Page 6 of Her Three Rangers
I let out a slow breath and stood in the doorway of the clinic, letting the cool rush of air-conditioned goodness wash over me for just a moment before I fully stepped inside.
Not that I wasn’t used to the heat of summer in Texas, but damn. The older I got, the more I appreciated a good air conditioner.
The receptionist gave me a look that was a mixture of curiosity and wariness as I approached the front desk, but I didn’t mind… well, not much. It was a look I had grown accustomed to over the past few years, and one that I would probably be receiving for the rest of my life.
Between the tattoos, the motorcycle, the company I kept, and the big-ass German Shepherd that was damn near always by my side, people usually gave me plenty of space—and plenty of side-eye to go along with it.
Anyway, I’d rather put up with those looks than have to deal with pointless small-talk any day.
“You’re here to see Rambo?” She asked, her expression softening a little as I nodded. “I’ll go let Dr. Black know you’re here.”
“Thank you,” I said, watching as she hurried through the door to the rear of the clinic.
I felt my stomach clench at the thought of seeing my little buddy all broken and bandaged, but the need to check that he was really okay—or that he was at least going to be okay—was enough to overrule that guilty part of my brain.
The guilt would still be there, sure. It probably wouldn’t ever go away. There wasn’t much I could do about that now, though, aside from making sure I did better in the future.
“Ty, he’s awake now.” Dr. Black appeared in the doorway and pulled me from my thoughts.
I couldn’t even respond, though, because damn. There was something very different about her from just a couple of hours ago. Her hair must have been pulled back or something earlier—or else I was too focused in Rambo to notice—but now it fell over her shoulders in long, jet-black waves.
And while that change was surprising enough, there was something else that also held my attention and made me forget where I was and what we were doing.
Her smile.
It was fucking beautiful. She was beautiful, but that smile made her shine as bright as the West Texas sun. I finally knew what people meant when they said a person could light up a room.
She was doing it now, here, just by looking at me with that perfect, gorgeous smile.
“Did you, um…” she hesitated, giving me a funny look. “Did you want to see him?”
“Right. Yes,” I said, nodding quickly as I tried to focus on the words that were coming out of her mouth rather than the way her full, pink lips moved. “That’s why I’m here. I was…” I cleared my throat. Stop looking, Ty. “I was hoping he’d be awake by now.”
“You can come on back if you want.” She motioned for me to follow as she half-turned toward the door. “I know for sure he’ll be happy to see you.”
I winced but tried to cover it with a grin. Well, okay, I couldn’t have really stopped either reaction if I’d tried. I still felt guilty as hell, wasn’t gonna lie—knowing that Rambo was awake in the next room and that I’d actually be able to pet him and talk to him made my whole day.
“So, he’s really gonna be okay?” I asked as we walked down the corridor, hoping to hear her reassurances again.
“I expect him to make a full recovery in time,” she answered, gently pushing open another door. “He’s just inside here. I’ve got him separated from the other animals for now while he rests.”
My eyes immediately went to the large crate that was the size of a baby’s playpen where Rambo was lying on his side. For such a large, strong dog, he looked surprisingly small and frail spread out across the fuzzy blue blanket beneath him. The stark white cast covering most of his leg was enough to stop me in my tracks.
As soon as he saw us, though, he lifted his head and started wagging his tail. I turned my head to quickly dash at my cheeks as my eyes welled up. I definitely wasn’t going to cry in this room with this woman I didn’t even know, but damn. Seeing him like that made my heart hurt.
“Rambo, your daddy’s here,” she cooed, kneeling down to pet him as I slowly approached and tried in vain to get myself together. “That’s a good boy, just take it easy now…”
“Listen to the doc, buddy,” I said, my voice sounding low and thick with emotion even to my own ears. “You’ve gotta get better soon, so don’t give her any trouble, okay?”
Even though I knew he couldn’t understand the words I was saying, it felt good just to be able to talk to him again.
His tail wagged faster and he tried to move his legs, only to whimper and go suddenly still. I reached for Rambo at the same time she did, and our hands touched for just a moment as we rushed to comfort him.
He licked my hand and went back to wagging his tail, but I was still trying to recover from the pain of hearing him whimper like that combined with the electric jolt that went through my body at her touch.
From the way she pulled her hand back and was looking at me wide-eyed, I could tell she felt it, too.
“Sorry,” she murmured, folding her hands into her lap. “I was just going to, um—”