LITMIR.BIZ

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it was already too late and shook his head.

      “Let’s see what we can do about you first.” Her calm voice and soft tone was designed to comfort the man beside her.

      “Oh, no! Is Muffin dead?” he asked, and clasped her arm.

      Piper took his hand and drew his attention away from the site. “I don’t know. We’ll help Muffin all we can, but I think you need some help, too.”

      The man responded to Piper and nodded. “Okay. Okay.” He fumbled in his pocket and withdrew an inhaler. Piper held his trembling hand to his mouth as he took two puffs of the medication that would assist his breathing. Tears still trickled down his face. “I’m short…of breath.”

      “Were you bitten, too?” Taylor asked, and knelt beside them. The dog was past any help they could give it. A small dog was no match against a coyote that was probably rabid. The kind of behavior the man described was unusual for the normally reclusive coyote. They would have to report it after the man was seen to.

      “No. It just tore out of the brush and attacked poor Muffin.” He wiped his tears with his hands, which were covered in scratches. “I tried to pull it off.”

      Taylor assessed the man’s condition. Without medical equipment, he was limited as to what he could do. Basic first aid was about it. “That was a very brave thing to do, but it appears that the coyote got a piece of you, too.”

      “What?”

      Taylor pointed to the puncture wounds on the man’s hands and forearms. “It bit you, too.”

      “Oh, no.” The man looked at his arms, apparently seeing the wounds for the first time. With wide eyes, he looked from Piper to Taylor and fainted.

      Piper tried to catch him, but landed in a heap with the unconscious man. Reaching forward, Taylor lifted the man so Piper could scoot out from under him.

      “Are you okay?” he asked, and eased the man to a prone position.

      “Yes. Do you think he’s just passed out?” she asked, and checked his pulse again. “His pulse is okay, but his color is ghastly.”

      “I think he’s simply overcome with emotion. Some people react badly when they see their own blood. I’m going to call 911 and have him checked out. He’ll need treatment for the bite in any case, especially if the animal was rabid.” Taylor pulled his cell phone from his pocket and gave the necessary information. “They should be here in a few.”

      “I feel so sorry for the guy,” she said, and looked at the mess that had once been the beloved Muffin. “Yuck. Do you think it’s really a rabid coyote or just a dog attack?”

      “He was probably right. We have coyote attacks a few times a year here, and they are always rabid. Fish and Game Department keeps close tabs on rabies cases and want people to report it if they find suspicious animals.” He hoped that Piper was going to be okay and not frightened of being out in the desert. This was definitely an unexpected event at the park.

      Piper looked around them as the night deepened, casting shadows where there had been none moments ago. “We aren’t in danger, are we? I mean, you don’t think it’ll come back, do you?”

      Taylor glanced around. The coyote was probably long gone. “Don’t know. But keeping an eye out for a coyote heading toward us with bared teeth is probably a good idea.”

      “Taylor!” She laughed despite the tense situation. “That’s awful.” But she glanced around anyway.

      “Made you laugh, though.” And that was a wonderful sound.

      “You certainly did.”

      The man on the ground between them moaned and raised a hand to his head.

      “Don’t try to move, sir,” Taylor said, and pressed a hand to his shoulder to keep him down. “An ambulance is on the way.”

      “What for?” he asked, his voice sounding weaker than it had moments ago.

      “Piper, can you go to the entrance and lead them over here?” Taylor asked, now not so sure the man was as stable as he appeared.

      “Yes. I’ll be right back.” She stood. “I see the lights.”

      In minutes she returned with the crew, carrying medical equipment. They hooked the man to the monitors, checked his blood pressure and watched his heart rhythm bounce across the screen.

      “I’m Piper and this is Dr. Jenkins. What’s your name?” Piper asked, and patted his arm gently, her voice a soothing tone that even Taylor was responding to.

      “Jesse. Jesse Farmer.”

      “BP’s low,” a paramedic said.

      Taylor watched the heart monitor, interpreting the rhythm. “Looks like he’s in third-degree heart block, too. No wonder he fainted.” Potentially not good. “Jesse, have you ever been told you have a heart condition?” He spoke to Jesse, but kept his eyes on the monitor.

      “Once. But it went away.”

      “Heart conditions don’t generally go away,” he said, knowing that many patients resisted the idea of their bodies failing. He would, too, he supposed. But ignoring medical advice and symptoms only led to disaster.

      “My cardiologist said I need a pacemaker, but I didn’t like that idea.” Another paramedic placed an oxygen mask over Jesse’s face.

      “Well, this incident tonight proves that you definitely need one. That means immediately. Boys, take him in. Have the external pacemaker on him and ready in case he loses his rhythm during transport.” Taylor helped them lift the stretcher while Piper reassured Jesse.

      “What about Muffin?” Jesse cried, and gripped Piper’s arm.

      “We’ll take care of Muffin,” Piper said, and patted Jesse on the arm. “You need to call your family as soon as you get to the hospital so someone can come be with you. You shouldn’t be alone right now.”

      “Okay. Okay.” He lay back on the stretcher as exhaustion overcame him.

      Taylor stood beside Piper as the ambulance pulled away. “So how do you think we should deal with Muffin?” he asked.

      “I have some supplies in my car and can put him in a hazardous materials bag. If it’s been killed by a rabid coyote, isn’t someone going to want to know about it?”

      “Wildlife Department. Let’s collect the remains, and then I’ll call them.” He looked at his watch and noticed the timer continued counting down the seconds of his commitment to Alex. “It’s probably too late for them to come get it. They’ll tell us what to do, though.”

      Fifteen minutes later they had trekked to Piper’s car, collected Muffin’s body and placed it in Piper’s trunk. “That ought to do it,” she said, and squirted hand sanitizer in her palm and offered some to Taylor. “Just in case.”

      “You come prepared, don’t you?” he asked, and rubbed the solution into his hands.

      “Girl Scout of long ago and a home-care nurse sometimes.” She held up three fingers of her right hand and crossed her thumb over her pinky in the Girl Scout salute.

      Full darkness had fallen and streetlights flickered on.

      “Damn. I almost forgot about Alex.” Taylor looked at his watch, near to panic. “I was only supposed to be gone an hour and it’s been nearly two.” He was such a failure at being responsible.

      “He would have called you if something was wrong, right?”

      “Probably. Just the same, I’d better get home.” If something happened to the kid, he’d never forgive himself. He’d not only disappoint Alex, he’d disappoint his sister, too.

      “Why don’t I drive you? It’ll be faster.” She placed her hand on his arm in a small gesture of reassurance.

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