Page 1 of Her Three Rangers
Chapter 1 - Grace
I opened the kennel door and scratched behind the ears of the small terrier mix that I had treated for a snake bite earlier in the day.
“That’s a good boy, Lucky,” I murmured, smiling as the little dog’s ears perked up. “I know it’s been a rough afternoon, but you’re gonna be just fine. Such a good puppy.”
I closed my eyes and rested my hand on the dog’s head as I murmured a quick thanks to the spirits for watching over him. It had been touch and go for a couple of hours, but Lucky stayed true to his name and had pulled through, and I had to give thanks where they were due.
My nana had taught me about the great spirits—the owl, the eagle, the earth mother, and others—since before I could remember, and even though I couldn’t explain it, I knew that they had helped me every step of the way since becoming the sole veterinarian in Grey Ridge, Texas.
I took my hand away and opened my eyes to see Jenny Blaine, my vet tech, standing in the doorway looking wide-eyed and breathless.
“I think you’d better come quick, Gracie,” she said, motioning for me to follow. “We’ve got a German Shepherd in a bad way. I’ve got him in the exam room, but Gracie, he’s just—”
Her voice broke on the last word and I gave her a sympathetic look as I hurried through the door behind her. Seeing an animal in pain was never easy for anyone, but Jenny treated each of our patients as if they were one of her own pets. If there was an injured animal in a twenty mile radius, Jenny wanted—no, needed—to help make it better.
It was the reason we had been friends since high school, the reason why I trusted her to work next to me every day, and the reason why she was going to make an excellent veterinarian herself one day.
The moment I walked into the examination room, I noticed two things. One, it was crowded, and I felt four sets of eyes on me as the burly, muscular men who filled the room pinned me with hard, appraising looks.
More importantly, though, there was a beautiful German Shepherd on my exam table, lying on his side, panting heavily, his coat matted with blood.
“What happened?” I asked, not bothering to look up at the men as I reached out to calm the animal, watching as his muscles loosened with my touch.
“We let him out at a rest area off the highway a few miles up the road to get some exercise and stretch his legs.”
I looked up to see which man was speaking. He was tall, but not the tallest, big, but not the biggest. Still, the way he spoke, the way he carried himself, and the way the others crowded behind the heavily inked man let me know he was the one who called the shots in this group.
And those eyes.
Bright green and piercing in contrast with his dark brown hair, they would have normally taken my breath away.
My cheeks burned with heat as I looked back down at the dog. My patient. He was the only male in the room who mattered at the moment.
“And then?” I prompted, still needing to hear more details as I gingerly checked the dog’s vital signs. “Please tell me exactly what happened. Quickly.”
The man huffed out a short breath and swallowed hard. “And Rambo here was following me across the parking lot when I heard him yelp. The asshole who hit him is lucky I didn’t have time to kick his ass—”
Rambo whimpered, cutting the man off. “Okay,” I said, stroking the dog’s head gently as I nodded toward the door. “That’s all I need to know. I need to take some X-rays and get him prepped for surgery.”
“But you’re gonna take care of him, Doc… right?” Another one of the guys spoke up. This one was the tallest, cockiest-looking one of the bunch. There was only concern in his voice, though. If he really was as cocky as he looked, he wasn’t showing it now. “Rambo’s gonna be okay, right? I don’t wanna walk out of this room until I hear you say he is.”
I felt for him—for all of them, honestly. It was obvious to me that they all cared about Rambo, that they all needed some reassurance that he was going to make it through the next few hours. I would have loved nothing more than to give them that reassurance.
Until I found out the extent of his injuries, though, there was just no way I could make that promise.
“You all need to clear the room,” I said, trying to keep any hint of emotion from my voice. I needed to get Rambo taken care of, but I didn’t want to worry the men any more than necessary. I also didn’t have a lot of time for hand-holding. “I can promise you all that I’m going to do everything I can for Rambo.”
“Dr. Black is the best vet in Potter County, gentlemen,” Jenny said, doing her best to usher them out the door. “Rambo is in good hands—ask anyone this side of Amarillo.”
“Just a minute,” Hot Green Eyes said. “I need to stay here with Rambo. It’s my fault this happened. I owe him that much.”
I sighed and opened my mouth, ready to tell him in no uncertain terms to get out and let me do my job. But when I looked into those intense eyes, I could feel the anxiety and guilt rolling off him in waves.
“Everyone else has to go,” I said, waving them out the door. “Now.”