“Huh?”
Reggie, he’d said his name was, scooted down her body, looking her over, then focused on her right arm. “Do you remember what happened to you?”
Emily remained by her side.
Maggie tried to recall, and it came back in pieces. “Emily had a playdate. I went shopping. On our way home, she screamed at me to stop because a poor puppy was stranded in the road.” Maggie frowned, and the motion caused to her moan.
“Mommy!”
Emily’s shriek didn’t help her headache.
“I’m fine, sweetie.” She looked to Reggie. “Just a little headache.”
“Mm-hmm. I’d imagine you’ll have a big one.”
“Yeah, well, I got the dog back into the car. But when I went to get back inside, on the driver’s side, I think…” She paused. “Did someone hit me?”
He touched her arm, and her breath caught, the pain more than she could stand.
“Sorry. Yes, you were clipped by someone speeding by and not paying attention to the road. The police talked to him. But your forearm… You might have a break. My guess, radial fracture. An X-ray will tell us more. In any case, it’s not an open break, so that’s good. But you’re going to hurt until we can get you some pain meds.”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Reggie will make you better,” Emily said. “Brownie likes him.”
Maggie looked from Reggie to Emily, who stood without her bear.
Reggie looked back at her. “I was lucky enough to teach your daughter and some other smart kids about fire safety and being an EMT at the library. Remember, Emily?”
“Is this BLS?” she asked.
Reggie nodded. “Man, are you smart.”
Emily beamed. Then her little face closed in on itself, and she scowled. “You’re not going to stab my mom, are you?”
Reggie coughed, but Maggie saw his smile. “Um, no. We don’t stab people, remember? We fix them up. In fact, we’re going to give your mom a ride to the hospital. You and your Uncle Doug will meet her there, okay?”
Emily nodded.
“Where’s the puppy?” Maggie asked.
Reggie answered, “He’s with a clerk at the grocery store. She’s going to hold him until you or your brother can swing by to get him.”
“I don’t have a brother.” She blinked. “How did you get Doug’s information?”
“Emily handed me your phone. She told me Uncle Doug is your emergency contact. I just assumed ‘uncle’ meant brother.”
Her head hurt, her arm throbbed, and she ached all over. “Why can’t I move my head too much?” she asked when she realized she had little movement there.
“We put you in a brace. You might have taken more damage from that hit than we can see. So we’re going to take you to the hospital and get you all checked out before you move and possibly injure yourself.” He glanced at her daughter. “Emily, how about you go with Uncle Doug while Mack drives me and your mom to the hospital? I promise to take very good care of her.”
Emily nodded. “Will you make Mommy better?”
Reggie gave her a kind smile. “I’ll do my best.”
“Okay.”
A man in uniform appeared at the back and looked inside. “We ready to go?”
