Chemistry Lessons Read Online Free PDF Page A

holding onto Cheddar’s collar and
feeling useless. They seemed to have forgotten all about him.
    “I know,” she said, “but with all the blood and everything, it’s just
too much like—” She glanced back at Destry and then sighed while she rummaged
through her box of medical supplies, pulling out some IV fluid. “I have all the
equipment to do an IV. The vet would probably give her one for shock. What do
you think?”
    Tanner wrapped the gauze around Wile E’s leg. “It couldn’t hurt.”
    Destry watched as they slipped on gloves and assembled the IV tube in
the light from the porch. It was only after they sterilized the area and
inserted the needle that he remembered the flashlight in his pocket. He clicked
it on just as they finished.
    Tanner clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks for your help. I think we
can take it from here.”
    “Yes, thanks for your help,” Rosie said. “And we’ll replace your
chickens.”
    She didn’t seem angry at him, but Destry couldn’t tell what emotions
ran beneath the surface. He could only be certain that she thought he was
completely incompetent.
    Her phone rang. She pulled it from her pocket. “It’s the vet.” She took
the call while holding the bag of IV fluid.
    Tanner walked toward Destry and lowered his voice. “I’ll let you know
how things turn out. Rosie’s got your number, right?” In other words, he wanted
Destry to leave.
    Destry nodded. “I gave it to her the other day.”
    The coyote still lay unconscious at Rosie’s feet when she ended her
call. “Let’s get her in the truck. The vet’s going to meet us at the clinic.
Can you hold this IV for us, Destry?”
    Tanner and Rosie carried Wile E on a blanket toward a white pick-up.
Destry walked beside them, holding the IV fluid. Obviously, they weren’t going
to take him up on his offer to drive.
    “I’d like to pay the vet bill,” he said as they laid the coyote across
the back seat.
    Rosie took the IV bag from him and attached it to a hook above the
window. “That’s nice of you to offer, but I can take care of it. You had every
right to shoot her. Most people around here would have left her to die, even
with the collar.”
    Tanner closed the side door before Destry could get in. “Rosie’s scared
to death of driving at night—she was in a real bad accident last year—so I
think it’s best if it’s just the two of us. I’ll let you know how things turn
out.”
    Destry stepped back. “I’d appreciate that.”
    Tanner got into the driver’s side and started the engine. Destry held
his hand up, watching them drive away. A minute later his feet still hadn’t
moved. Somehow, he knew Tanner wouldn’t let him know how things turned out.
Neither would Rosie. He was still the outsider.
     

 
Chapter 3
     
    Wile E rolled over on Rosie’s bed and pawed at the cone around her
neck. Seeming frustrated that her right leg was in a cast, she twisted, trying
to scratch with her back paw.
    “Come here, girl,” Rosie said, sitting down on the edge of her bed. She
rubbed Wile E’s neck under the cone. After two days of watching the coyote
sleep, Rosie loved to see her this feisty.
    Her phone rang. She grabbed the cell and stared down at the caller ID.
It was the bank returning her call. She swallowed, willing herself to feel calm
before answering. “Hello.”
    The loan officer ran through the usual polite exchange of greetings
before he dropped the bomb. “I’m sorry. You don’t qualify for the mortgage
loan.”
    She sucked in her breath. “Can you tell me why?”
    “It seems you cosigned on a loan for your mother a while ago.”
    Oh, no! She
had forgotten all about cosigning on her mother’s mortgage.
    “Is there anything else I can do for you? We could get you a decent
rate on an auto loan.”
    “No, thank you,” she muttered. She said goodbye and called Tanner. Wile
E lay next to her, licking the palm of her hand.
    Tanner answered on the first ring. “Hey, Rosie. What’s