Hard Bargain by Scarlet Blackwell EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Authors: Scarlet Blackwell
- Language: English
- Genre: contemporary romance
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 7.2 MB
- Price: Free
Lynton
Lynton Brooke crouched down with his arm around the shoulders of his
patient’s owner. The ginger cat lay in her arms, drip tubing snaking
back from his paw into the cage in the ICU. Lynton had just
euthanized the patient and was now listening as unobtrusively with his
stethoscope as he could for a fading heartbeat while Charlie’s owner wept.
“He’s gone now,” he said softly, tightening his arm, trying to
communicate comfort as best he could.
She nodded, kissing the cat on his head and swiping tears away with
one hand.
“Shall I give you a few minutes?”
“Yes.”
Lynton stood up, legs cramping. He disposed of his syringe and
threw his gloves away before washing his hands. He then stepped outside
into the corridor and leaned against the wall with his eyes shut. Fuck, he
loved his job, but he loathed this part of it. Of course it was right to end
suffering, but how could he comfort the devastated owner left behind after
ten, fifteen, twenty years of loving their pet? This time it had been eighteen.
After a full life, Charlie had succumbed to renal failure. It had been a long,
slow slide down with only one outcome inevitable.
He walked on down to the staff room and took a drink of water from
the cooler to wash away the lump in his throat. It didn’t get any easier and
he should have been grateful for that. When he did euthanize an animal
without feeling deep regret and pain, it would be time to retire. He sighed
and allowed himself to sink into a chair. A couple of minutes was all he had.
There were plenty of other patients in the waiting room.
Lynton was married to his job. It had always been that way since
he’d qualified as a vet. After twelve-hour shifts five days a week, he was
left with little energy to devote to his personal life. What personal life?
Lynton liked men but didn’t often get the opportunity to be with one. After
taking this job in Montpelier, Vermont, he’d left his parents and school
friends behind in Seattle and traded in relationships for work. Now, his only
friends were work colleagues and he doubted any of them would want to
cruise gay bars with him.
He guessed he’d made his bed and had to lie in it, but lying alone
night after night slowly became soul-destroying.
The door burst open, startling him from his maudlin thoughts. Head
nurse Christina Buckley shouted at him. “Just got an emergency from the
parking lot. Dog versus car. You need to come. Exam room four.”
“All right.” Lynton was calm and collected and didn’t speak a whole
lot unless he had something important to say. He never lost it in a crisis. He
never shouted or bawled for equipment during an emergency. He never
showed anything but ultimate respect for his colleagues. He knew what they
thought about him. Solid, dependable, with a wealth of knowledge. What he
was, was lonely, working his life away, a tired man who was sick at heart.
He stood and threw his cup into the wastebasket before he followed
Christina out.
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