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Something strange filled Brooks’ face. But before Steele could try to figure out what he was thinking, a doctor walked into the waiting room.
“Are you the family of Effie Stephenson?”
Brooks jumped to his feet. “I’m her nephew.”
The doctor eyed him, then looked past him to him and Grady. Probably wanting to speak to someone older. Fuck, he had a feeling this wasn’t going to be good. “Are the two of you family?”
“They are,” Brooks said, likely seeing the same thing Steele had. That this doctor didn’t want to tell Brooks what was going on.
“I’m her fiancée,” Steele said smoothly. “Grady is her boss.”
Brooks shot him a look, but his expression didn’t change. The kid was good.
“All right,” the doctor said, turning to Steele. “Maybe we could speak alone.”
Brooks scowled.
“Just give it to us, doc,” Steele said gruffly.
“Steele,” Grady warned.
“Brooks can handle hearing this,” Steele said to Grady.
“I can,” Brooks added determinedly.
“All right. We have run several tests and taken Ms. Stephenson for an MRI, as well as X-rays, and an ultrasound, and we cannot find any physical reason for her paralysis.”
Huh?
He looked to Grady, who appeared just as confused, then over to Brooks, who had sucked in a breath. The kid still looked like he was going to pass out, so Steele moved closer.
Maybe he should have spoken to the doctor on his own.
“Then you must have missed something,” Grady said. “She was hitting her legs. She couldn’t feel them.”
“We’re very certain that there is no physical injury.”
“You’re saying she’s faking it?” Brooks asked.
The doctor frowned. “No, that’s not what I’m saying at all. Ms. Stephenson told us she was in a car accident six years ago where she injured her back.”
“Yeah, with my dad,” Brooks said. “He died a few days later from a brain bleed. And Effie, she . . . she injured her back really badly.”
Fuck. Steele put his hand on Brooks’ shoulder. To his shock, he didn’t shake him off. So maybe he did need some reassurance.
“Do you think that has something to do with what’s going on?” Grady asked. “Could she have re-injured her back and it’s causing some sort of temporary paralysis?”
“I went over her old notes,” the doctor said. “Back then, she had some numbness in her legs. I think that the accident today has triggered something in her brain. It’s brought up old memories and stressors. This is something her brain is doing to her. She’s not faking it. She truly cannot feel her legs.”
“Fuck,” Steele muttered.
“What I believe is that she needs a bit of time. Has she been stressed lately? Working a lot?”
“Not as much lately,” Brooks said. “But a few months ago when she lost her job, yeah. Things were tight. We didn’t have a lot of money for . . . for anything, but she never let me go without. I wanted to quit school to help, but she wouldn’t let me do that. She jokes that I’m her ticket to the good times because I’m smart and I have to take care of her in her old age. But I know her . . . even when she’s old she’ll be taking care of me because that’s just who Effie is.”
The doctor’s gaze softened at this. Then, a slightly worried look entered his face. “Does she have health insurance?”
“Yes, she has health insurance,” Grady said coldly.
