Page 44 of Vetted for Vengeance
“What?”
“The little one.”
“The runt?” I question, blushing slightly.
Rhys does a quick headcount. “Ten.”
He looks at me accusingly.
Yes, he can count. There are ten fuzzy burrito babies learning how to suckle from their mother. The other two are tucked away.
“They're the strongest.” I protest. “The biggest is 250g. That would be small even in a six-pup litter. Most of the others barely tip over 200g. Anything under 130g won't survive.”
“So you just got rid of them?” He frowns.
“Is that really so unthinkable for you, with your…hobbies?” I question sternly.
“No. It's a far more practical opinion than most of my staff manage, but with their birth being filmed on national television, it's a little more complicated.”
“Well, you’ll be pleased to know I’m just keeping them warm.” I lift the corner of my scrubs to reveal the two small pups tucked beside me. “Bunny is 120g, you know his odds, and Sunny is 140g, which isn't much better. These are the two I shouldn't be getting attached to.”
“Bunny and Sunny?”
“I… it's just those two I named. We can change it when the votes come in.”
Rhys reaches forward, his soft hand brushing against my bare skin as he picks up Sunny. He's after the pups, but the contact sends a burst of warmth through me.
“Honey,” he says, dabbing a little honey onto a Q-Tip, which he gently rubs against Sunny's lips. I copy him, frowning at how obvious it is.
“We're focusing on the little ones that need around the clock care just to reach Lumpy's birth weight.”
I am too used to naming them myself; it's automatic.
“You are only one man. One brilliant, organized man who works around the clock to give those dogs the best care he can. You also keep the puppies alive so that they thrive as best theycan. You don't have the hours to devote to nursing one frail puppy.”
So Rhys does understand. Yet he is still giving one tiny pup more attention than the rest of the litter.
“But here, you are not one man. You are one man, one handsome veterinarian, two tired nurses, and a whole new shift arriving in two hours.”
“I’m two tired nurses and a handsome veterinarian?”
“And we are going to bed in two hours with no complaints.”
“Are we? Can I hold your tape measure?”
“That…never mind.”
“Damn it. I was hoping to see you blush for once,” I chuckle.
“You are a very strange person, Noah. I think that's why we get along so well.”
Aw, he thinks we're both strange.
Two minutes later the runts are warm, pink and licking their lips in a weak tucking motion.
“We could foster Lumpy and Bumpy onto Toffee. She has seven pups, four days older than these. They would have the same size disadvantage Bunny and Sunny have here, but they'd have free access to milk. There wouldn't be more mouths than teats.”
“Good idea, but…”
