Читать книгу Rocky Mountain Reunion - Tina Radcliffe - Страница 11
Оглавление“He’s your husband.” Marta’s words were a statement and not a question. Clearly her friend was shocked.
Anne’s pen jerked, leaving a long line of ink on her paperwork. “Okay, who told you?” She quickly turned from the counter to glance around. The staff had thinned now that the crisis was over. Even the waiting room had emptied of patients waiting to be seen.
“Who do you think?”
“Luke Nelson.”
“Of course.” Marta shook her head. “The real question here is why am I the last to find out about this?”
Anne raised her hand into the air and helplessly gestured. There was no good answer except that she’d never told anyone about what had happened ten years ago. How could she?
“I’ve known you since you graduated from nursing school, Anne. Here I thought you were married to the job. So when did you have time to get married and divorced? And do not tell me you forgot. No one forgets a man who looks like that.”
A giggling young nursing assistant moved past them, pushing Matt in a wheelchair, his left leg elevated. A wide grin lit up the young woman’s face and infatuation sparked in her eyes.
“The nursing assistants did rock-paper-scissors to see who got to wheel him to X-ray.”
“Oh, brother,” Anne muttered, with a shake of her head.
“I heard the Paradise ladies auxiliary is already arguing over who gets to bring casseroles to his house.”
“He’s only been here an hour, how can they possibly work that fast? You’re kidding, right?”
Marta lifted a brow. “Am I?”
Across from them laughter rang out as Juanita Villas, the plump, middle-aged unit clerk joined the conversation. “I signed up. Twice.”
Anne’s mouth dropped open.
“Don’t look so shocked. Me encanta.”
“And that means?” Anne asked.
“I like him. I like him a lot. He’s quite charming,” Juanita translated. “You’ve got good taste in ex-husbands.”
“I’ll say. Ruggedly handsome and tall. What is he, six-three? Four?” Marta mused, her gaze following to where the wheelchair was parked outside the elevator doors.
“Six-three.”
Anne snapped her fingers in front of Marta when she didn’t respond.
“Hmm?”
“Earth to Nurse Howard.”
“Oh, sorry.” Marta grinned. “I’ve apparently been married for way too long. All I can think is why would anyone ever divorce a man like that?”
“Annulment. Not divorce. I was eighteen years old. A baby for goodness’ sake. And we were married for all of five hours before Aunt Lily put an end to my childish plan.”
“F-five hours?” Juanita sputtered, her eyes round.
“That was what? Ten? Eleven years ago? I remember Lily back then.”
“Back then?” Juanita commented.
“Oh, you’re new to the valley. But I can tell you that Lily Gray was an important name around this area for years. A prominent real-estate developer and a very intimidating woman, as well,” Marta said. “When Lily Gray said jump, people jumped.”
“That was her public persona. She’s always been a marshmallow to me,” Anne said.
“Still, I can’t imagine having her as your guardian,” the older nurse continued. “It certainly explains a lot.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Juanita and Marta exchanged knowing glances.
“Stop that, you two. Aunt Lil always did what she thought was best for me. I ran away to get married. She stopped me from making a huge mistake. How can I fault her for that?”
Marta shook her head. “Yet in all this time you’ve never mentioned your marriage. It must still be a sensitive subject.”
“No. That’s not it,” Anne quickly denied. “I’m simply a private person. You know that.”
Marta gave her a slow appraisal as she shook her head. “Hmm. I thought I knew you. But now I’m guessing maybe I don’t. Never in a million years would I have pegged you for an impulsive act like running away to get married.”
“Why not?”
Juanita snorted and wagged her index finger in the air. “Honey, I may only have arrived in town a few years ago, but even I know that Anne Matson doesn’t do impulsive.”
Though she searched for a response, Anne found none. Fine. Juanita was right. No matter how you looked at it, the facts were unchanged. She didn’t do impulsive.
Indignation at the assessment had her narrowing her eyes at her coworkers and friends. “Look, I’d appreciate it if we could please keep this out of the Paradise grapevine.”
“Of course,” Marta said with her hand on her heart and a nod to Juanita. “We know the rules. What happens in the ER...”
“Stays in the ER,” Juanita said solemnly as she placed her hand over her own heart.
