“Absolutely. I’ll be ready.”
Once the door latched shut, Josh eased himself up, slowly swung his legs over the side and taking a couple of minutes to make sure he wasn’t going to tip over, proceeded to stand. Feeling almost proud that he was still on solid ground, he went ahead and showered and dressed and took his meds. The doctor had said these pills could work in as little as a few days or as much as a few weeks. So far a few days didn’t seem to be the answer; if he was still wobbly after a couple of weeks, they’d regroup. He wasn’t going to let himself go down that path, wondering what if this would become the standard for the rest of his life—today he had a dog to help rescue.
Dressed and in the kitchen, the house seemed oddly quiet.
“Mom’s working with Clint on the never ending repair of fence lines.” Kade came in the back door. “I’ve got the Suburban set up. Lots of blankets and pillows.”
“Pillows?” The blankets made sense, but pillows?
“Yes. Lots of dogs enjoy a good pillow, just like people.”
“You’re kidding?”
“I am not.”
“I’ve never seen a K9 using a pillow.”
“Give me a break.” Kade rolled his eyes. “Where we usually are, the men don’t even get pillows!”
“Point taken.” He turned slowly, stiffly, looking for Katie.
“She’s already in the truck.” Kade waved a thumb over his shoulder toward the back door.
“Who is?”
“Katie. Isn’t that who you’re looking for?”
Sometimes having a buddy who could read your mind was a real pain in the backside. A lifesaver when deployed on a less than easy mission, but a real pain when you don’t want someone to know what you’re up to. “Sara Sue.”
Kade stared for a minute as though ready to call his bluff and then gave a quick bob of his head. “We’ll pick her up.”
Following his buddy, when they reached the SUV, Katie was already in the back seat.
“Sara Sue will ride shotgun. She knows where we’re going. You ride with Katie.”
He almost nodded and then quickly caught himself. “10-4.” The challenge now was to climb in without triggering a dizzy spell but still looking totally normal and at ease. Grabbing onto the handle, he put one foot on the running board and taking special care not to look down or move his head much, he swung himself into the seat, more than a little delighted that he didn’t sway or keel over.
“Good morning,” Katie spoke softly.
Again, he almost nodded, but instead simply smiled. “Morning.”
“Sleep well?”
“Very.” Great. Single word answers. Anyone would think they had only just met, in a bar, under awkward circumstances. And even then he could usually come up with a suave line that would have the ladies eating out of his hand… so to speak. Leaving him tongue tied was not something he’d experienced, even as a hormonally driven teen.
Thankfully, his momentary lack of eloquence didn’t seem to bother Katie as her smile reached her eyes. “I don’t know if it’s the air, the house, the food, or the mattress, but I have never slept as well as I do here.”
“I know what you mean. I felt the same way when I visited a few months ago, and if last night is any example, I’m going to continue to sleep like the proverbial baby.” He just hoped whatever magical powers the ranch held over sleep bled over into restoration of an inner ear.
In the front seat, Kade and Sara Sue chatted about the dog. Raider was stable enough to move but from what Sara Sue said, he was uncooperative. More so than when they’d released him the previous time.
“I’m not sure if the foster couple were simply in over their heads with his medical needs and temperament, or if they did something to aggravate the situation.” Sara Sue frowned and Josh wondered if she’d already decided on an answer.
“Won’t be too hard to tell. Military dogs are extremely well trained. Even injured, they have certain instincts and responses. I might be able to draw a few conclusions once I see him face to face.”
Sara Sue smiled. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
The drive didn’t take long. The veterinary facility was larger than Josh had expected. He had no idea why he’d assumed that being so far out in cattle country surrounded by mostly small towns that didn’t even qualify as cities, that it would mean a veterinary clinic would be small scale. What was the old saying: Everything’s bigger in Texas. Certainly applied to this place.
