"Like I've been breathing smoke and poison all evening," Margo replied with a weak attempt at humor. "And my throat feels like I swallowed sandpaper."
Lucy immediately began conducting a preliminary examination, checking Margo's pupils with a small flashlight and listening to her breathing with a stethoscope. Her movements were efficient and professional, but June could see the emotional undertone in every gesture.
"Isn't this against some sort of medical ethics code, you treating family?" Margo asked with a raspy laugh as her mother checked her pulse and blood pressure.
Lucy rolled her eyes and continued her examination without dignifying the question with a response. "Your vitals look good, and your oxygen levels are improving steadily. The important thing is that the firefighters got to you when they did."
"Can I get something to drink?" Margo asked hopefully. "I'm so thirsty I could drain a swimming pool."
"I have to go check on Lacey, who should be waking up any minute," Lucy replied, gathering her stethoscope and making notes on a tablet. "I'll send a nurse in with some ice chips, which will be easier on your throat than liquid right now."
She leaned down to kiss Margo's forehead with the tenderness of a mother who had come very close to losing her child. "I love you so much, and I'm incredibly grateful that you're okay."
Lucy turned to June and gave her a quick, fierce hug. "Thank you for staying with her. I can't tell you how much it means to me that she didn't have to wake up alone."
"Of course," June replied, understanding completely how she would feel if it were Willa in that hospital bed.
"I'll be back to check on you again soon," Lucy promised as she headed toward the door.
Before she could step into the hallway, Margo called out in her damaged voice, "When can I go home? I have to open the bakery tomorrow morning, and it’s delivery day at the inn tomorrow.”
Lucy turned back with the kind of expression that medical professionals perfected when dealing with patients who wanted to return to normal activity far too quickly after trauma.
"I'm not sure yet about discharge," she said with a slight smile. "Let me see how your breathing looks in a few hours, and we'll discuss it then."
"But the bakery—" Margo started to protest.
"The bakery will be fine. Now rest," Lucy said firmly before disappearing into the hallway.
"I can't stay here overnight," Margo said to June with obvious frustration as soon as her mother was out of earshot. "I have fresh bread orders for half the town tomorrow morning, and the Sandpiper Inn depends on my pastries for their continental breakfast service. There is just too much to do."
Before June could stop herself, the offer tumbled out of her mouth. "I could help you with the bakery tomorrow. Just tell me what needs to be done, and I'll handle whatever you can't manage from here."
"Oh, I couldn't impose on you like that," Margo protested, though June could see the temptation in her eyes. "You don'tknow anything about commercial baking, and some of those orders are quite specific."
"I insist," June said with determination. "Besides, it's not like I have a job to go to anymore now that the vet clinic can’t open." She immediately winced at her own words. "Sorry, that was probably too soon to joke about."
Margo laughed, which triggered another coughing fit, but she was smiling when she managed to speak again. "My throat is on fire," she admitted just as a nurse appeared in the doorway.
"Dr. Tanner will be back in about twenty minutes to do another evaluation," the nurse said cheerfully, carrying a small plastic cup filled with ice chips. She began taking Margo's vital signs again while talking, and this time, checking her throat. "These should help with the throat irritation, but go slowly with them. You don't want to overwhelm your system."
“I was just checked out by my mother,” Margo complained.
“Yes, but I also have to do my checks.” The nurse made several notations on her electronic tablet, making a small sound of satisfaction as she reviewed the numbers.
"What does that 'mmm' mean?" Margo asked suspiciously, already reaching for the ice chips with obvious desperation.
"Go easy on those," the nurse warned gently. "You don't want to choke on them. And 'mmm' means I'm happy with how your vitals are looking. Your breathing is much improved from when you were brought in."
"Does that mean I can go home tonight?" Margo asked hopefully.
"That's definitely not my decision to make," the nurse replied with an apologetic smile. "Dr. Tanner will discuss discharge options with you when she comes back."
After the nurse left, June settled into the bedside chair and watched Margo work her way through the ice chips with single-minded determination.
"You're supposed to let them melt slowly and trickle down your throat," June advised gently. "Not crunch through them like popcorn."
"Right now I could drink an entire lake, I'm so thirsty," Margo replied, but she slowed down her consumption slightly.
