“I believe she was the driver and is in the emergency room at the hospital as we speak.But I’ll fill her in when she has a clear head, and I’ll get whatever you need.”
“Sounds good.”The vet nodded.“We’ll hope for the best for the human patient, too.”
Matt parked a few minutes later in the reserved spot close to the emergency room.He entered through the double doors and bypassed the waiting room.One of the nurses behind the desk looked up and smiled.“Good evening, Sheriff Parker.Are you looking for our latest patient?”
“I am.If she’s from New York City and is named Ally Jones.”
“She’s in room two.They had X-rays and will soon go for a C-scan.Dr.Andrews is the on-call.”
“Thanks, Miranda,” he said with a nod.“I’ll stick my head in and see if the doctor has a moment.”He walked to the second closed door and slowly pushed it open and stepped through.
He was reminded how much he didn’t like hospitals and emergency rooms.He was grateful for what they could do, but they also had memories that were and always would be tainted with the sadness of losing his wife, even after a decade had passed.In fact, it was in this same hospital.He shut the door on the memory trying to escape.
“Hello, Sheriff, I’ll be right with you.We’re about to send Ms.Jones off to have some more X-rays.”The doctor spoke the words after a brief glance over at him, then returned to the patient.
“Is that the sheriff?”The voice was weaker than he remembered.Shouldn’t she sound better?Was she worse?He stepped closer and his gaze found hers.“How’s Teddy?And the little girl?”
She had been concerned for others from the moment he had found her in the car.“Teddy is in good hands.Doc Adams has x-rayed and set his leg which, besides some bruises and being unused to his new surroundings, is his major takeaway from the accident.You don’t need to worry about him.I’ll check in on him until you’re able to do so yourself.As for the little girl, her name is Jillie, and she’s my little girl.A frightened kitten she had just rescued a few minutes earlier, got loose and darted across the road.Without thought, though she certainly knows better most of the time, she ran after him just as you appeared over that rise.Everything else happened in seconds.I’m sorry all of this had to happen.But we’ll do our best to make it up to you.Can you tell me where you were headed?”
She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment as she attempted to follow what he was saying.“Destiny’s River.I have to get to Destiny’s River.”
“Well, welcome.You made it.Not exactly how you might have planned your arrival, but you are here.Who can we call you?You have family or friends here in this area who are expecting you?”
“No…there’s no one I was coming to see.A friend told me all about this place and I just wanted to see it for myself.”
“I see.”Maybe not so much in that moment, but she had guts.“Anyone back in New York City we can call for you?”
“No.That is, there are a couple of friends, one of them I’ll get in touch with when I can find my phone.Could it be in the car?And how bad is my car?”
“It was towed to a local garage here.They’re very reputable.And they’ll make a full report on it, but you just need to worry about getting on your feet.I’ll get your phone call to you as soon as possible.But I know the doctor said you would be staying at least overnight here.They’ll make sure you get what you need.”
“Thank you.I don’t want to be a bother to anyone.You’ve been very helpful.And please, tell your little girl that I’m glad her kitten is okay and that she is too.”
Her genuine words touched something.He had heard the usual comments along the way that people from the big city of New York were full of themselves, often.But maybe they just hadn’t met Ally Jones.She seemed to be an exception.He stood from the chair beside the bed that he had pulled up to speak to her.
“You have to go.”The words began as a question and ended up a statement midway.Was that a blush on her pale cheeks?Matt had only seen a woman blush once or twice in his life.“Of course, you’re a very busy person.Thank you for being so kind to a stranger who just barged into your life.”Her attempt at humor was as weak as she appeared.
“You’ll find there are a lot of kind people in Destiny’s River, while you’re here.And I’ll check on you later.Teddy is in good hands and so are you.Get some rest.”He smiled and touched a finger to the brim of his hat.He thought that better than allowing his fingers to touch her hand in goodbye as they were tempted to do.He was aware of the interesting looks the nurse had given in his direction as he spoke to the patient.He nodded to the nurse as he moved toward the door.“Have a good afternoon, Jenny.Tell your husband howdy for me.”
“Bye yourself, Sheriff.I’ll tell him.”
*
Ally winced asthe nurse and her assistant settled her into the room where she would spend the next day or two.All she needed was to get out of the hospital and get Teddy and hopefully find that Annie’s box was intact.How could a trip go so wrong?And how was she going to pay for all the things that she needed to take care of?But her head hurt, and they kept giving her meds that only made her drowsy and unable to think anything through.And despite what the sheriff had said, she doubted that there were people all that friendly or trusting to total strangers.Even though he had been helpful and kind in a surprising way, he was still doing his job.The fact that his own daughter had been involved in the accident also offered another reason for him to be solicitous.
Her brain wasn’t so muddled that she didn’t realize that it was all an accident—no one was at fault.It could have been so much worse.What if she had hit the child?She didn’t even want to allow those thoughts to remain in her head.But still, she had to worry about Teddy.Vets were expensive.Fixing cars…if it could be fixed, was going to be costly.And what about the hospital?She had no job any longer and no medical insurance.She needed to contact Mr.Jacobs to find out the status of the sale of the apartment and if the car had any insurance on it also.All of it was too much.But she knew that she had to get out of the bed and find her belongings.Then she needed to take one step at a time.She squeezed her eyes shut as the others left her alone at last.Tears seeped out beneath the lashes that came to rest on her cheeks, along with an exhausted sigh through slightly parted lips.Darkness was her refuge.
*
“We certainly havebecome popular.Can’t remember the last time a patient here demanded so much of our sheriff’s personal time,” the nurse on duty said as the familiar figure came down the hall.
He kept his smile noncommittal.“Just doing follow-up so we can close out the accident report.”He didn’t stop to chat but kept moving to the door of Ally’s room.Matt’s tall figure moved with quiet steps into the room where late afternoon shadows were peeping around the drawn slats of blinds at the windows.He stood in silence and the glistening dampness on the woman’s cheeks did not miss his gaze.She had been through a lot.And she probably felt more than a little lost in a strange place.The sheriff placed the purse and the phone with its charged battery next to her bed, after he thought to switch it to silence in order to not disturb her sleep.The rest of her suitcases and bags were stacked for safekeeping in a storage room at his office.And as soon as he left the hospital, he would check on the little dog as he had promised her he would.
Matt Parker was a man of his word.But for some reason, he wanted to make certain that this stranger in their midst knew that was the case.She seemed vulnerable and alone.Nothing she had said brought that information, not in so many words, but it was just a feeling he had as he looked at how small she seemed in that hospital bed, a bruise beginning to show around the bandage that protected the cut on her forehead.What was her story?Were the tears for her own situation or for someone or something else?He was a fixer.His sister had told him that often enough.He saw a problem; he wanted to solve it.He saw someone in pain; he wanted to make it better.
And for his life, he had no idea why he acted on a sudden urge to bend down and place a featherlight kiss beside the bruise.Perhaps it was the effects of the day?Seeing Jillie in danger?Watching another human suffer through what could have been a much worse auto accident?He opted for the stress of the day.He just wasn’t his usual official self.And he knew better than to push the reasoning past that.Without a backward glance, he left the room as quietly as he had entered.
Chapter Five
