She took a step toward him; scalpel still poised like a threat that shimmered under the lights.“Listen carefully,” she said, her voice low and trembling with fury.“My father is dead.Which means Dr.Hurst owns half this practice—andIown the other half.You’re not storming into a barn right now.You’re standing inmyclinic.You are aclient.”
She pointed the blade at his chest.“If you don’t walk out this second, not only will you lose whatever ridiculous discount you’ve been mooching, but we will never treat any of your animals again.And if you end up with a stab wound?”She shrugged, eyes hard as steel.“I can’t be responsible for someone who refuses to follow simple directions.”
“You couldn’t survive without my business.”
She rolled her eyes.“Of course we could.It’s you who need us.”
I swear my balls retracted straight into my abdomen.No one—no one—talked to Timothy like that.A wave of nausea rolled through me.My brother could be mean when he wanted to be, the kind of man who held grudges so long they fossilized.And the worst part?We needed him.He ran the only HVAC business in town.He’d either bought out or bullied every competitor into oblivion.Crossing him wasn’t just risky.It was dangerous.
When he didn’t budge, Erika drew her arm back, scalpel still in her hand like she was preparing to launch it.And God help me, I believed she would.
“I’m in the middle of repairing a dog’s chest!”she screamed.“That’s his heartright there.”She pointed into the open, bloody cavity, where a tiny heart pulsed like a frantic drum.“Get.The.Hell.Out.”
Timothy paled.He held up his hands and backed out.I’d never seen him cave like this.“I’ll be in the office.”
“Close the door, Bonnie,” I asked in as even a tone as I could manage.
Bonnie shut the surgery door.
Erika took a deep breath and returned to her work.“Sorry.I get a little nuts when people bother me with petty shit when I’m in the middle of something important.”
“No,” I said, my voice tighter than I intended, a knot of guilt twisting in my chest.“I’m the one who should apologize.Timothy hasn’t been himself since his divorce last year.She left him for some chiropractor in Durham.It really tore him up.He’s been angry at everything ever since.I’ll talk to him.I promise.”
“Fire him as a client until he gets counselling.That kind of disrespect needs to be handled right away, even if he’s your brother.”
“He gives us a lot of business, and he fixes the AC when it’s out.”
“He could ask another vet to help him, but does he?”She looked up at me over her mask.
I shook my head.
She focused for a few moments on tying something off in the chest.Then said, “He knows quality care.What he doesn’t know is how to respect it.Does he pay on time?”
“No.”That was a compliment.Quality care.A freaking compliment from Erika?Warmth flooded my chest.
“Fire him.Or at least suspend him.Tell him he doesn’t respect you enough to continue as a client for right now.I guarantee it’ll feel good to say it.”
“I don’t know?—
“For hell’s sake, Whiskey, put your foot down,” she said.
Had she realized she used my old nickname?I smiled beneath my mask.
She said, “That man acts like the sun rises every morning just to hear him crow.He was meaner than a snake dipped in hot sauce back in high school, and I guarantee he hasn’t improved with age.If you push back, he’ll fold.”
She jabbed a finger toward the door.“He was so mad you didn’t show up that he drove twenty minutesout of his wayjust so he could yell at you in person.That’s not anger.That’s dedication.He wants the treatments only you can provide.”
Bonnie giggled.
Erika paused what she was doing to look up.“Why not tell him you’re thinking of moving the practice away from all farm animal medicine?No more house calls.You could say it’s not bringing in enough money.He’s not paying you on time, for example.”
I didn’t want to give up the farm calls.I liked the animals and the people.They needed us.“It does bring in good money.I’m also good at it.”
“He doesn’t know that.It’ll scare him.Maybe he’ll buck up, pay, and give you the respect you deserve.”
She did a sponge count and evaluated the chest.“No bleeding.I got this.I’ll close him up.You can scrub out.Thanks for helping.”
I discarded my gloves in the trash and took the phone from my tech.“Bonnie, can you prep the recovery cage, please?I’ll monitor anesthesia for now.”
