Groomed for Love. Helen Myers R.

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      “Can you get that for me?” she asked Noah.

      Without comment, he slammed the car door shut and pressed the remote lock on the key. Then he jogged the few steps to open the steel-and-glass clinic door.

      Inside, Rylie led the way to the nearest stainless-steel operating table. The fluorescent lights remained on, and it made the room as bright as midday. Whispering soothingly to the little dog that was trying to burrow her head into Rylie’s armpit, she eased Bubbles onto the table.

      “Poor friend. What happened here, huh? Gonna let me see so I can make it better?”

      “You’re authorized to do this?” Noah asked, coming up beside her.

      Without taking her eyes off the wound, Rylie said, “I’m at least capable of seeing how badly she’s hurt. Did you manage that much?”

      Noah admitted, “No, and neither did Ramon.”

      “Were you present when the accident happened?”

      “I was pretty much the cause of it.” At Rylie’s startled glance, he continued. “Mother was annoyed with me. I was supposed to be working later than she expected. After changing, I came downstairs and caught her trying to have more wine than is safe for her. With her nurse upstairs preparing her bath, and our housekeeper outside in the garden, she thought she was alone.”

      “You startled her.”

      “I did,” he said, regret deepening his voice. “She doesn’t have the strength she thinks she has despite the therapy she gets, and the bottle and glass slipped from her grasp. A moment later, upset at the commotion that followed, Bubbles got into the mess, and the rest you can see.”

      It was apparent by the way Noah looked everywhere but at her that he was either embarrassed, or ashamed, or both. Rylie had heard enough to understand that it didn’t matter how much money you had, a condition like Mrs. Prescott’s was difficult for more than the patient.

      “I’m very sorry,” she said with the utmost sincerity. “I promise that won’t go any further, and I hope she wasn’t cut, too?”

      “Externally, no. However, you can imagine what it did to her emotionally to see the hurt she’d caused her baby.”

      “I suspect you will always be her baby,” Rylie assured him. “The thing is that Bubbles is who she’s allowed to coddle. If you can learn to look at it that way, it might not annoy you so much. Besides, you don’t strike me as a man who would enjoy being stroked and petted relentlessly.”

      “It depends on who’s doing it.”

      The throaty reply made Rylie grateful to have the dog to focus on. It would seem that the county’s assistant D.A. wasn’t quite the cold fish he pretended to be. That was information her imagination didn’t need.

      “It’s okay, sweetheart,” she assured Bubbles. “I’m just going to... Yeah, there it is. There’s a shard about the width of a large sewing needle between her toes. It did some slicing before getting lodged where it is now.”

      “Will she have to be sedated?”

      “No, which is also good news because we can do this without waiting on Doc.”

      “Are you authorized to take care of this?”

      “I have more schooling and skills than most certified technicians, plus the common sense to know it would be good to get this over with quickly. However, if you want to leave this little girl in pain, it’s your call. Or you can help me keep her still while I use tweezers and take out the glass.” All the while that she spoke, she kept her tone soft and soothing, and her expression pleasant to reassure the whimpering dog watching her with trepidation. While it seemed to have a positive effect on Bubbles, Noah remained a hard sell.

      “Fine. I guess. As long as Dr. Sullivan is told about what you’ve done.”

      “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

      Aware that any frustration or annoyance with him would transmit itself to Bubbles, Rylie started humming a lullaby her mother had often sung to her as a child, as she carried the dog with her to the cabinets to get what supplies she needed. Once she had the tweezers, cotton balls and antiseptic, she returned to the table. Finally, she set down the dog, still keeping her arm around her.

      “Casually move over to the other side of the table to face me, and with your hands, brace her hips to keep her still,” she told Noah. “She’ll squirm and kick, so be prepared, but only be firm, not rigid. I’ll be as quick as I can.”

      As soon as he complied, she deftly plucked out the splinter.

      Bubbles made a slight yelp and then barked at her.

      “Yeah, fooled you, didn’t I?” Rylie quipped. “But guess what? You’re going to be feeling better and better by the second.” She soothingly stroked Bubble’s tummy, only to connect with Noah’s fingers. Surprised that he hadn’t already released his hold, she looked up at him, only to find that he was staring at her. That close scrutiny and the physical contact created a circuit that sent a strong wave of something hot and heavy through her body. “You...can let go now.”

      He glanced down and appeared surprised himself, but recovered quickly. Taking a step away from the table, he allowed, “You are fast.”

      His raspy admission had her smiling as she carried Bubbles to the sink, where she got a stainless-steel bowl and filled it with warm water. Then she set the dog carefully on the counter and coaxed her to put her foot into the warm water.

      “Let me get the blood off,” she told Bubbles, her tone all reassurance. “We can’t send you home all messy.”

      As soon as she was through, she wrapped the dog in a clinic towel and collected more items. Then she returned to the surgery table to treat the wound.

      “Does she need to take antibiotics?” Noah asked.

      “Not unless she comes down with an infection. She’s a healthy girl, so I’m not looking for that to happen. I’ll put Betadine on her—”

      “What’s that?”

      “A great antiseptic. Part iodine. It’s widely used in hospitals. If the wound happens to reopen, you could use Neosporin, too, and save yourself a trip back here.”

      “Ramon thought of hydrogen peroxide.”

      “In a pinch, okay, but that can be harsh on skin.”

      “What else?”

      “That’s it. Tell your mother to try to keep her quiet for a day or two. If she shows signs of prolonged limping, or licks the wound too much, bring her back. Go ahead and give her a low-dose aspirin when you get home. It should help keep down any fever and might help her sleep.”

      “Sounds easy enough. One more question.”

      “Sure.”

      “Why do you have more education than a certified technician?”

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