For Whom the Smell Tolls: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel (A Nora Black Midlife Psychic Mystery Book 2)

by Renee George

  “Don’t worry, Nora,” Bear said. “I’ve got you.” He retrieved a large dinosaur of a phone from his pocket and pressed a button before putting it to his ear. After a few seconds, he said, “I’m in the ambulance bay with a—” He covered the phone and asked, “How old are you?”

  I groaned, but this time it wasn’t only because of the back pain. “I’m fifty-one, damn it.”

  “I’m here with a fifty-one-year-old woman—” He covered the phone again. “How tall are you?”

  “Next you’ll be wanting my weight,” I gritted out.

  “Actually…”

  I growled at Bear, and if my stupid legs had been working, I would have lunged for his throat.

  “Dude,” Ezra said with a warning headshake.

  Bear, who outweighed me by at least a hundred pounds, blanched. He took his hand away from the phone receiver. “Just bring a gurney,” he said, “STAT.”

  A young man brought out the gurney, and after an excruciating transfer, Bear and Ezra got me onto the rolling bed and took me inside. The waiting room had a dozen or more people, one guy with two tampons shoved up his bloody nose as a woman pressed ice to his face, and another guy holding his arm in an unnatural position. We passed through automatic doors, the gurney hit some kind of threshold bump, and I bit my tongue to keep from screaming.

  “She needs something for pain,” Ezra demanded. “Now!”

  A female nurse with kind eyes and a bouncy blonde ponytail opened the door to a treatment room with the number six on the door. As Bear wheeled me in, I saw Jordy Hines standing outside a treatment room a couple of doors down. Our eyes met briefly, but the pain was too intense for me to even say hi.

  The nurse took my blood pressure and temperature. She and Bear transferred me to the hospital bed. It hurt nearly as bad as the transfer from the car to the gurney.

  “Ezra,” I said. Tears leaked from my eyes.

  “I’m here.” He grabbed my hand and scowled at Bear. “Doctor,” he ordered. “Now.”

  “Take it easy, Easy,” the burly man said. “I’ll go see if he’s available.”

  “I’m a mess,” I moaned.

  His brow pinched with worry as he used his free hand to brush back my hair. “Everyone has stuff, Nora.”

  “Yeah, but I can’t even make out with my boyfriend in a car without it becoming a medical emergency. That’s not normal stuff.”

  The lines around his eyes softened. “Your boyfriend, huh?”

  “You know what I mean.” The spasm gripped me again, and I groaned as I moved up off my hip then lay back flat when the agony intensified more. “That’s worse,” I panted.

  “The doctor will be in here soon.” He kissed me.

  The first time he’d kissed me—and I mean, good and kissed me—was in the emergency room. “We have to stop coming to this place,” I told him.

  The sharp scent of hand gel and medicinal antiseptic permeated the room.

  A man bangs his hand against a pale-yellow wall. I recognize it as the emergency ward at the Garden Cove Hospital. I also recognize the man. It’s Ezra. He’s wearing hospital scrubs that are too small for his boxer’s build, and the short sleeves fit snug against his biceps.

  A woman in uniform—who I’m sure is Reese McKay, by the color of her hair—stops in front of him. “They’ve stabilized Grigsby.”

  “Dirty bastard.” Ezra puts his forearm against the wall and leans into it. “So, he’s going to live, eh?”

  “Looks like,” Reese says. “What about Nora? Did the bullet hit anything major?”

  Ezra shakes his head. “Doctor says she’s going to be fine. He’s cleaning the wound now so he can stitch her up.” He glances to the left.

  “You can’t blame yourself, Easy. Nora asked to help, and she would have put her nose into this investigation whether you wanted it there or not. You can’t beat yourself up about it.”

  He doesn’t look back at Reese, he keeps his head turned to the left, presumably toward the rooms. “I know. Go on home, Reese.”

  “You want me to stay?” Hesitantly, she touches his arm.

  He turns his head now and looks down. “Go home, Officer McKay.”

  “Oohhh,” I grinded out as another sharp twist of the spasm knife welcomed me back from the memory.

  “Where’d you go?” Ezra asked.

