Run Over

Run Over

Fargo, North Dakota. Mid-January—5pm.

"Hey Dad?"

"Uh huh?"

"I'm gonna go over to the clinic for a couple of hours."

"Isn't it closing soon?"

"Yeah, but I can get more work done after Doctor Collins leaves, so this makes sense."

"You gonna be back for dinner?"

"Probably not."

"Okay. I'll just throw something in the microwave and you can fend for yourself."

"Sounds good, Dad. I'll be back by eight at the latest."

His son grabbed his heavy coat, and as much as his dad tried not to say anything, it just sort of came out.

"Alex? I know you're devoted to becoming a vet, but shouldn't a healthy 25-year old guy be spending time with a young lady instead of cats and dogs?"

His son didn't get upset anymore. The breakup had been nearly a year ago, and he knew it was high time to, as they say, get back in the ball game. But his dad was right. His sole focus at this point was graduating from veterinary college and coming back to Sandy Paws Animal Clinic as Dr. Collins's partner rather than her apprentice.

"Tell you what, Dad. When you start dating again, I'll go out with you and your girl. Deal?"

Michael McDonald's wife left him nearly six years ago right after Alex graduated from high school. He was now 58 years old and hadn't been on a single date, and because the experience left him so bitter, he didn't care if he never got close to another woman. And as long as Alex was still living at home with him, even if he was gone almost all the time between school and work, he just didn't see where he needed anyone else.

He stood there and looked at his son then started smiling before he said, "Okay. You win."

Alex laughed then walked over and gave his dad a hug and smiled.

"You know I'm right."

"Yeah, yeah. Go see your damn cats!"

"I won't be too late, Dad. I promise."

"I've heard that before!" his father called out as his son opened the door letting in a blast of frigid air.

*****

Same day—5pm. Fargo National Cemetery.

He shivered as the cold seeped into his bones in spite of the fur hat, coat, scarf and gloves. He'd stood there for a good ten minutes, but this was about all he could take.

"Leece? You stay as long as you like, but I gotta go warm up, okay?"

His sister was staring at the headstone, and he wasn't sure she'd heard him. He was going to repeat himself when she finally looked at him.

"Sure. I'll be right there. I just need another minute or two. Is that okay?"

"Of course it is," her brother replied as he tried to keep his teeth from chattering.

It was not only very cold, the sky was low and dark and looked ominous. More snow was coming soon, and while there was nothing he could do about that, he could get out of the cold.

By the time his sister got in the car with him, the heater was blowing warm air.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to stay that long," she said after closing the door.

Her brother looked at her and wondered if she was even aware of how cold it was outside, but he knew how much she'd loved him, and on the third anniversary of his passing, there was no doubt she was deep in thought.

"It's fine. Really," he told her before gently reminding her to put her seatbelt on.

Neither of them spoke on the ride home, but there wasn't really anything to be said. They'd said it all before many times before, and nothing was going to bring him back.

Lisa Blackman was 36 years old and had lost her husband, Joe, to pneumonia, of all things, when he was just 35. It was rare, but as they learned, it did happen. Her older brother, Ed Halstead, had just turned 41 and did his best to be there for his little sister who was finally coming out of the dark haze that had surrounded her since Joe's death.

Today was an exception, and Ed realized that this would most likely always be a solemn day for Lisa as long as she lived. Even so, he hoped with all his heart that she'd find someone else and maybe even be as happy as she'd once been.

"Isn't it supposed to snow more today?" she asked, finally breaking the silence.

"That's what they said on the weather this morning."

"It looks...terrible out there."

"You need to get home and get inside before the next wave hits," Ed told her.

"I will. I'll go straight home as soon as we get back to your place," Lisa promised.

The first heavy, fat flakes were falling just as they pulled up to her car in Ed's driveway.

"Thank you, big brother," Lisa said as they sat there, the car still idling.

"I'm always here for you, Leece. You know that."

"Yes I do, and you know how much that means to me."

"You better go. Just be careful, okay?"

"Always," she promised.

They'd both been born and raised in Fargo, so winter was no big deal to them. Even so, it still presented challenges, and one of them was driving in snow, something Lisa hated to do. She did it on a routine basis, but the older she got the more she dreaded it.

