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“You like her, you like her,” Roadkill sang. “So, when’s do I get to order her a cut?”
“Pump the brakes,” Mountain said holding up his hands.
“Oh, those brakes don’t exist,” Red said with a hard laugh. “Just go into the skid or pray for an incline to slow her down.”
“Real talk,” Roadkill said. “I am looking forward to a second nurse. We’ve needed one for a while and those travelers you tried to use when I was on maternity leave, were as useless as tits on a boar.”
“I don’t do procedures on Fridays.” Red nodded. “So she’s free to stop in whenever. I’ll make it work.”
“Thanks Prez,” Mountain replied. “Any word on Baldy?”
“Next week now, never had a picnic in the middle of the week, but the man didn’t hurt his liver by the grace of God, so we better have shots lined up on the bar when he comes home.”
* * *
Tremblinghands weren’t what Amber needed when applying eyeliner. Mountain made it seem as if the job was basically hers. Still, she’d had a restless night of sleep. Between nerves and her daughter explaining exactly why Amber couldn’t date, but Kevin could, she had needed more than a glass of wine to calm down.
Between wanting to date the man? and also wanting her daughter to see the hypocrisy of the whole situation? she was spent. The final nail sending her hand into trembles came from needed a calm environment for Callum. He’d played too hard at the playground during the game. She hadn’t noticed two of his friends from school were there and that was too much play for the kid, especially after a full day.
Dosing him, she spent half the night rubbing his shins to keep him from waking up screaming from the stabbing in his legs. The constant balance between letting him live and letting him live without pain had her struggling most days.
“Come on Amber,” she said settling herself. “If you can handle the walking wounded after a mass casualty, you can apply eyeliner without needing a cornea transplant.”
Twenty minutes later, she got in her van and started the drive to Turnabout Creek. Halfway there, she started to wonder about her kids. Would they have to be latch key kids if she took this job? If they moved, would they spend more time on the bus and never get to do anything else? All if it had to be factored into her decision.
Coming to the rise in the road, she crested then made her way into the one horse town with its main street freshly painted. Unlike Berrington, the downtown of Turnabout Creek didn’t have abandoned buildings for rent. Instead, the sign for The Roadside Bar flickered in the center of the block with the clinic across the street. Well that would be easy once she was done with her interview. For a moment, she’d wondered how she would find Mountain after.
Pulling into an angled parking spot, she got out. Seeing a gas station at the end of the block with a mechanic’s bay attached. Her heart clenched realizing that was Baldy’s garage. She’d never found the time to call up to Billings and see what his status was. Why it was taking so long for him to come home? There had to be a good reason. The last thing a hospital wanted was an extended stay.
Checking her hair one last time, she felt satisfied she was presentable and headed into the clinic.
Behind the desk, a young woman sat in a set of scrubs. Her eyes focused on the screen in front of her. “Just a moment,” she said clicking her mouse a few times before turning her attention to Amber. “You.”
“Me?” Amber questioned.
“Sorry, I was on the ride, my husband swerved,” the young woman continued. “You might not have seen us, we got caught up a bit in Baldy’s care, then shifted to keeping Cass from beating the driver.”
“Which one?” Amber asked.
“Both,” she admitted with a shrug. “Honestly, I think if he would have had a jackhammer he might have taken out the whole road. I’m Preacher Girl by the way, Hannah Creek, my husband is Hack, well Thomas, but I bet most people won’t know that name.” The young woman couldn’t be more than twenty and had the same energy as Maisie after ice cream. “Anyway, so how can I help you?” Preacher Girl asked.
“I have an interview with Red.”
“Sweet, we could use another nurse,” the girl said with a smile. “I know Roadkill is wanting more time with Harlow and hopefully soon, I’ll be having my own baby time.”
“You have a baby?” Amber asked.
“No, not yet. I just got married in June, but I come from a big family. Hack doesn’t, but you knowfor you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.Psalm one thirty nine.”
“Right.” Amber glanced over her shoulder for fear she’d stepped into some innocent looking cult.
“Sorry, they call me Preacher Girl for a reason,” she said. “Hack rescued me from The Guiding Light of Solomon.”
“Rescued you?”
“Oh, man you’re starting to get the same look those traveling nurses did.” Preacher Girl stood and came around the counter to grasp Amber’s hands. “Trust me, it’s a good thing. I’m a lab tech now.”
“Amber,” Red’s voice cut through the fog and bright red flashing lights going off in her head. “You feeling all right?”
