“I’m not a scaredy-cat, Jake McBride,” Branna said through gritted teeth. “And grown men don’t speak like that, you wimp.”
He continued to poke at her with verbal jabs, which she tried to field as his mother worked on her head. It helped.
“Don’t you remember, Annabelle? Rosebud here had that thing for Nick Fletcher. She kept looking at him all gooey eyed until he asked to change classes just to get away from her.”
“I did not,” Branna gritted out. “That was the other girl with the really big… ah—”
“Yes, they were certainly a fine pair,” Jake sighed. “Kaylee Summers, we were all in love with her, except Nick, who, as it turned out, was in love with Mandy Griffin.”
“D-didn’t she h-have a funny thing going on with her eyes?” Branna swallowed as she felt something dig into her head. It didn’t hurt, but still, just the thought of a needle anywhere near her was terrifying.
“You take a nice deep breath now, Rosebud. That’s it, now another,” Jake said, pulling his shirt free of her grip and then clasping her hand, her fingers sliding between his.
“Kaylee had a ton of vision therapy, which corrected it, and she’s grown up and out some since then. Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher now run the art gallery here in town. He’s lost his hair and puffed out a bit himself.”
Surprised by Annabelle’s words, Branna momentarily forgot her pain. “You’re not serious? Nick, the hottest thing in pants, Fletcher?”
“The very same,” Belle said.
“I thought I was the hottest thing in pants back then.”
“No,” Branna said, shooting Jake a quick look. “You only thought you were. He actually was.”
Belle whooped with laughter and Dr. McBride chuckled.
“All done with your head, Branna. Annabelle will take you to get an X-ray on that arm now to check it doesn’t have more damage than we can see.”
“Jake didn’t think it was broken, Dr. McBride,” she felt compelled to say, in case it persuaded the doctor to change her mind about the X-ray.
“He’s probably right, but as I’m still the doctor around here and he insists on wasting his talents by putting those skillful hands of his into a gallon of motor oil each day, then we go with my instructions.”
Branna’s head hurt too much to wade through the tension behind Dr. McBride’s words, especially as the fingers holding hers tensed briefly before relaxing again. Looking up, she saw that Jake was looking at his mother, his black eyes steady and unreadable.
“Once she’s done there, Annabelle, get her settled in a bed.”
“Bed? Why do I need a bed? Do you even have beds here?” She glared at Jake. “You told me this wasn't a hospital.”
“Hospitals traditionally are big and smell sterile. As you know, this building is the size of a small house. Therefore, it is classed as a medical facility, Rosebud.” Jake helped her to her feet. “And you need a bed because someone will have to monitor you for the night.”
“You took a bad head knock, Branna,” Dr. McBride added. “Annabelle will run through the instructions I expect you to follow soon, and when you leave, you’ll need to take it easy for a few days too. We’ll get you some pills for the pain, and then Annabelle will keep you company through the night.”
“No!” Branna moved away from Jake and the doctor. “Th-thank you for caring for me, Doctor, but I’m not staying here overnight.”
“Yes”—Jake stepped forward and took her arm before she’d made it to the door—“you’re doing exactly what the doctor tells you to, Branna.”
She looked at his handsome face, saw the determination and strength, and felt her heart sink.
“I don’t want to.”
“But you will.” He pushed aside the hair that had fallen over her cheek and his hand felt warm against her skin. “Care to tell me why you don’t want to stay?”
“Because I—”
“It’s all right, Branna,” Annabelle stepped forward. “Really, I’ll be here with you and we’ll catch up on the past ten years. You'll grovel some, and then I'll forgive you and we can start being bitchy about the townsfolk. It'll be like old times.”
Jake released her as Annabelle took her arm, and soon she was being directed down the hallway toward X-ray with her old friend at her side and her stomach filled with anxiety.
She kept her eyes closed throughout the procedure, which didn’t hurt, but still caused the memories she had buried deep inside her to surface. She saw the lights, heard the words, and felt the pain of those months she’d spent in the hospital all over again.
