by Molly Evans
She hugged the man who had gone to school with her and Beau.
“I’ve had better days.” He gave her a one-armed hug that was halfhearted at best. Not like his usual boisterous self that she remembered.
“Is that what brings you in?” She indicated his dangling left arm.
“I tripped on a stray board and fell over.”
“What did you hit?”
Knowing him, it could be anything from a stack of hay to an old engine hanging from the ceiling in his barn.
“Actually, I caught myself, but when I stood up again I had this going on.” He raised his left hand for her to see and there was a rusty nail sticking out of it.
“Geez. Tim!” She took hold of his wrist and held it out away from her, like it was a dead rat. “Why didn’t you say so in the first place?”
She drew him toward the back. There was no time to waste in this situation. If they didn’t act now he could die from infection, tetanus, or even lose the hand.
“Beau! I need you—now!”
“That’s what I like to hear.” Beau put a smile on his face to greet his patient, but when he saw Aurora holding Tim’s arm up he froze for a second, then shot into emergency mode. “Holy hell, Tim!”
“That’s what I said, too.” Tim cleared his throat. “Among other things.”
“Get in here.” Beau directed him to the first patient room. “Aurora, get the hand trauma kit. It’s in the cupboard over the sink.”
“We have a hand trauma kit?” she asked, confused but impressed by his thinking.
“We do. Brush Valley is an agricultural community. From the day I opened the doors a farmer has come in every week with some sort of hand injury. I just came up with a kit to make it easy.”
“Got it.” She dashed out and returned in a few seconds with the appropriate item.
“Got any whiskey in there?” Tim asked with hope in his eyes. “Hurts like hell.”
For the first time, Aurora noticed that under that farmer’s tan of his he was pale.
“Sorry. Not a good idea now.” Beau shook his head as he opened the tray and removed the sterile coverings.
“I know—but damn.” He shook his head and clenched his teeth.
“Let me get a look at it first. Then I can give you something for the pain.”
Tim nodded and clenched his teeth.
Beau put on a pair of specialty magnifying glasses in order to see deeply into the wound, then peeled back the dirty and bloody handkerchief wrapped around the hand.
“How did you do this?” Beau asked without looking up.
“Tripped. Caught myself on an old board with a rusty nail sticking out of it.”
“When was your last tetanus shot?” Aurora asked.
“Hell if I know. I know you’re supposed to get them boosters every couple years or so, right?” He looked to Aurora for clarification.
“Ten years, but every five if someone has increased risk. Like you.” She raised a brow at him, letting him know he was one of those people.
“I guess...” He looked away.
“Don’t worry, Tim, you’re not the only one around town who’s not caught up on his shots.” She looked at Beau. “Ooh. I just thought of something. Maybe we can add that to our roster at Brush Valley Day.”
“What?”
“Seeing if people are up to date on their shots, like tetanus. Adults need shots too—not just babies. In addition to the flu shots and pneumonia. Oh! We’re going to have to order more serum.”
“Good idea. Put it on the list.” He sounded distracted as he focused on the injury. “I’m going to need some Lidocaine and a twenty-two gauge needle.”
“Needle? What for?” Tim’s jaw dropped a second. “A needle? Really?”
“I have to pull the nail out and it’s gonna hurt, so I want to numb the area.”
“No. Just yank it outta there.” Tim reached for the nail.
“No!” Aurora and Beau yelled at the same time.
Tim paused. “Why not? Can’t hurt any worse coming out than it did going in.”
“We don’t want to damage any more flesh, nerves or tendons. It has to be done carefully. Ideally by a hand surgeon.”
“I see.”
“I’ll get the Lido.” Aurora left the room, and Beau watched her go.
“She gonna stay this time?” Tim asked.
“What?” Beau was having a hard time shifting gears today.
“Aurora. She gonna stay this time around? Seems like she needs a place to stay put instead of living down there in Virginia. She say anything about whether she’s gonna stay?”
“She’s just helping me while my nurse is out on maternity leave.” Beau pressed his lips together as he said the words. Still not liking the idea.
“You should try to get her to stay. We can use good people like her around here.”
“That’s exactly what I thought,” Beau said aloud, and looked over the glasses at Tim. A snort escaped Beau’s nose before he could stop it. “Exactly what I told her, too.”
“Thought what and told who what?” Aurora asked as she returned to the room.
“Nothing...” Beau and Tim chorused at the same time, trying very hard to not look guilty.
Aurora snorted and gave them both the stink eye, the way she had back in high school. “Like I’m gonna believe that anytime soon.”
She handed a syringe to Beau.
“Here’s the Lido. I’ll go round up some tetanus booster.”
“Oh, man,” Tim said, concern in his eyes and a frown on his brow.
“What?” she asked, and gave Tim a look.
It was all Beau could do not to laugh at the look on Tim’s face. He looked like he was heading to the executioner.
“Am I gonna have to drop my drawers for that one?”
“Only if you really want to, Tim. But I’d rather not be traumatized. I can give it in your arm.”
