Second Opinion

by Alexander, Hannah

  At seven in the morning while the noise had been at its peak, Archer had allowed himself a few minutes of rest in the far corner of the room. Sleep had immediately reached up and jerked him down like a helpless victim for five hours of unconsciousness.

  Now as he shook his head and tried to revive, a few volunteer workers trickled in for lunch. The aroma of grilled hamburgers brought him upright in the cot just in time to see Jessica walking toward him with a tray that held two plates with hamburgers and fries and two cups of coffee. She wore the same clothes she’d been wearing last night, only they were a little more wrinkled. With a face scrubbed free of makeup and puffy red eyes, somehow her familiar beauty took him by surprise again. Would she always have this effect on him?

  “Did you get any sleep?” He stood and took the tray from her.

  “Eight hours exactly. I just conked out in one of the pews upstairs and nobody bothered me.” She sat down on one end of the cot and patted the space beside her for him to join her. “As soon as I eat I have to drive to Branson and get ready for a show.” She cradled her cup of coffee so the steam would rise into her face and she inhaled with obvious appreciation.

  “Speaking of show, you handled the reporters beautifully,” Archer said.

  “Thank you.”

  At three o’clock that morning a news team from Springfield’s Channel 33 had arrived to assess the damage. Jessica had unwittingly become the spokesperson for Dogwood Springs when someone recognized her as a Branson celebrity. The footage would be aired on the evening news.

  Jessica leaned over and placed her cup on the floor then straightened and looked at Archer. “Before I leave I need to ask you something.”

  “Name it, Jess. After all you did last night I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you. How many different ways are there to say thank you?” Not only had she charmed the people from Channel 33 but she had helped with the cooking and spent nearly thirty minutes making her peace with John Netz and his two buddies on the personnel committee. By the time she finished with them, they had apologized to Archer for the recent problems and promised that Lauren McCaffrey would hear nothing about their questions and accusations. Jessica Lane definitely had a way of getting what she wanted.

  “Archer. Will you marry me?”

  He nearly dropped his coffee cup. “What?”

  “I said, will you—”

  “Yes!”

  Jessica chuckled. “Whew. For a minute I thought you were going to turn me down.”

  “Never. You just took me by surprise. I was planning to drive up to Branson tonight between shows. I wanted to at least have my teeth brushed and my hair combed. I’d thought about buying you some flowers, and—”

  She took his coffee from him and set it next to hers, then drew him forward and kissed him. “Can we swing by your house and pick up my ring? I don’t want to wait until this afternoon. There’s no telling what other calamity might befall this church before you can drive to Branson.”

  He cupped his hands around her face and returned her kiss. “I love you, Jessica. I always will.”

  ***

  Lauren was in no mood for company but did that mean anything to her family? No. They were having a McCaffrey reunion in the waiting area just down the hall from her private room. At this moment, the word private was a joke. Two nurses had already warned the guys to keep their laughter to a minimum and not to bother the patient. Even so, her brothers and two of her cousins had managed to use the McCaffrey charm to keep from being evicted.

  If she’d been the nurse on duty they’d have been out of there.

  She continued to remind herself that it was wonderful to be a part of such a loving family and that this gathering was a precious opportunity not to be avoided. It was also an easy way to spread the word that they needed to dispose of the fish she’d been sharing with everyone within a fifty-mile radius of Dogwood Springs.

  How much better she felt today compared to last night. She’d expected to be dead by morning. Wonderful what a little rehydration could do, along with her first dose of the chelating agent that would clear her system of the mercury. Eventually.

  Grant had told her that she shouldn’t have any lasting damage. Judging by the type of complaints from other victims of the poisoning, the heavy metal had not converted to methyl mercury in the water. By God’s grace, the town had avoided a major catastrophe that would have produced deadly effects for years to come. Lauren and the other patients would recover. Mr. Mourglia was doing well this morning and Gina would undergo surgery Monday for the insulinoma they had discovered with the MRI.

  As for Mrs. Henson who died last week, the poison had been too much for her system to handle. According to the experts with whom Grant had consulted, she might have had a reaction to the poison that triggered the lethal cardiac arrhythmia.

  “Guess what?” came a familiar female voice from the doorway. Lauren looked to see Brooke and Beau Sheldon entering her room. They had been in her room off and on since early this morning, mingling with Lauren’s family, trading jokes and soaking up old stories about Lauren’s childhood. Brooke now had enough ammunition to use against Lauren for the next three years.

  The twins had charmed Mom and Dad within the first ten minutes of meeting them.

  “What?” Lauren could not infuse much excitement into her voice.

  Brooke held up a shopping bag from Bass Pro. “We got you a present.”

  “It’s a fishing game,” Beau announced as he grabbed the bag from Brooke and removed the contents.

  “Oh stop it, Mr. Popularity,” Brooke tried to retrieve the bag. Beau held it away from her. “Hey, it was my idea in the first place!”

  Beau gave his sister the empty bag and handed Lauren the game before Brooke could stop him. “It’s a little computer, see? It simulates fishing and it even vibrates when you catch something.”

