Read Online The Curvy Vet and the Billionaire Cowboy (He Wanted Me Pregnant!) by Victoria Wessex - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Victoria Wessex
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midnight, Russ noticed her breathing was quieter. “Does that mean she’s improving?” he asked.
His voice was so hopeful, I almost wanted to lie to him. This is a shitty, shitty job, I thought. “No,” I said. “It means the paralysis is setting in. Her lymph nodes are swollen so much her throat is closing up. She can’t breathe.”
He looked at me, aghast. “ Do something!” He was trying to keep his voice low so as not to scare the horse, but I could see he was starting to lose it.
I shook my head. “There’s nothing I can do! I’m sorry, Russ.”
He slumped down on the ground. I sat down too, the horse between us, and listened to her breath growing fainter and fainter. I knew that I wasn’t supposed to get attached, as a vet, and when it does happen it’s usually some animal you’ve been treating for years, not one you’ve just met. But this horse meant the world to Russ…and now, to me, too.
By morning, she’d be dead. Russ was going to have his heart broken twice in one day, all thanks to me.
Chapter 9
I leaned forward and put my head on my knees in despair, hot tears rolling down my cheeks. Take a chance, people had been saying to me my whole life. And just once, I’d taken one. Just once, I’d dared to think that a man could like me. And look how it had worked out.
The tears were running freely, now, dripping down my cheeks and falling to the grass like the first drops of rain. This was only the beginning. Tomorrow, we’d have to have that horrible, awkward conversation, with me making it clear I wasn’t the sort of woman he thought. I couldn’t live in the country and have kids and marry some guy! It was all too much, too fast, and about seventeen worlds away from what I knew.
I listened to the horse’s desperate, labored breathing. Some vet I was. I couldn’t even help her breathe. If I was just back in Cheyenne, in an operating theater—
Everything seemed to slow to a stop.
“Shit,” I said quietly.
In the near-darkness, I heard Russ turn. “What?”
I’d taken one chance, and it had ruined everything. Now the question was: was I brave enough to take another one.
The tears were still running down my face, but they were slowing. I wiped them away and shook my head. “I have an idea,” I said. “And I wish I hadn’t, because it scares the hell out of me.”
I took a long, slow breath, trying to stop the tears…and control my rising panic.
“What is it?” Russ asked.
“She’ll breathe okay if we can just open up her airway,” I said. Then, not quite believing I was saying it, “I could try to intubate her.” I lifted my head and looked at him.
“That’s where you put a tube down her throat?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“What do you need, to do it?”
I looked around at the dirt and the rocks. “An operating theater,” I said in a neutral tone. I looked at the lanterns, barely pushing back the gloom. “Lots of light, so I can see what I’m doing.” I looked at the horse, still delirious and thrashing on the ground. “And the horse needs to be sedated.”
He looked at me. “Can you do it?”
“I have no idea. I’ve never tried to do it like…this. You’re going to have to hold her.”
I pulled out the intubation kit. I’d only brought it out of habit. Actually using it in the field hadn’t crossed my mind. Certainly not in the dark. Certainly not on a feral, delirious, un-sedated horse.
“Can’t you give her a shot of something, to calm her down?” asked Russ. He looked as scared for me as he did for the horse and I didn’t blame him. I could easily wind up with a mangled hand or a hoof through my skull.
“Too late,” I said. “From the way she’s breathing, we do this now or not at all. I just wish I’d thought of it sooner.” Yeah, looks like it’s my day for regrets.
Russ hung the lanterns where they’d do the most good and wrapped his arms around the horse. I didn’t know if he was going to be able to do much, if
His voice was so hopeful, I almost wanted to lie to him. This is a shitty, shitty job, I thought. “No,” I said. “It means the paralysis is setting in. Her lymph nodes are swollen so much her throat is closing up. She can’t breathe.”
He looked at me, aghast. “ Do something!” He was trying to keep his voice low so as not to scare the horse, but I could see he was starting to lose it.
I shook my head. “There’s nothing I can do! I’m sorry, Russ.”
He slumped down on the ground. I sat down too, the horse between us, and listened to her breath growing fainter and fainter. I knew that I wasn’t supposed to get attached, as a vet, and when it does happen it’s usually some animal you’ve been treating for years, not one you’ve just met. But this horse meant the world to Russ…and now, to me, too.
By morning, she’d be dead. Russ was going to have his heart broken twice in one day, all thanks to me.
Chapter 9
I leaned forward and put my head on my knees in despair, hot tears rolling down my cheeks. Take a chance, people had been saying to me my whole life. And just once, I’d taken one. Just once, I’d dared to think that a man could like me. And look how it had worked out.
The tears were running freely, now, dripping down my cheeks and falling to the grass like the first drops of rain. This was only the beginning. Tomorrow, we’d have to have that horrible, awkward conversation, with me making it clear I wasn’t the sort of woman he thought. I couldn’t live in the country and have kids and marry some guy! It was all too much, too fast, and about seventeen worlds away from what I knew.
I listened to the horse’s desperate, labored breathing. Some vet I was. I couldn’t even help her breathe. If I was just back in Cheyenne, in an operating theater—
Everything seemed to slow to a stop.
“Shit,” I said quietly.
In the near-darkness, I heard Russ turn. “What?”
I’d taken one chance, and it had ruined everything. Now the question was: was I brave enough to take another one.
The tears were still running down my face, but they were slowing. I wiped them away and shook my head. “I have an idea,” I said. “And I wish I hadn’t, because it scares the hell out of me.”
I took a long, slow breath, trying to stop the tears…and control my rising panic.
“What is it?” Russ asked.
“She’ll breathe okay if we can just open up her airway,” I said. Then, not quite believing I was saying it, “I could try to intubate her.” I lifted my head and looked at him.
“That’s where you put a tube down her throat?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“What do you need, to do it?”
I looked around at the dirt and the rocks. “An operating theater,” I said in a neutral tone. I looked at the lanterns, barely pushing back the gloom. “Lots of light, so I can see what I’m doing.” I looked at the horse, still delirious and thrashing on the ground. “And the horse needs to be sedated.”
He looked at me. “Can you do it?”
“I have no idea. I’ve never tried to do it like…this. You’re going to have to hold her.”
I pulled out the intubation kit. I’d only brought it out of habit. Actually using it in the field hadn’t crossed my mind. Certainly not in the dark. Certainly not on a feral, delirious, un-sedated horse.
“Can’t you give her a shot of something, to calm her down?” asked Russ. He looked as scared for me as he did for the horse and I didn’t blame him. I could easily wind up with a mangled hand or a hoof through my skull.
“Too late,” I said. “From the way she’s breathing, we do this now or not at all. I just wish I’d thought of it sooner.” Yeah, looks like it’s my day for regrets.
Russ hung the lanterns where they’d do the most good and wrapped his arms around the horse. I didn’t know if he was going to be able to do much, if
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