It took nearly ten minutes for the windshield to clear enough to let her see out of the front window. By the time she could safely drive, the back window had defrosted and she was able to see well enough out of either side so she put the car in reverse and carefully backed out onto the road.

Dark, dirty snow was piled high on both sides of the road from the snowplows that kept the streets as clear as possible during the winter, and another small layer had already formed as she drove along at around 15mph in order to be able to stop if need be.

She made a right turn at the end of the street then drove four blocks before making a left at a light. Seven blocks later she made another right and breathed a sigh of relief now that she was less than a mile from home. Still being very cautious, Lisa upped her speed to nearly 25 in the 35mph zone and focused on staying in her lane as cars slowly passed her from the opposite direction. Everyone had their lights on, and that caused a glare she had to deal with on top of the icy road.

Her phone buzzed indicating an incoming text. Were it a call, Bluetooth would have sent it to the car's audio system. But it didn't handle texts, so she took a quick look at her phone to see who it was from. It was a reminder from Ed, but she already knew about it, so after just a quick glance, she looked back at the road.

It took her brain a second to comprehend what it was seeing, and in just that short amount of time, she knew it was too late. Even so, she stepped on the brake and prayed she'd miss it without sliding into oncoming traffic. The top of the dog disappeared under her hood as she closed her eyes and said, "No, no, no!" just before the 'bump' followed by a howl of pain.

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!" she repeated as the car finally came to a stop.

Without even checking the rearview mirror, Lisa jumped out and ran to the animal that was laying in the road, whimpering and crying.

"I am SO sorry!" she said as though the dog could understand her.

She saw the left rear leg and realized it was hurt. A man about her age who wasn't all that far behind her stopped and got out to help.

"What can I do?" he asked as he walked up.

"I...I don't know. I didn't even see it. I was just driving along and then...."

"It's not your fault," the man told her. "But if we don't get her inside, she'll freeze to death."

Lisa's mind was racing, but she was still able to think.

"There's a vet's office just two blocks from here. Can you help me get him in the car?"

"Sure," the man said. "If she doesn't bite me."

He had some heavy-duty gloves on, and in spite of the snarl and the snapping, the man carefully scooped up the dog and said, "Can you go open the door?"

Lisa carefully made her way back to the car, opened the rear door, then stepped aside as the man lay the wounded animal in the backseat.

"Do you think it's broken?" Lisa asked with genuine concern.

"I don't know, but doesn't look good."

"Okay, I'll take it from here. Thank you so much!"

"You need me to follow you?"

"Um...no thanks. I should be okay," Lisa told him.

He was a good-looking man, and she noticed the way he was looking at her. He was almost certainly a decent guy, but she just didn't want to deal with the possibility of him asking her out or trying to get her number.

What she didn't know for sure but believed was true. The man found her very attractive, and were he to learn she was single, he would have most definitely done exactly what she was thinking.

"You sure? It's really nasty out here," he said.

A car behind them honked, and Lisa knew she needed to get moving.

"Yes. I'm sure. But thank you again!"

She got in, and before she could put it back in gear the whimpering behind her tore her apart.

"I'm so sorry, buddy!" Lisa said as she made her way to the next stop sign so she could turn toward the vet's office.

The dog's crying made the three-minute drive seem like three hours as she pulled into the the clinic's small lot. She could see a light on inside so she unbuckled her seatbelt and told the dog she'd be right back. But when she got to the door, she saw the closed sign and looked at her watch. It was ten minutes after five, and 5 o'clock was when the clinic closed on Saturdays.

"No!" she called out as she tried looking inside.

Out of desperation, she started banging on the glass door and calling out for help. When no one came, she was at wits end and had no idea what to do. She banged several more times and yelled again then gave up.

She turned around and headed back to the car just as she heard a voice call, "Can I help you?"

Lisa spun around and saw the person who asked the question and said, "Yes! Please help me!"

The snow was falling faster and harder, and all Lisa could really tell was that the other person was a younger man with dark hair.

"What's going on?" he asked as he followed her to the car.

"I...I hit a dog. I didn't even see him. He just...appeared. And I think I may have broken his leg."

She opened the door to let the man she assumed was a vet take a look.

"We need to get her inside!" he said after just a couple of seconds.