  I’d seen a few memories of his, but he didn’t have a lot of strong emotional connections to scents, so none of them had been too private. But watching the interaction between him and Reese had made me feel yucky. “Did you and Reese ever date?”

  “No,” Ezra said. “I’ve never dated Reese McKay.” He frowned. “Why? What did you see?”

  “The night I was shot in the leg and the doctor made you wait outside the room.”

  Ezra chuckled at the memory. “I was ready to kick his ass.”

  “Reese acted like there might have been something…”

  “There wasn’t,” he assured me. “I’d never date a subordinate. As the saying goes, you don’t crap where you eat.”

  I was relieved.

  There was a knock, and the door opened. “Hello, Ms. Black. I see we meet again, and no bullet wound this time, right?”

  “Dr. Allen,” Ezra said. “Nora’s having an intense back spasm. You need to do something.”

  “I’m not above kicking you out of the room again, Detective.”

  “I’m not here as a detective,” Ezra said.

  “Oh.” Dr. Allen raised his bushy brows and peered at Ezra over his reading glasses. “Then what?”

  “I’m her…” He glanced at me. “I’m her boyfriend, and I’m not leaving her alone again.”

  Dr. Allen sighed. “Ms. Black, when did the spasm start.”

  “Two days ago,” I said. “The first time was at work.”

  “Which side?”

  “Left.”

  The doctor walked to the left side of the bed. “Can you roll to the right for me?”

  With Ezra’s help and a lot of teeth gritting, I managed to get on my side. “It’s just to the left of my spine above my hip. That’s where the pain is the worst.”

  “Were you picking up something heavy?”

  I winced as he poked around. “Does it matter?”

  “It might.”

  I sighed then admitted, “I sneezed.”

  The doctor stopped poking the area. “You what?”

  “I sneezed,” I repeated. I avoided eye contact with Ezra, I didn’t want to see how horrified he was that his old girlfriend threw her back out because of allergies. “Pollen is up.”

  “Uh-huh,” the doctor said. “You’d be surprised at the amount of sneeze injuries I see in the spring.”

  “Really?”

  The doctor nodded. “Chest and back injuries.” He began pushing around again. “Usually in older patients.” My death glare caused him to add, “But not always.”

  “Ow,” I said to both his probing and his words. “That hurts.”

  “Are you allergic to any medications, Ms. Black?”

  “Nope. Not that I know of.”

  “What medications are you currently on?”

  “Claritin, Pseudo-Act, Ibuprofen, and Estradiol patches.”

  “For menopause?”

  Dr. Allen was killing me. It wasn’t like Ezra didn’t know I’d had a hysterectomy but did the freaking doctor have to keep reminding both of us of my age?

  “Yes,” I said. “Surgical menopause. I had a hysterectomy in January.”

  “Uh.” He pulled a small tablet from his lab coat and began tapping on the screen. “The nurse will come in with a shot of morphine and a shot of Depo-Medrol to help with pain and inflammation. What pharmacy do you use?”

  “Craymore’s,” I said. “Isn’t morphine extreme?”

  “Your back is seized up, and that spasm is not letting go. It works quickly and will last for four to six hours, so you can get home to bed and on your way to recovering.”

  I’d had morphine after my hy
sterectomy and I didn’t remember any lingering side effects, so I said, “Fine. Anything to get rid of this pain.”

  Dr. Allen nodded. “I’ll send over a script for a muscle relaxer and some tramadol to help you through the next couple of days. You’ll need to take it easy, drink plenty of water…dehydration can make spasms worse. And the medication can make you really drowsy; you’ll want to have someone stay with you tonight.”

  “She can come home with me,” Ezra said.

  I hurt too much to argue.

  Dr. Allen nodded. “Take care of yourself, Ms. Black.”

  When he left the room, I said, “I don’t like that man. Not one single bit.”

  “His bedside manner sucks,” Ezra agreed.

  “Are you sorry?” I asked.

  “For what?”

  “For getting involved with me.”

