by MK McGowan
Darcy was surprised. It was not like Charlotte to be so bellicose. She tried to tone it down. “Okay, okay, I just don’t want you getting hurt again,” she said. “We’re going to be here only a few more days, and I know how easily you get attached.” She said this last part firmly but gently. At this point, their waiter showed up. After placing their order, Darcy relented. “So tell me more about the wonderful Jane.”
Charlotte didn’t smile, but her eyes regained their twinkle as she quickly warmed to the topic. “She is a schoolteacher – third grade. And she’s lived here all her life, except for college and grad school. She’s got three brothers and two sisters, and everyone knows she’s gay, but they don’t really like to talk about it. Her dad is a minister.”
Darcy looked appalled, but Charlotte continued before she could interrupt, “He’s Episcopalian, not a fundamentalist.”
Darcy breathed a sigh of relief. “Wow. I’m impressed. You two actually did more than screw each other’s brains out. All night,” she added with a glare.
Charlotte flushed again but this time not in anger. “Well, we did that too,” she admitted.
“Oh, and one more thing,” Charlotte said. “So you don’t accuse me of not keeping my mind on the job, Jane has agreed to take us out to the old Davenport place and show us around.”
“That’s terrific. What time?”
“School gets out at 3:30. She said we could pick her up at 4:00.”
“Great. I’ve got copies of the deeds and an old survey map, but a native guide would be so much better,” Darcy said. Things were falling into place, and she was eager to get started.
Chapter Nine
Elizabeth was busy doing paperwork when she got a call from her third cousin, Cheryl, who worked in the county surveyor’s office. “Hey, cuz, I thought you might like to know that there was someone in here today asking about the old Davenport place.”
“Really? What did he want to know?”
“She. And she wanted several things.” Cheryl read off a list of the maps that had been requested. “I didn’t help her. Verna did. Verna told me what she was looking at. Said she thought I’d be interested, since it’s the old family place and all.”
“Thanks, Cheryl. I don’t know for sure what’s up, but I’ll let you know what I find out. Oh, what did this woman look like?”
Cheryl laughed. “Thirtyish, dark hair, attractive. She was kinda hard to miss ‘cause she’s real tall.”
“Was she overdressed and wearing heels?”
Cheryl thought for a second. “No, she was in jeans. But they weren’t Levi’s. And she had on some sort of sneakers. I think she might play for your team, Elizabeth, if you know what I mean.”
Elizabeth laughed. It was hard to keep secrets in a small town, especially since she’d never been interested in keeping secrets anyway. “Thanks Cheryl. I’ll see what I can find out.”
Before she could investigate further, the doors to the emergency room flew open, and the paramedics were wheeling in a possible heart attack victim. Elizabeth went to work, the mystery momentarily forgotten.
A string of minor emergencies kept her busy for most of the afternoon, too busy even to take a call from Jane. By 5 o’clock she was feeling the effects of the long night and the even longer day. She was almost dead on her feet. Her replacement had just walked in when the doors to the ER flew open again. They weren’t expecting any ambulances, and she certainly wasn’t expecting to see Jane.
Jane rushed up to Elizabeth and said, “Do you have a gurney?”
Her question kicked Elizabeth into action. She grabbed an empty gurney and pushed it out to Jane’s car in the driveway. Charlotte was standing beside the rear passenger door of Jane’s sedan. She was talking to someone lying on the backseat.
“Is it one of your school kids?” Elizabeth yelled, pushing the gurney faster.
“No, it’s my friend Darcy,” Charlotte piped up as Elizabeth skidded to a stop by the car door and looked inside.
Charlotte said, “She has a pain…”
“In her ass,” Elizabeth said, finishing Charlotte’s sentence. Elizabeth looked down at Darcy lying on her stomach across the length of the backseat. She had what appeared to be cactus spines embedded in the seat of her jeans. Yikes, that’s gotta hurt!
Darcy looked up at the familiar woman framed in the doorway. Today Elizabeth was wearing green scrubs and had a stethoscope slung around her neck.
“How many costumes do you have?” Darcy asked. The pain wasn’t doing anything for her personality.