"Okay," Lisa agreed without any idea how to do that.

"I'm going to grab a stretcher and some gloves. I'll be right back!" he told her.

Less than a minute later he returned and set the small animal stretcher down next to the car.

"Once I get her on it, I'll need you to help me carry her inside, okay?"

"Yes. Sure," Lisa told him, very thankful for his willingness to help.

Like the other man, he ignored the snarling and the heavy gloves protected his fingers when the frightened animal tried to tear into his hands. He lowered the dog, pulled a strap over its emaciated body, secured it, then asked Lisa to take the rear as he closed the car door.

"I'll open the clinic door when we get there," he told her as she helped him raise the stretcher.

Somehow, he balanced the stretcher with one hand and one side of his body and pulled the door open and held it with his foot until Lisa was close enough to use hers to keep the door open until she was inside.

The warm air felt wonderful once they were in the foyer, but there was no time to bask in it.

"This way," the younger man said as he led her to an examination room.

"We'll set the stretcher down on the table then I'll lift her up. When I do, please set the stretcher on the floor, okay?"

The dog howled and snarled and bit the gloved hand again, but several seconds later, she was laying on the stainless steel table.

"Okay. Good girl," the man said.

"It's a girl?" Lisa asked, having not heard him or the first man who helped her.

She finally looked then felt a little silly and yet between the weather and the adrenaline it was an easy mistake.

"The vet left about ten minutes before you got here," the young man said.

"Wait. You're not a vet?"

"No. I'm...in my final year of veterinary school at North Dakota State, but I'm not a vet."

He smiled at the woman and said, "Yet."

"Oh," Lisa replied, not knowing what else to say. She was also surprised when she suddenly realized how attractive this almost-vet was, something else she hadn't yet noticed.

He had very thick, very dark hair that was still wet from the snow, and he looked to be about six feet tall or maybe even 6'1". He also had very blue eyes and a nearly perfect smile and what appeared to be a rather muscular build. Not like a weightlifter but very...solid.

"I'm gonna call her, but in the meantime I'm going to need to get an x-ray to see if it's broken."

"What can I do?" Lisa asked.

"Oh, no. You don't have to stay," the man told her. "We'll take care of her and she can stay here over the weekend and we'll call you on Monday. Don't worry. Someone comes in three times a day to feed them and see how they're doing, and that someone is usually me."

"No. I want to stay. I'm responsible for this, and you were kind enough to open up and let us in, so just let me know what I can do, okay?"

"For now, just keep an eye on her while I call Dr. Collins and set up the machine."

He disappeared for about two minutes then walked back in and said, "She's turning around, but I'm going to need to splint this leg. I'll give her a sedative to relax her, and while that's taking effect, let's get her into the x-ray room. After that, I'll splint the leg unless the Doc Collins gets here first."

Lisa was impressed by the way he worked. He was calm and methodical and seemed very confident.

At one point he asked her for some help, and after she provided it, he said, "I'm Alex."

"Oh. Hi, Alex. I'm Lisa."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lisa," he told her as he flashed another smile her way.

With the x-rays done and the dog in a dreamlike state, Alex got ready to put on a temporary splint, something he'd done many times in the years he'd worked there, first as an assistant and later as an intern.

"Okay. That'll hold her until the doctor gets back."

"You're really good at this," Lisa told him.

"Oh, thanks, but this is pretty simple. I just needed to make sure there was no internal bleeding. There wasn't, so all that needed to be done was splint the leg, and that's no big deal."

"Will she need a cast?" Lisa wondered.

"I'd cast it, but that's not my call."

He smiled again then said, "Yet," as he'd done before.

"How much longer do you have? You know, before you're a veterinarian?"

"I graduate in June so about four and a half months."

"And you'll be working here?"

"Yes. Doctor Collins has helped me get through vet school, so I'll be working here to help work off my debt. But this is a great clinic and she can use the help. In fact, I think she may be thinking about retiring in another year or two."

Before Lisa could answer, the lights from a car flashed through the clinic.

"That must be her," Alex said as he got up and headed toward the back door.

Doctor Collins was in her late 60s but still extremely sharp and had a great sense of humor.

"Okay. Where's my sick girl?" she asked as she pulled her heavy winter coat off.

