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My heart sinks down to my toes and those tears that had welled up spill down my cheeks.
I blow out a breath. "It's okay, Skidmark. Worse comes to worst, I'll call Jared and get him out here."
Inside the box, the blanket moves slightly and the skunk makes a small snort.
"Thank goodness. You're going to be okay."
I will not let this skunk die, no matter what it takes. I raise a fist and bang on the door.
It's a wooden door, like a house would have, no signage anywhere to be seen. Hopefully, I'm not knocking at some random family's barn.
Figuring no one's there, I shout and squawk and bang like crazy, just in case. Or maybe I'm sending my shouts into the universe, hoping someone, anyone, will hear them.
When the door swings open and a tall woman with wide-eyes peeks out, my cheeks heat with embarrassment.
"I'm sorry," I say, not even sure what I'm sorry for. "I hit a skunk with my car and I just… He can't die. Is Jared here? Do you think he can help my skunk?"
The woman opens the door wider and gestures me inside. "Jared's out, but I'm a vet. I'm Dr. Ellis."
She holds her hand out to me, then realizes I'm holding a box with both hands and withdraws it.
"Come on back," she says with a wry smile. "I'll see what I can do."
"Thank you." I sniffle. "I'm Dani Weston."
"Nice to meet you, Dani."
Dr. Ellis opens the door to an exam room with a table big enough for a horse. Judging by the big barn doors on the other end of the room and the enormous apparatus hanging from the ceiling, I'd say that's exactly what it's for.
"You can set the box on the table and I'll have a look."
After digging around in the cabinets, Dr. Ellis pulls on a pair of thick, rubber gloves. Slowly and carefully, she removes Skidmark from the box and lays him on the table. He's such a little skunk, maybe not much more than a baby. What was he doing on the road alone?
"His pulse is good," Dr. Ellis says after a cursory examination. "And most of his injuries appear to be limited to his hind legs. You must have just clipped him with your tire."
"Why isn't he moving if all he's got are injured legs?"
Dr. Ellis gives me a sad look. "Even getting clipped by something as large as a car is a traumatic experience for an animal this small. He may be in shock, but he could also have internal damage. I'm going to have to look at his insides, and we don't have the best equipment here for small animals." She glances at her watch. "Unfortunately, the nearest small animal clinic is over an hour away and already closed. If it's okay with you, I think he has a better chance of survival if we do what we can for him here."
"Do whatever it takes." I wrap my arms around myself. "He has to survive."
She nods. "I have to get a few things. I'll be back."
I step up to the table and look down at the tiny guy. His eyes are closed, but I can now clearly see his chest rising and falling.
"It's going to be okay, Skidmark," I say in a soothing, low voice. "I know it hurts now, but the nice doctor is going to fix you up, okay? You just stay strong and shore up your energy."
Dr. Ellis hustles back into the room with a bunch of equipment and I find a chair in the corner and sit out of her way.
She purses her lips as she uses the strange device to look at Skidmark's insides, but doesn't tell me anything.
My stomach roils. I'm having a bad feeling.
"I called Jared when I got the equipment," Dr. Ellis says at last. "He just texted that he's here. I'm going to meet him at the door and fill him in."
"Okay." My teeth chatter with worry and nerves. I don't dare ask if she thinks Skidmark will make it.
Dr. Ellis walks back in with Jared a few minutes later. He's a tall guy and broad, with a big beard and long hair he wears up in a man bun. Not my type at all, but I'm pretty sure my cousin Brit has the hots for him.