The desk phone rang and Juanita scooped up the receiver. She smoothly rolled her desk chair backward to grab an empty chart and pull a paper off the fax machine. “Yes, sir. We’ve got it.” Hanging up the phone she looked to Anne. “Cardiac patient on his way. Wife is driving him in. Sudden onset of chest pain. That was his primary care doc from Denver. He instructed them to come in immediately. He’s faxed over the history. Wife has a list of medications with her.”
Marta peeked at Anne from over the top of her half-glasses. “We’ll finish this conversation later.”
Anne shook her head. Oh, no, they wouldn’t. Not if she could help it.
The ER doors whooshed open and a middle-aged couple walked in. An orderly grabbed a wheelchair and assisted the patient into the seat as Juanita spoke to the wife.
“Exam room four,” Anne called to the ER staff.
“CBC. Chem seven, cardiac enzymes, EKG and a chest X-ray. Get Cardiac down here to consult, please,” Dr. Nelson directed as he moved toward the wheelchair.
“Anne.”
Anne whirled around in time to see Sheriff Sam Lawson push through the glass doors. She looked back at the desk. “Marta, can you handle the cardiac patient? Sam’s here.”
Marta’s gaze moved to the emergency room doorway. “Sure. Oh, by the way, the staffing agency called. Your aunt is threatening to fire another caregiver.”
Anne groaned as she walked away. “Of course, she is.” No day would be complete without her great-aunt being front and center on the agenda. “Tell them to ignore her threats. I do the hiring and firing.”
Turning back to the sheriff, she smiled at her longtime friend and shook her head. Life would be a lot simpler if she could have fallen in love with someone safe like Sam. Instead her fickle heart had refused to be wooed by anyone since she and Matt had parted.
“Another fun day in Paradise?” Sam asked as he removed his tan Stetson.
“The usual.”
“I find that Thursdays generally require extra prayer.”
“Thursdays? Hmm, I had no idea. Why is that?”
“Everyone is in a rush to get to the weekend.” He glanced around at the busy room. “How are thing here? I heard there was an accident at Paradise Lake.”
“There was. We received both patients about an hour ago and their status has been upgraded. One will most likely be discharged in a few hours and the other in twenty-four to forty-eight.”
“And your aunt?”
“You heard Juanita?”
Sam nodded his head in affirmation.
“That’s just Lily’s usual ‘off with their heads routine.’”
“Is her condition deteriorating?”
“Yes. She’s more and more forgetful and she’s taken to hiding things. Random things at that.”
“Such as?”
“Yesterday I found the salt-and-pepper shakers under the couch cushions.”
He chuckled. “That’s not so bad.”
“It depends on how much I need salt and pepper. The good news is that today she’s in rare form and back to ruling the monarchy.”
“I can stop by and check on her.”
“Would you? She likes you. She seems somehow calmer when you’re around.”
He nodded toward the badge on his tan uniform shirt. “It’s the badge. Seems to orient people.” He grinned. “And no problem. Happy to do it.”
“Thank you, so much. Key’s under the mat if you should need it.”
“Under the mat. Hmm. Well, since we’re friends, I’ll save my lecture on commonsense household security for another time.”
“I appreciate that, too.” Anne glanced out the door. “I thought you had something for me.”
“I do. In my patrol car. Got a spare wheelchair?” he asked as he pulled a notebook from his starched uniform pocket.
“Are you transporting patients now?” Anne asked.
“This one was sleeping on a park bench outside the Paradise library. The librarian called me.” He shrugged. “Since both ambulances were tied up and it’s only three blocks, I brought her in.”
Anne quirked a brow and looked past him to the parking lot. “What’s the situation?”
“I’m not sure. Caucasian female. Around nine or ten years old. Can’t put my finger on it, but she’s lethargic and she smells funny.”
“Drugs or alcohol?”
“She’s a baby, and this is Paradise,” Sam objected.
“Yes, and in a perfect world I wouldn’t be asking you that. You’re much too nice to be sheriff. You’ve got to get a little more cynical, like me.”
“My deputy would argue that point with you. He says I need to lighten up.”
She laughed. “Do you have a name for your admission?”