The dog was laying in the middle of the room so it was rhetorical.

"Nice job on the splint, Alex," the older woman said after examining his work.

"I learned from the best," he told her with a smile.

"And who is this beautiful woman?" the vet asked as she held her hand out.

"I'm Lisa. Blackman. I...I'm the one who...hit her."

"Pleased to meet you, Lisa, and with this weather, it's not surprising. The good news is she's going to be okay. The problem is, we need to find her owner or she may end up in a pound and well, that won't be good."

Lisa had no idea whether Fargo even had a no-kill shelter, and the dog didn't have a tag. Finding the owner might not even be possible, and there was no way she was going to let this animal be put down.

"If we can't, I'll keep her," Lisa replied.

"I need to cast that leg, so give me a little time here, and we'll have her ready to go. I'll give you some pain medication and antibiotics just in case, and you'll be on your way before the snow's too deep to drive."

Lisa had forgotten all about the snow, but it was really coming down now. If the city didn't plow the road by the clinic before she got ready to leave, she might not be able to get home.

"I have a 4-wheel drive pickup, so if push comes to shove, we'll get you two home, okay?" Alex told her.

"I don't want to put you out like that," she told him.

"Judging by the way it's coming down out there, you may not have a choice," Dr. Collins said, chiming in.

Lisa walked over to the window Alex was looking out of and saw what looked like a thick blanket on the pavement.

"Either way, we'll get you home," he told her in a very quiet, rather deep voice she found very pleasant.

He'd walked up behind her, and Lisa had no idea he was that close. And yet he didn't startle her at all.

"Thank you. That's very kind of you," she said before turning around.

When she did, Alex was directly in front of her.

"Oh. Hi there," Lisa said as she looked up at him.

She wasn't short by any means. At 5'9", she was fairly tall for a woman. But as she looked up at the handsome face just inches from hers, she wondered if he might even be 6'3". Regardless of his actual height, he was distractingly good looking, and Lisa was unable to maintain eye contact.

"Is there a restroom I could use?" she asked as she stepped to the side.

"Sure. Let me show you."

By the time Dr. Collins came out to let Lisa know how the dog was doing, the snow had really piled up.

"Okay. She's all set."

The vet paused for effect then said, "Literally and figuratively."

Alex was used to her humor and laughed immediately, but it took Lisa a second or two to get it.

"Oh, right. Set. As in...the cast."

"She's still sedated, and Alex will get you the medications you need. She's also severely underweight. You may have noticed her ribs, and those shouldn't be visible. It's possible she may have run off from somewhere, but she's most likely a stray, so I gave her a rabies vaccination just in case."

"I did notice she was very thin, but I didn't even think about rabies," Lisa said as she recalled the dog biting Alex's glove.

"Are you okay?" she asked him.

"Uh-huh. Those leather gloves are very thick and she didn't even come close to breaking the skin."

Dr. Collins looked at Lisa then said, "So unless you have any other questions, I'm going to head home. Again."

"No. Not about the dog. But can you drive in this?" Lisa asked, concerned for the other woman's safety.

"Can I drive it this. Ha! I have a four-wheel drive GMC Sierra 2500, and I've never gotten stuck no matter how bad it's gotten," the vet replied. "And this young man also has a four-wheeler if you're snowed in."

"I'll make sure she gets home, Doctor Collins," Alex assured her.

"Okay. Then my work is done here!"

"She's nice," Lisa said once the other woman was gone.

"She is. But she's also a pistol. She's not afraid to speak her mind, and when she does, it'll get your attention."

"Good thing I minded my manners then, huh?"

Alex laughed then told her that the vet he worked for reminded him of his mother.

Lisa was hesitant to ask but did so as tactfully as she could.

"Do you...live with with your mom?"

Alex stopped smiling but wasn't rude when he answered her.

"No. She bailed on my dad a few days after I graduated from high school, and I've only seen her twice since."

"I...I'm really sorry to hear that. That's awful."

"She swears she wasn't seeing anyone at the time, but my dad and I both think that's BS."

He smiled again then apologized for his 'French'.

Lisa smiled back and told him she'd heard worse and that made Alex laugh as he leaned her way a little and said, "In fact, Doc Collins is the one I hear it from the most."