Page 47 of All I Need (Hearts of the South)
“You’re not helping.”
“She’s going to be pissed off because you rejected her.”
Like that hadn’t already occurred to him. He was so seriously screwed it wasn’t funny.
* * * * *
Cases, minor and major, slammed the ER, and Savannah took advantage of the deluge to keep her thoughts squarely off what had—or maybe what had not—happened with Emmett. Thinking about it made her want to put her head down and weep, so she simply wasn’t going to think about it.
She dropped the chart from the possible appendicitis she’d sent upstairs to surgery in the pile and made yet another mental note to harangue SGM about getting them online.
“Hey, are you between exams?” Mackey leaned on the counter, his expression grim. Stress vibrated off him in a way that reminded her of the very man she was tryingnotto think about.
The guy was always even and collected. What was up with him? “Yes.”
“Great.” He shoved a chart and folder of forms at her. “I need you to take exam four.”
“Okay.” With a quizzical look, she accepted the items. “Why?”
“It’s a domestic violence involving one of our former nurses, she doesn’t want me to do the exam, which is great because I don’t want to break and cry on her, and Layla is tied up with the obstructed stoma in exam two.”
“Got it.” She pushed away from the counter. “Domestic violence is an automatic law-enforcement referral.”
“He’s already here, in the waiting room. Let Lorraine know when you want him back.”
“He? There’s not a female officer available? What about the counselor from the crisis center? Is she on her way?”
“She asked for him specifically.” Mackey shrugged, features tight. “And she doesn’t want Tori here. I asked. Her attorney is with her, though, and Haley’s in there already, doing the triage.”
“All right. Thanks.” On the way to exam four, she straightened her shoulders and pulled in a breath. With her game face securely in place, she knocked once and waited.
“Come in,” a low female voice answered.
Savannah pushed the heavy wooden door inward. The patient sat on the end of the exam table, her trim frame swamped by the paper gown. Blonde hair, swept into a loose knot, framed a face that showed the remnants of a stressed and sleepless night, but no bruises. A finger at the patient’s pulse, Haley eyed the blood pressure cuff on the woman’s arm. Above the cuff, bruises darkened from red to purple. Maybe a little more than twenty-four hours old.
Delayed care. Savannah ticked off the domestic-violence indicator in her head and laid the chart and folder on the table. She swept her gentlest possible smile across the patient and her lawyer, a professionally dressed brunette in her midthirties. Savannah flipped the chart open. “I’m Dr. Mills, and you are—”
Landra Beck Washburn.
Oh, hell. There couldn’t be two women with the name Landra and a maiden name to match Emmett’s surname in a town this small.
She recovered quickly and smiled at Emmett’s sister. “Mrs. Washburn.”
“Landra.” Her tone cold and removed, she stared at the wall beyond Savannah’s shoulder. “Do not call me Mrs. Washburn.”
“Of course.” Savannah pulled the rolling stool forward and settled on it, putting her almost eye-to-eye with Landra. “Dr. Mackey said you didn’t want him to do your exam, but before we go any further, I need to let you know I think your brother is one of my friends, in case you want another provider.”
“I don’t care.” Voice brittle, Landra lifted her hands. “I just know I don’t want Jay to do this, and you can’t talk to Emmett about anything that goes on in here anyway, so I’m good. I want this over with.”
“Okay.” Savannah kept her gaze on Landra’s expressionless blue eyes, the one point of resemblance between her and her brother. “The investigator from the sheriff’s department is here. How do you want the reporting to work? We can do it first or after—”
“Go ahead and call him back.” She gestured toward the brunette with her. “And Autry stays too.”
“Whatever you want.” Savannah lifted her gaze toward the other woman and nodded.
“Autry Reed.” She extended a hand. “I’m Landra’s friend and attorney. We need to medically document her injuries, and she needs to have those treated as necessary. There are…jurisdictional…issues, but Investigator Calvert will take the initial report.”
“Temp is normal, pulse is 83, and BP is elevated at 122 over 70.” Haley had already removed the cuff, but now she jotted numbers on the chart and glanced at Savannah before passing the chart over. With a soft smile, Haley rested her hand atop Landra’s, a gesture suggesting a long friendship. “Probably normal under the circumstances.”
