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“First, baby, you are getting that looked at. Second, your car is minor compared to you.” Maverick lifts me in his arms and carries me out of the restaurant. As the ambulance pulls up, he moves to the back of it and waits for them to open it up.
“Why are you here?” I look up at him. He’s sporting a ball cap over his head, and I notice that instead of his short dark hair along the sides of his head, he’s clean-shaven. No hair.
“I was here for the St. Baldrick’s drive, just had my head shaved.” He looks down at me. “And Cobi is a friend of mine. When his aunt called him about the situation, I headed this way. Knew there could only be one Doctor Lydia Rorke.” His lips tip up.
“She called him directly?”
“Sure did, babe.”
* * *
Maverick
I stand in the hallway of the ER and wait for them to call me back to be with her. I’m not her family, but I want to be there with her. I know her brother already headed back to Chattanooga. He called me this afternoon and ordered me to let him know if she had any more issues. But now she’s made me swear not to tell him because he’ll make her go home and she doesn’t want to leave.
I understand what she’s saying. I don’t want her to leave, but I also don’t want her in danger. Deedee is being charged with assault and destruction of property. Lydia’s attorneys are getting a restraining order. I’m glad I was close by to help her.
I pull the hat off my freshly shaven head and rub a hand across it. I do this every year. I shave my head to support the fundraiser for cancer research.
“Sergeant Whitlock.” A nurse comes out the door.
I move toward her, and she shows me down the hall toward a curtained off room. I step inside and find Lydia sitting up in the bed. Her arm is on a pillow with an ice pack on it. She opens her eyes and looks at me. I can see the pain in them and instantly something inside me breaks. This woman has been through so much over the last few months. She deserves a break, and I intend to make sure she gets it.
I don’t tell her that she’s off the bear case because I want to protect her, but she’ll find out soon enough. She can help with its care still, but I don’t want her to know what’s going on. She doesn’t need that.
I move to her side and take her good hand in mine.
“I’m going to have to learn to write with a brace on for the next few weeks. They’re hoping I won’t need surgery, but they’ll brace it until I can see a surgeon next week.”
“Baby, that looks painful. Did they give you anything?” She lifts the bag of ice up to show me her very purple and swollen wrist. Even her fingers are swollen. Her wrist tattoos stick out more.
“No. I can’t because I need to take a cab home. I don’t want Krystal to scare the kids by bringing them here. They’ve been through so much already.”
“I’ll give you a ride home. Take the meds, you’ll feel better.”
She takes a deep breath and lays her head back against the bed. “Maybe in a bit.”
I grab her nurse call button and push it.
“Yes?” A nurse steps through the curtain a moment later.
“She needs something for the pain.”
“We’ve been trying to get her to take something. It’s going to really hurt when we have to get the brace on it.”
“She’s ready now,” I say and look back at Lydia. She has a single dark eyebrow raised and her lips are pinched. Her beautiful hazel golden eyes take me in. I can see the pain she is in, but she’s trying to play it off as being tired.
“I didn’t say that,” she says after the nurse leaves the room.
A few minutes later the nurse returns to inject meds into the IV in Lydia’s other arm.
I swear the moment I entered the restaurant and saw Deedee with her hand wrapped around Lydia’s ponytail dragging her to the back of the place, I almost pulled my gun and shot her right there for touching her. Thank goodness Cobi was there.
Cobi and I met in the military. He was the one who talked me into moving down here to Tennessee. He’d wanted me to get on with the department he’s with, and I’m still considering transferring to them, but I like what I’ve done so far with the state police.
“What are you giving me?” Lydia asks the nurse.
“A pain med, anti-inflammatory, and a mild sedative so we can manipulate your wrist before we put it into the brace.” The nurse turns and walks out, and I watch as Lydia lies back.