  The worry lines in his forehead eased. “No way.” He rubbed my upper arm. “Are you okay coming home with me? I would go to your place, but Mason…”

  “Oh, yeah. How is that going to work? Mason might not like me invading his space.” Besides, the idea of Ezra taking care of me while I was laid up made my stomach and chest hurt. Old and infirmed was not how I wanted him to see me.

  “He won’t care.”

  “I think you underestimate a teenager’s capacity for caring. I can stay with Gilly. She has a fold-out couch I can sleep on.”

  “If that’s what you want.” He sounded disappointed.

  “It’s not what I want.”

  “Then come home with me.”

  I nodded. The nurse came in shortly with two big shots, both in my backside, substantially lower than the spasm. She told me to give it fifteen minutes or so to work. Shortly after she left the room, the relief kicked in and I felt woozy. I sighed and gave my back a gentle stretch.

  Shouting out in the hall harshened my newfound Zen. “What is going on out there?”

  Ezra sprinted across the room and opened the door. “Shit.”

  “What is it?” I tried to get up but I felt loosey-goosey.

  “There’s a fight going on. Be right back.” Then he was gone, the door shutting behind him.

  Chapter 14

  Some of the loose left the goose, and I eased up to a sitting position. Crap on a cracker. My back still hurt, but not with the same intensity. I stood up, waited a couple of seconds for the dizziness to pass and staggered to the open door. Opening it was a lot harder than it should’ve been, but I finally managed it.

  I heard Jordy shout, “Hey, back off.”

  Uh-oh. I peeked around the corner. Jordy was holding back the guy I’d seen with tampons sticking out his nose. Ezra was running interference with the broken arm guy. What the heck was going on?

  “Hey,” I called out. “Stop it. Sshtop fighting.” Gosh, I felt tired. And floaty. I took a step out of the room, and without the doorjamb to support me, I stumbled to my knees.

  “Nora!” Ezra said. He and Jordy, along with Bear, raced to me.

  “At least my little trip stopped the yelling,” I said. Then giggled. “Trip. Trip-puh. Trippy.”

  “I think someone’s tripping, all right,” Ezra said as he lifted me up into his arms.

  “Is she high?” Jordy asked.

  I leaned my head back, reached over and booped Jordy’s nose. “Takes one to know one,” I said.

  Ezra smiled at me. “They gave her morphine for her back,” he said.

  “I think it’s working.”

  “Lord almighty, Nora,” I heard Pippa squawk.

  I whipped my head toward her voice. “Pippaaaa.” Right behind her was Gilly. “And Gilly-billy. My two bestie bosom buddies in the whole wide world.”

  “What’s wrong with her?” Gilly demanded.

  Ezra carried me back into the room and gently put me on the bed. “She’s fine. Her back spasmed—”

  “Again?” Gilly asked. “Dang, Nora. I told you to take it easy.”

  “Don’t blame Ezra,” I said. “It’s not his fault I’m falling apart.”

  Gilly shook her head. “I’m not blaming him, dodo. I’m blaming you. You need to start taking better care of yourself.”

  “Yes, Mom.” So damn sleepy. I was numb, and for once, it was a nice numb. I pointed at Jordy. “Hey.”

  “Hey,” he said. “I called Pippa when I saw you come in.”

  That’s how they knew I was here. I smiled at him. “You’re okay.” I twirled my finger at him. “Even if you want to get high.”

  His eyes bugged at me. Pippa immediately moved in next to Jordy and took his hand. She gave him an almost imperceptible nod.

  In that moment, even dosed up on drugs, I could tell that I didn’t need to tell Pippa about Jordy’s past. She already knew. “I guess you can keep secrets,” I told her.

  “When can Nora go home?” Gilly asked.

  “The doctor says she has to be watched tonight,” Ezra answered.

  “Fine. I’ll call the kids and have them set up the bed downstairs.”

  “She’s coming back to my place,” Ezra said. “I can handle whatever she needs.”

  I giggled. “Yeah, you can. Booty call,” I hooted. “Booty. Booo-tee. Booty. Booo—” The word was fun to say. I pinched my cheeks. “Woowoo.”

  “Are you sure?” Gilly wrinkled her nose. “She’s pretty out of it. And I know Nora. She can be a handful when she’s recuperating.”

