Read Online Nacho Figueras Presents by Jessica Whitman - Free Book Online

quickly can we get her to an X-ray?”
    “Minutes. They’re calling for an ambulance now.” He clenched his jaw as he saw the sweat foaming on the pony’s neck.
    “She’s in pain. I should have acted sooner,” muttered Georgia.
    Rory ran onto the field, carrying Gustavo’s medical bag, which he gave to Georgia. “I couldn’t find Gus,” he said to Alejandro.
    Georgia tore the bag open and riffled through it, pulling a fresh pair of gloves from their packet. She loaded a syringe and looked up and met Alejandro’s eyes. He looked back at her for a second, hoping to hell that he could trust this woman, and then gave a barely perceptible nod of permission, and she quickly found the vein.
    Stress made the moment seem like forever but it was probably only seconds before the pony showed signs of some relief. As MacKenzie was being loaded onto the stretcher, Gustavo finally showed up. He strode over, Dr. Evan trailing unsteadily behind him.
    “What the hell is going on?” Gustavo demanded.
    Georgia briefed Gustavo quickly on her diagnosis and the dose of drug she’d given. Gustavo’s face flooded puce. “You gave that horse a shot? Are you insane? Who told you to do that?”
    Alejandro looked up at Gustavo. “I did,” he said icily. “In the absence of any alternative.”
    “That’s astoundingly irresponsible,” sputtered Gustavo. “She might have done irreparable damage!”
    “That pony was in agony,” Georgia said in frustration. “I couldn’t just stand by.”
    She peeled off her latex gloves and held out Gustavo’s bag to him. In outrage, Gustavo looked to Alejandro. Alejandro coldly nodded at him to take the bag, and then turned to board the ambulance. Gustavo made to follow, but Alejandro stopped him before he got on.
    “You reek of booze, amigo ,” he said quietly. “You’re in no condition to take care of this animal.” He looked at Georgia. “Will you come? I’d like for you to talk to the vet at the emergency clinic.”
    Georgia nodded mutely and climbed in beside him. The last thing Alejandro saw before the doors slammed shut was Gustavo’s face, absolute rage in his eyes.

Chapter Fifteen
    I t was quiet in the waiting room. Georgia had briefed the emergency vets as soon as they had arrived, and Alejandro had filled out all the paperwork, telling the senior surgeon to do whatever was necessary to help his horse.
    Alejandro leaned back and closed his eyes. The ambulance ride, the interminable wait, it all hurled him relentlessly back to the night of Olivia’s accident. He remembered the medevac helicopter that had transferred him with his wife from the farm. Valentina’s little face, her nanny’s arms around her, as she looked up at the chopper in flight.
    It had been a nightmarish ride, listening to the medics radio ahead about Olivia’s condition. “Pupils fully dilated. Nonresponsive.” He remembered willing his wife to make it, calling on every ancestor in memory and every last remnant of his childhood Catholic God, as the lights of the city finally came into view and they landed on the hospital roof. He’d climbed out of the cabin beneath the helicopter’s whirring blades and followed his wife’s gurney into the bright, cold light.
    He opened his eyes and glanced over at Georgia. Her pretty face was pale, her shirt was torn at the shoulder, and there were grass stains all down the front of her pants. She smiled wearily at him. There were purple shadows under her hazel eyes. “I think she’ll be all right,” she said softly. “I think she’ll compete again. We caught it in time.”
    He shook his head ruefully. “You caught it in time. Not me.”
    “Well, you were playing, so of course you couldn’t see, and Rory—”
    “Rory shouldn’t have been riding her. She’s my pony, but I loaned her to him. I thought that it might give him a little inspiration. I wanted the win. I should have been paying better attention.”
    Georgia frowned and looked as if she was going