“Mrs. Standing? I’m Dr. Clay McGrath. A man accidentally hit you in the side of the head, and you fell to the floor. How are you feeling?”
“How did I get here?”
I reach for her hand and clasp it in mine. “He hit you at just the right spot. The ambulance is on its way, and they’re going to take you to the hospital to do a scan. It won’t hurt. You’re going to be okay.” I lean in close. “I think you’ll even make it to your show tonight.” I try to ease her panic as a crowd forms around us.
She blinks her eyes and looks around the room a little.
“Where do you live?” I ask her.
“In Millbrae. It’s outside of San Francisco.”
“Just down the peninsula, right?”
“Yes.”
“Have you lived there long?”
“My husband and I moved out of the City after our son was born,” she says.
I look at the blonde to confirm, and she nods. These are all incredibly good signs.
The ambulance arrives, and I explain to the EMTs what happened, how long she was out, and the condition of her cognitive functions.
As the EMTs talk to her mother, the blonde stands rigidly at my side.
“It will be okay,” I assure her. “There’s a magic spot the guy just happened to hit that knocked her out cold. They’ll take her to the hospital and give her a CAT scan, just to make sure there’s no bleeding on the brain. But she seems fine. Most likely, she’ll be back to her normal self in a few hours.”
The blonde nods. “You’ve been absolutely wonderful. Thank you.”
They load her mother on a gurney, and she follows them out, leaving me behind to get to my room. For some reason, I stand a moment and watch her go.
Once I clear my head and get moving, I watch a few games being played along the way. I’ll come back and play some blackjack and probably some Texas hold ‘em later tonight.
When I finally get to the elevator, a woman with long brown hair and mesmerizing eyes comes to stand next to me.
“That was very impressive what you did for that woman when she collapsed,” she says.
I give her a tight smile. “Just luck. I didn’t do much.”
“You were cool under pressure. I admire that.” She extends her hand. “My name’s Sheena.”
I’d really just like to get to my room, but I clasp her hand anyway. “Nice to meet you. I’m Clay.”
Chapter 2
Anna
I rub my temples. This has been the longest day on record. I’d hoped getting out of town to celebrate Thanksgiving might be fun and a good change of pace since this is our first holiday without Dad. His passing over the summer was sudden, and Mom has been struggling. With my brother, Charles, in China for work, it’s just the two of us, and it’s my job to manage everything.
Even before her accident, Mom had been unhappy about one thing or another all day. She said I was late—I wasn’t. The traffic out through San Francisco was bad—as per usual. She didn’t like my hair. The weather was too hot. Some lady was driving with a dog on her lap. It went on and on, and I just tried to nod and ignore her. The last few months have been very hard for Mom. Dad did everything for her, and now, I’m exhausted.
The doctor pulls the curtain back and places her computer on the table near the end of the bed. She studies it for a moment. She looks like she’s fourteen years old. I’m sure she’s perfectly competent, but I know I’ll hear about this from Mom when we’re alone. “All right, Mrs. Standing. The CAT scan came back, and everything looks great. It looks like that elbow just happened to hit the wrong spot.”
“I have a terrible headache,” Mom grouses.
“I’ll get you some Tylenol,” the doctor offers.
“And pay twenty-five dollars for it? No thank you.”