Take Me Home (38 page)

Then she looked at Claire. “You are one amazing sister.”

“Darn right I am,” Claire said, turning away the compliment. All she had done was sell something she didn’t want anymore.

“Claire? You don’t look all that happy. Is something wrong?”

She couldn’t tell Holly the truth. She was afraid it would hurt her feelings to know that Claire would stay in Sanctuary for a man, but not for her sister. Besides, Holly had enough on her plate right now. Claire shoved back the creeping misery and pasted a smile on her face. “Nope, I’m just a little tired. Nothing that a chocolate chip cookie wouldn’t fix.”

“Would you rather have dough? I saved you some because you always liked it more than the cookies.”

As Claire dug her spoon into the thick, chip-laden dough her little sister had remembered she loved, she decided that Paul’s bourbon couldn’t possibly be any better for drowning her sorrows.

C
LAIRE ZIPPED UP
her red overnight bag and carried it down the steps to her kitchen. She checked that the coffeemaker was unplugged and the washing machine valve firmly closed so it wouldn’t flood the house while she made her quick visit to New York. She was leaving for the airport directly from the gallery after work.

She stood in the middle of the cozy room for a few moments, then sat down at the pine table and rested her head on top of her folded arms. Regret weighed so heavily on her it was hard to move.

The only bright spot in the past four days had been Holly’s face when the bank representative had handed her the mortgage papers with
Paid in full
printed on them. Her sister was growing stronger every day now that Frank’s shadow no longer hung over her. Knowing the house was hers seemed to speed the healing even more.

Other than that, all Claire had done was miss Tim and curse her own stupidity. She could be spending two more weeks of moonlit nights with him, and instead, she had pushed him into breaking off their relationship.

“Who am I trying to kid?” She shoved herself up from the table. “It wasn’t enough for me. I needed to know if we had a future.”

As she bent to pick up her bag again, her cell phone rang. Sharon’s name came up in the caller ID. Claire debated not
answering, but it was rare for her friend to call her so early in the morning.

“Claire, are you still in Sanctuary? I can’t remember when you said you were leaving for New York.”

“Yes, I’m here. I’m not leaving until after work.”

“Then you might want to come down to the stable now. Willow’s not doing so well. She’s been colicky for over an hour, and I’m about to call Dr. Tim.”

“Wait, why do you think I should come now? Isn’t colic treatable?”

“Well, it depends on the cause. Thing is, I’ve seen lots of cases, and this one looks pretty bad, especially because Willow isn’t as strong as she should be.”

“You mean she could
die
?”

“It’s possible.”

Sharon was not prone to exaggeration, so Claire felt her words like a knockout punch. “I’ll be right there.”

As she raced back up the stairs to change her clothes, Claire was already making the first call to rearrange her schedule. She would stay with her whisper horse for as long as it took to save her life.

Claire pulled into the stable parking lot in a spray of gravel. As she charged toward the barn, she saw Tim’s big tan pickup backed up to the open door. Dodging around it, she made sure to brace herself for the anguish of seeing him again.

It didn’t work.

He was hauling a large metal case out of the back of the truck and didn’t see her. She gave herself a moment to soak in the sight of him: the lock of hair falling over his forehead as he leaned forward, his focused gaze, the play of muscles across his
back. Longing ripped through her, and she had to wrap her arms around her waist and force herself to breathe in and out.

After a couple of breaths, she dropped her arms to walk around the truck’s back bumper. “Can I help?”

“Claire!” He let go of the case as though it had burned him and turned toward her. “What are you doing here?” He ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, that didn’t come out right. I just thought you’d be in New York by now.”

“Sharon told me Willow was sick. How is she?”

His expression became grim. “I’m afraid it’s a torsion in the colon. I want to do an ultrasound to make sure.”

“If it is, what’s the treatment?”

“Surgery.” He went back to wrestling the case out of the truck. “And in Willow’s condition, that’s going to be chancy at best. It might be kindest just to euthanize her.”

“No!” Claire couldn’t bear the thought of losing her whisper horse without a fight. “You’re a brilliant doctor, and I’ll take care of her after the surgery. She survived everything her horrible owner put her through, so she wants to live.”

“I reckon you have a point about that. She’s sure made a comeback.” He set the case down on its wheels and stood staring down at it as though he had forgotten what it was.

“Tim?” Claire was worried by his distracted air. “Is there something else I need to know about her condition?”

His gaze flicked to her face and away. “No, that’s it.” He grabbed the machine’s handle and headed toward Willow’s stall with it trundling along behind him. Claire got behind the box and helped push it through the thick sawdust.

As they approached the stall, she heard Sharon speaking in low, soothing tones. “Easy, girl, easy! Hang on, Willow, the doctor’s coming. He’ll make you better.”

The mare squealed above the sound of hooves thudding rapidly against the ground.

“What’s happening?” Claire asked Tim.

“Sharon’s keeping her on her feet, in case her colon isn’t already twisted. Willow wants to lie down because she’s in so much distress.”

Tim swung open the stall door and pulled the machine inside.

“She’s getting worse,” Sharon said. She was standing by Willow’s head, holding onto her halter. “Claire! I’m glad you’re here. We need to hold her still so Dr. Tim can see what’s going on inside her. She responds to you better than anyone else.”