  “Yes,” Brooke added, “and it has a little screen to show you what kind of fish you caught and you can choose your bait and everything. That way you don’t have to gore innocent little worms to death for a little excitement.”

  “She doesn’t fish for excitement, Brooke,” Beau informed her, “she fishes for food and to relax and to get away from…”

  Lauren smiled and closed her eyes as the brother and sister continued to chatter. What ever made her think she was lonely?

  “You two, it’s time to give her a break.” It was the voice of the angel from last night.

  Lauren opened her eyes and watched Grant enter the room.

  “But Dad, we just got back,” Brooke complained. “I haven’t even had a chance to tease her about the time she got sick chewing tobacco out in the barn with—”

  “There’ll be time for that later. Out. Lauren needs her rest.”

  “Okay fine, but Dad, you could at least take advantage of her weakened condition and ask her out. After all, you did save her life last night.”

  “Out!”

  Brooke gave Lauren a smile full of mischief and preceded her brother out the door. Beau turned and looked back at Lauren as if to assess her for himself, then he waved and left.

  Lauren laughed. “You’re a strong man, Grant Sheldon.”

  He had a beautiful smile full of kindness. And yes, a little hint of Brooke’s mischief. “Not as strong as I’d like to be sometimes.”

  Gina was right, he did look a little like a young Antonio Banderas. “Did you ever have a ponytail?”

  Grant’s smile broadened. “Twenty years ago. What made you ask that?”

  “Just a guess.”

  “I’m sorry about Brooke’s big mouth. Don’t let her coerce you into anything. But if you ever want a fishing buddy or even somebody to help with those teenagers at your church you might give me a call.”

  “Really? You mean it? You’d help with the kids at church?”

  “Do you know anyone more qualified to help with rowdy teenagers than the father of Brooke Sheldon? Besides, she and Beau will be part of that church. And so will I.”
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  She caught her breath. “You will?”

  He straightened the blanket around her shoulders. He looked into her eyes and held her gaze. He was serious. “Yes. I will.”

  “Why the change of heart?”

  He checked her IV, glanced at the chart at the end of her bed then nodded and returned to her side as if deciding how best to put his thoughts into words. “Because I realized last night that God hadn’t given up on me. I’d just given up on myself.”

  “I’m glad.”

  “That doesn’t mean I won’t still have some questions.”

  “I had plenty of questions last night.”

  “Did any of them get answered?”

  “They did,” she said.

  “How?”

  Lauren reached up and touched his arm. “You found me. It wasn’t my night to die. God is in control of me and my future. Whatever happens is up to Him. It takes the pressure off.”

  Grant took Lauren’s hand in both of his and smiled down at her. “I know what you mean.”

  Coming soon

  Now for a glimpse at Book Two of The Healing Touch:

  NECESSARY MEASURES

  Hannah Alexander

  Chapter 1

  Evan Webster opened his locker door and shook off a chill of apprehension in the silent hall. He’d learned the hard way that school was most definitely not a safe place to be. Especially not for him. What he’d seen and photographed today would be enough to blow things wide open, bring the police down on the perps, and get him killed if anyone knew he was the whistle blower.

  He reached for his recorder and camera, stuffed them into his jacket pockets, and darted a glance up and down the hallway. He felt like a ground squirrel peeping out of his hidey hole to see if a snake was on its way to eat him.

  Despite that, he could not stop himself from admiring Brooke Sheldon’s silhouette as she walked as slowly as she could toward the end of the corridor, waiting for him to catch up. Her footsteps made no sound. It was as if she’d slipped into another dimension and left him alone in a place where he had known and unknown enemies.

  Though his recent school editorials had pleased Sergeant Dalton and his Publications teacher, Miss Bolton, the words he’d written didn’t have quite the same effect on some of his more nefarious classmates.

  He grabbed a textbook. A closing classroom door echoed out of Evan’s line of vision. He was about to call to Brooke to wait for him when a deep and familiar voice came from close behind him.

  “Webster.”

  He banged his elbow on the locker door, turned, and nearly rammed his nose into Kent Eckard’s muscle-stuffed chest. The high school junior’s bulk blocked light from the hallway but didn’t block the glower in his expression.

  Evan couldn’t force a smile. “Kent.” Be nice. Save a life—your own. Hard to believe they’d once been friends. “What are you doing out of class early?”

  “I saw you and your girlfriend out snooping for more dirt.”

  “She’s not my girlfriend and we’re not—”

  “Give it a rest, Webster, while you still have a future or you’ll be history.” Eckard smirked at his little pun, his shoulders squaring.

  Eckard and his gang of borderline-psycho friends were a tad displeased by the articles that had so enraptured Miss Bolton and Sergeant Dalton. Evan’s initial idea for the articles had begun immediately after school let out last summer—when he had trustingly taken two pills Eckard gave him. Those pills had turned out to be illegal. Speed. The emergency room experience had given Evan a close encounter with death and with the police. His life hadn’t been the same since.

