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“What about the mare? Did you get her to the animal hospital?”
She turned her head to gape at him. Was he seriously asking about a horse right now? “You could have died.”
He looked down at her with a wide, dopey grin. “Aw, you worried about me, Isobel? Isobel? Ma belle?” Then he tipped his head back and started to sing a butchered version of that old Beatles song Michelle, Ma Belle, except inserting her name. “Isobel, ma belle—” then he’d sort of start humming along, obviously not knowing the French lyrics before busting out with qui vont très bien ensemble at the end of each line.
“Oh my God.” Isobel shouldered more of his weight when he stumbled a little. “What the hell did they give you?”
Hunter immediately started shaking his head. “Oh not that much.” They were nearing the hospital exit. “I told them to do a local where they were stitching and I think that’s all they did. But they were really good. I didn’t even feel it. I think I even fell asleep.”
Riiiiiiight. Isobel was pretty sure from both what she’d seen of his back and the way he was acting now that he’d been knocked out from anesthesia.
She looked back over her shoulder. “Are you sure you’re all right to leave the hospital? Aren’t they supposed to wheel you to the exit or something?”
“Phsh.” Hunter said sloppily, then waved a hand. “I’m walking just fine.”
Right then he tripped over his own feet and almost took a header face-first into the glass exit door.
“Hunter!” Isobel managed to catch him right before he got a face full of glass.
“Whoa. Thanks.” He started laughing high-pitched in a way she’d never heard before—like he’d gotten a case of the giggles.
Grouchy Hunter Dawkins. Was giggling.
Okay, the world had officially gone nuts.
But he’d pulled away from her and was walking out toward the darkened parking lot and he did seem a little steadier on his feet. Would wonders never cease.
It was eleven o’clock at night but the parking lot had enough street lamps lit so they could see where they were going.
She hurried to keep up with his long-legged stride when all the sudden he stopped. His momentum kept going forward and he stumbled a little bit, catching himself just in time before he toppled over.
“Whoa,” he said again, then shook his head. He looked around. “Where’s Rhonda?”
“Who?” God, what if he’d gotten hit on the head really hard and had a concussion or something in addition to his back and—
“My truck. Rhonda.” He looked at her like, duh? and then kept searching the large hospital parking lot.
Now it was Isobel’s turn to laugh. After the stress of the day, it was su
ch a relief, she had to grab her stomach she started laughing so hard. “You— Named your truck—” she managed to get out through heaving gasps, “Rhonda?”
Hunter only looked mildly insulted. “Rhonda and me go way back. Certainly the best relationship with a female I ever had.” All amusement fled his face with that last statement. He lifted a hand to the back of his neck but immediately winced at the movement and dropped his arm. It must have tugged at the wounds on his back.
Isobel sobered quickly. “Come on.” She took his forearm and tugged him to the back of the parking lot where she’d parked his truck and trailer.
“I dropped Beauty off at the horse hospital after they took you in,” Isobel said, finally answering his earlier question now that she had him steered the right direction. “They were ready for us since you called ahead and when you couldn’t perform the surgery yourself, one of the vets there said she could step in.” All the vets had been on call because of the storm and they were happy to get Beauty seen and fixed up so they could free up the operating bay for the flood of clients that would no doubt be coming in all afternoon and evening because of the storm.
“They called just a while ago to let me know that they removed the problematic portion of intestine and Beauty was doing great. They’ll stable her for the night.”
Hunter was nodding intently to everything she said. “You wanna stop by there and check on her before we head home?”
Again, Isobel stopped with her mouth dropped open. “No I do not want to— Are you insane?” Then she huffed out a breath and reminded herself that he was heavily medicated at the moment.
“You’re in no shape for a two-hour long car ride.” Isobel shook her head, looking out at the dark road. “Not to mention I wouldn’t want to make that drive at night with a trailer hitched anyway.” Then, more under her breath, “My luck, I’d hit a deer or hydroplane and manage to kill us both yet.”
“Come on.” She took his arm again. “We’re going to go stay at a hotel.”
He cracked a grin at this. “You tryin’ to get me in bed, Ms… Ms…” His face screwed up like he was straining to think. “What’s your last name again?”
