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Heath seemed to read her mind, and as soon as she knelt at his side, he eased Copper onto her lap.
“The vet! We need—” She couldn’t remember the name, could hardly form complete sentences, as she clutched Copper to her. “Hunter Sullivan. His sister! She’s here. Their table’s over there.” She pointed.
“The Morgans. I’m on it.” Heath was already on his feet, his voice booming. “Has anybody seen Ali or Jake Morgan? We need a vet.”
Lena couldn’t stop rocking. “You’re going to be okay, Coppy. I’m so sorry I let you get so hot.” She stroked the spot between his ears, dimly aware of someone answering Heath as she fought to get herself back together. Copper was all she had, the only one who looked at her like she was the centre of his universe. And she’d failed him.
Heath’s hand landed on her shoulder, ever so gently. “I’ll be back.” He splashed away from her.
Somewhere nearby a woman asked, “Is that the same dog as before?”
“No, Mummy.” The little kid who answered had perfected the tone that usually went along with ‘duh’ and an eyeroll. “That doggie was black and white and wearing a Santa outfit. This one looks sick.”
In the eternity before Heath returned, Lena moved to the edge of the pool, so the vet could take a look at Copper more easily. While they waited, Copper struggled to his feet and tried to drink some of the pool water, which seemed like hopeful signs. Good enough that she was able to stop crying by the time Heath reappeared with a tall, slim woman running at his side.
“Lena? This is Ali Morgan.” Heath’s forehead was etched with deeper furrows than she’d seen before. He was worried. For her dog. “How’s he doing?”
Ali knelt at the water’s edge, and immediately began checking Copper’s gums and eyes, talking all the while. “You’ve done the right thing, in cooling him off. Usually we suggest room temperature water, but he seems to be tolerating the cooler water well. Can you tell me what happened?”
Lena recounted their day—Copper panting, the cold cuts she’d fed him, the ice chunk and water she’d gotten, and then his pacing when she’d gone up the climbing wall. “I think that’s what did it—he got all worked up.”
“What I’d like to do is send you over to the clinic. My husband Jake is on duty and your dog is going to need supportive care. Copper seems stable for now, but I don’t have my equipment here. I’d like them to monitor his temperature and heart rate and get some fluids in him. Then we can do some bloodwork and urinalysis to help us monitor how he’s doing. Heat stroke can be an assault to the liver and kidneys, among other things, so Jake will get some baseline values. Does that sound okay?”
It all sounded terrible. “Yes, anything he needs.”
Ali gave her a reassuring smile, her green eyes filled with kindness. “You know how to get to the clinic? It’s close. Just go down Main Street two blocks, at the corner of Main and Church, opposite the community pool.”
“I know it.” Heath stepped forwards, submerging his boots.
“Great, Heath. You’ll want to get there as quickly as possible—with heat stroke, the sooner we get him cooled and stabilised, the better the chances he’ll survive. I’ll give the clinic a call, let them know to expect you, since it looks like you both might’ve done a number on your phones.”
“Thank you so much, Dr. Ali. I’m so sorry we interrupted your day.” She had to swallow hard against the tears that had started threatening again when the vet hinted Copper might not survive.
Ali put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m glad to help.”
“Dr. Morgan?” Heath held his keys out to the woman. “The rocking horses for the twins. They’re in the back seat of my ute.”
She waved him away. “Get to the clinic. You can leave them all there if you need.”
Heath nodded, then turned back to Lena and Copper. “All right, mate. Let’s get going.” He didn’t even ask, just swept Copper into his arms again. This time Coppy felt well enough to corkscrew in Heath’s arms—never a fan of being picked up.
Heath carried Copper all the way to his truck, like the fifty-pound dog was nothing, and gestured her into the front passenger seat. “I’ll drive.”
“But your shift—”
He waved her off. “Lena. Get in. They’ll be fine without me at the barbeque.” As soon as she was in, he gently laid her dog in her lap.
The next hourswere a blur of medical history and explanations and paperwork and waiting. So much waiting. Through it all, Heath stayed with her, no matter how many times she tried to give him an out.
When Dr. Jake finally sent them to the otherwise empty waiting room, the emotions she’d been keeping at bay suddenly overwhelmed her. “It’s all my fault. If he’s not okay, it’ll be because of me. I never should’ve come to the picnic or done the climbing wall. I should’ve seen how hard he was panting and—” She shivered, her still-damp clothes too cold in the overly air-conditioned waiting room, then met Heath’s eyes as it hit her. She kept making the same mistake, pushing too hard. “I should’ve realised he was struggling and taken him home.”
Heath’s arm came around her. “You heard what the vet said. This kind of thing happens fast. I saw you give him ice and water, well before.”
“But I should’ve been more careful!” Her voice came out an embarrassing wail. “He’s all I have!”
“Surely not all, luv.” He reached to smooth back a tendril of her hair that had gotten stuck along her cheek, sending a different kind of shiver down her spine, even as she wondered what exactly he meant, if maybe they were both talking about more than Copper. “That dog knows you love him. And next time you decide to be the Christmas climbing wall champion, you’ll leave him with a friend for safekeeping, yeah?”
“Who? I don’t have any friends here!” She’d spent the week alone. It had never been more clear she had no one in Bindarra Creek. “I have acquaintances at best. Like two of them.”
