“So this is Maynard, huh?”She stroked between the dog’s ears.“What a pretty boy.Gah, I love his eyes, Jock.He looks deep and sees everything.Those mismatched colors are perfect for this little guy.”
“He’s really good.Has been really good for everything the vet needs to do.”Jock gave her a little squeeze that had her looking down at him.“This is Kent.Wildman’s friend.”
“Wouldn’t say we’ve always been friends.That’s a story for another day.”Kent nodded at her.“I’m Kent, you’re Silly, and we’re a little more than halfway through what Maynard needs done.”
“Anything I can do to help?I’m a tattoo artist, so I’m used to hyper focusing on small areas.”
“That would be really helpful.I typically identify quarters of the animal I’m working on, and I’ve only just finished the right top quadrant.”
“Let me work on the left top quadrant, and you can move to the lower quadrant on that same side.”She bent over and pressed a kiss to Jock’s head.“I’ll just wash up and get gloves on.”
“Sounds good.I’m flaking off the dried serum so the antibiotic cream can be applied evenly.There may be a few places you have to go deeper.Just let Jock know so he can manage Maynard’s reactions.”
“Okay.”She figured out the foot pedals for the sink and started washing her hands and forearms.
“Doc, will Maynard connect Silly to any pain from this?I’d rather he imprint in more pleasant ways.”
“Meds will keep any associations to a minimum.Shouldn’t be an issue.”
“Good.”Silly stepped back from the sink and found a roll of paper towels to dry with.“Point me to the gloves?”
“Oh, yeah.What’s on the counter are large.You’ll need the gloves in the drawer to your left.”
She silently pulled the nitrile gloves on, ensuring they didn’t hang or tear on her dermal implants, then got a scalpel blade and looked the dog over.As much abuse as he’d taken already, for him to be lying restfully in Jock’s arms meant that imprinting he’d talked about had already happened.He’s going to be Maynard’s person.Definitely.
“Watch,” Kent said softly, and she bent closer to see him use the point of the blade to pick at the edges of a burn, then the blade to deftly trim off the fragile, burned skin.“You see?”
“Yeah.And when I have questions, I’ll ask.”
“Jock, you’ve found yourself a keeper.I hope you know that.”
“Oh, I do.I followed her down to Louisiana because I couldn’t be without my Silly.”
She grinned at Jock and bent to press another kiss on his head.“My man.”
The quadrant she was working on had fewer burns than the one Kent had completed.Silly gave each wound the same focused attention, ensuring clean edges.Through it all, Maynard gave no complaint, but Jock was so attuned that when he asked for a break, she saw the dog visibly relax.
“Need anything, big guy?”
Jock shook his head.“No, just needed a breather.We’re good now.”
***
Jock
“Why don’t I ride home with you.Kent won’t care if I leave the bike here overnight.I can move it if needed.”
“Nah, it’s not in the way, you’re good.”Kent finished applying the cream to each of Maynard’s wounds.“He’s going to have to be in a cone overnight.Otherwise we risk him doing damage where he doesn’t need more damage.”
“The reason we’ll put doggy jammies on him.”
“Yup.”Kent yawned.“We’re all done here.Y’all can take off anytime.”
Ace jumped down off the counter where he’d been seated for the past couple of hours.“Exactly what I hoped to hear.Jock, I’ll let you know if Wrench found anything.Tomorrow.Not today.Go home with your lady.”
“Will do.”He lifted the dog off the table and put him on the floor, steadying him for a moment.“You’re gonna be just fine, Maynard.”
Kent turned around with a cone in his hands and Jock held up his hands.“Not me, man.He loves me right now.Going to try and keep that going.”
