Listen to the Child. Carolyn McSparren

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СКАЧАТЬ pointedly looked back so that she was facing Kit. “Dr. Sarah Scott, this is Kit Lockhart. She’s going to be working part-time with us in the small-animal area. Kit, this is Dr. Sarah Scott, head of our large-animal section.”

      The baby bounced up and down. “And this,” Nancy said, “is Nell, known to all and sundry as Muggs.”

      At the mention of her nickname, the baby opened her mouth and began to make what must be crows of delight. Kit stiffened. She’d never be able to hear her own grandchild’s voice—assuming she ever had a grandchild!

      Sarah came around her desk with her hand outstretched. “Hi. Welcome to the nuthouse.”

      “Thanks. Can’t be any nuttier than what I’m used to.”

      “Keep that thought.”

      Nancy took Kit’s arm and led her down the hall. At the far end a wizened elf of a man was giving the Percheron mare a shot in her neck.

      “Jack Renfro. He does for Sarah and Eleanor Chadwick, our other large-animal vet, what I do for Mac.” She paused. “But not half as well.”

      He pointed a crooked finger at her. “None of that now, missy.” He took Sarah’s hand. His felt like old leather and twisted twigs. “Happy to meet you, lass. Nancy told me already we’re to have you with us part of the day.”

      “We also have Kenny Nichols part-time,” Nancy told Kit. “He comes in after school three days a week. He’s off to Mississippi State to do pre-vet as soon as he graduates. You’ll meet him and Dr. Chadwick later.”

      Kit learned that Bill Chumney—the veterinarian who handled exotic animals—was on assignment in the Black Hills and wouldn’t be back for several weeks. And Dr. Weinstock was off in Kentucky doing something with horses for the next month.

      As she followed Nancy back through the door that separated the small-animal area from the large, she hoped she’d run into Dr. Thorn. Nancy had made a few comments about his bearish reputation, but so far Kit had seen nothing from him but kindness. He might be a little gruff, but he had been charming to Emma and had taken the trouble to make a house call on Kevlar on Wednesday evening. She wanted to thank him for giving her the chance to work again. Besides, he was the first man she’d met since her divorce who attracted her. Big, competent men always had. She’d actually thought Jimmy was competent.

      She felt certain Dr. Thorn was the genuine article.

      “I THOUGHT YOU WANTED to train another surgical assistant,” Rick Hazard said as he poured himself a third cup of coffee and took it back to the conference table.

      “Kit’s bright,” Mac said. “She could learn.”

      “That’s about the only job she can’t do around here. She can’t hear you and she won’t be able to read your lips through your face mask.”

      Mac flushed. “So Nancy will train her to take over the other duties—dispensing meds, draining wounds, aftercare, checking on ICU patients. Big still gets confused sometimes and doesn’t want the responsibility. Except for the occasional parrot, our clients don’t generally communicate in words. I think Nancy can bring her along fast.”

      “I just wish you’d let me at least interview the woman before you brought her on board.”

      “Mark approved the expenditure. You agreed to try her at the staff meeting. Don’t go back on your word now.”

      Rick raised his hands. “Don’t get huffy. I’m sure she’ll be fine. When can I meet this paragon?”

      “This afternoon. According to Nancy, she had an appointment scheduled with her doctor. She’ll be back for a bit after that. Nancy already had her fill out employment forms, so she can start learning her responsibilities this afternoon and really get started tomorrow.”

      “Fine. I’ve got a lunch meeting scheduled with Mark and my esteemed father-in-law at Buchanan Industries’ corporate dining room.” Rick crumpled up his cup and lobbed it expertly into the trash. “I can meet her this afternoon.”

      “Money problems?” Mac asked. He knew that Coy Buchanan was a tough old coot whose only soft spot seemed to be his daughter, Margot.

      “For once, apparently not. Creature Comfort’s more than meeting objectives.”

      “Good. Then maybe we can afford another trained vet tech on staff and a couple of clerks.”

      “Whoa!” Rick said. “We may be meeting our objectives, but we’re still not rolling in money.”

      As he followed Rick out of the staff lounge, Mac said, “Kit Lockhart will be bringing her dog to work with her.”

      “Another one?” Rick stopped with his hand on the doorknob. “We’ve already got Mark’s Nasdaq running around, and Big sneaks Daisy in every chance he gets. The last thing we need is another—” He stopped in midsentence. “Oh, damn, I forgot. He’s a helper dog, isn’t he?” He shrugged. “I guess she needs him.”

      “He’s well-behaved. I promise he won’t eat the patients.”

      “SOMETIMES I WISH the Internet had never been invented.”

      Dr. Reuben Zales rubbed his hand across his completely bald head and took a deep breath. “I’ve read the same articles you found on that site, Kit, and a great many more in medical journals. The operation they’re talking about is experimental, and I mean very experimental. At the moment it’s far, far too risky.”

      Kit leaned forward and put her hands on the edge of his desk, palms up as though in supplication. “But it sounds perfect for me, Reuben.”

      “Sure it does. And maybe in five years, or even two or three if they have good results, we’ll look into it.”

      “But it said—”

      “I said I am familiar with the Internet site, Kit.”

      She couldn’t hear his tone, but she suspected there was an edge of exasperation creeping in. He didn’t like to have his judgment questioned. He admitted he was conservative. Maybe it was a good thing all she got was the words.

      He ran his tongue over his lips. It was a constant gesture, almost a tic, and it drove Kit crazy because he spoke while he did it. What she read came out like some archaic Far Eastern language. “Stop that,” she snapped.

      He looked at her blankly.

      “The tongue thing. I can’t hear you when you do that.”

      “What tongue thing?” He dismissed her comment at once. He obviously wasn’t even aware he did it. “Okay. Let’s make it simple. Yes, regular cochlear implants can be miracles. For some people, not for you. You know that. We’ve consulted and discussed a dozen times. The operation you found on the Internet is far more than a simple cochlear implant. I can do those all day with excellent success rates and almost no complications. What you’re talking about is a cochlear implant with a computer chip and wires into the brain—almost like an antenna hard-wired into your head. Yes, it might work. Yes, it would be wonderful, and no, not yet. You could wind up with seizures or God forbid a brain hemorrhage or throw a clot from the operation itself.”

      “But СКАЧАТЬ