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She raised a brow. “I can handle it.”
“Right.” He moved slowly, wincing as he settled, resting his head on his arms. The paramedics had gotten him out of his vest, but the bullet had left a very red area that would turn into a nasty bruise right above his left kidney. Lainie bit her lip against a cry at the angry scars crisscrossing his formerly smooth flesh. “Yikes, James,” she whispered. Then cleared her throat. “I see what you mean about your back. I’m sorry.”
He chuckled, then groaned. “Thank you.”
“For?”
“For not dancing around the sight of it.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Never mind. It’s been a long time, Lainie,” he said. “You’re looking ... uh ... good. Different. All grown up.”
She let him get away with the awkward change in topic. “I’ve been all grown up for a while. And remember, I’m not the one who left town.”
“I was deployed. A little different than just leaving town.”
“True. How long have you been home?”
“Three months.”
She was glad he couldn’t see her shocked flinch. She masked it, then glanced at the nurse. “Let’s get a urine sample and a complete blood workup. I’d also like X-rays of the area.”
“On it.” The woman tapped her iPad, entering the information.
“Anything else hurt?” she asked James.
“No. Like I told the paramedics, I’ve done this once before. I hurt for a while, then the bruise heals up and I’m good.”
“Hmm.” A major oversimplification of being shot. Even if the bullet hit the vest, it could still do damage. Lainie stepped aside while the nurse worked. Once she left, Lainie picked up where they left off. “Three months? Steph never said you were home. Why would she not tell me that? We see or talk to each other just about every week.”
He went silent, then sighed. “She doesn’t know.”
“What?” She walked to his side and crouched so he could see her face. “I thought you just didn’t want them to know you’d been injured and were in the hospital, but they don’t know you’re even on the same continent?”
“It’s a long story and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t say anything about it.” His lips quirked into a small smile. “They’re not on my HIPAA list.”
“Of course, I won’t say anything.”
His smile flipped back into a frown. “Um, Lainie?”
“Yes? What is it?”
“I ... uh ... I really don’t want to admit this, but it kinda hurts when I pull in a breath.”
“Show me where.”
She stood and he pointed to the area slightly above the kidney, but right at the lower portion of his rib cage.
“One of your ribs might be fractured.” Or worse. “The X-rays will tell us.”
“Yeah. Great.”
“All right, we’ve got some time until we put everything together. You rest until they wheel you up to X-ray, okay? The pain meds are going to make you sleepy anyway.”
“Sure, but nothing too strong.” He closed his eyes and Lainie moved to the door, her gaze running over him. She and Stephanie had grown closer in high school when they’d both joined the drama department. On opening night of the end-of-year play, Stephanie’s big brothers, James, Keegan, and Dixon, attended the production. That night, James had been the one to capture her attention, buthe’d never looked at her as anything other than his sister’s friend. If only—
No. She wasn’t going down the highway to the past. She was only going forward, but while she was working and seeing other patients, she couldn’t help wondering why the man had been home three months and hadn’t told his family.
