was lost in materials and colors and clever food bits. A woman like that, irritated him.
So it was about three days later, and he still hadn’t shaved. Rip had an okay from the vet, so he took the dog to the humans’ hospital. He did that so the man, Andrew Parsons, might understand the dog was okay. However, it was mostly so that the anxious dog could see the man. A fly head, like that man, was a heavy responsibility for any dog.
Rip took a silent, patient breath when he realized the stupid nurse was there. But then she said, “His sister would like to see you.”
Hell.
He’d thought, at that time of the morning, visitors wouldn’t be underfoot. It was for the dog that he was there. The dog was superior. But he was restless and anxious.
Why on earth had the dog gotten tangled up with an owner who was so stupid? Poor dog. Just maybe, the man would allow Rip to take the dog off his hands. If not permanently, at least getting away for a while from the pilgrim would be a respite for the dog.
There was the snippy nurse saying, “—and this is Rip Morris” to a woman who had just approached them.
Rip looked at the pilgrim’s sister with naked eyes of shock. The sun-squint lines beside his eyes disappeared and there were the white lines that had been hidden by the sun squint. His lips parted, and he looked vulnerable. He was.
Rip had not heard her name.
The woman held out her hand and her handshake was a good firm one that didn’t tickle or rub or flirt. Her hand was small but her grip was just right. So were her eyes.
The irises were blue and she wore a hell of a lot of mascara or she’d had those false eyelashes planted. If she blinked the wind from those lashes might knock him back a step. He said, “How do you do.” No question. She needn’t reply.
Then he realized she wasn’t interested in him. Thank God for that. Women tended to be pushy.
She was saying, “—first there. Thank you.”
He nodded. She wasn’t moving her body to call attention to herself. She was just talking about her brother.
Because it had baffled them all, Rip asked the sister, “Why was he out there?”
“I haven’t heard.” That’s what she replied. She did not expand on it. She wasn’t particularly interested in visiting. She just wanted to thank the first person there who had helped her stupid brother.
Of course, she didn’t call her brother stupid. That was only Rip’s I.D. for him. Rip asked again, “Why the hell was he out there all alone, on that plain? The grass was too low even for grazing. Who the hell would be out that way if he got in trouble?”
“You were.”
“That’s only because the dog came limping in, and Tom Keeper called me.”
And she said in a level manner, “Oh. Then it’s Tom Keeper whom I must thank.”
Somehow that stuck in Rip’s craw. “I’ll pass the word along.”
“How nice.”
Rip frowned at her. Snippy. Who cared what she was? Not him. He took the dog over to the hospital bed and told the nurse, “He’s had a bath and been defleaed.”
She grinned.
Now that’s how women were supposed to react. But his face didn’t smile nor did he look at the nurse. He looked at the man on the bed. Andrew Parsons. He looked like a parson from olden times. Probably was a descendant of one. He told the silent man, “Your dog is here to see to you. Open your eyes and look at him so’s he’ll know you’re okay.”
The nurse protested, “He’s drug—”
But with some effort, Andrew opened his eyes and his head turned very, very slowly. The dog put his paws on the side of the bed and he made an anxious throat sound.
Andrew’s hand came slowly, slowly up and sideways until it touched the dog’s neck.
The dog licked Andrew’s hand, the nurse gasped and reached, but Rip’s hands stopped her and he wouldn’t let her go.
She was furious, but she looked up at Rip who was simply watching the dog. So she did also, and the dog licked the man’s hand again.
Rip murmured to the nurse, “Good, clean dog spit.”
She shuddered.
But there was the slightest smile on Andrew’s face. His eyes closed. There was a long exhale of breath and his body seemed to dissolve. There were several gasps there in the room. All female.
Rip looked at the sister. She was watching her brother intently. The nurse took Andrew’s wrist and felt the heartbeat She’d thought he’d died. His breathing was so slow. But it was steady. He had sunk down into deep sleep.
The dog looked at Rip. He told the dog, “He’s okay. You can stay fifteen minutes, then we’ll go home and you can come back this afternoon.”
Rip was actually letting the nurse know how he was going to let the dog come visit. She took a protesting breath, but the floor doctor was at the door.
The doctor came inside the room and took up Andrew’s wrist. The doctor didn’t push the dog aside but left him with his forefeet on the side of the bed.
The doctor lifted one of Andrew’s eyelids and listened to his breaths, then he said, “He’s sleeping very nicely. He needs to sleep. This has been a very tough time.” Then he turned to Rip and smiled. And he said, “Thank you for bringing his dog up. Do it again this afternoon. Andrew has been restless and frowning. Obviously, he’s been worried about the dog. Knowing the dog is all right, Andrew will rest better.”
“When’s the best time?” That was Rip’s response to the obvious logic.
“We’ll stimulate him and shift him. We’ll wake him about two. Come then.”
“Okay.”
“—and bring the dog.”
“Off course.”
As Rip left the room with the dog, the patient’s sister followed. She had not protested the dog or the man, and it was now that she said, “Thank you for bringing Buddy along.”
“So that’s his name?” Rip found himself looking at the snippy woman. She was a looker without doing anything about it. She didn’t have on any makeup other than those eyelashes and her hair was casual.
She said, “Andrew and Buddy are good friends... buddies.”
“That’s why the dog went looking for help.”
“Is that how you found him?”
“The son of our boss, Tom Keeper, saw the dog first. He sent out the alarm. He was on horseback. I had a plane. I took Buddy