“Hey, sweet girl,” Claire said, starting toward Sharon. Willow swung her head around and whinnied, a shrill cry of agony. Her eyes were wild, but she stopped stamping her hooves as soon as Claire touched her. “I’m so sorry you hurt, my sweet Willow. So very sorry.”

Claire put her arms around the mare’s neck and laid her cheek against the horse. “Dr. Tim will fix you, don’t worry.”

Willow whinnied again, but the sound was less frantic. Claire came around in front of her and ran her fingers over the mare’s nose and face. The horse lowered her head and leaned into Claire, whickering softly.

“The painkillers couldn’t calm her down, but you can,” Sharon said, shaking her head. “She’s your whisper horse, for sure.”

Claire kept stroking Willow as Tim scanned over the mare’s belly and haunches with the ultrasound. The horse quivered and pawed the ground once but otherwise stood still.

Tim frowned at the machine and then turned it off before he looked up at Claire and Sharon. “We need to make a decision quickly. She’s got a twist in one of the large left quadrants of her colon. The only way to save her is to operate immediately. But as I told Claire, she’s not a good candidate for surgery since she’s been malnourished for so long. Even strong horses can die of complications from a twisted colon.”

Sharon looked at Claire. “You care about Willow more than anyone. It’s your call.”

Tim’s eyes were on her too, and she felt pinned. “I don’t want to cause her unnecessary suffering.”

“I’ll anesthetize her as soon as we get her to the operating room at my office,” Tim said.

Claire shifted so she was looking into Willow’s eyes. The mare moved restlessly, but her gaze was clear and trusting. Claire took a deep breath. “All right, girl, we’re going to get you to Dr. Tim’s office and make you better.”

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Sharon was shouting to bring around a horse trailer, and Tim was on his phone specifying operating room prep. Claire stood with Willow in the still, quiet center of all the drama, letting her horse lean against her and talking comforting nonsense to the mare.

“I’m going to ride with her in the trailer, just in case her distress becomes more severe,” Tim said as the vehicle was maneuvered close to the stall.

“So will I,” Claire said.

Tim didn’t look happy. “It’s dangerous to be in a moving vehicle with a large animal. She may strike out without meaning to hurt anyone.”

“I can keep her calm.” Claire sounded more confident than she felt. She knew that her control of Willow depended on the horse’s goodwill. If pain clouded the mare’s mind, she might not be able to recognize the human who loved her.

“All right, but if she becomes violent, you have to get away from her.”

Claire nodded, and Tim left to collect his vet’s bag from the truck.

“The trailer’s ready,” Sharon called. “Claire, bring her on out. I’ve got three hands here to help, if you need it.”

But Willow didn’t hesitate to let Claire guide her up the ramp into the trailer. “You are the best girl,” Claire crooned as she threaded the lead line through a metal ring. She knew the moment Tim stepped into the trailer because it dipped slightly under his weight.

“Okay, close it up,” he called before he came up to Willow’s head. He patted the mare’s nose, but he was looking at Claire, a frown drawing deep lines between his eyebrows. “You get behind me if she starts to thrash around.”

“I will, I promise.”

Sharon poked her head in the trailer’s side window. “You ready to roll?”

Tim nodded, and Claire heard the truck engine rumble to life. “Hang on to the window grille,” he said as the trailer began to move.

Claire grabbed a metal bar with one hand, but kept the other on Willow. The mare whinnied and thumped her front hoof on the straw a few times, but otherwise, she stood quietly.

“It’s lucky for Willow you have an operating room for large animals,” Claire said, just to break the silence between them.

“I had it built when I bought the practice. I figured if I was going to doctor farm animals, I’d better be prepared for the worst.”

“How many times have you used it?” She noticed Tim was doing the same thing she was, gently stroking the mare’s neck and shoulder. Her breath shuddered in as she remembered the feel of his hand on her own skin, and for a moment, she wanted to change places with the horse.

“Only about four times. All successfully,” he added with a wry smile. “But that doesn’t mean I can save Willow.”

She raised her gaze to his. “I have total confidence in you.”

The pain she dreaded darkened his eyes. “I’ll do my best.” He shifted his gaze to the mare. “It will be a couple of months before we can be sure she’s fully recovered.”

It hung in the air between them. Would Claire stay in Sanctuary another two months? She tried to read his expression, to see if he would feel the same exquisite torture she did at the prospect of having to see him and talk with him because of Willow. All she could find there was concern for the horse.

“I’ll be with her until she’s on the road to recovery,” Claire finally said. That could mean almost any length of time.

Willow suddenly swung her head around to nose at her belly, knocking into Claire. She staggered, only to have her forearm seized in a grip of iron as Tim reached over the mare’s withers to steady her.

“Are you okay?”

“Just surprised. It must be hurting her more.”

“I gave her painkillers, but they aren’t that effective with a twisted gut.” He glanced at his watch. “We should be there soon.”

Claire breathed out a sigh of relief, both for Willow’s sake and for her own. Being so close to Tim and not being able to touch him was pure torment.

She concentrated on soothing Willow and tried to ignore the presence of the man she loved so much it actually hurt. It seemed Tim wasn’t immune to the tension, because he looked out the front window and said with emphasis, “Thank God, we’re here!”

The trailer rocked to a stop, the ramp was let down, and everything erupted into organized chaos. Claire simply led Willow where she was told and stayed with her until she was instructed to move her again. A scrubs-clad veterinary technician led her around Tim’s office building to a new wing in the back where a large door stood open.