Elizabeth chuckled. “Lucky for you, this isn’t a costume.” She knelt down so she was eye level with her cranky new patient. “Can you slide out by yourself, or do you need me to help?” She didn’t want to further embarrass the injured woman.
“I can do it myself,” Darcy grumbled.
Elizabeth examined Darcy’s face. Satisfied that what Darcy was saying was true, Elizabeth stood up and stepped back out of the way. Darcy half slid, half crawled out of the seat. She grimaced as the movement forced cactus spines deeper into tender flesh. Elizabeth reached out and put her arms around Darcy to help hold her steady while a nurse maneuvered the gurney into position. Then, as gently as possible, she helped Darcy lie face down on the flat surface. Once Darcy was settled, Elizabeth patted her hand. “It won’t be long now,” the doctor promised. She hoped her assurances made Darcy feel better.
The women pushed the gurney into the ER, and Elizabeth directed them into an empty exam room. Jane and Charlotte hovered protectively until Elizabeth ordered them to get out. She was sure Darcy would like as few observers as possible. She sensed that maintaining dignity was of paramount importance to this particular patient. “She’ll be okay, but this is gonna take a while. Go get some coffee and come back in an hour.”
Charlotte stood there, shifting uncertainly from foot to foot. It was obvious she did not want to abandon her friend. Jane stood there holding Charlotte’s hand gently, supportive in whatever Charlotte decided.
Darcy decided things for them. “Get out. I’ll be okay,” she said. “Doc Holliday said so.” She glanced up at Elizabeth and smiled tightly.
Visibly relieved, Charlotte and Jane headed for the door. “Okay, but we’ll be back in hour,” Charlotte said.
“Hey Jane, could you send Susan in here on your way out? And please bring me a cup of coffee when you come back,” Elizabeth directed distractedly. She looked at Darcy’s ass and tried to decide the best way to approach the problem.
Elizabeth walked to the head of the gurney and knelt down. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. A nurse will come in and help you get your pants off. Then I am going to give you a shot to deaden the area. We’ll extract the spines and then give you an antibiotic to fight any possible infections. Okay?”
“And painkillers. I’m going to need painkillers,” Darcy said ruefully. She smiled at Elizabeth. The doctor’s matter-of-fact demeanor was working wonders on her anxiety.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Elizabeth said with a reassuring smile.
The door to the exam room opened, and a man in a lab coat came rushing in. “Sorry, Elizabeth. I was tied up with a hand laceration. I can finish this up. I know you must want to get home.”
Darcy looked up at Elizabeth in alarm.
Elizabeth saw a flash of panic cross Darcy’s face. Or maybe it was irritation. With Darcy, it was hard to tell. Either way, Elizabeth thought she’d better stick around. That she wanted to stick around was something she wasn’t even going to consider right now.
“Thanks, Ted, but I’ve got this,” Elizabeth said waving the other doctor away. “Darcy’s a friend of mine.” Or at least the friend of my friend’s new friend. But that was too complicated to explain.
“Okay, if you’re sure,” Ted replied, leaving hurriedly.
As the door closed behind him, Elizabeth returned her attention to her patient. She caught Darcy looking up at her with an unreadable expression on her face. All Darcy said was “Th
anks,” but the way she said it made Elizabeth feel a little lightheaded. Or, more likely, it’s the lack of sleep making me loopy, Elizabeth thought.
A nurse came through the door then and broke the staring contest between the two women. Elizabeth explained what she needed to the nurse, and they set right to work. The nurse pulled out a large pair of scissors.
“What are you going to do with those?” Darcy asked nervously.
“It’ll be easier to cut your jeans off,” Susan, the nurse said. “The less you move around right now, the better.”
Darcy nodded sadly. “These were my favorite jeans,” she said.
Susan cut through the denim fairly quickly. Elizabeth couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows at the silky purple panties underneath. Susan caught her looking and winked. A few more snips of the scissors took care of Darcy’s surprising undergarment, and her wounds were finally revealed.
“How’s it look?” Darcy asked. There was a tremor in her voice. She twisted around trying to get a look at her butt.
