The Doctor's Choice (19 page)

She
nodded and followed him into the ICU. Doc was propped on pillows with his eyes closed. His color was restored, but one side of his mouth drooped. She reached for his hand.

“Do
c? It’s me, Cami.”

His eyes fluttered open.

“Don’t try to speak. You’ve suffered a TIA. You know the drill. They’re going to keep you here while they run some tests to see what kind of damage you’ve sustained. You understand?”

He nodded and drew a deep breath.

“I know what you want. I’ll open your clinic tomorrow.”

A look of relief flooded the old man’s face.

She brushed his hair back from his forehead with her hand. “Don’t worry. Just get well so you can go fly fishing.”

A flicker of something she hoped was amusement passed over Doc’s face.

“Get some rest,” she said. “And be a good patient. I have to get up early to open for you.” She kissed him on the forehead and smiled as she left the room.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

When Cami pulled up in front of Doc’s office there were already several vehicles lined up. She pu
shed into the waiting room and greeted the woman behind the reception desk.

“Hello, I’m Doctor Camryn Carmichael. I’m going to fill in for
the doctor today.”

The woman’s mouth quivered with emotion. “I heard. How is Doc?”

“He was stable when I left him last night. If you want to get the hospital on the phone, I’ll see if I can give you an update.”

The woman’s smile belied the tears streaming
down her face. “Thank you, Dr. Carmichael.”

“W
ere can I office today?” she asked. “And who is my first patient?”

“Right this way,” she said. “I’m
Loretta. I’m in charge of scheduling and keeping Doc’s medical records straight. I’ve worked for him for the last eighteen years.”

Cami stepped into the darkened office
Loretta opened for her. “So, you’re like family?”

Loretta
’s face was wreathed in smiles. “Exactly!” she breathed. “We’re only supposed to be open half a day, but folks come straggling in ‘cause they know Doc wouldn’t turn ‘em away. Reba, Doc’s nurse, doesn’t work Saturdays because of her children and so we’re on our own. Your first patient is Miss Pigeon in exam room one and Mrs. Tooley is in two.”

Cami donned her white jacket with her name stitched
over her left breast and above the name of the hospital where she’d done her residency. She pulled the first chart and resisted rolling her eyes or asking aloud, ‘why me?’ The first patient scheduled was Celeste Pigeon, one of Breck’s female fans who had displayed nothing but antipathy toward Cami.

She
took a deep breath and opened the door. “Good morning, Miss Pigeon. What seems to be the problem today?”

“Are you a real doctor?” Celeste
eyed her suspiciously. “Because I thought you were some kind of a student, or something.”

Cami gave her an amused look. “No, I’m just pretending to be a doctor. They let me practice as long as I don’t kill too many people.”

“Me-yow! I like that.” Celeste looked her over. “I may have to change my opinion of you.”

Cami smiled at her.
“Oh, my heart’s aflutter. What do you need today?”

“I’m here for an allergy shot.
What’s the deal with you and Breck?” Celeste started rolling up her sleeve.

“You should learn to give yourself these shots. It would be a lot cheaper and you wouldn’t have to come into the office.”

“Eeuw No, I could never stick myself. You didn’t answer my question.” Celeste squeezed her eyes tightly shut as Cami administered the injection.

“No, I didn’t, did I?
” Cami resisted stabbing her with the hypodermic needle and gently injected her instead. “All done.” Cami bent her head to make a notation of the injection in Celeste’s chart.

“Did you know that Breck took me to our prom?”

“Nope,” Cami said, handing Celeste her chart. “Please give this to Loretta on your way out.”

“Wait, aren’t you even curious about us?”

“After the last twenty-four hours, I couldn’t care less about what Breck did as a teenager.”

“But it didn’t stop there.” Celeste put her hands on her hips, challenging
her to walk away.

Cami sighed.
“You’ve got two minutes.” She leaned against the door with her arms folded.

Celeste gave a satisfied little purr.
“After high school, Breck went away to college and then to law school. I didn’t want to wait so I married Brad Turner. When Breck graduated and came back to Langston, we got together again and I divorced my husband because I thought Breck and I had a future together.”

“One minute
warning,” Cami said.

“Then you came to town and he stopped coming by.”

She gave Celeste a tight little smile. “Funny, I thought it was the vet he was seeing.”

Celeste turned a deep crimson as a blush spread from her neck over her face. “Breck
does take Jenna out occasionally, but she’s just a pity date. She doesn’t effect what we have.”

“Then why
are you worried about me?” Cami fixed her with a cool gaze.

“Because I’m just a school teacher. I didn’t fall heir to a
humongous ranch adjoining Breck’s property.”

Cami nodded. “
Ding! Time’s up. I have to see other patients.” She stepped into the narrow hallway and let out a deep breath. Although she’d managed to stay cool in front of Celeste, she hadn’t felt cool. In fact, she felt very hot.

Things were happening too fast. Last night her wanna-be boyfriend had dispatched
her fiancé back to Houston, summarily breaking her engagement to a man she’d known for several years and had felt comfortable with. She hadn’t enough energy last night to examine her feelings, but she was experiencing a bit of remorse. She didn’t regret the loss of Clay but had to admit that everything he’d said about Langston echoed her opinions just a short time ago. What had changed her mind?

The image of Breckenridge T. Ryan, her ardent admirer, came to mind. Cami shivered, giv
ing herself a mental head slap.

It couldn’t be
all about the ranch. Breck could have encouraged her to return to Houston and the sprawling property would have fallen into his hands the easy way.

