Read Online Washed Away by Carol Marinelli - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Carol Marinelli
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blanket tightly around her shoulders, he smiled down at her. “I’m just cleaning your cheek. You’ve got a nasty cut there.”
Still no response, but Noah knew she wasn’t unconscious now, just in a deep, well-earned sleep. And though he’d have preferred to sit with her and reassure her as she came around, there was too much he needed to do, given the approaching storm. “I’m just going to the clinic next door to check on the animals, then I’ll be right back.”
He turned to Madge. He had finally relented and let the dogs out of the kitchen. “Watch, girl,” he ordered Madge as he picked up the dressing pack he had used to suture Cheryl’s cheek. The second she started to wake, his faithful dog would come and alert him.
Even with the backup generator, the lights were subdued, and the clinic felt eerie as the animals paced in their cages, unsettled and anxious. It took Noah some time to settle them before he could finally concentrate on Cheryl’s dog. He’d forced the little mutt to come with him for fear he’d jump on his mistress once Noah was gone. At last he picked up the loyal creature, but as he did, Noah felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. There were knots of matted hair beneath his fingers, and protruding ribs that had nothing to do with breeding.
“Hey.” He gently soothed the trembling dog. “I’m on your side, buddy.”
Noah could forgive most things. Ignorance he could understand, and plain stupidity was sometimes enough of an excuse for an unkempt, hungry pet. But the welts that littered the shivering body he held in his hands had been caused be repeated beatings. Noah’s stomach turned over. He could hardly believe that the womanwho lay on his couch could be responsible for this dog’s injuries.
It would be like finding out Santa Claus wasn’t real. Okay, he’d been a late learner, Noah acknowledged with a dry smile. His dad had been working up to giving him a lecture on shaving when his mom had finally bitten the bullet and told him that a guy in a red suit with a white beard didn’t really climb down the chimney at Christmas.
“No way!” The words whistled through his lips. No way was the woman who lay on his couch responsible for this. Turning on the clippers, he set to work on the dog, bile churning in his stomach as he shaved the matted hair and tended the multitude of wounds, both old and new. And despite the evidence stacked against her, despite the altercation at the gas station, Noah knew that the woman he had briefly met would never treat another living creature with such contempt.
T HE FIRST THING her eyes focused on was a rabbit.
A happy rabbit, Cheryl thought sleepily. Nose twitching, tail thumping, it perched on the coffee table, staring down at her. The strangest part for Cheryl was that the vision of the furry creature didn’t throw up a single question in her mind, just brought a lazy smile to her lips as she tried to roll over and slip back into the blissful dream she could only hazily recall. And she would have made it if the simple maneuver hadn’t caused a loud rustle. Her eyes flicked back open, and she stared in utter confusion at her body, which was wrapped in tinfoil like some Thanksgiving turkey.
“Welcome back to the world.” A man with a grim, tired face was looking down at her, a black dog in his hands. The little animal seemed to recognize her and jumped down onto her stomach, circling furiously before nestling in the hollow of her lap with a contented sigh.
“Where am…” Her voice petered out, the cliché to end all clichés right there on the tip of her tongue. But Cheryl wanted to work that question out for herself.
“You’re at my home.” Clear blue eyes stared down at her. “I brought you here. I’m a veterinarian.”
That really didn’t help her.
“You had an accident. You cut your cheek and needed some stitches. Just a few,” he added as her hand shot to her cheek. “I’ll find you a mirror soon, so you can
Still no response, but Noah knew she wasn’t unconscious now, just in a deep, well-earned sleep. And though he’d have preferred to sit with her and reassure her as she came around, there was too much he needed to do, given the approaching storm. “I’m just going to the clinic next door to check on the animals, then I’ll be right back.”
He turned to Madge. He had finally relented and let the dogs out of the kitchen. “Watch, girl,” he ordered Madge as he picked up the dressing pack he had used to suture Cheryl’s cheek. The second she started to wake, his faithful dog would come and alert him.
Even with the backup generator, the lights were subdued, and the clinic felt eerie as the animals paced in their cages, unsettled and anxious. It took Noah some time to settle them before he could finally concentrate on Cheryl’s dog. He’d forced the little mutt to come with him for fear he’d jump on his mistress once Noah was gone. At last he picked up the loyal creature, but as he did, Noah felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. There were knots of matted hair beneath his fingers, and protruding ribs that had nothing to do with breeding.
“Hey.” He gently soothed the trembling dog. “I’m on your side, buddy.”
Noah could forgive most things. Ignorance he could understand, and plain stupidity was sometimes enough of an excuse for an unkempt, hungry pet. But the welts that littered the shivering body he held in his hands had been caused be repeated beatings. Noah’s stomach turned over. He could hardly believe that the womanwho lay on his couch could be responsible for this dog’s injuries.
It would be like finding out Santa Claus wasn’t real. Okay, he’d been a late learner, Noah acknowledged with a dry smile. His dad had been working up to giving him a lecture on shaving when his mom had finally bitten the bullet and told him that a guy in a red suit with a white beard didn’t really climb down the chimney at Christmas.
“No way!” The words whistled through his lips. No way was the woman who lay on his couch responsible for this. Turning on the clippers, he set to work on the dog, bile churning in his stomach as he shaved the matted hair and tended the multitude of wounds, both old and new. And despite the evidence stacked against her, despite the altercation at the gas station, Noah knew that the woman he had briefly met would never treat another living creature with such contempt.
T HE FIRST THING her eyes focused on was a rabbit.
A happy rabbit, Cheryl thought sleepily. Nose twitching, tail thumping, it perched on the coffee table, staring down at her. The strangest part for Cheryl was that the vision of the furry creature didn’t throw up a single question in her mind, just brought a lazy smile to her lips as she tried to roll over and slip back into the blissful dream she could only hazily recall. And she would have made it if the simple maneuver hadn’t caused a loud rustle. Her eyes flicked back open, and she stared in utter confusion at her body, which was wrapped in tinfoil like some Thanksgiving turkey.
“Welcome back to the world.” A man with a grim, tired face was looking down at her, a black dog in his hands. The little animal seemed to recognize her and jumped down onto her stomach, circling furiously before nestling in the hollow of her lap with a contented sigh.
“Where am…” Her voice petered out, the cliché to end all clichés right there on the tip of her tongue. But Cheryl wanted to work that question out for herself.
“You’re at my home.” Clear blue eyes stared down at her. “I brought you here. I’m a veterinarian.”
That really didn’t help her.
“You had an accident. You cut your cheek and needed some stitches. Just a few,” he added as her hand shot to her cheek. “I’ll find you a mirror soon, so you can
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