Page 110 of Love, Lies, and Whiskey

“Are you concerned?” Doc asked. He’d watched closely as she’d examined Lucas, and he didn’t see any neurological or motor deficits. Whatever she felt in his neck didn’t seem to bother him, either, so he wasn’t overly concerned, but he wanted to hear it from her.

“He had a traumatic fall. I’d be remiss if I wasn’t,” she said. “Let’s get the tests done so we can see if we have cause for concern, and we’ll go from there.”

Doc should have known better than to ask. Of course she couldn’t give the all clear without seeing the test results. “Right. Of course.”

“Thank you, Dr. Chen,” Juliette said.

“Can I take off the collar now?” Lucas asked hopefully.

“I know it’s uncomfortable,” Dr. Chen said. “But to be on the safe side, I’d rather you kept it on until after we have the results.”

Lucas groaned.

NEARLY THREE HOURS later, they were back in the emergency room waiting for Dr. Chen to give them the results. It had been a long night, and they were all on edge. Lucas had been texting all evening and complaining about having to sit around. He was bored, tired, and irritated with the cervical collar. On the upside, his headache had subsided. Doc’s family had been texting him and Juliette to check on Lucas, so he’d started a group thread that included his family and Juliette to keep everyone up to date. He’d asked Cowboy to take care of Juliette’s horses, and Dare and Billie were checking on his dogs.

Lucas looked up from his phone. “Can I go on a trail ride tomorrow with Layla and her cousin?”

“We’re sitting in the emergency room waiting to see if you have a head injury,” Juliette said. “Don’t you think we should wait to get the results before making plans to go horseback riding?”

“I don’t have a head injury,” Lucas snapped. “My headache is gone. I’m not even dizzy. Please?”

“Why don’t we ask Dr. Chen after we get the results?” Doc suggested.

“Whatever.” Lucas thumbed out another text.

Doc took Juliette’s hand. “You okay? Do you need anything? A drink? Something to eat?”

She shook her head. “I’m just ready to get the results and go home.”

“Me too,” Lucas said without looking up from his phone.

Doc wished they were all going to the same home. “What about you, Lucas? Are you hungry? Thirsty?”

“No. I’m good. Thanks.”

When Dr. Chen came in, she smiled warmly and said, “Good news, Lucas. We can take off that uncomfortable collar.”

“Yes. Thank you,” Lucas said, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Dr. Chen removed the collar and set it down. “The CT scan of Lucas’s head was clear, as were the X-rays, so there’s nothing to worry about there.”

“See?” Lucas said. “I told you I didn’t have a head injury. Can I go on the trail ride tomorrow?”

“Sure,” Juliette said.

“We did find an enlarged lymph node on the right side of Lucas’s neck that I think you should get checked out,” Dr. Chen said.

“Lucas, if you have mono, I’m going to kill you,” Juliette said. “Does that still mean weeks off school?”

“I don’t have mono. I’m not sick,” he snapped.

“I ran a monospot with the blood work and have ruled out mono,” Dr. Chen said. “The rest of the labs were normal, and I didn’t feel any other swollen nodes. I’m not sure what’s causing this, which is why I’m recommending you get it checked out. I’ve provided names of a couple specialists on your discharge paperwork.” She handed Doc the paperwork.

A specialist? Doc mentally ran through the possible causes of swollen painless lymph nodes.

“Another doctor? Just for that?” Lucas asked.

“Don’t worry. It’s not happening tonight,” Dr. Chen reassured him.