  Warning others about the dangers of drugs was the most Evan could do. He cleared his throat, emboldened by a rush of resentment. “If there’s no dirt to dig up there won’t be a problem will there, Kent?”

  Eckard’s brows formed a thick V across his forehead. “For a scrawny runt you’ve got a big mouth.”

  Evan closed the offending orifice. Because of his articles, the superintendent and school board had initiated locker searches and issued a ban on book bags. The searches had resulted in the expulsion of two students so far.

  Evan swallowed. Kent Eckard was not the kind of person one wanted to irritate. Evan had done so in a big way when he gave the police the guy’s name last summer.

  Kent’s hands bunched into fists. He leaned into his frown. “You were in the boys’ locker room yesterday.”

  “I was in classes yesterday.”

  “Not after the last bell. What did you hear, runt?”

  “Hear? Was I supposed to hear something?” It wasn’t what he’d heard but what he’d seen and documented with the help of his wonderful little cell phone. Evan stood on tiptoe to see if Brooke was anywhere around.

  Eckard moved to block his view with an overdeveloped shoulder. “I asked what you heard.”

  “You know if you keep doing meth you’ll lose your physical tone? Soon you’ll have the muscles of an alley rat.”

  Eckard grabbed the collar of Evan’s shirt and jerked him forward. “What did you hear?”

  “Honestly? Nothing at all.”

  A blurred fist slammed into his right cheekbone. The impact smacked the back of his head into the open door of his locker and he felt a bite of metal in his scalp. He didn’t have time to cry out before a freight train rammed his stomach and shoved him backward.

  His voice betrayed him. He heard the high pitch of a squeal then a whine before the force ejected all remaining air from his lungs in a pitiful hiss of weakness. His posterior got stuck in the locker and he couldn’t scramble out before Kent’s fist hit him again, this time in the jaw. He saw darkness. He saw sparkles of light. He heard a scream. Humiliated by his own cowardice, he wondered if he would lose every scrap of dignity and wet himself.

  But the scream wasn’t coming from him. And it wasn’t one of fear but outrage. Before Kent could strike again the scream grew in volume and a blur of fury lunged into Evan’s attacker from the side with a blast of speed and flying dark hair that could only be Brooke Sheldon.

  The surprise attack knocked Eckard sideways and he stumbled. Before he could recover she dealt him a blow to his left temple with her elbow. Hard.

  “Help! Somebody help us!” She slammed him again with her elbow. “Help!”

  The first dismissal bell rang.

  Eckard shook his head and turned on her, raising his right fist. Evan raised his tablet and slammed it against the side of Eckard’s head. Brooke gave him a vicious well-placed kick that she must have learned from her brother.

  Kent grunted and dropped to his knees.

  In a haze of pain, Evan saw the doors fly open along the hallway and students come out.

  Brooke pivoted toward Evan. “Are you okay?”

  He was dying. “I’m fine. Let’s get out of here.”

  The wounded bull growled. “Webster!” He braced himself to stand.

  Brooke grabbed Evan by the sleeve and jerked him out of the confines of his locker. “Let’s go. Hurry!”

  All Evan could do was slam the locker door behind him and follow in Brooke’s wake, praying that his skull was intact and that he wouldn’t pass out before they made it to the car.

  Available Here

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Hannah Alexander is the pen name of a husband-wife writing team, and is the author of more than 30 industry published inspirational novels, novellas and short stories of romance, women’s fiction, suspense and medical drama with a dose of subtle humor. All are set in homey small towns.

  Hannah Alexander has won The Christy Award, Reader’s Choice Awards, has a book named as Library Journal’s top five picks in Christian Fiction, and has won three Holt Medallions. Thank you so much for taking time to read this novel. If you enjoyed it, Hannah Alexander would very much appreciate a review from you on the site where you purchased it, Goodreads, or other book review sites you enjoy.

  Other Works by Hannah Alexander

  Read more abou
t their work and sample chapters at www.HannahAlexander.com

  E-book available novels by Hannah Alexander:

  Hallowed Halls Series:

  Hallowed Halls

  Dandelion Moon

  A Lot of Class

  Sacred Trust Series:

  Sacred Trust

  Solemn Oath

  Silent Pledge

  The Healing Touch Series:

  Second Opinion

  Necessary Measures

  Urgent Care

  Hideaway Series Trade Paperbacks:

  Hideaway

  Safe Haven

  Last Resort

  Fair Warning

  Grave Risk

  Double Blind

  Love Inspired Suspense—Hideaway Series:

  Note of Peril

  Under Suspicion

  Death Benefits

  Love Inspired Historical—Hideaway Series:

  Hideaway Home

  Jolly Mill Series:

  Silent Night, Deadly Night (novella)

  Eye of the Storm

  Collateral Damage

  Keeping Faith (historical suspense)

  Alive After New Year (novella)

  Single Titles:

  A Killing Frost (contemporary suspense)

  Hidden Motive (contemporary suspense)

  The Wedding Kiss (historical suspense)

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13