Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 78631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
I breathe in, trying to remain calm. Why did this happen? And where the hell is Mrs. Locke? A person was injured on her property, but she’s hiding inside her trailer.
Not that I’m surprised. This is a woman who gave her son away.
I told her I wouldn’t sue her, but she still doesn’t need any witnesses to see her on the scene.
Mark manipulates my ankle, and I suck in a breath.
“Does that hurt?”
“It’s calmed down a little,” I tell him. “But yeah, it still smarts.”
He nods. “It looks swollen and possibly sprained. We’ll need to immobilize it before we transport you to the hospital. I’m going to apply a splint to keep it steady.”
I nod. “Okay. Just do what you need to do.”
Mark gently places the splint on my ankle. “We’re going to be as gentle as possible, but it might be uncomfortable for a moment. Take a deep breath.”
I comply. It’s more uncomfortable than painful, as he’s being very gentle and careful.
“You’re doing great, Diana,” Sarah says. “Once we have the splint in place, we’ll get you on a stretcher and to the hospital.”
I shake my head quickly. “I don’t need a stretcher. I can make it into the ambulance, especially if one of you helps me.”
“It’s policy,” she says. “For your protection and ours. Do you have anyone we should contact for you?”
“My boyfriend. Dragon.”
My boyfriend? I can’t believe I just called him that. It sort of just fell out of my mouth. He’s really my roommate. My roommate I’ve gone to bed with three times now.
But I don’t hate the idea. And this EMT doesn’t need a full report of my sexual history.
“How can we reach him?”
I blink. “He’s staying at a hotel nearby. I’ll call him.” My phone is still next to me where I put it down after I called 9-1-1.
“Who lives here?” Mark asks.
“My…” I shake my head. “Just a woman. No one special.”
“Why were you here?” he continues.
Is that any of his business? Not really. He’s probably just wondering why no one is out here helping me.
“Just looking for some information,” is all I say.
That seems to satisfy him. I grab my phone, but before I can call Dragon, Mark and Sarah lift me onto the stretcher and then get me into the back of the ambulance.
“I’m going to take some vitals on you,” Mark says.
I nod.
“How’s the ankle feeling?”
“The pain isn’t so bad now,” I say. “Though I haven’t tried to put any weight on it.”
“That’s good news,” Sarah says. “It may not be serious. The doctors at the ER will be able to tell you more.”
Thank God.
Maybe it’s not a sprain after all. I probably just twisted it slightly. I’ve done that a million times on the ranch, and it usually feels better in a day or two.
“You want me to call your boyfriend now?” Mark asks.
I’m still gripping my phone. “I’ll do it.”
He answers right away.
“Yeah? Diana?”
“Hey,” I say. “I need you to meet me at… Just a sec.” I turn to the paramedics. “Where are we going?”
“St. Teresa’s, on the outskirts of town.”
“St. Teresa’s Hospital on the outskirts of town,” I say into the phone.
“What? Are you all right?”
“Fine. I just took a fall at—”
Shit. He’s going to be angry I went to see his mother.
“You took a fall where?”
I have to tell him. My car is still there.
“I was out this morning, and I took a fall.” I draw a breath. “On the steps outside your mother’s trailer.”
I hear him drop the phone on the other side of the line.
A second later, his gruff voice is back in my ear.
“What the hell were you doing there?”
“I wanted to talk to her, Dragon. I thought I could get some information out of her.”
“God damn it, Diana.”
He’s angry, and I can’t blame him. But right now, I need him to meet me at the hospital.
“I may have sprained my ankle, although it’s feeling better. Your mother wouldn’t help me, so I had to call 9-1-1. I’m in an ambulance, and we’re on our way to St. Teresa’s Hospital.”
“How the hell am I supposed to get there?”
“Call a rideshare. I’ll pay you back.”
“Jesus Christ.” He sighs. “So much going on. But are you okay?”
“I’ll be fine. Just meet me at the hospital, and we’ll talk.”
After the call ends, Mark smiles at me. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, it’ll be fine.”
Mark narrows his eyes at me. “So…your boyfriend, huh?”
Mark is looking at me.
Really looking at me.
And for the first time, I realize how handsome he is.
He’s blond and blue-eyed, like my cousin Henry. Not quite as tall, but with a light-brown stubble and full pink lips.
One of the good guys. A paramedic. In a uniform.
So much different from Dragon.
“Yeah,” I say.
“Too bad.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah.” He shrugs. “I wouldn’t mind taking you out sometime.”
I furrow my brow at him. “Do you always hit on your patients?”