But I wouldn’t let this go. I couldn’t. This was my mom. “How about you come to the urgent care with me then? We’ll get you checked out and then if I’m wrong you can come straight back here.” But I wasn’t wrong and I was scared for my mother’s life. I would go against her wishes if I had to, but I wasn’t just going to let her ignore this.
“There’s no need—”
This time I interrupted her. “I will call Dad and he will make you. Just come to the clinic.”
I watched her mutinous glare, the one she’d passed on to Bodhi, but after a second she relented. She knew I would do exactly that, and out of the two of them, Dad was the worrier. He would make a big deal out of it, and she wouldn’t want that. Thankfully, it worked in my favor, because it meant I could get her care.
I raced to the front door and grabbed her shoes and the huge tote she used as a purse. She was breathing okay right now, but I checked her pulse again. Still erratic and tachy. Sweat beaded her brow. But she walked on her own to my SUV.
It only took ten minutes to get to the clinic. I might have pushed the speed limit, but Russell Crossing Family Care was on this side of town. I’d never been so grateful for that as now. I parked in one of the spots reserved for doctors though I usually didn’t bother. It was stupid that physicians got to park close to the front doors. Right now, that worked in my favor, too.
Holding my mom’s arm, I bypassed the waiting room entirely, and straight to the triage area. Was it fair of me to use my privilege to get her immediate treatment? Probably not. Then again, if anyone came in with chest pain, SOB, and diaphoresis, they would have been fast tracked anyway.
Lindsey was at the triage desk, which eased some of my worry. The two of us had a good relationship. Her eyes widened when she saw us and she immediately jumped up.
“Vitals and twelve lead, stat,” I said, still trying for calm. I heard the shaking in my own voice though. Lindsey nodded, grabbed a nearby wheelchair, and pushed it closer.
“Come on, Mrs. Harrington. You’re going for a ride.”
“This isn’t necessary,” Mom grumbled.
“Just do it, please,” I said, and Mom sat, but she scowled at me.
Lindsey wheeled her into a room and I waited outside, my foot tapping. Technically, I shouldn’t treat my mom. It wasn’t ethical. But given the situation, I didn’t care. Luz was in-house today and she would have to look over everything anyway as well as sign off. But I was waiting right here until I saw things myself.
It didn’t take long. Vitals were a fairly quick process and the longest part of an EKG was getting all the leads placed. I picked at my cuticles, staring at the door. Eventually, Lindsey emerged, her face grave, and handed over the strip.
All it took was one glance.
“Aspirin and sublingual nitro,” I stated, gaze on the T wave inversions. “And call for transport.”
“Right away.”
I pushed into the room without knocking. Mom took one look at my face and her eyes went wide.
“You’re having an NSTEMI, Mom.”
“My heart is still beating so I think you must be mistaken.” She said it like she was trying to convince herself.
“It’s a heart attack, not cardiac arrest. We want to avoid that. We’re going to get you some meds to help and transport you by ambulance.” I looked her dead in the eye. “Don’t argue with me and don’t make a fuss. We get you to Memorial, you get treatment, and you’ll be fine. But it’s happening now.”
It took her just a second for that to sink in. Then her voice was shaky and scared as she asked, “Call your daddy?”
I smirked even though I was worried out of my head. “What’s the bet he gets here before the ambulance does?”
Her laugh was tremulous. “That’s a sucker’s bet.”
And it was. There was no doubt my dad would race the entire way here. He’d probably make it in less than ten minutes. My mom was the love of his life after all.
Chapter 9
Ville
After the stellar surprise fuck, I made my way to the cabin. I’d been checking out Hawk’s “horsey pool”—Gemma’s words, not mine—and discussed with him the security he wanted there, when Emery had detoured me.
It wouldn’t be just for regular reasons, either; he wanted to make sure there were cameras inside his pool building, just to record the goings on indoors.
I could understand that. Having horses and a pretty deep pool with humans on the sides of the… I wasn’t sure what he’d called it, but it was basically a round pool with the middle filled in like a… reverse donut hole? Jesus, fucking Emery had scrambled my brain.