“It looks…” Elizabeth hesitated. She couldn’t say great, fabulous, terrific. That would be unprofessional. She cleared her throat and finally decided on “treatable.”
Susan managed to suppress a snort of amusement and asked, “Should I get the special cactus removal tools, Doctor?”
Elizabeth nodded and cleared her throat. “Yes, Susan. The special tools please,” she responded. She grabbed a lighted magnifying glass and pulled over a stool, ready to get to work.
Susan wheeled over a tray with several pairs of tweezers, a bottle of glue, and a roll of gauze. “Are you going to do it?” Susan asked.
Elizabeth nodded. “Yeah, I’ll take care of this one,” she said, happy to help out even though mundane tasks like this were usually handled by one of the nursing staff.
“Shall I assist?” Susan managed to ask with an almost straight face.
“Please do,” Elizabeth said with a corresponding smile. After administering a few strategic shots of a local anesthetic, the two women began carefully removing the cactus spines with the tweezers. “These all look fairly minor. It looks like your jeans got the worst of it. But the area is going to be pretty sore for a few days, and you need to be on the lookout for infection. The spines are barbed, and there’s always the danger of small bits remaining embedded in your skin,” Elizabeth explained as she worked to remove all the spines.
“If they aren’t removed they can fester. Do you have anyone who can look at, uh, I mean, uh, examine, uh…”
“You mean check out my ass on a frequent basis?” Darcy asked, obviously amused by Elizabeth’s sudden loss for words.
Elizabeth laughed at herself. “Yeah, that’s what I mean.”
Darcy looked away. “No, I don’t have anyone,” she confessed.
“That’s a shame,” Elizabeth responded, and she wasn’t just talking medically.
Susan cleared her throat to get everyone back on task. “Are you ready for the glue now, Doctor?”
Darcy gulped. “Glue?”
Elizabeth smiled mischievously, and Darcy was suddenly grateful that she could no longer feel her ass. “So what kind of cactus is this anyway?” she asked, obviously trying to keep her mind off the idea of glue and her delicate lower bits.
Elizabeth picked up one of the larger cactus spines they’d already removed. She made a show of examining it under the magnifier. “It looks like it’s from the genus Opuntia.” She pulled it closer to the light and added, “Probably a prickly pear.” She put the tweezers down with a satisfied smirk.
Darcy’s eyebrows rose. “I’m impressed,” she said.
Susan laughed. “Don’t be too impressed. It grows all around here. We do this at least once a month, sometimes more.” She handed Elizabeth the bottle of glue.
“It’s especially bad out at the old Davenport place,” Elizabeth said with a suspicious glance at her patient. She pulled the magnifier closer and painstakingly examined the entire surface of Darcy’s ass. Elizabeth examined her upper thighs and lower back as well. She told herself it was her duty as a physician to be thorough. And if she happened to enjoy the view for once, she was only human. Finally, she was satisfied that they’d removed all the spines.
“How’s it look?” Darcy sounded worried.
Great from this angle. “We’ve removed all the visible spines. Now we cover the area with glue, then gauze, and wait for it to dry. When we remove it, it will take care of most, if not all, of any remaining spines. Then we’ll put on a topical corticosteroid and monitor for infection.”
Elizabeth set to work with the glue and the gauze as she continued her explanation. “As I mentioned earlier, the area will probably be sore for a few days. That’s typical. As is some minor dermatitis. But if you start to run a fever or start to develop serious pustules, you should see your doctor right away.”
Elizabeth snapped the lid closed on the glue and sat back on her stool. “Now, we wait.”
“I’m going to head out front. Call me when you’re ready to unwrap her,” Susan said.
“Thanks, Susan. When you get a chance, could you see if you can find a pair of scrub pants for our patient to wear home?”
“Sure thing,” the nurse said. She handed Elizabeth a tube of ointment before she made her way out of the exam room.
“Now we just need a deck of cards,” Darcy said. As if suddenly exhausted, she put her head down on her arms.
Elizabeth wheeled her stool around to the head of the gurney so Darcy wouldn’t have to crane her neck to talk. “So, do you want to tell me how it happened?”
