Brice
I hate stitches.
I swear the number of stitches I've administered lately is climbing by the day. Kids trying to do things they saw online but have no business doing themselves. On the flip side, stitches are easy to apply so the patient can get on their way. Well, on their way to being grounded and dealing with the parents.
Since I have a break in patients, I'm heading down to my parent's ranch and seeing how the new calf that was born last night is doing. Dad and I were up well past midnight with him and his momma, but they were both doing well when I left this morning.
I feel torn between both places. While I love being a doctor, I feel at home on the ranch, too. Growing up, I spent a lot of time on my best friend, Ford's, family ranch but I never thought of being a rancher until my dad retired and became one.
In order for my father to retire, I took over his doctor's practice. His version of retiring was to become a full-time rancher and pulling me in to help. I knew from an early age I wanted to be a doctor just like my dad, and I knew I wanted to do it here in Rock Springs where you can really get to know your patients. But like all small towns, the gossip flows just as freely in my waiting room as it does at the beauty salon.
I'm making notes on the last patient's file in my office when a commotion out front draws my attention.
I know my receptionist, Joy Miller, can handle anything. She started out with my dad and has seen it all in this town. But even though Joy knows everyone and is tough as nails, I’m a little concerned, so I step out and see what’s happening.
I get one foot out of my office and even the normally calm Joy looks worried.
"Put her in here, Jason, and tell Brice what happened," Joy orders.
Jason is carrying the woman I bumped into at the coffee shop earlier. She’s unconscious and has blood running down the side of her face.
"What the hell happened?" I ask, accessing her injuries while Jason gets her situated.
I did several rotations in big-city emergency rooms, so I know all about staying calm under pressure, but something about seeing this girl like this unravels me, and I'm not sure why.
On top of the blood, there’s dirt on her clothes and her ankle is starting to swell. From the looks of it, she took a nasty fall, which Jason confirms.
"She was leaving the bar and turned to say something to me, and the gravel just gave out under her feet. I couldn't move fast enough. One of her feet landed in a pothole and she fell, hitting her head on a rock. She hasn't woken up since. I brought her straight here."
"Joy, get her vitals." I start with the bump on her head where all the blood is and get it cleaned up.
"The workmen are coming tomorrow to level out the parking lot and this wouldn't have happened," Jason mumbles.
"If she was wearing the right shoes, it wouldn't have happened," I say, thinking of the conversation I had with her outside the diner.
After just a few minutes, I can tell the cut on her head is going to need a stitch or two, but she’ll be ok. I gently remove her shoes to get a better look at her ankle. I'm pretty sure it's just sprained, but I want to x-ray it to be sure. I’ll wrap it and she’ll need to ice it, but she won't be wearing those fuck me heels anytime soon.
The town pitched in a few years back and got one of those portable x-ray machines like Hunter, the vet, uses because they hated the drive to go get one. I'm grateful more than ever to have it. I check the vitals Joy took, which all look good.
“After I get her head cleaned up, she’ll need a few stitches for that gash. I'm pretty sure her ankle is just sprained but I’ll x-ray it to be sure, though her vitals look good. Her name is Kayla, right?"
They don't need to know I ran into her earlier today. There’s already been plenty of talk about her in the office today.
"Yes," Jason says.
Kayla begins to stir, and I step to her side in preparation for when she opens her eyes so I can check on her. Her eyes open but then she shuts them again with a groan.
“Joy, dim the lights,” I instruct, then take Kayla’s hand in mine.
As soon as the lights dim, she opens her eyes again and looks around. "Where am I?" she asks.
"You took a nasty fall in the parking lot, so I brought you to see the doctor,” Jason explains.
"You have a doctor in this tiny town? Well, where is he?" She takes a deep breath, looking up at the ceiling.
"That would be Brice, here," Joy says.
Everyone calls me Brice. Very few people around here call me doctor because they all grew up with me. If I'm being honest, I like it that way.