“Ugh!”she grumped and returned to glaring at the doctor.
“Nadia has your room ready,” Doc reported.“Grabbed some clothes for you both, essentials, got the pups, the cat, the husky.And Ledger is in heaven.”Pause.“Though he is that and says he’s glad you’re all right.”
“Thanks, man,” Hutch replied on a smile.“We just have to swing by the vet to check on how Hannibal is getting along then we’ll be over.”
They had to stay with Nadia and Doc because Enstrom had blasted two holes through his front door.
Fortunately, he aimed one too high and the other one at the doorknob so only some of Enstrom’s buckshot hit his dog.
Unfortunately, some of his buckshot hit his dog.
“Could you go to that bed and put your feet up and let your woman look into the state of your dog?”the doctor requested.
“No,” Hutch denied.
The good doc sighed, turned to his tray, grabbed some scissors, snipped the thread then reached for the saline.
The curtain moved again, and Abigail and Brett rushed in.
Or Abigail did.Brett sauntered in after her.
“And here’s me who didn’t bring an appetizer,” the doctor groused as he set the saline flush aside and started wrapping Hutch’s foot.
Mabel got up and rushed to Abigail.
They hugged then separated, and Abigail looked down to his feet.
“Oh my God!That looks really bad!”she exclaimed.
“That’s what I keep telling him,” the doctor muttered.
“Just cuts, only one deep enough for stitches,” Hutch explained.“I’m fine.”
“Where are the kids?”Mabel asked.
“Mom came over,” Abigail told her.Her gaze moved back and forth between Hutch and Mabel.“Is there anything you need?”
“Moral support and help holding Hutch down after we check on Hannibal so I can chain him to the bed so he won’t use his injured feet,” Mabel answered.“I don’t think Doc, Ledger, Nadia and I are enough to keep him still.”
“Now we’re talkin’,” the doctor muttered as he wrapped Hutch’s other foot.
Hutch was okay with Mabel chaining him to the bed, just not for that reason.
“Damn, now I can’t challenge you to a game of one-on-one,” Brett joked.“Guess I’ll have to wait until next April.”
“His feet should be better way before then,” Mabel told him.
“Don’t pollute his fantasy,” Abigail stage whispered.“April gives him five months to shoot hoops for an hour every day so he has some hope he can keep up with Hutch.”
“Oh.Right,” Mabel replied.
“It also gives me five months to watch him shoot hoops while I sew my letter on my cheerleader sweater,” Abigail concluded.
Finally, Mabel smiled.
The doctor stood and rolled his tray away.
“There won’t be any hoops for this guy,” he announced unnecessarily.He looked down at Hutch.“I’ll get someone to bring you a boot.But please stay off your feet as much as you can for a few days at least.Keep them clean and wrapped.I’ll give you a prescription for a topical antibiotic.This is only precautionary.You said you have your tetanus up-to-date, and we gave it a good clean.I want you to go to your doctor in a week for a checkup.The stitches will dissolve on their own.”He then looked around and quipped, “Thanks for inviting me to the party,” and he rolled his tray out.
