munching on the fry. “A lot of the time, that window of time has passed before the client realizes there’s a problem. Usually by the time I see them, we’re talking about mostly tissue damage and infection.” He paused, frowning. “I’m not grossing you out talking about this kind of thing over food, am I?”
Alex couldn’t help but smile. “I’m not very squeamish.”
Tate’s face lit up with relief. He rubbed the end of his nose ruefully. “Good. I’ve been known to clear out entire restaurants blithely discussing cases over dinner. Anyway, so this dog’s been bitten and I’m trying to talk to the client about the implications of this, as well as the treatment, but she interrupts me. She tells me it’s impossible for Sparky to have been bitten by a snake because she has invisible fencing.”
Tate’s eyes sparkled with mischief. He was obviously waiting for Alex to comment on the ridiculousness of this assertion but when Alex said nothing, he continued. “You know, the radio-controlled fencing that keeps dogs in the yard when they wear the receiver on a collar?”
Alex knew. He’d seen the commercials. He just couldn’t believe that the client didn’t understand how they worked. “What did you say to her?” He smiled, shaking his head.
“I told her it’s not a force field , for crying out loud!”
They both laughed.
“Maybe she needs to buy some little collars for the snakes,” Alex suggested, just as Tate was taking another sip of his drink. Tate choked and had to wipe his chin.
A moment later, Tate pushed back his plate, obviously done with dinner. Alex felt unexpectedly disappointed when he couldn’t think of any way to prolong the evening. This has been fun , Alex thought, as they got ready to leave. “You’re not taking that with you?” He pointed at Tate’s plate.
Tate had left part of his sandwich and some fries behind. He wrinkled his nose. “I’m not so good with leftovers. Besides, it’s not enough for another meal. I could box it up and take it to Peter, though.” He grinned briefly and picked up his coat but did not put it on, folding it over one arm instead. “I need to stop by the
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