“She fell off the monkey bars and broke her arm. In two places. They’ve taken her to the hospital.”
“I’ll drive,” he said.
I nodded. He grabbed my coat, my purse, moved me toward the door. The drive was a blur, just the back and forth of the windshield wipers to keep me grounded in reality. I kept seeing Madison’s face, kept hearingtwo placesandin a lot of pain.My poor baby. She must be terrified.
And what was it going to cost? I had terrible insurance. Catastrophic at best. Ambulance rides were not cheap. And what if she needed surgery? I leaned forward, peering out the frontwindow, my grip tight against the dashboard. Time seemed to have slowed. It felt as if we would never get there. Finally, the sign for the hospital appeared.
Grady pulled up to the ER entrance, and I jumped out before he’d fully stopped. The automatic doors slid open and I ran to the desk.
“My daughter—Madison Taylor. She came in by ambulance.”
The woman behind the desk typed something. “Yes, she’s here. I need you to fill out these forms and show me your ID and insurance card.”
“Can I see her first? Please?”
“As soon as you check in. It’ll just take a minute.”
My hands shook as I dug out my wallet. Grady appeared beside me with my purse—I’d left it in the truck. The receptionist made copies while I scrawled my name on forms I didn’t read.
“She’s in Bay 4. Through those doors, turn right.”
With Grady on my heels, I pushed through the doors into a hallway that smelled like antiseptic and floor cleaner. Bay 4 had a curtain half-pulled. Madison was on a gurney, her left arm cradled against her chest, tears streaming down her face.
“Maddie,” I said.
“Mommy, I’m sorry.”
“I’m here, baby. I’m here.” I grabbed her good hand. Her fingers were cold. “Don’t be sorry.”
“It will cost too much money,” Madison said. “And we don’t have any.”
I glanced at Grady, our gazes locked for a moment.
The nurse turned around to greet us. “We’ve given her some pain meds so she may get a little fuzzy.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“Hey, Sweet Pea,” Grady said, moving to the other side of the gurney.
Madison turned her head and saw him. “Hi, Grady.” Her bottom lip quivered. “I fell really far.”
“I heard.”
“I made it to the top this time.” Fresh tears spilled over. “Then I fell.”
“But you made it to the top,” Grady said. “I know you’ve been working on that for a long time.”
She nodded, her chin wobbling. “I wish I’d just stayed on the ground.”
“Hey now, you’ve got to take chances,” Grady said. “You were very brave.”
“I’m not. And it really hurts.”
“I know, Sweet Pea.” He reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “But they’re going to fix you up. And then you can tell Robbie all about the medical procedures. He’ll love that.”
“I won’t remember it all,” Madison said. “The nurse said I’ll be asleep.”
“I’ll remember for you, okay?” Grady said.