“No ID on her. She was with a black Lab whose collar says he’s Stanley. They’re both sleeping in my car. I’m taking the dog over to the vet’s to board and check the tag registration.”
“Why was a nine-year-old wandering around Paradise alone?” Anne mused. “I mean, where are her parents?”
“Must be tourists because I’ve never seen her or the dog before.”
She shook her head and walked to the left of the admissions counter where a row of wheelchairs was neatly parked. “Okay, let’s get your Jane Doe in here.”
An hour later and Anne was recalling Sam’s advice about more prayer being needed on a Thursday.
She sat on a leather stool next to an emergency room bed while the girl Sam had brought in dozed. Anne flipped open the chart. Her stomach growled and she ignored the plea for sustenance, instead choosing to spend her lunch break with her youngest patient. The kid would be terrified if she woke up in a hospital all alone. Anne knew that feeling all too well.
The night she’d lost her both of her parents in a car accident remained etched in her mind forever. It was probably the reason she had chosen a career in medicine. The kindly nurse who had stayed with her in the hospital that night had made a huge impact on her. Now it was Anne’s turn to return the favor.
A preliminary glucose check on the girl showed elevated levels higher than the meter could read. Anne monitored the child’s neuro status closely as they awaited lab results.
All indications were that the girl was well fed and cared for. Her jeans and shirt were clean, as was her long tawny-brown hair, parted neatly down the middle. So why was she sleeping on a public bench in the middle of the day? Alone. And who was she? What was her story?
The girl opened her eyes wide and immediately began fiddling with her hospital identification band and then with the IV tubing attached to her arm.
“Careful,” Anne said gently. “We need that line. That’s how we give you medicine.”
The round honey-colored eyes stared through Anne as though she wasn’t there.
“Can you tell me your name?” Anne asked.
“Claire” was the girl’s thick reply. Her lids fluttered closed as though she had no more energy, her long lashes resting on pale skin accented by a sprinkling of light freckles. Rounded cheeks held the last evidence of childhood baby fat.
“Your last name?”
“Griffin.”
“How old are you, Claire?”
“Nine.” She blinked. “Where am I?”
“In the hospital.”
Claire’s eyes widened. “Am I going to die?”
“No. You’re going to get better and go home. Can you tell me what happened today?”
The girl swallowed, as if her tongue was thick, but didn’t answer.
Leaning forward, Anne offered her chilled water from a plastic cup with a straw. The girl eagerly drank and then leaned back again.
Anne lowered her face closer to the bed. “Claire, what happened today?” she repeated softly.
“I took Stanley for a walk and then I started feeling funny. So I sat down on the bench. I feel better now.” She raised her head and glanced around. “Where’s Stanley?” The whispered words were laced with panic.
“Stanley is fine. He’s at the vet’s. They’re taking good care of him.”
Claire’s head sank back against the pillow.
“I need to contact your mother,” Anne said.
One by one, a silent trail of tears rolled down Claire’s cheek. She didn’t wipe at them. It was as though she didn’t even realize they were there.
Tightness pressed Anne’s chest as she waited for the words she didn’t want to hear.
“My mother is... She died,” she said, her voice heavy and slow.
Oh, Lord. Not this little girl, too?
“I’m so sorry,” Anne murmured, knowing the words were ineffectual at best. Before her brain registered what she was doing, she reached out to hold Claire’s free hand and give it a squeeze. “My momma died when I was your age.”
“Maybe they’re in heaven together,” Claire whispered.
Anne nodded, surprised yet pleased at the words.
The girl was silent, as though considering the possibility.
“Where’s your father, Claire?”
“Call Delia. I stay with Delia during the day. She lives on Maple Street by the church.”
A knock on the door to the exam room preceded Marta’s entrance. Anne stood and joined Marta in the hall, leaving the door ajar so she could watch Claire.
“Labs?” Anne asked.
Marta nodded. “Tox screen came back negative. Blood alcohol negative. Glucose six hundred.”
Anne shook her head. “Thanks, Marta. Tell Nelson we need insulin dosing ASAP.”
“Done. He’s on the way.”
“You’re good,” Anne commented.
“I sit at the feet of the master.” Marta quietly chuckled as Anne slipped back into the room.
“Claire, has anyone ever told you that you’re diabetic?”
