âYou damn near killed your dog!â
When the woman he was addressing didnât react, Dr. John McIntyre Thorn raised his voice. He was not about to put up with bad manners. After all, heâd just spent several hours of his Saturday night saving her petâs life.
âI said you damn near killed your dog. Donât you care?â
The instant he touched her shoulder, she jumped and swung around to face him.
âI saved your dogâs life in there. What kind of blockhead ignores a distended stomach and a dog thatâs almost in a coma from the pain?â
She stared at him for a moment, then raised a hand and cut him off. What the hell was the matter with her?
âPlease speak slowly and form your words carefully,â she said. âI caught âblockheadâ and âcoma,â but thatâs about all. Since I doubt youâd think my dog is a blockhead, you must think I am.â
âYes, I think youâre aââ
Again the hand in front of the chest. âCall me anything you like. But please tell me that Kevlar is going to be all right.â She seemed to be staring at his mouth.
Then it hit him. He was the idiot. And he called himself a doctor. âYouâre deaf,â he said softly.
âHearing impaired is the politically correct term, but I prefer deaf. Itâs short and ugly,â she said, meeting his gaze unflinchingly.
Dear Reader,
Since the first CREATURE COMFORT book was published, readers have been asking me to write Mac Thornâs story. But how could I find the right womanâor in this case, the wrong womanâto jar him out of his lonely world? Then Kit Lockhart showed up with her young daughter, Emma, and suddenly Mac had not one difficult relationship, but two. Serves him right.
John McIntyre Thorn is the brilliant but irascible chief of veterinary surgery at Creature Comfort, the largest veterinary clinic in West Tennessee. Mac loves animals. Heâs not at all certain he likes human beings.
Kit Lockhart is guaranteed to drive him crazy. She recently lost her hearing in an accident and canât hear his tirades. She has her hands full coping with her new disability, an ex-husband who wonât grow up, and a difficult daughter. Sheâs not looking for a new relationship.
Ten-year-old Emma is confused and angered by her motherâs condition. Sheâs even angrier that the people who can hear her donât seem to be listening. And sheâs had about as much change as she can handle. The idea of a stepfather horrifies her.
Mac, Kit and Emma have each built a protective wall around themselves, but their havens are not happy places. Can love break through the barriers and meld them into a real family?
I hope you like their story.
Carolyn McSparren
The Memphis Zoo is one of the best in the country and employs an exceptionally fine staff of veterinarians and technical assistants. They took the time to show me around and answer my questions. The zoo and staff in Listen to the Child came strictly out of my head and bear no resemblance to the real people I metâexcept that theyâre also superb at looking after the creatures in their care. I especially want to thank Dr. Michael Douglas, Karen Jackson and Linda England.
This book is dedicated to the fine zoos around the world who are trying to create a happy and challenging environment for their charges, and to the people who are working so diligently to preserve endangered species.
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
EPILOGUE
âWILL HE LIVE?â Nancy Mayfield asked.
John MacIntyre Thorn tightened the final suture closing the incision along the little brown-and-white corgiâs flank. âNo thanks to that idiot who brought him in,â Mac snapped. âAnother hour and that kidney would have burst. Weâd have had to deal with peritonitis. He can live a full life on one kidney. If we can keep him from getting infected, and if his numskull owner doesnât kill him before he gets well.â
Mac gently stroked the corgiâs head. The anesthetized dog could feel nothing, but that didnât matter to Mac. âYouâre going to be fine, little guy,â he whispered.
âWeâre going to keep him in ICU a day or two, arenât we?â Nancy asked.
âYeah. At least a couple days, maybe longer. The longer we keep him, the less chance there is of anyone screwing up what weâve done.â
âI donât think she realizedââ
âItâs her job to know when her dogâs in pain, blast it! Hydronephritis hurts.â
âBut dogs donât always show theyâre in pain. You know that.â
âA decent owner ought to recognize a sick dog the way sheâd recognize a sick childâshe may not know whatâs wrong, but she sure as hell should realize something is.â He stripped off his latex gloves and dropped them in the waste bin in the corner. âI suppose you want me to speak to her.â