Page 26 of Fractured Grief (Hope’s Ridge #2)

Seb

I waited for someone to pick up the call as I stood by my bedroom door. Poor Indy had looked so small and miserable in the bathroom. I could only imagine his unease at not being able to get to his daughter.

“Hello, Lincoln Elementary School, Emily speaking.” A surprisingly familiar voice answered.

“E-emily?” It was too small a world for my ex-girlfriend to be answering the phone where Indy’s daughter went to school. “Emmy, is that you?”

“Seb?” She sounded just as surprised.

“Yeah, it’s me. Okay, wow. I um, I’m calling on behalf of Indy Clark. He’s sick and can’t come to get Hazel, so Lyric was going to get her. How do we g-get approval for t-that?”

“Aw, poor Indy. I hope he’s okay. By weird happenstance, I’m helping with the after-school care today, and if Indy can log in to the parent portal and approve me, I could drop Hazel off with him on my way home.

Save Lyric the trip, and I’d be happy to help.

I know Indy has no one else.” She’d always been such a caring person; it was no wonder she’d gone into teaching.

“He’s ah, at my house. Let me check with him. Hold on,” I said. Then, I passed Lyric the phone to chat while I went back to my room. Indy was fast asleep, breathing heavily. I hated to wake him, but I knew he’d want to know and be involved. I gently shook his shoulder, trying to rouse him.

“Indy, wake up,” I whispered, “I need you to log in to the parent portal for Hazel.”

“Hazel…” Indy said as he tried to sit up.

“Easy. Don’t get up.” I pushed him back and caressed his cheek to get him to look at me. “Emily said she could bring Hazel here if you approve her. Would that be okay?”

“Emily? Who’s Emily?” He sounded so confused.

“Sorry, you’d probably know her as Miss Emerson,” I said with a smile.

“Oh, yes. Of course. She’s Hazel’s teacher.

What’s she doing at the after-school care?

Are you sure she doesn’t mind? She said she lived far away.

I don’t want her to go out of her way.” He worried his bottom lip, before trying to sit up as a shiver visibly racked his body. “I’m sure I can rally and get her.”

“No, you can’t. And she won’t mind, she lives here,” my face flushed. Indy didn’t know about me and Emmy, but still, I hadn’t meant it like it sounded. “I mean in Hope’s Ridge, not h-here here. ”

Indy was looking at me questioningly. “Really? Well, if she doesn’t mind, that would help me a lot. Where’s my phone? I’ll approve her.”

“Hold on, Lyric’s g-got it,” I said as Lyric strode in, knowingly eavesdropping, I’m sure.

“You rang,” he said with a wink at Indy.

“No, but now that you’re here, give me back the phone.” I reached my hand out as he said goodbye to Emmy and passed the phone straight to Indy.

Indy spoke to Em, ensuring she didn’t mind and thanked her profusely. Once he hung up, he fiddled with it for a few more moments before he groaned and flopped down on his back. “Done.”

I sat with him, wondering what else I could do, when my dinner bell-style doorbell chimed, and Lyric ran to let Doc in.

“What is it with you boys picking up injured outsiders?” Doc said as his familiar face came into view. “Calling me over at all hours. You’d think I had nothing better to do.”

I knew he was joking, but I laid a hand on Indy’s shoulder to reassure him as much. “Indy, this is Doctor Don Masters. He’s our local doctor and part of the family.”

Doc beamed at my introduction. “I’d say so. Fixed you all up a time or two. Especially this one.” He added as he jostled Lyric’s shoulder and moved him out of the way.

“What can I say. I liked to keep you busy,” Lyric added. “Life’s not fun without a few broken bones.”

“No, you just like to stress out your poor Ma,” Doc added before turning to smile at Indy as he pushed his silver-framed glasses up his aged face.

“You can call me Doc. Now what seems to be the trouble? Nothing looks broken and you haven’t been shot, so you’re one up on my last random call out,” he said as he winked at me.

“It’s good to see you up and about, Seb.

I wish you’d come by to see me so I could get the last view of you out of my head.

