Page 9 of Chains
Chapter Three
“They’re here, Dr.Stanford,” Christina said, standing in the doorway.
Autumn looked away from the computer screen and smiled at the veterinarian tech. “Have the owner bring his dog to Room Three. I’ll be there in a fast minute.”
“Will do.” The tech turned around and her ginger-brown hair swung around her shoulders before she disappeared down the hall.
Autumn rolled her shoulders back and stood up from the chair. She raised her arms above her head and stretched, then slipped on her white lab coat and headed out of the office.
When she entered the examining room, she saw a large Siberian lying on a multi-colored blanket on top of the steel table. Beside the dog was a tall man with tattoos running up and down well-defined arms. He wore a white T-shirt and black jeans, both of which fit him like a second skin.
Then he turned around and her pulse raced. A close-cropped beard accentuated his firm jaw. Her gaze quickly ran over his muscular chest, tapered waist, and narrow hips. But it was his eyes that held her—the kind that could easily distract a woman. They were the brown shades of acorns, just bright enough to shine in the shadows. When she looked into them, a shiver of golden light raced down her spine.
“Are you the doc?” His voice was husky baritone—sensuous and commanding.
Dragging her gaze from his, Autumn looked at the Siberian. “Yes. How long has he been this listless?” she asked, walking over to the table.
“Since he ate some of these on our hike in Chaco Canyon a couple of hours ago.” He pulled something out of his pocket and opened his hand.
The slight distraction from before evaporated immediately when she saw several orange-yellow berries lining his palm.
“Those are American climbing bittersweet. Did you actually see him eat them?”
“No, but he was chewing something when I found him. There were a bunch of these on vines around the trees, so I’m pretty sure they’re what he was eatin’.”
“Did he vomit?”
“About forty-five minutes later and there was blood in it. What the fuck’s going on with him?”
She glanced up and saw the worry etched all over his face, and she offered him a small smile. “The fruit from this plant makes humans have a stomach ache and diarrhea, but for dogs it’s poisonous. It’s good that you brought him in right away. What’s your dog’s name?”
“Thor. I’m Chains.”
“And I’m Dr. Stanford. I guess we started backward.” Another smile. His gaze bored into hers and she looked away. “Thor’s suffering from hematemesis or, simply put, vomiting blood. I’m glad you thought to bring in the berries since it helps me isolate the cause of his hematemesis.”
“Can you help him?” Chains stroked his pet repeatedly as he spoke.
“I’ll do my best. The first thing I need to do is give him an activated charcoal. That’ll help to prevent further absorption of the poison into his body. Do you know how many berries he ate?”
“No idea. Fuck, I shouldn’t have let him wander off, but we go there a lot and it’s never been a problem.”
Autumn opened one of the cupboards and took out what she needed, then pulled on a pair of gloves. “Don’t blame yourself—dogs are notorious for ingesting a lot of things.”
“He’s never done this before. I should’ve given him a damn treat before we went.”
Autumn smiled. “Again, don’t beat yourself up over this. Did you want to stay while I begin treatment?”
“Yeah, of course. I’m here for the whole fuckin’ nine yards.”
A soft knock on the door made Autumn look up. “Come in.”
Mary entered and quickly came over to the table. The nurse had a silver tray filled with syringes, tubes, gauze, and surgical tape. Autumn told her what needed to be done at that moment, then Mary put the tray down on the counter, walked around the table, and stood beside Chains.
“If you could help us hold him down while I administer the charcoal, that would be great,” Autumn said to him. He tilted his head and placed both hands on top of Thor’s body.
“After we wait for a bit, I’m going to do agastric lavage,which is basically an internal washing.”
“What’s that for?” The fine lines in his tanned forehead deepened.