“I don’t know what that is.”
“You haven’t been to the doctor recently?”
“No. There’s nothing wrong with me. I never get sick.”
“Phone for you, Anne,” Juanita called from the open doorway.
Anne stood.
“No. Don’t go.” Claire voice was laced with panic and she reached out a hand to stop Anne, her fingers clinging to the scrub shirttail.
Juanita lifted her brows.
“I’ll be right back. I promise.” Anne held the girl’s hand for a moment and smiled.
“She likes you,” Juanita said, confusion in her eyes as she glanced from the bed to Anne.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence there, pal,” Anne returned.
“The kids usually bond with Marta. She’s the mothering type. That’s all I’m saying.”
Anne’s head swiveled to Juanita. “Excuse me?”
“Sorry, boss. I just meant...”
“This one has been through a rough time. I can relate. She reminds me of myself at her age.”
“Now you’re going to try to tell me that you were a kid once?” Juanita asked with a teasing grin.
“You’re a real hoot today, aren’t you?”
“Every day. All part of my job description.”
Anne washed her hands and followed Juanita down the hall. “Can you call up to Pediatrics for a bed? Nelson will no doubt admit her until her glucose levels are stable. Her name is Claire Griffin.”
“Will do. Any luck contacting a responsible party?” Juanita asked when they stopped at reception. She nodded her head toward her computer. “Insurance information would be real nice.”
“All I have so far is the name.” Anne grabbed the blinking phone on the counter. “Matson, here.”
“Anne, it’s Sam. I just had a call from a Delia Seville. She’s hysterical. Says her husband is in the ER. She doesn’t have any transportation to hospital, and on top of that, her friend’s little girl is missing. Apparently, Mrs. Seville was babysitting.”
“Seville? One of the two men from the construction accident is Manny Seville. We admitted him.”
“Was the other guy Matthew Clark? First Construction?”
“Yes. He’s still here. Right now he’s in Orthopedics being evaluated. Why?”
“I think that’s his little girl I brought in. The Seville woman says she was with a black Lab.”
Anne nearly gasped aloud.
Matt has a daughter?
“Anne? You still there?”
“Yes. Sorry. Sam. The girl’s name is Claire Griffin.”
“That’s her.”
“I’ll have someone notify Matthew Clark.”
“Thanks. I’m going to give Mrs. Seville and her baby a ride to the hospital.”
“Her husband’s stable. Tell her that. And thanks, Sam.” Anne put down the phone.
Matt has a daughter? Her mind played the words over and over. Well, what did she expect? That his life was going to stop when she walked out on him?
She turned to Juanita. “I’ve got a responsible party to sign your insurance paperwork on that little girl.”
“Thank you.” Juanita’s eyes lit up.
“Matthew Clark. He’s still upstairs. Tell him we have his daughter down here and get him to sign the permission to treat while you’re at it.”
Juanita shook her head. “Aw, now you’re going to ruin my day. Do not tell me that man has another wife.”
“Another wife?”
“Besides you, I mean.”
Anne could feel her facing warming. “I don’t know anything about Mr. Clark, Juanita, but I feel confident you’re going to find out.”
“You know me too well.” She scooped her clipboard off the desk and headed toward the elevators.
Anne gripped the counter and turned to stare at the wall. She did the math. A nine-year-old daughter.
That would be shortly after her aunt had had the marriage annulled and transferred her from the University of Denver to Washington State to finish her degree.
She’d spent the better part of three years completely heartbroken but unwilling to defy her aunt. Her sole guardian.
Aunt Lily had warned her that a future with Matthew Clark was building her house on unstable ground. He was a penniless student with no prospects. Love, she’d claimed, was fleeting, especially when there was no money in the bank.
All these years, and her aunt had been proved correct. Anne had mistaken what she and Matt had had for love. Clearly he had no such illusions and had moved on with his life quickly enough, as though their love had never existed.
* * *
Matt stood in the door of his daughter’s room, resting his weight on his new aluminum crutches.
“Mr. Clark, you’re just in time,” the nurse who stood at Claire’s bed said. “I’m Megan Jansen, the diabetic nurse educator.”
He bit back a surge of pain as he moved into the room and shook her hand.