That was a hell of a situation you, Atty, and poor Bodhi had to deal with.

” Doc looked sad as guilt hit me square in the chest. I’d been so caught up in my recovery, I hadn’t taken the time to stop by Doc’s office and thank him for helping to save my life.

“Sorry, Doc. I’ve been meaning to thank you for everything you did that day.”

Indy looked between us, and many questions shone in his eyes.

“Doc helped save me when I was shot,” I said, filling in some of the blanks. “But let’s not worry about that. Doc’s here for you.”

“Yes, goodness, my manners. What seems to be the issue, Indy?” Doc said as he rounded my large bed and pulled an armchair forward to sit by Indy’s bedside.

“I just have the flu or a cold. But it’s knocked me down this time, and it’s not like my occasional colds,” Indy spoke in a small voice.

“He’s been burning up, shaking, and unsteady on his feet. He threw up a little while ago,” I added. “He’s really tired, too.”

Doc flashed a light in Indy’s eyes and listened to his heart and breathing. He rustled through his bag for his thermometer, checking Indy’s temperature. When it beeped, Doc checked and winced.

“That’s no good,” he added, pulling gloves out of his bag and putting them on. “I’m going to check your glands, okay? Any sore throat? Coughing? Sneezing, or runny nose?”

Indy shook his head. “No, nothing like that. I’ve felt really run down.

I’ve had a few moments of dizziness and even vertigo, and earlier was the first time the nausea got the better of me.

I just thought it was a cold, but my daughter is totally fine.

My usual remedies aren’t working, so I’m not sure what this is.

” Indy huffed out a breath and lifted his hand to move his hair off his sweaty forehead, when I noticed a large bandage on his hand.

“What’s that?” I pointed to his palm.

“It’s nothing,” Indy said absently, scratching at the edge of the bandage only to wince. “I cut my hand on a broken bowl the other day. It’s just a scrape.”

Doc looked over Indy, assessing. “Mind if I take a look?”

“Sure.” Indy held out his palm for Doc.

“Do you usually react to plasters? The edges are very red.” He motioned to the Band-Aids. “Can I take this off?”

“No, I’ve never reacted before.” A frown set on Indy’s face as he took a closer look at the plasters. “Now you mention it, it’s been quite sore, but I just figured it was still healing.”

Doc pulled back the edges of the bandage and winced again, shaking his head. “Well, I think this is the culprit for your sickness. It’s infected. ”

“Really?” Indy seemed shocked. “But it was just a broken bowl, nothing deep or dangerous.”

Doc pulled out a magnifier. “It looks like there’s something still in there, which might be adding to your problems. I need to get it out and then start you on antibiotics ASAP.

It would be best to go to my practice. I have all the equipment there, and everything is sterile.

I can start you on IV antibiotics and hopefully stop this infection in its tracks. Let me check one more thing.”

Doc maneuvered Indy’s legs around and helped him sit up. “How does this feel?”

He moved Indy this way and that, putting pressure on his joints, and probed under his arms. Thankfully, he seemed fine, and Doc seemed pleased with the results.

“That’s good, it looks like we’ve caught it early and the infection hasn’t entered your bloodstream or affected your joints, so let’s keep ahead of it and get going,” he added as he packed up his stuff and headed for the door.

“I’ll meet you there,” and with a wave, he left.

“Well, shit. All this from a cut,” Indy muttered to himself, glaring at his palm. Doc had put a clean bandage on it, but I’d seen how red and angry the skin was. It looked like there were some flecks of blue or black in there, but that was probably dried blood, hopefully .

“Hazel. When will she get here?” Indy asked.

I checked the time; she was still about thirty minutes away if they’d left as soon as Emmy hung up. “Lyric will call her and let her know where we’ll be. Let’s get you in the car. ”

I helped him stand, and we shuffled to my bedroom door. Lyric finished his call and helped me take Indy to his car, and I squeezed my long legs into the back seat to stay by Indy, holding his good hand. Lyric drove us in silence to Doc’s practice.