Without another word she left the room.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
TIM GRINNED AT BEAU. “Feisty now, isn’t she?”
“You have no idea.”
Tim eased forward a little bit, his bright blue eyes eager for some gossip. “Tell me. I’m gonna be here a while, so tell me.”
“No way, Tim.” Beau reached for sterile saline to cleanse the wound and distract Tim from the direction he wanted to take the conversation. “This might hurt.”
“Oh—oh!” Tim sat straight up and hissed a breath out between clenched teeth.
Aurora returned and rolled up Tim’s sleeve. “Hold still.” She jabbed the needle into his arm and injected tetanus vaccine while he was occupied with Beau.
“Damn, you two. You’re double-teaming me.”
“It’s easier that way.” Aurora rubbed the injection site on Tim’s arm. “It’ll be sore for a few days, but after that you’ll be good as new.”
“Dangit. Now both arms hurt.”
“Tim.” Beau looked at the man and removed the specialty glasses. “I’m going to have to send you to the ER after all. This is beyond me. I don’t want to take a chance on damaging anything.”
“No,” Tim said and shook his head adamantly, his eyes no longer glittering with amusement. “I’m not going to town for this. If you can’t do it I’ll do it myself.”
Before Aurora or Beau could react Tim had grabbed the nail and yanked it out of his hand.
“Holy hell, that hurts!” he said, and dropped the nail. His face was three shades of pale and he looked like he was going to faint.
Aurora and Beau jumped into action and pressed sterile gauze to the gaping hole in the middle of his hand. But there was little blood.
“Let me see what you’ve done this time.” Beau put the glasses on
again. “I’ll be damned...” Beau said, and eased the gauze back from Tim’s hand. “Only you, Tim. Only you could do this.”
“What’d I do now?”
“Only you can trip over your own feet, fall on a nail and miss every vessel and tendon in your hand.” He shook his head.
“I did? Then why’s it still hurting so much?”
“You still have a hole in your hand. With a few stitches and a visit to a hand doctor you’ll be in good shape in a few weeks.”
“Weeks?” Tim shook his head again. “No way. I gotta be back on the job in an hour. Keith dropped me off and went to get us some lunch at Greg’s Diner. He’ll be back in an hour.”
“You’re going to have to knock off for the day. Sorry.”
“Nope. Ain’t gonna do it. Just wrap it up.” He pressed his lips firmly together.
“Tim, don’t be a horse’s—” Beau started, but was interrupted by Aurora.
“Let me interject a little sanity, a little perspective, into your life here, Tim.”
Calm as Beau had ever seen her, Aurora placed a hand on Tim’s shoulder and gave him a smile that he’d bet she’d often turned on doctors and medical students who were just about to do something monumentally stupid.
“Go for it.”
This he had to see. Beau sat back and gave her the floor.
“You have a lot of people who depend on you, right?”
“See? You do understand. That’s why I need to get back to work.”
“So, I just have one question for you. What if your hand gets infected, rots and falls off? Your family—the people who depend on you—will not be happy when your business falls apart because you can’t work with only one hand. The other will have been amputated because of pure stupidity. They’ll have to sign up for unemployment and government assistance. Then what are you going to do?”
“Uh...technically, that’s two questions...”
Aurora gave him a narrow-eyed look and planted her hands on her hips.
“The answer you’re looking for is: You’re right, Aurora. I’m not going to do that.” She squeezed his shoulder for emphasis. “Repeat after me.”
Tim hung his head. “Okay. I’ll take the day off and go see the damned hand doctor.” He looked at Beau with a glare.
“Hey, don’t look at me.”
“She’s your nurse.”
“She’s her own woman, though. Always has been.” Beau looked at Aurora and a half smile crossed his face.
“Told you she was feistier than she used to be.”
Tim said it as if it was a bad thing, but Beau could see her spirit rising every day.
“Let’s get this show on the road so you can get to Truitt’s Pharmacy for your antibiotics, and Keith can take you home.” Aurora handed a printed prescription to Beau. “I wrote up the medications for you—antibiotics and some pain medicine.”
“Can you put a sturdy dressing on him?”
Beau took the piece of paper from Aurora. His hand touched hers and lingered. Her gaze flashed to him, then she looked away.
“Oh, sure...” She cleared her throat and reached for a pair of gloves. “I’ll put a dressing on you, Tim, but you’ll have to come in tomorrow for me to change it. I’m sure Beau’s going to want to see you again, too.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t look so glum, Tim. You need a break. Fact is, I ran into your wife at Greg’s Diner the other day. She looks like she needs a vacation too.”
“You’re right.” He nodded and seemed to come to a decision. “Aurora. You give good advice. You should stick around and give us folks around here some more of it.”
“Oh, Tim.” She curved her hair behind her left ear. “I don’t know...”
“Now, listen here,” Tim said, and took her hand in his good one. “You may not realize this, but you’ve been missed around here.”
“Yes, well... I’ve missed being around here, too.” She turned, then winced, but covered it quickly. “Unfortunately Cathy’s due back from maternity leave in a few days, so I’ll be out of a job.”