“Are you okay?” she asked with a quick glance down at his ankle in the plastic support boot.
He nodded. Yeah, he was okay. Glad to have dodged the need for surgery, but a badly sprained ankle requiring a walking boot and crutches wasn’t what he had expected when he’d rolled out of bed this morning.
“We were about to go over the use of the meter,” Megan said with a soothing tone. “I’ve got a warm washcloth to clean Claire’s hand and stimulate the flow of blood to her finger.”
“I don’t want to,” Claire responded. She forcibly tugged her hand away and turned her head toward the window.
“We can’t discharge you until you or your father demonstrates the ability to use the meter and administer the injections.”
“He can do it,” Claire said. The words were a sullen accusation, as though Matt had added yet another heap of misery into her young life.
Matt feared she was right.
Across the room, Megan Jansen’s gaze pleaded with Matt to intervene.
“Claire, we want you to get better,” Matt said.
“There’s nothing wrong with me. I feel fine.”
The nurse stood and moved her equipment to the bedside table. “I think it’s time for your father to try. The sooner we get this done and get you home, the better.”
“He’s not my father and I don’t have a home...” Claire’s voice trailed off and her eyes filled with moisture.
Matt’s gut clenched. Could he blame her? Claire’s world had been turned upside down in the past month. She’d gone from living with her mother in Denver one day to living with a man she didn’t know the next.
Confusion registered on the nurse’s face as she looked at him. “I thought you were her father.”
“I am—”
“I want Anne,” Claire interrupted with a pitiful wail.
“Anne?” Megan asked, her gaze moving from Claire to him, her brow furrowed yet again.
“Claire, who is Anne?” Matt asked, as a prickle of apprehension swept over him. Surely she didn’t mean...
“That nurse,” his daughter answered.
“From the emergency room?” he asked.
“The ER nursing supervisor,” Megan clarified.
“She’s the supervisor?” he countered.
“Yes.” She glanced at her watch and nodded toward the door, indicating he should follow.
Matt hobbled outside the room right behind her.
“Why is she asking for Anne?” Megan asked.
“I have no idea. Claire was admitted while I was in X-ray.”
“You know she’s off duty now, right?”
Matt could only nod and raise a palm. What was he supposed to do now?
“My mother is a very close friend of Anne’s. I can call her. She’ll try to get in touch with—”
“No. I can’t... I can’t bother her.” Especially not after his lousy attitude in the exam room.
“I think you’d better.” Megan paused. “What other choice do you have?”
“Why tonight? Can’t we wait until morning? After the doctor checks on her? Claire’s spending the night anyhow.”
“Anne might not even be scheduled to work tomorrow. I think it would be prudent for me to at least have my mother call her.”
“But you said I could do the injections and testing.”
“Look, Mr. Clark, unless you plan to be with Claire twenty-four-seven, she needs to participate in her own care. Sure, I can okay her discharge, but that won’t help you or Claire in the long run. Your daughter has provided us with an option, and if Anne’s presence will engage her, well, then...” She raised her shoulders and stared pointedly at him. “You should be willing to try this route.”
He glanced from the nurse through the doorway to his daughter. Claire’s eyes were closed in an attempt to block out the world. He felt like doing the same thing right about now.
Instead he fought back his pride and battled against the humiliation of the thought of inviting Anne Matson into his spectacular failure of a life as a new father.
Matt took a deep breath. “Okay. If it will help Claire. Yeah. Go ahead and ask your mother to get in touch with Anne.”
Megan left and he moved back into the room to stand at the window and stare out at the Paradise skyline. Clear blue skies, dotted with clouds, stretched as far as he could see. In the distance, mountain peaks hovered at the edge, guarding the small mountain community.
As a child he had looked out windows at the very same view. Always asking the same questions he was asking now. Where are you in all this, Lord? He silently prayed. Are you listening?
How had he come full circle back to the one place on the planet where he felt so vulnerable? Paradise Valley.
He ran a hand over his face and shook his head. Seemed everything had gone from good to messed up; his business, his friend Manny and even Claire. Now he was about to be challenged further. He was about to welcome the woman who’d once destroyed him back into his life. The woman was virtually a stranger to his daughter, yet Claire had chosen Anne over him to support her during this crisis. How was that for irony?
