Earnest Read Online Free PDF

soothe her—when he couldn’t lift his head.
    â€œWill Earnest be okay?” For his sake, Anna tried to tamp down her voice’s urgency.
    â€œLet’s have a look.”
    When Anna’s phone rang again, she prayed Jeff was on the line. She checked the caller ID. Joy. Anna let out a small involuntary cry of frustration. “I have to take this call.” She stepped into the corner of the room.
    â€œI’m afraid I’ve lost everything,” Joy wailed.
    â€œThe fire’s spread beyond the kitchen?”
    â€œI don’t know. We can’t go inside yet.”
    â€œWell, is the fire out? ”
    â€œMostly. I think.”
    â€œSo that’s good news.”
    â€œWhat about our shops? What are we going to do?”
    Images of her shop, a heap of ashes, flashed through Anna’s mind. Her Buddhas and angels now charcoal. Her entire inventory gone. The possible loss made her head spin. It was too much to consider, when Earnest could be fading.
    â€œJoy, we have to talk about this later. I’m here with Earnest. I have to think about him now.”
    Anna hung up and turned off her phone. She’d have to wait for Jeff.
    Dr. Nilsen lifted a side of Earnest’s mouth and examined his gums, which looked pale.
    â€œWill he be okay?” she asked again.
    â€œI hope so.”
    Hope isn’t enough. I want guarantees.
    â€œAt least he hasn’t gone into shock,” Dr. Nilsen said.
    â€œCould he still? ”
    â€œI’m sorry to say that anything’s possible.”
    Anna closed her eyes and prayed so hard that she felt she might crack open.
    On the back of her eyelids appeared an image of the brawny fireman, rivulets of sweat streaking his face as he carried Earnest toward her across the lawn. In the man’s arms, he was cradled like a baby, and with each step, his paws had flopped. Anna’s first thought had been that he was dead, and a black fishing net of grief ensnared her soul and dragged her to the ocean’s depth so she could scarcely breathe.
    â€œI found your dog upstairs. Quick, get him to a vet,” the fireman said.
    So Earnest was alive! Relief bore Anna up through suffocating fear to air again. But, then, he could still die, she’d thought.
    Now Dr. Nilsen worked his stethoscope’s buds into his ears and gently pressed its chestpiece against Earnest’s heart.
    â€œIs it beating okay?” Anna asked.
    â€œA little fast, but that’s not surprising.” Dr. Nilsen removed the ear buds. As he quickly checked Earnest’s body, he pointed out a flinch-inducing burned paw.
    â€œOkay. I know you want answers, but they’re going to take some time. Here’s the plan,” he said. “We put Earnest in an ICU cage with oxygen and IV fluids for a while. We examine him more thoroughly and check his airway. Then we decide where to go from there.”
    â€œWhere do you mean?”
    â€œWe might x-ray his lungs for fluid and damage. Do blood work and a urine analysis to see if he’s got carbon monoxide poisoning.”
    â€œYou think he does? ”
    â€œIt can happen with smoke inhalation. I wish it weren’t so.”
    The color drained from Anna’s face. Dr. Nilsen looked at her as though he thought he should offer her a glass of water and a Valium. She could tell he didn’t like to see any dog fight for his life—and especially Earnest, who, he’d once said, was a favorite patient.
    â€œTry not to worry, Anna. Tell Jeff that too,” he said. “Why don’t you go back to work?”
    Where can I work if my shop has burned?
    â€œI promise we’ll do everything we can. I’ll call you the minute I have news.”
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    Though desperate to get back to the house, Anna dragged through Dr. Nilsen’s waiting room with lead weighing down her shoes. Every footstep away from Earnest took effort when she was leaving him and had no guarantee he’d