Cami turned and opened exam room two where Alma Jo Tooley waited to have her blood pressure
checked.

It was almost one thirty when Cami shrugged out of her white coat a
nd stretched her arms overhead.

“You did a good job,”
Loretta said. “Don’t tell Doc I said so, but you were a lot faster. He usually gets involved in long conversations with his patients and we get backed up out in front.”

Cami ha
d seen Sarah Beth Jessup for pre-natal care but she had been the only patient to rate the time for a personal chat. She thought that, if she stayed, Sara Beth might become someone she could call a friend.

“Call the hospital again and let me talk to the nurse taking care of Doc. We’ll get an update before we close up.”

Loretta nodded and punched in the numbers.

When
Cami spoke to the nurse, she was pleased with Doc’s condition. He was less lethargic and his vitals were stable, but he still wasn’t communicating. She asked the nurse to request that the rehabilitation team evaluate him for rehab potential. She’d made the request through his attending since she didn’t have privileges at this hospital.

Cami relayed the news to
Loretta and reached for the front door knob just as Milita Rios was reaching for it on the other side. She looked frightened.

The man with her held a bloody towel around his hand.

The smile froze on Cami’s face. “Come in, Milita. Loretta, get a room ready. What happened?”

“This is Mateo. He cut his hand on the meat slicer.”

Cami sat the man in a chair in exam room one and carefully unwrapped his hand.

“Omigod, Omigod” Milita leaned against the wall
as blood spurted from Mateo’s wound.

Cami wrapped the hand and pressed her fingers against the
major vessel feeding the blood flow to the hand. Elevating the hand, she held it at her shoulder level. “You need to go to the hospital, Mateo. We can call for air transport and they’ll get you there pretty fast.”

“Cami,” Milita interrupted. “He speaks no English and
… Mateo has no papers.”

A tightening in Cami’s stomach signaled her dismay. “He’s illegal?” At Milita’s nod, she took a breath before ordering
Loretta to bring a suture kit, and something to sterilize and deaden the wound.

“I’m sorry to bring this trouble to you, Cami,” Milita said. “I didn’t know where else to turn.”

Cami frowned. “Understand that I’m not a plastic surgeon. I can’t guarantee that his hand will function the same way it would if a skilled hand specialist worked on him.”

A rapid dialog in Spanish passed between Milita and Mateo. “He says he wants you to do your best.”

Cami administered a tetanus shot and used a local anesthetic to deaden the area around the wound. Muscle and tendon had been sliced through, but she took her time to meticulously repair the hand.

At the end,
she drew a deep breath and stepped back. “I think it will heal well. Tell him to come back in one week or sooner if he notices any red streaks running up his arm. He mustn’t get it wet and the dressings must be changed daily.”

“I can do that for him,” Milita said.

“He shouldn’t be working at the restaurant with a wound. It could get infected and he could pass it along if he handles food.” She gave Mateo a week’s worth of oral antibiotics.

Milita helped the man to her car, mouthing a
silent thank you.

“Please tell me this day is over,” Cami said.

“Over and done with.” Loretta pushed her toward the door, keys in hand. “Get some rest. Monday will be here before we know it.”

Cami drove
away from the clinic, feeling tired but strangely satisfied. She could see how it might be gratifying to be the only doctor in a small town. Not like the thrill of immersing oneself in research, seeking the keys to prevent or cure disease. Instead she would be treating the day-to-day maladies of a small population. But she had felt needed and today, that was enough.

She cruised through the hardware store and amused the locals by purchasing
a few sheets of sandpaper, an oak colored stain and clear varnish.

Her next stop was the Bag ‘n’ Save.
Shopping for groceries, she reflected that she had no idea what was on hand, but she didn’t want to make another trip. She had visions of climbing into her nest and locking the door.

She p
awed through her selections, sighing when she realized there was very little nutritious fare. A basket full of junk food stared back at her, but she wasn’t inspired to cook. Chips, French onion dip, soft drinks, chocolate ice cream and frozen pizza. That took care of all the food groups she was currently interested in.

She
drove toward the ranch. A brilliant palette of crimsons and purples painted a thrilling sunset across the sky. By the time she reached the house, the sun had retreated behind the mountains to the west.

S
he stumbled over the threshold and made a grab for the ringing telephone.

“Cami, you sound breathless. I hope it’s because you’re glad I called.”
She could hear the grin in E.J. Kincaid’s voice.

“No, I was just bringing in the groceries.” She let the plastic bags slide to the floor.

“What are those worthless hands of yours up to? They should be doing that for you.”

“E.J., I’m capable of schlepping in a
couple of bags of groceries. Do you think I had a staff to tote my bags back in Houston?”

He chuckled.
“No, I suppose not. What are you doing tonight?”

“Going to eat and go to bed early. I
held clinic for Doc today.”

“It’s Saturday night, Cami and we’re young. You should let me b
uy your dinner and take you to a movie.”

“No thanks,” she said. I just want this day to be over.”

“Another time then?” E.J. rang off and Cami hung up. She was barely out of one relationship and now she was apparently neck deep in another one, although E.J. Kincaid was much less threatening than Breckenridge T. Ryan.

She
lit the oven for the pizza and put away the rest of the groceries. She fed the animals and let Shadow out the back door for a run. She started up the stairs when she heard a tapping at the beveled glass inset in the front door.

She opened
it to Breck who held a brown paper bag in his arms. His grin could melt a statue as he looked her over from top to toes.