Page 7 of Heartless
It wasn’t until she grabbed a cane and leaned on it heavily that I realized she walked with a significant limp.
“Gunshot, border wars,” she grunted out. “Don’t know what they’re calling it now, but it was at the old Oregon-Idaho border about five years back.”
“Sorry to hear that.” I picked up my pace as she walked alongside me. Even with a cane, she was fast.
“Heh, I’m not. About time I got a soldier’s welcome everywhere I went,” she cackled. “And all these nice young men offering me their hands and holding things for me. It’s not a bad trade at all.” Her sharp eyes roamed over me as we walked down the hallway, my boots and her sneakers an odd mix of sounds.
“I did about three years in the border wars too,” I said. “From East Texas to Arizona, just following the battles west.”
“You’re in damn good shape for being a battle medic,” Rhonda observed. She was right—I had no major scars or injuries to speak of from those times.
“I don’t know how,” I admitted. “I traded pills to get me out of some hairy situations, but even still, I got lucky.”
“Someone must’ve been watching out for you,” Rhonda muttered.
Freyja’s loud purr sputtered to life as she headbutted my ankle, walking in perfect time with my leg as she rubbed against me.
“Maybe.” I smiled. “‘Til I ran into a biker gang, and thentheybecame those someones.”
Rhonda lifted in an eyebrow, taking note of the black cat for the first time. “We don’t usually let animals into the hospital, but your little critter sure is stuck to you like velcro. He better not get into anything, though.”
“She,” I corrected. “And you don’t have to worry. Freyja sticks by me and she’s great with patients. She’s like a,” I paused to think of the pre-Collapse term I learned in school, “like a therapy cat.”
Rhonda nodded, the gesture stern, like she’d give me one chance and no more than that.
“So, is it true you’re married to all of them?” she asked. “The bikers you rode in with?”
“No,” I laughed. “I’m committed to three, and… I guess, in the early dating stages with a fourth.”
Both eyebrows shot up and Rhonda resumed facing forward with a chuckle. “Oh, to be young and beautiful again.”
She took me to a large room at the end of the hall where an actual, real CT scanner sat. My jaw dropped open and I nearly wanted to cry. Hell, I wanted to kiss that beautiful machine.
“How did you get this?” I asked in an awed whisper, approaching the machine. “I thought there were hardly any working ones left.”
“Governor Vance bought it himself and had it shipped from overseas,” Rhonda declared proudly. “See? All the words are in German.”
“I can’t imagine what it must have cost him,” I said, shaking my head. “But this is amazing! No more guessing games like out in the field.”
“It’s quite possibly the only one in the southwest.” Rhonda fondly ran a hand over the machine. “And it’s helped us save hundreds of lives, that’s for sure.”
“What else does the hospital have?” I turned back to her, giddiness running through me. “Ultrasound machines? X-rays? How about a lab?”
“Down, girl,” Rhonda teased with a chuckle. “We have all of those, yes, but not many, and even fewer people with the skills to use them. Our poor lab tech is always run ragged. He works the longest hours out of any of us and is always behind. We’re working on getting more people trained, but you know how it is. Medical professionals don’t grow overnight.”
“I’d love to help.” Excitement continued to brim throughout me despite herdown, girl.“My specialty was in labor and delivery, but you can put me anywhere that needs the most support. Anything I haven’t learned out in the field, I can pick up quickly—”
“Ah, just the person to decide where an eager young medic should go.” Rhonda tilted her head down the hallway and I followed her gaze.
A tall, slender man was coming down the hallway with long strides. He wore the iconic, long white coat of a doctor with plain jeans and a T-shirt underneath. Glasses sat on an attractive, friendly face with a medium-brown complexion. What surprised me the most was how young he looked, close to the same age as any of my guys.
“Dr. Brooks, this is Mariposa,” Rhonda introduced. “Accomplished combat medic and Kyrie Vance’s personal savior.”
“Oh please,” I laughed, shaking off my surprise at the sight of the young doctor. “It’s amazing what a small knife and a huge dose of adrenaline can make you do.”
“I’ve heard you’re exceedingly modest too,” Dr. Brooks teased me gently with a warm smile, accepting my outstretched hand. “It’s a pleasure, Mariposa. I’m sorry we didn’t get to meet at the governor’s dinner party. We were swamped here.”
“That’s why I’m here,” I offered. “Heard you could use some extra hands and Rhonda was nice enough to show me around.”
