Montana Nights

Chapter 3 : Meet the Puppy

Mila

Becoming a vet tech was the best choice I ever made. Even with the chaos and hectic pace, I loved my job. It's one of the things that keeps me going every day, no matter how tired or crazy things get… I looked forward to it.

Five minutes later, I tossed the handful of left-overs from the previous patient, the spent recycled-paper towels, and returned the disinfectant spray bottle to its place. I quickly swept up the floor, then stepped out to the clinic's front desk.

Noah sat behind the counter, tapping away on the clinic's computer with the clinic's land-line phone glued to his ear.

“Snowy Grove Veterinary Clinic, this is Noah. How can I help you?"

I waved to catch Noah's eye. He glanced up, his long, gray hair pulled back into a low ponytail. His brown eyes barely registered my presence, but his hands handed me a new chart and we both went about your duties.

“Uhhh, I'm not sure if we treat bearded dragons… Yes, I agree, reptiles make great pets. Can I put you on hold while I ask Dr. Wilma? Yes, I understand, but I need to find out if Dr. Wilma would prefer you see a Herpetologist…"

I chuckled at Noah's predicament and focused on my own patient's chart. I called out the patient's name to the crowd filling the clinic's waiting area.

“Dottie Greer? Dottie Greer?"

My gaze flickered from the page to the crowd. A mountain of a man stood. Taller than anyone else in the building, broad shouldered and fit, Oliver Greer looked like a Viking stepped out of some fairy tale and into my life.

My lungs refused to breathe for a moment. My eyes widened as the giant approached. I gulped and somehow managed a few words while trying to avoid his piercing blue eyes, which threatened to sweep my imagination away to snowy climbs and animal furs.

“Mr., uh, Greer?"

He grinned and nodded, hanging his head slightly, as if embarrassed by being the largest man in most rooms.

“Yes, Ma'am. And this is Dottie."

His deep voice rumbled over me, through me, like thunder on the horizon. My head tried to spin. My knees tried to wobble. Then my mind processed the wiggly patch of fur he carefully thrust in my direction.

Mr. Greer held a German Shepherd puppy. I melted, forgetting the mountain of a man loomed over me.

“Awww! Look at you, Dottie! Aren't you just the cutest thing?"

I held out my arms, and Dottie wiggled her way into my embrace. I cuddled her to my chest, sticking my face directly into her puppy breath and cooed sweet nothing to her the entire way back to Exam Room #3.

“You just come right in here with me, Dottie. Yes, you do! What a good puppy you are. Yes, you are. It's puppies like you that make life worth living, don't you? How long have you had her, Mr. Greer?"

“Oliver, Ma'am. Just call me Oliver."

His voice rumbled through my core yet again, drawing wisps of desire from long dormant corners of my soul. I suppressed the need to sigh.

“Only if you call me Mila. You drop the Ma'ams and I'll drop the Misters, deal?"

Oliver chuckled, a rumble even deeper and more pleasant than his words.

Why is every guy I meet so damn hot? Stop it, Mila! What is even happening to me? I never drool over men!

“Deal. I just got her. She's only eight weeks old."

We entered the exam room, and I placed Dottie on the scale. Oliver ducked through the doorway and closed the door behind us. In the tiny exam room space, Oliver seemed even larger than he had in the waiting area.

My cheeks heated against my will, so I endeavored to avoid looking directly at him. I pretended to focus on Dottie, but his physical presence was impossible to ignore.

“A new puppy is always so much fun."

“Yeah. I have big hopes for her. I think she'll make an excellent service dog."

“Oh yeah? For yourself?"

I forgot not to look at him. His gaze trapped my eyes, and I forgot to breathe again. He shook his head slowly."

“Not for me. I train dogs for service."

I remembered to breathe, but my mind refused to think.

“Oh, yeah? Well, that's a noble profession…"

He blushed, dropping his gaze. Freed at last, I sucked in a huge breath as Dr. Wilma entered the room.

Bless you, Doc. You saved me!

I blushed. Oliver blushed. Dr. Wilma rolled her eyes and waved her hand through the air, as if we had filled the place with hormones.

“So, who do we have here?"

I put on my work face and avoided Oliver's captivating gaze as best I could. Dr. Wilma and I arranged ourselves on each side of the eczema table while Oliver stood at the end, taking up half the room. Dottie dissolved into a wiggly pile of puppy teeth between the three of us.

Dr. Wilma got to business while narrating her every move, her hands roaming the puppy all over.

“How long have you had her, Mr. Greer?"

“I just picked her up today and brought her directly here."

Dr. Wilma nodded approval while she flopped Dottie's ears open to take a look inside.

“Excellent. Has she had her first set of shots yet?"

“No Ma'am. I was hoping to take care of those today."

Dr. Wilma lifted Dottie's lips to check her gums, then checked her eyes and nose while I held Dottie as still as one can hold a puppy.

