Page 3 of Her Three Rangers
I paused as I closed the door behind us. “They’re still here, too?”
For some reason, that thought hadn’t crossed my mind. I’d been so focused on Rambo—then on Ty—that the other men who had been present earlier had sort of faded into the background.
“All still here and still just as intimidating as before,” she said, nibbling at her lip. “They’re a pretty rough bunch, from the looks of it.”
I snorted as we reached the short corridor that led to the reception and waiting area. “I’ve seen worse. It’ll take more than a few tattoos to intimidate me.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, I stopped dead in my tracks—so suddenly that I heard Jenny gasp as she nearly ran into me from behind.
I couldn’t help it, though. Opening the door to the waiting area, I was confronted with three of the hottest men I’d ever seen. Were these even the same guys from before?
If it hadn’t been for Sexy Green Eyes—Ty—pinning me in place with his stare, I would have seriously questioned my sanity. But there was no mistaking him, and now that I had a moment to study the other men, I could remember the cocky look from the taller man.
The third man had been a complete blur, but now he stood out from the others. With his dark, moody features and full, almost pouty lips, I wasn’t sure how I had missed him earlier.
Now that there wasn’t a wounded animal in front of me to focus on, it was like seeing them all for the first time.
“Doc?” Ty asked, quirking an eyebrow as he took a step closer. “Please tell me you have good news…”
I blinked, his voice pulling me from my distracted thoughts. Right. His dog. The reason we were all here. “Rambo made it through surgery and he’s resting now,” I said, my eyes flicking from Ty to the other men in turn as I watched a wave of relief wash over all three. “His right front leg was broken in two places and he has two broken ribs. A third has a hairline fracture. He doesn’t seem to have any internal bleeding or swelling, which is honestly surprising to me, for as rough as he looked when you brought him in.”
Ty winced at my words. I could tell by the look on his face he still felt guilty over what happened, but I hoped that he at least realized it could have been much worse.
“I never should have turned away when he started crossing that parking lot,” Ty muttered. “I should have had him on his leash. I just…” He huffed out a short breath and scrubbed a hand down his face. “This is good news, though, right? I mean… no internal bleeding has to be a good thing… right?”
“That’s very good news,” I nodded, hoping to reassure him. “He’s got a long road ahead of him before he’s fully recovered, but I’m confident that he can make a full recovery.”
“Oh, thank God,” one of the other guys said, clapping Ty on the back. “I told you he’d pull through, Ty.”
“Yeah,” the man with the cocky looks agreed. “Seems like we came to the right place, after all.”
After all? Had they doubted me when they’d first arrived?
I decided it was probably best to keep that question to myself. It wasn’t like they had many alternatives in this part of the state, though there were a couple of other vets they could have taken their chances with if they’d gone many miles past Grey Ridge.
Anyway, it wouldn’t have been the first time I’d been underestimated. Sadly, it probably wouldn’t be the last.
But none of that mattered right now. I had done my job today, and Rambo was going to be okay because of the help I’d given him. As long as the spirits saw fit to work through my hands, it didn’t matter at all to me whether anyone else had faith in my abilities.
“So,” Ty began, giving me an up and down look that was impossible to miss. “I’ve gotta thank you, Doc. You, ah… know what you’re doing here.”
“I do,” I agreed. There was no point in being overly modest, after all. “And you’re welcome. I’m truly glad I could help.”
He nodded absently, then looked over my shoulder to Jenny and the door behind her. “When can I see him? I’d like to get whatever medicine we need and get back on the road as soon as possible.”
“Rambo isn’t going anywhere today, I’m afraid,” I said, shaking my head. “He isn’t even awake yet. It’ll probably just be an hour or two before you can see him, but I’d like to keep him for at least the next couple of days to make sure he’s on the mend before I release him—particularly if he’s going to be traveling with you.”
“A couple of days?” Mr. Cocky Looks interrupted. “That’s not going to—”
Ty stopped him with a raised hand and a subtle shake of his head. “If the doc says he needs a couple of days, that’s what we’re going to do.” He gave me a hard look. “But you need to understand that we’re riding out of here with my dog the moment you say it’s safe to do so. We have… business to take care of.”
I felt an involuntary shudder go through my body, both from the way those green eyes seemed to harden so quickly as well as the thought of what kind of business he might be talking about.
He wasn’t referring to a paper route, that was for sure.
“We’re not real familiar with the area,” the third, more subdued man said, grabbing everyone’s attention with his low, rumbling voice. “Do you know of a place nearby—a campground, maybe—where we might be able to park our bikes and set up a couple of tents while we wait for Rambo to get well enough to leave?”
“There’s a lot of open land around here, as I’m sure you’ve seen,” I answered. “But the nearest actual campground is about an hour away. And I don’t think they’ll let you set up a tent at the highway rest area you mentioned earlier…”