Page 73 of When You Wish Upon a Wideout

A door opened, and Sienna’s eyes flew to the receptionist. “You can go in,” she told her.

Standing, Sienna grabbed the folder. “I have to go. I’ll call you when I’m done.” She swung her purse over her shoulder and walked into the office.

“How are you, Sienna?”

“Not too bad,” she told Lauren Hall.

Sienna was on a first-name basis with all the accountants at Texas Children’s Hospital. She sat in the chair opposite Lauren’s desk.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. What do you have for me today?”

Opening the folder in her lap, Sienna pulled out several dozen papers—onesingle hospital bill. “I’m having an issue with part of this claim.” She handed Lauren the papers, pointing. “I’ve been going back and forth with my insurance... I know I’m overdue here. But I don’t know why insurance is refusing to pay for the diagnostic testing that led to treat a problem theywillcover.”

Sienna anxiously bounced her knee as Lauren flipped through the bill.

“They might negotiate down.”

“How far down? That’s like twelve grand.”

Lauren shifted in her seat, looking at her computer. “Well, not to zero. But we can see if we can get them to cover a percentage of the cost. Maybe fifteen.”

“That’s it?”

Lauren turned away from her monitor. “Sienna. Your insurance company—”

“I know, I know they’ve covered a lot. But so have I.”

There was the deductible, additional therapies, and one type of medication the insurance flat-out refused to cover and offered no reimbursement. Not to mention nonmedical expenses—tanks and tanks of gas to drive to the hospital and subsequent appointments, therapies, and tutors for Grace when Sienna couldn’t handle helping her not get behind in sixth-grade science.

“Sometimes a push helps things. I’ll talk to Dr. Barron’s office and get a write-up, and I’ll go back to your insurance. In the meantime, to keep this from going to collections, I’ll put a hold on your account with a payment plan.”

Sienna’s heart sank. “I already havetwomore bills I’m paying off.”

Lauren offered a small smile. “That doesn’t matter. And I’ll put the first payment sixty days from today. That gives insurance a little time. If they don’t cover it all, we’ll adjust the payment accordingly, alright? I promise.” Lauren paused, stacking the papers. “We’ll workwithyou.”

While Sienna appreciated Lauren’s offer, she couldn’t help but leave the office with the same amount of debt over her head and the feeling that everyone was workingagainsther.

Twelve thousand dollars, she thought angrily, imagining where all that money could go.Fixing the leak in the basement. A new fridge you don’t have to kick to keep working at Maloney’s. Grace’s college fund. Disappointment seized her knowing the amount in Grace’s account—four hundred and fifteen bucks.

Sienna’s body burned despite the chilly February air, and she pulled off her jacket—the leather one Beau had given her. Her fingers slid across the smooth black leather, and for a brief second, Sienna wondered if she could sell it—it had to be the most expensive thing she owned. But doing something like that was just as difficult as accepting Beau’s offer of money, which Sienna knew he had a lot of.

His lifestyle might have been all casual athlete up front, but Sienna saw the sprinkles of wealth. Beyond his fancy car, the motorcycle, and brand-new truck, there was his dress watch—a Rolex—the perfectly clean white Nike sneakers he wore that let her know he probably had several pairs. The same sneakers Sienna found herself staring at as her head lowered in defeat.

“Hey.” Beau tilted her head up, but she fought against his finger pressing gently on her chin. “You okay?”

Hair curtaining her face, she shook her head

“Sienna?”

“No,” she said quietly.

Beau’s hand found hers, and she let him hold it. Her body swayed, nearly unsure of the contact. Was she supposed to squeeze his hand back? Was she supposed to hug him? There hadn’t been anyone holding her hand, a thumb running reassuringly along her knuckles. There had never been a hug only a breath away.

But there is now, Sienna thought before the self-pity struck her.And I can’t even enjoy it because I’m so angry.

“Let’s go,” Beau tugged her, and that’s when Sienna felt it—stares from patients, staff, and security guards stalling as they walked past them.

Beau Walker.

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