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“The paramedics. Or are they EMTs now?”
“Okay. Why was Mom hurting?”
“Oh! It was just awful, dear! She fell in the backyard while pulling weeds. Hit her hip on that stone flamingo statue Mr. Rogers gave her for her birthday last year. Mr. Hampton heard her shouting for help. It was just… justawful.”
Jolene headed back to the bedroom and began gathering what she would need for at least a short trip home. “And she was brought to which hospital?”
“Sacred Heart,” Phyllis replied. “I’m waiting for my son to get here. He’s going to drive me up there.”
“Thank you for calling me, Phyllis. I’ll get on a plane and head out as soon as I find someone to take care of my dog.”
“Take your time, dear. I’ll take care of your mother until you can get here.”
Jolene thanked her again and ended the call. After letting Beast back in the house, she packed her smallest suitcase and called Mama Hen. She knew Mama Hen would agree to dog sit. Her Yorkie, Maxie, would love a playmate.
Once she was packed and changed into a comfortable traveling outfit, she fed Beast and filled his water dish. Mama Hen agreed to stop by and pick Beast up after her shift at the Inn she owned, The Hen House. She had her spare key, so Jolene didn’t have to drop the pup off. That was one less thing for her to worry about. Jolene grabbed her medical bag and went through it to prepare a to-go bag of essentials. Most things, she would be able to get in Pensacola, Florida, where her mother lived, so she wouldn’t need much. As she was going through her bag, she came across something that made her stop in her tracks.
Stuck to the side of the bag, just inside the zipper, was atuft of tiger fur. Staring at it, Jolene took a deep breath and let it out slowly.Holy shitballs!She had sewed up a tiger who changed into a man and back again. It was true. It really happened.
Shaking her head, she forced the freakout from her brain. She had to get to her mother. This was something she could deal with later.
After gathering everything she was taking with her and setting them by the front door, Jolene quickly brushed her teeth and hair, then headed out to her car.
Once she was parked at the airport and headed inside, she called the veterinarian clinic where she worked to inform them that she had a family emergency and wasn’t sure how long she would be gone. Thankfully, she worked at a clinic in a small town where they seemed more understanding about these sorts of situations. Jolene breathed a sigh of relief when the owner told her not to worry about work and focus on her mother.
After buying her ticket at the counter and getting through security, she called the Sacred Heart on the way to the gate. She wasn’t surprised when they told her they couldn’t give out patient information over the phone and told them she would be there as soon as she could. Through very careful wording, the nurse she spoke with relayed that her mother was expected to be okay, but she should get there as soon as possible.
Rex
The next morning, Rex checked on their injured members before he hopped on his bike and headed over to see Doc. He wanted to thank her again for taking such great care of Bullet. And, yeah, he wanted to see her, too.
While watching over Bullet the night before, she fell asleep in the chair she had been occupying in the corner of the room. He didn’t have the heart to wake her. Instead, he carefully carried her and her medical bag out to her vehicle. Once she was buckled in, he drove her home, brought her inside, and put her to bed. He felt bad at how freaked out her dog was when he stepped inside, but nothing he did convinced the dog that he was a friend. The poor pup hid under a bed and wouldn’t come out.
Rex was astonished at Doc’s ability to sleep through all of that, but he was happy she did, since she apparently needed the rest.
His wolf spent the rest of the night and the morning whining for him to go to her, but he managed to hold off until ten. Parking his bike at the curb, he headed for her front door and frowned when he saw that her driveway was empty. She must have left, but he knocked on her door to be sure.
After a few minutes without an answer, he let out a sigh and turned around to head back to his bike. Just as he reached it, Mama Hen pulled up next to him in her lime green Cutlass and rolled down her window.
“She had to leave town. Her mother had a medical issue.”
Rex wasn’t surprised when the urge to be with her increased. She was his mate, after all, even if she didn’t know it yet. It was in his nature to want to be there for her through any difficulty.
“She gonna be okay? Where does her mom live?”
“Florida. Something happened with her hip. Jolene wasn’t sure what injuries she had, but she flew out to be with her.”
Florida?That wasn’t within a reasonable distance to make a chance meeting believable. He was just going to have to wait for her return.
He gave Mama Hen his best smile. “Mind keeping me updated?”
Mama Hen’s smirk told him she saw right through his shit, but she replied, “I’ll call you when I know how long she’ll be gone.”
“You’re a peach.”
“And you’re a bullshitter.” Mama Hen rolled up the window and took off.
Jolene
