Montana Vet
WHAT SHE NEEDS…Emily Miles already has plenty on her plate: caring for her rescued dogs, finding staff and volunteers, and raising money to keep The Wagging Tail rescue home going. So when new part-time vet Seth Pettit starts making her heart flutter, Emily tells herself it’s just gratitude.Seth has his own plateful – he’s newly responsible for a teenager, but he’s got no idea what to do with kids! Tough but delicate Emily needs a full-time partner and he can’t take on that role as a vet or a man. So why does he want to be both for Emily?
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His broad shoulders strained the limits of his flannel shirt.
And his loose jeans outlined his muscular thighs as he donned protective gloves and hunkered down in front of the cage.
Everything about him was big, including his hands, and yet Emily knew he performed surgery. Strong, yet precise, firm, yet tender ⦠There was no telling what those capable hands would feel like on her bare skin. A shiver of desire passed through her.
She gave herself a mental eye roll and bawled herself out. Now? She was lusting over Seth when the German shepherd was suffering from who knew what? The animals here depended on her to keep them healthy and safe, and find them new homes. They came first. Always.
Seth Pettit was a gorgeous man. Heâd also given up his nightâs rest to help this dog. Sheâd best get her mind on the matters at hand.
To animal lovers everywhere
ANN ROTH lives in the greater Seattle area with her husband. After earning an MBA she worked as a banker and corporate trainer. She gave up the corporate life to write, and if they awarded PhDs in writing happily-ever-after stories, sheâd surely have one.
Ann loves to hear from readers. You can write her at PO Box 25003, Seattle, WA 98165-1903, USA, or e-mail her at [email protected].
Recipe
Because dogs are an important part of this book, this recipe is for them.
Homemade Dog Treats
Ingredients
2½ cups rolled oats
Scant 1 tsp. salt (or less) 1 egg 1 tsp. beef or chicken bouillon granules dissolved in ½ cup hot water Shredded cheese to your dogâs taste Bacon bits (optional)
Directions
1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2 Mix bouillon/broth with remaining ingredients
3 Knead dough until it forms a ball (approximately 3 minutes)
4 Roll dough to ½ inch thick
5 Cut into slices or bone shapes
6 Place dough pieces on lightly greased cookie sheet
7 Cook for 30 minutes
Contents
So far, this had been a day of surprisesâand not the good kind. Sitting at the front office desk, Emily Miles massaged her temples and thought back to eight oâclock, on what sheâd assumed would be a normal Tuesday. Sheâd assumed wrong.
First Rich Addison, the seventy-something veterinarian who had volunteered at The Wagging Tail since Emily had opened the shelter four years ago, had shared the unwelcome news that he was retiring.
Retiring! The poor manâs wife had given him an ultimatumâeither leave his career behind and start traveling with her, or live out the rest of his days as a divorced man. His last day was Friday. Emily had no idea where sheâd find his replacement, and Rich hadnât come up with any names, either.
On this warm, sunny day in the second week of Septemberânormal weather for Prosperity, Montanaâsheâd opened all the windows. She easily heard the collective howls and barks coming from the dog runs in the backyard, where the six abandoned and/or abused animals she was sheltering until she found them good homes were enjoying the day as best as they could. At least they had been. The unhappy sounds made her wonder if they somehow understood this dire news and what it meant.
Because without an on-call veterinarian to come in when necessary, she would have no way of knowing if the animals she took in suffered from a contagious disease, or how to treat those in need of medical attention. She would be forced to close down.
Then where would these abandoned, innocent creatures go? To the pound, where they would probably be euthanized. Emily couldnât bear the thought.
An annual fund-raiser brought in enough to keep The Wagging Tail afloat, and Emily counted every penny. As yet, the only two people on the payroll were herself, and she took only enough to cover the rent and supplies, and Mrs. Oakes, the part-time office manager.
As busy as Emily was with the shelter, she also ran a website design and management business from home. The work took up considerable time, but was interesting and covered her personal bills, and sometimes subsidized shortages that fund-raising didnât cover.
But neither her earnings nor the shelterâs budget was enough to pay a veterinarian. Someday. For now, she needed a volunteer, preferably long-term. The trouble was, most of the animal doctors in town worked full-time and then some, devoting any spare time to other, larger facilities. Finding someone willing to come to her little shelter without compensation was difficult.
If that wasnât enough, Emily needed him or her by the end of the weekâjust three days from now.
Could the day get any worse?
It could and had. While she was still reeling from Richâs stunning news, Mrs. Oakes, who worked Tuesday through Friday, had called in sick with a case of stomach flu. Edgar, the senior citizen volunteer who answered the phones on Mondays, had been busy with other commitments, leaving Emily to man the front desk. Then the Tates, the couple scheduled to foster and, fingers crossed, adopt the high-strung red setter that had been at the shelter for nearly a week, had postponed until Friday. With the kennel filled to capacity, Emily had counted on freeing up the dogâs cage for another animal in need.