“Beau, can’t you do something about that?”
“What would you suggest? Fire my nurse when she just had a baby?” Beau knew he’d said it a little more harshly than he’d intended. “Sorry, Tim. I’m in a bind, either way you look at it.”
“Can’t you keep them both on?”
“Not yet. Not enough business to justify hiring two nurses at the moment. We’re getting there, but not right now.”
“Well, shoot. That’s too bad. But there has to be other jobs around, right? Maybe in town?” Tim’s sympathy was genuine.
“I’m sure I’ll figure something out. The right thing usually happens at the right time, don’t you think?” Aurora patted Tim on the shoulder. “In the meantime, I’ll call the hand doc in Johnstown and find out when he can see you.”
Aurora nodded and placed a hand on her right hip as she left the room.
“Dammit.” Tim spoke to Beau, but kept his gaze on their friend as she moved away.
“What?” Beau took a quick look out the door, but she’d disappeared.
“I just wish you could keep her on. She’s too much fun to let walk out of here.”
“I wish I could, too. But unless Cathy decides she’s not coming back I have no choice but to let Aurora go,” Beau said.
“Looks like you don’t like that idea at all.” Tim eyed him closely. “And I don’t mean just about the job.”
“You’re an observant man, Tim.” A muscle twitched in Beau’s jaw. He could feel it, and he was sure that Tim could see it. “Even if I could get her to stay, what have I got to offer her? I can’t even give her a job! I’ve got too much baggage, Tim. I’m not sure I’m over...”
Was he over Julie? He’d certainly been happier lately than he had since her death. He shook his head and sighed.
“Anyway, she’s got to want to stay. It’s her plan to get her life back, and that life is in Virginia.”
“It’s your job to convince her. There are plenty of jobs in town, aren’t there? She could get a job there until you’ve got enough business to hire her permanently.”
Tim looked at him like that was the end of it, but it wasn’t. Not by a long shot.
“It’s an idea, but she hasn’t said a word about finding another job.”
“Have you asked her?”
Beau stared at the man. “Asked her what?”
“Asked her to stay?”
Beau shook his head. “It’d be selfish of me to ask her to stay. She needs to decide on her own.”
With his good hand, Tim gave Beau a punch on the arm. “Have you lost your mind? The woman of your dreams is about to walk away from you and you’re about to let her.”
“What am I supposed to do? Kidnap her? Every time I try to talk to her lately something or someone interrupts.” Beau shook his head, thinking of this very morning, when he’d made another attempt to talk to her. “As I said, she has to want to stay.”
Tim leaned forward and peered right at Beau until his pulse jumped.
“Then give her a reason to stay.”
Dumbfounded that his patient was giving him romantic advice, Beau simply stared at Tim for a few seconds. “Haven’t you been listening? I can’t offer her anything here.”
“I’m not talking about the job, you dope.”
“Neither am I...” Beau whispered.
Tim looked at him sympathetically. “You and Chloe. A family. That’s what you can offer. A reason to stay.”
“I can’t expect her to take on a widower and a baby. I can’t even guarantee it will work out, and I have Chloe to think of—it’s not just me anymore.”
Beau felt the tension in his neck creeping down into his shoulders and resiste
d the urge to give in to the pain of it. He cared for Aurora but, as broken as he was, could he offer her all she deserved? He wasn’t going to beg her to stay. He had some pride left.
“Seriously? How long were you married?” Tim’s eyes rounded wide, as if Beau had just said something monumentally stupid.
“Ten years. Why?”
“You told Julie you loved her once, didn’t you?”
“Sure.”
“Did you tell her more than that?”
“Of course. All the time.”
“So, you think Aurora only wants or needs to hear it one time that you’re interested in her? That you’d like her to stay here? If you want her to stay you need to find a way to talk to her, heart to heart. Soon. Before she gets it in her head to take a job in Alaska or something.”
Tim stood. Apparently he’d come to the end of his wisdom for the day.
“Looks like you’re good to go.” Beau stood too. “Aurora will give you the paperwork and let you know when your next appointment is. Glad you came in, Tim. For the hand, I mean. The rest... I’m not so sure about.”
“Me, too. I get a nail in the hand and the wife gets a vacation. Go figure.” He shook his head as they walked to the reception area.
“It’s the mysteries of life that keep it interesting, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.” Tim nodded toward Aurora, who sat at the desk with the phone to her ear. “And that’s one fine mystery you ought to be solving right now.”
“Tim—”
“You and I both know she belongs here. Her friends and family are here. Her history is here.” Tim gave him the once-over. “So are you and Chloe.”
Was Tim right? Could it work between them? Was he ready to move on after losing Julie? If Aurora stayed for him and things didn’t work out, how awkward would that be for both of them?
“Maybe you’re reading things that just aren’t there.”
Maybe he was too. Maybe he had been all along. Maybe his grief had hijacked his brain and led him down a path that really wasn’t there.
“Back in the day, because you were so full of yourself and cheerleaders, you couldn’t see what a great woman she is.”