“Gums are a good color. Eyes clear."

Her hands slid down over Dottie's belly and gently squeezed in various places.

“Everything feels pretty good. Her belly may be a little distended… we'll worm her today. Eight weeks is the perfect age for her first vaccinations. Mind you, Mr. Greer, the shots she receives today will not prevent her from infections yet."

Dr. Wilma, herself over six-feet tall, pinned the giant Oliver with a look.

“Do not walk her around other dogs until a week after her next set of vaccinations. When she was nursing, she gained immunity from her mother's milk. She no longer has that protection. The vaccinations she receives today only begin her immune system's process to protect her. She is vulnerable until about a week after her next set of shots."

Oliver nodded, solemn and serious. “Yes, Ma'am."

“She still needs the socialization, so you still need to take her places, to properly socialize her, but don't set her down where every other dog runs around. You don't want Parvo, which can live wild in the environment for many, many years. Bleach is the only way to kill it and I've never seen a dog survive it."

“Yes, Ma'am. I understand."

Dr. Wilma flashed a quick, but genuine smile. “Good. Do you want me to do a fecal test? Puppies frequently carry a lot of parasites, since they can't be medicated so young."

Oliver nodded, concern obvious on his face. “Whatever she needs, Doc."

Dr. Wilma nodded, collected a fecal sample and stepped out of the room… leaving Oliver and me alone with Dottie. We tried to keep our eyes on Dottie while we awaited Dr. Wilma's return, but our eyes continued to meet.

I must have blushed every time. Oliver definitely blushed each time our eyes met. Conversation died, replaced by awkward silence. We both pet Dottie while avoiding her needle-like puppy teeth and keeping her from leaping from the table in her enthusiasm. Before I knew it, our bodies had drifted within inches of each other.

Say something, Mila.

“So…" Next time, think of more than that, like a complete sentence. “Have you trained a lot of dogs?"

Oliver jumped a little, as if startled. “Uh… Dottie is my third. The first, Jack, went to a girl with seizures. Sammy helps a blind man, and Dottie is destined to become a K-9 unit for the police."

“Wow! That's fascinating. I don't know how you can say goodbye to them, though…"

I made the mistake of looking and lost myself in Oliver's gaze again. As much as I couldn't breathe, Oliver also seemed incapable of breathing. Finally, he gulped and responded.

“Oh, I miss them, but I'm proud to have helped the people my dogs assist. I just think of the smile on Samantha's face, the girl with seizures. I would never deny her the joy she felt, or the security Jack provides her."

Stop being so perfect! What right do you have to walk into my life this way, Mr. Greer?

“Your wife must be so proud…"

He shook his head. “No wife."

Oh, f**k… I'm in so much trouble now..

“Just a girlfriend." He and I both deflated. The spell had broken. Disappointment sank in my gut like a lead weight. A polite smile spread across my face before either of us could recover from the revelation, Dr. Wilma returned with a handful of syringes.

“Oh, Dottie, here we go. First, we'll let her lick the wormer, they like the taste. Then we'll give her vaccinations. Mila?"

My hand automatically held Dottie's body while Dr. Wilma squirted the dewormer in her mouth, following the medication with treats, so Dottie would always look forward to her veterinary appointments. Wormer dispensed, I switched my hands out of Dr. Wilma's way while she injected Dottie with her first round of vaccinations.

“Mr. Greer, Dottie will be big enough for heartworm preventative soon, and I suggest you get her started on that as soon as you can. I've had to treat a few dogs for heartworms and it's a heartbreaking experience for everyone involved. The treatment is almost as harsh as the heartworms are."

She pointed to a set of jarred specimens floating in formaldehyde up on a shelf.

“You see the one with the heart? See all those threads coming out of that heart? That was a German Shepherd who didn't make it. Those threads are the heartworms. Believe me, the expense is worth avoiding that. Heartworms are transmitted through mosquitoes, which don't generally come out in Montana until the weather warms, but the risks are so high, in my opinion."

Oliver nodded vigorously, staring at the jar.

“Yes, Ma'am. I always keep up with my dogs' care. Can't control what happens to them after I train them and they leave my hands, but I make sure to care for them properly while they are with me."

Dr. Wilma nodded and let another smile escape her tough, no-nonsense exterior.

“Good man, Mr. Greer. Dottie has passed her exam with flying colors. Take her home and be good to her."

Oliver smiled, returning his gaze to Dottie, who chewed on my scrubs with great joy and abandon, puppy ears flopping. The giant man melted at the sight of his puppy, filling my soul.

He has a girlfriend, Mila. He is unavailable. Stop drooling!

Oliver gathered the puppy into her kennel and made for the exit. He paused halfway out the door, turning that heart-stopping smile my way.

“I'll see you later, Mila."

My heart fluttered, and then he was gone, vanished out the door.