I smile, shaking my head as I head to the room. I scan the chart outside before pushing the door open.
“Louise,” I say, locking eyes with the older woman seated on the bed. “What happened?”
Louise and her best friend Martha might be the town gossips, but they are sweet old ladies who wouldn’t harm a soul. Louise also has zero filter, and I find her to be hilarious. I hope I’m like her in a few decades.
“I’m perfectly fine,” Louise says, rolling her eyes. She jabs a thumb in Martha’s direction. “She dragged me all the way here, even though I would have been fine at home.”
She’s also stubborn as hell. Even from across the room, I can tell the wrist she is cradling against her chest is very much not fine.
Martha scoffs. “You tripped on the sidewalk on your way to the mailbox. You’re lucky your wrist is the only thing you hurt, you crazy old bat.”
They glare at one another, but there’s a fondness to it.
“Well, let me take a look at it, and we will see if you really are fine,” I say.
“Fine,” Louise huffs, leaning back against the propped-up bed a little more. I go about checking her vitals while the two of them resume the conversation they were having when I walked in the room.
“I’m worried about Benny’s Tavern, though,” Louise says. “Benny deserves to retire, but I can’t believe he sold it to those scoundrels.”
I have to bite my cheek to keep from laughing. Who even uses that word anymore? A pair of gray-haired old ladies, I guess.
Martha lets out a loud exhale. “Did you hear that they’re starting a biker club in town?” She whispersbikerlike it’s a cuss word.
More biting my cheek ensues because my goodness.
Louise shrugs as I gently pick up her hand to inspect her wrist. “Eh… I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I sure wouldn’t mind staring at more gorgeous tattooed men.”
They both cackle like it’s the funniest thing in the world. I can’t help but laugh quietly alongside them.
“Abby,” Louise says too loudly for the small room, while she whacks my arm with her good hand. “Maybe you can find a man with this new development.”
Now, I’m full-out laughing. “I doubt it, Louise, but who knows. Maybe you’re right.” Muscular, tatted-up guys have always been my type.
An image of Kane flashes through my mind. It has been nearly three years since the one night we spent together, but he still pops into my thoughts from time to time.
Mindlessly, I run my fingers over the ring on my thumb. Sometimes, I have to take it off at work, but not today.
I’ve debated putting the ring in my jewelry box instead of wearing it every day more times than I can count, but I can never actually do it.
I don’t know what’s really drawing me to keep it on. Maybe it’s the memory of that amazing night we spent together. Maybe it’s the sentiment that made him put it on my finger in the first place, the promise of something special to come.
Regardless of the reason, I still wear it.
The door behind us bursts open, and a mess of wavy red hair rushes in. Sienna locks eyes with her grandma on the bed.
“What happened? Why didn’t you call me?” she says, moving to the opposite side of the bed.
“I didn’t call because it isn’t a big deal.”
I’m not a doctor, but I would bet good money she’ll be lucky to walk out of here with a severely sprained wrist, if not a broken one.
“Hey, Abby,” Sienna says.
“Hi.”
“She’s full of shit. Right?” she asks, getting right to the point.
“We need to get some X-rays, but you’re going to at least need a brace on there, if not a cast.”