  “Look, Gilly. Nora told me what good care you took of her after her surgery, and I know you’d do a great job being there for her tonight but…I love her. And while I don’t want to get between the two of you, I do want a chance to show her that I can be there for her too.”

  You could have heard a pin drop.

  From the door, Bear said, “Damn, Easy, that was beautiful.”

  “I concur,” I said. “And I slur,” I added on another giggle.

  “Then it’s settled.” Gilly came around and knelt by the bed. “You’re going home with Ezra tonight.”

  She was close enough for me to boop her nose, so I did. “Don’t you mean Detective Hottie?”

  I woke up at four a.m., according to the digital alarm clock sitting in front of my face. It was not mine. I rolled onto my back, my body stiff from hard sleep. I stretched to test my back, and it was still sore, but it was no longer screaming at me.

  I glanced around the room. Not mine either. I tried to piece together what had happened at the hospital after the nurse had given me the shots. All of it was mostly fuzzy. Jordy was in a fight. I remember Gilly and Pippa showing up. I also remembered acting like a complete ass. I’d have to apologize to Jordy. I hadn’t meant to out him in front of a roomful of people.

  A soft snore drew my attention. I rolled onto my left side to face Ezra, who was asleep on his back next to me. He had one arm over his head and one across his stomach.

  I put my hand on his chest and played with the smattering of hair he had between his pecs. He didn’t open his eyes right away, but his lips curled into a smile.

  “Good morning,” I said.

  He turned his head, opened his eyes, and met my gaze. “Don’t you mean, good morning, Detective Hottie?”

  “Whaaat?” I said slowly and with no surprise at all. “I guess I said that, didn’t I?”

  “You did.” He pressed his palm against my cheek. “Are you feeling better? Do you want a pain pill or muscle relaxer? Bear gave me some samples of what the doctor prescribed you to tide you over until I can get to the pharmacy.”

  “I’m okay right this minute.” I didn’t enjoy feeling loopy, and the pain wasn’t bad enough to go there again. “Thanks for taking care of me.”

  “I want to, Nora. I meant what I said to Gilly.”

  “What did you say to—” I remembered now. “Oh.”

  “I love you, Nora.” He smiled again. “It’s okay if you don’t want to say it back. It’s even okay if you don’t feel the same way. But I don’t want there to be any mistaking how I feel. You will never have to guess about me.
I’m all in with you.”

  My heart was in my throat. I’d been in love a couple of times in my life, but none with the same fire that I’d loved Shawn, so I had given up on finding anyone for a lasting relationship. Then Ezra came along. “I love you, too. I think you know that. If you didn’t, I’m saying it now. I won’t promise you forever, because I don’t want you to ever feel like you have to stay with me. But I can promise to love you as long as you want me.”

  “And if that’s forever?”

  “Then I’ll count myself lucky.” I wasn’t sure he’d feel the same a year from now, but I wasn’t going to spoil what we had by worrying over it.

  “I did call the M.E.’s office after I got you to bed last night. It turns out that Fiona was pregnant. And the scar on her wrist was a self-inflicted wound from when she was seventeen.”

  “I think I need to speak to her parents,” I said. “Do you think they would talk with me?”

  “Reese could probably arrange something informal. I called her, too, and caught her up.”

  “Everything?”

  “I left out the drug charge and the pregnancy. That's not something you tell over the phone.”

  “Fair enough,” I said. I glanced over at the clock. It was three minutes after four now. “How long have I been asleep?”

  “Four hours. We got back here around midnight, but you fell asleep on the way home.”

  I groaned.

  “Are you having more pain?”

  “No. The shop is going to be packed. I can’t leave Pippa and Gilly to work it alone.”

  “You want to try and work? After last night?”

  “I’m feeling much better now.” I patted his chest. “Thanks to you. I’ll stay for another hour or so, but then I’m going to have to go home and get ready for work.”

  “You’re crazy. And the doctor said you had to rest.”

  “I’m fine. Really. Classic Nora,” I said, referring back to when he said he loved the classics. “I’ve always been a workaholic.”

  “I won’t tell you not to go, because you can make your own decisions, but I will say that I enjoyed having you in my bed.”