“Not particularly,” Darcy said, but she continued. “We went out to look at some property my company is considering for development. We were hiking around, and I thought I saw a snake. I panicked and stepped back and brushed the cactus.”
Elizabeth’s eyebrows rose skeptically. “Brushed?”
Darcy sighed. “This is all so undignified. Okay, fell. I fell on the damned thing. Have I mentioned that I hate the great outdoors?”
Elizabeth knew better than to laugh. “Why would your company want the old Davenport place? It’s nothing but scrub pines, snakes, and scorpions.”
“And cactus. Don’t forget the cactus. God knows, I never will.” Darcy shuddered dramatically.
Elizabeth tried to get the conversation back on track. “Why that particular piece of land? There are miles and miles of undeveloped property around here, most of it more scenic than that pile of rock.”
Darcy shook her head. “I honestly don’t know. The company president specifically selected it. Charlotte and I are here to decide if it’s suitable for development.”
Elizabeth had a sudden, sinking feeling in her stomach. “Who exactly do you work for?”
Darcy looked up at her. “I’m with Adventure Travels. The president of the company is Carolyn –”
“DeVries.” Elizabeth finished for her. She shot to her feet.
“Yeah, that’s right. How did you know?”
“She’s my cousin,” Elizabeth said, pacing angrily. “And you can tell her that the place isn’t available for developing or for drilling. At least not for the foreseeable future.” Elizabeth stormed out of the room leaving a stunned Darcy in silence.
***
Darcy heard the door open behind her. “Listen,” she said in a rush. “I didn’t know any of that.” She sounded defensive, which made her feel even more defensive. And that pissed her off.
“Didn’t know any of what?” Charlotte asked.
Darcy looked around, anger replaced by disappointment that Charlotte was alone. “Where’s Elizabeth? I need to talk to her.”
“It’s Elizabeth now, is it?” Charlotte teased. “She sent me in here to keep you company. She’s talking to Jane. They went to get some coffee. What’s up, Darcy?”
“I’m not sure.” Darcy hated to admit that. “Did you know that Carolyn is Elizabeth’s cousin?”
“What? Seriously?” Charlotte shook her head in surprise.<
br />
“Yes, seriously. And, apparently, there is much more going on here than a simple business deal.”
Chapter Ten
“Your cousin, Carol Lynne wants to build a resort in Longborn? Didn’t she swear she’d never set foot back in this town?” Jane shook her head in disbelief.
“She goes by Carolyn now, but yeah, it’s her. Charlotte didn’t mention who she worked for?” Elizabeth asked, suddenly suspicious of everyone.
Jane blushed. “We didn’t exactly do a lot of talking last night,” she admitted. “Elizabeth, this doesn’t make sense. Why would Carol move her business here? First, she hates this town so much she even changed her name. Second, she knows the place is supposed to be yours. And third, can you even imagine a resort in Longborn, much less a gay resort?”
Elizabeth put her head in her hands. “The resort’s a smoke screen. She’s probably after the oil that’s under the place. It’s the only thing of value out there, and Carol’s always had expensive tastes. It’s the perfect way to get back at the family and the town. I bet she knows about the clause in my grandfather’s will, and she’s going to make a fuss. Try to get control.”
“How does that clause work again?” Jane asked.
Elizabeth and her grandfather shared a love of nature and the outdoors. He took her fishing for the first time when she was three, and she took to it ‘like a duck on a June bug,’ he used to say proudly. From then on, they went out every time his work and her schooling would allow. They’d had a huge falling out when Elizabeth came home from her senior year at college and announced she was a lesbian. In his will, he divided his money among his two daughters, but he surprised everyone when he left Elizabeth the old family homestead – 300 acres of pine forest and rock. It wasn’t good for much except camping and fishing, but he knew that Elizabeth loved it like no one else in the family.
“You know Grandpa was a meddling old fool,” Elizabeth said. “It was bad enough when Carol Lynne left. He was even more upset when I told him I was ‘one of those women.’ He hated that. I’m not sure he ever forgave me, the selfish old bastard.” Elizabeth said it harshly, but Elizabeth had adored her grandfather and his rejection had cut deep.