That Runaway Summer by Darlene Gardner Read Free Book Online Page A

matted its coat and it held one of its legs stiffly. She heard the faint roar of a motorcycle engine, a reminder that this section of woods adjoined the two-lane thoroughfare leading to and from downtown Indigo Springs.
    “The poor thing. It looks like he might’ve been hit by a car.” The goat could have limped into the woods before it collapsed. But where had it come from? Farms dotted the countryside, but she didn’t know of one nearby. “I think his back leg is broken.”
    “We need to take him to a vet!” Chris cried.
    Although the goat measured about two and a half feet from head to hooves, it had a thick, muscular body and probably weighed thirty pounds.
    “He’s too big to carry,” she said.
    The animal made a soft, keening sound that tore at Jill.
    “Somebody has to help him!” Chris sounded close to tears, stabbing at Jill’s heart. On the other hand, she wasn’t surprised. Her brother cried while watching lions attack their prey on the National Geographic channel.
    Jill placed her hand on her brother’s back, feeling his body trembling. “I didn’t say we wouldn’t help him, honey. Only that we can’t move him.”
    “Then what are we going to do?” Chris wailed.
    Jill quickly ran over options in her mind. She could phone a veterinarian, except nightfall was quickly approaching and she didn’t know how late vets worked or whether they took after-hour calls.
    Or she could fetch one.
    “I know of someone who can help.” She handed her brother her cell phone. “Stay here and I’ll be back as quick as I can.”
    She took off at a trot, hardly noticing the leaves and small twigs that slapped at her arms and legs. She did, however, recognize the irony in the situation.
    She was running toward the one man from whom she should stay far away.

    D AN’S FIRST INDICATION that this wouldn’t be an ordinary Tuesday night came when the dogs who’d settled in to watch him fix the kitchen cabinet leaped to their feet and broke into loud barking.
    Starsky and Hutch raced for the door, their paws sliding over the hardwood floor.
    Dan rose slowly, reluctant to abandon the job he’d finally gotten around to tackling. Almost a year after he’d moved into the small, two-bedroom house, the cabinet was still coming off its hinges.
    “Starsky! Hutch! Quiet!” he commanded.
    The two mixed-breed dogs kept barking, completely in disregard of the fact that he was a vet with a reputation to uphold.
    “You’re going to give me a bad name,” Dan told the dogs as he nudged past them to the door. Their tails wagged in double time while they panted with undisguised anticipation. “It’s also uncool to give the impression that nobody ever visits us.”
    Starsky barked, almost as if to say they hardly ever did get visitors.
    “Point taken, smart aleck,” Dan muttered, then swung open the door to a surprise.
    “I’m sorry to stop by like this,” Jill said in a rush, “but I need you.”
    The last three words could have been straight out of his fantasies if the delivery had been different. She was out of breath. A slight sheen of perspiration dampened her brow and her curly hair was disheveled.
    “What’s wrong?” he asked.
    “There’s a goat in the woods. I think its leg is broken.”
    “A goat?” The dogs were barking enthusiastically. Dan positioned his body so they couldn’t get out of the house and lick her to death.
    “The poor thing could really use your help.” Her expression was pleading, as though she feared he might say no. Even if he were capable of turning away from an animal, no way could he refuse Jill.
    “Sure.” He regained his equilibrium, his mind racing as he thought about what he needed to do. “Just give me a minute to gather some supplies. You can wait inside.”
    The dogs erupted into a cacophony of even louder barks before he could move aside to allow her entrance. She stepped backward.
    “They’re harmless, I promise you.” He grimaced, feeling a telltale flush of