He hung up and reached for Cece. Although she moaned when he picked her up, she didn’t flinch and settled trustingly in his arms.
As he raced through the hospital and out onto the street, she stared at him, her gaze telling him she knew he was going to make it better.
“Stop believing in me,” he told her as he hurried toward the vet. “Chances are, I’m going to screw this up, too.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
DR. MCKENZIE’S veterinary practice was in an old building that had once been a private home. There were big trees, a kennel area in back and the reception desk sat in the middle of what Simon would guess had once been the living room.
“Montana Hendrix called,” he said as he rushed in. “I have Cece with me.”
Two women sat with a carrier in the waiting area. He ignored them, along with the kid holding a bowl with a fish, and rushed toward the older woman in a blue scrub shirt.
“Yes, Dr. Bradley. We were told you were coming.” She picked up the phone. “Cece is here.” She put down the phone and smiled. “Carina will be right up to get her.”
He nodded, but what he really wanted to do was start yelling. Right up? What did that mean? Why wasn’t this Carina person waiting to take Cece immediately? Although the dog continued to stare at him with love, he knew she was in pain. Her breathing came in pants and she moaned softly. He also didn’t like the angle of her leg. If it was broken, he would never forgive himself.
A blonde girl who looked like she was twelve came through a swinging door.
“Hi. I’m Carina.”
He wanted to growl he didn’t give a damn who she was, but held in his annoyance.
“Montana told you what happened?”
“Yes.”
She reached for Cece, taking her gently. Even so, the poodle yelped. Simon flinched. “Be careful.”
Carina gave him a patient smile. “We’ll take good care of her, Dr. Bradley. Cam… I mean, Dr. McKenzie is brilliant. If you want to give us a phone number where we can reach you—”
“I’m not leaving. I want to know exactly what’s wrong with her and what you’re going to do about it.”
Carina took a step back. “Um, okay. Sure. It may be a little bit. We might have to take an X-ray.”
“I would say that’s more than a might. Look at how she’s holding her leg. Are you a trained medical professional? Do you have any experience at all?”
Carina stiffened. “Yes, I do and perhaps this would go faster if you would let me do my job. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll take Cece in back. Someone will be out as soon as possible to let you know what’s going on.”
“Good.”
She turned and went through the swinging door. Cece strained to look around her arm, her eyes begging him not to abandon her.
He swore and ran his hands through his hair, then stalked to the receptionist. “I have to make a couple of calls. I’ll be right outside. Come get me if they learn anything.”
She nodded, looking completely unimpressed by his agitation. “Carina knows what she’s doing and, like she said, Dr. McKenzie is very good. Your little dog is going to be fine.”
“You actually can’t know that,” he growled, then stalked past the other waiting clients and went outside.
Once there he paced the path to the parking lot, then retraced his steps. A glance at his watch told him Cece had been in the back all of forty-five seconds and it was unlikely they would have found anything yet.
He phoned the hospital and talked to one of the nurses in the burn ward. After explaining that he’d been called away, he told them he’d have his cell with him for emergencies. Then he spoke to one of the nurses in recovery, and was relieved to find out Kalinda was doing so well that she was already on her way back to her room.
That taken care of, he shoved his phone into his pocket and continued pacing.
“KNOCK, KNOCK,” Montana called, walking into the back of the vet’s office. While Dr. McKenzie was new and she’d only met him once before, she was friendly with all his staff.
“Montana,” Carina said, coming up to her and giving her a hug. “What’s with Dragon Man?”
“Who?”
“The guy who brought in Cece. He’s the worst kind of pet owner. Terrified and angry at the same time. I thought I was going to have to muzzle him.” Carina’s eyes were bright with laughter as she spoke.
“He’s a doctor.”
“Oh, sure. I should have guessed that. He seemed like he wanted to be in charge.”
“I’m sure he’s more comfortable that way. How’s Cece?”
“Still with Cameron. Sally’s assisting. They’re doing an X-ray. We’ll have the results in a few.”
“Great. Thanks.”
“Want to stay back here? It’s safer.”
“No. I can handle Simon. If you’ll excuse the pun, his bark is worse than his bite.”