Page 72 of Welcome Home to Ivy Falls

I followed Piper up the wide white steps and she knocked on the door. Silvio appeared right away and invited us in. A small brown-and-black dog barked, turning in circles, as Silvio led us through the house. The poor guy looked like he’d been through the wringer. White tufts of hair sprouted out in every direction and his eyes were rimmed in red.

Piper reached down and scooped up the small dog. ‘It’s okay, Baby,’ she cooed.

‘Thanks for coming, doc. I keep telling Greta I need to call an ambulance but she’s as stubborn as a bulldog who refuses his walk.’

We found Greta sitting at a dark wood farm table in the kitchen. A pale pink tracksuit hung off her. The kitchen towel she was holding to her chin was soaked in blood.

‘Tell me you did not just compare me to a bulldog,’ she huffed.

All it took was one look at her to know she was hurting.

Silvio shrugged. ‘If the shoe fits, dear.’

Greta grumbled until she gave me the once-over. Her stare moved to Piper and her mouth twitched. ‘You two been off doing something fun? Sure smells like it.’

This woman. She was clearly uncomfortable, but still she had to comment on the way the briny scent of the lake wafted off us.

‘We’re not here to chat about our day,’ I said.

I sat next to her and she gave me a weak, ‘Hi, doc.’

‘If you wanted to see me again, you didn’t have to put on such a big show.’

The quicker I got her to relax, the better her blood pressure would be.

‘May I?’ I nodded to her chin. She relented and I examined the oozing gash. ‘Tell me what happened.’

Her gaze went to Piper hovering in the doorway. ‘Come in, sit down, and don’t look so terrified. I’m gonna be all right, sweet girl.’

Piper took the spot beside Greta. By the fear in her eyes she could see how frail her friend looked too.

‘It was dumb. Silvio was making tea in the kitchen. I was wearing socks and when I walked down the hall I slipped and caught my chin on the corner of the antique buffet.’

‘Have you been taking the blood thinner like you promised?’

‘Yes.’ She pointed to Silvio. ‘For a small man, he’s a really big nag.’

Silvio let out a humph and crossed his arms over his chest. ‘Damn straight.’

With a hand at her wrist, I took her pulse. Flashed a pen light over her eyes. I glanced at the wound again and reapplied pressure. ‘The medicine inhibits clotting, that’s why the bleeding won’t stop. I can put in a few stitches here or you can go to the hospital. Whatever makes you feel more comfortable.’

‘I’m not going back to the hospital. They kept me for three damn days last time. Do you know how uncomfortable those beds are? And the food?’ She practically retched.

‘Sweetie, maybe that’s for the best,’ Silvio suggested.

‘No,’ she spat out. ‘Sew me up here, doc.’

Piper stayed quiet, her cheeks turning sunken and pale. ‘Tell me what’s happening,’ she pleaded. ‘Why are you on a blood thinner? How sick are you really, Mrs V?’

‘Greta,’ I said quietly. ‘I can’t say a word but you can.’

Her firm shoulders gave a little. ‘Honey, don’t get all worried. The blood thinner prevents strokes because my heart is out of rhythm.’

The panic in Piper’s beautiful amber eyes made my stomach knot. ‘What does that mean? Out of rhythm?’

‘I have something called atrial fibrillation. They call it AFib.’ Greta took a thick gulp. ‘Two chambers of my heart are out of rhythm. That day at the café, I fainted because less blood was going to my brain.’

The look Piper gave me was a punch to the gut. Like somehow my keeping the diagnosis from her was a betrayal.