“Hello, Diana. Could you please go tell Dr. Mike that I’m out here and I have a very sick little girl who needs to see him absolutely as soon as possible?”
“Yes, of course.” The nurse glanced back at me holding Daisy and motioned me toward her. “Y’all come on back with me.”
Amanda flashed her a grateful smile. “Thank you so much, Diana. We’re really worried about her. She’s been running a high fever for the past few hours.”
The nurse nodded and hurried to open back up the doors. Amanda walked over to me. “I’ll be right behind you. I’m going to go check on the boys and get them settled in the waiting room, and then I’ll head back.”
“They aren’t signed in or registered,” the lady behind the counter, who was determined I was not getting back there, said as she stood up.
The nurse frowned at the woman. “That’s okay. We’ll be sure to get the information we need. Amanda is Dr. Mike’s niece.”
For once in my life, I was thankful for Amanda Hardy’s social status in this town.
“Thank you,” I told her before following the nurse back.
Amanda
I don’t think I’d ever been so scared in my life. Keeping my cool wasn’t a strong point for me. I normally broke down in a fit of tears when things got tough. But seeing Preston’s panicked face had made something in me click. He needed me to be strong, so I was suddenly strong. It was the oddest thing. I knew he needed me, and I wanted to be there for him. Then I’d seen Daisy and my own panic had risen, but I’d managed to remain calm. Knowing they all needed someone to help them had made me act like an adult.
I left Jimmy and Brent in front of the television with sodas and bags of chips I’d bought from the vending machine, then headed back to find Preston and Daisy.
Diana was waiting at the desk when I came by, signing some papers. I’d gotten lucky that she had walked out of the doors just when I needed someone to recognize me. I’d been going to church with Diana since I was a little girl. She’d also dated my mother’s much younger half brother back when they were in high school. Now they worked together. I teased Uncle Mike about it whenever I had the chance.
“Come with me. We’ve got her hooked up to an IV, and we’re running tests already. Mike stuck his head in and looked her over on his way to stitch up a head injury. He’s coming back, but from his quick look, he believes it is strep. A pretty bad case, but she’ll be fine. We are waiting for the results of the strep test now. As soon as we know, we’ll start the antibiotics via IV.”
We stepped behind the curtain and found Preston pacing at the foot of the bed while Daisy slept peacefully. He stopped and looked at me. “Hey.”
“Hey,” I replied. “Uncle Mike thinks it’s strep. She’s going to be fine. Sit down and stop pacing.”
“I’ll be back in a few minutes to check in. I need to go help set a bone,” Diana said before disappearing behind the curtain that separated us from the rest of the patients.
“I don’t know how to thank you enough. You just . . .” He paused and shook his head. “Took over. When I saw her there in that bed, so fragile, I was terrified. But you handled everything. Then we get here and you get her the best service possible.”
“I’m glad I could help. Emergencies typically aren’t something I deal with well, but today I just knew we had to get her to a doctor. Luckily, I’m related to one.”
Preston stared at me a moment, and then a small smile touched his lips for the first time today. I was so happy to see that smile. “You’re amazing, and you don’t even know it.”
My face grew warm and I ducked my head. I wasn’t amazing, but hearing Preston say it like he meant it made me hope for something I knew I couldn’t have. I’d been there when he needed someone. He was feeling grateful. He didn’t suddenly find me attractive and want me. Those were two different things, and I needed to keep that in mind.
The curtain pulled back and Uncle Mike stepped inside. His dark brown hair was cut short but did that messy thing in the front that only guys who looked like him at thirty-four could get away with.
“There’s my favorite Hardy.” Uncle Mike beamed when he walked into the room. That was his favorite joke. Especially now that he hated my dad. He loved to tease Marcus about me being the favorite.
“Hey, Uncle Mike. Is she gonna be okay?” I asked.
“Yep. Kid’s got strep. Bad case of it. Needs constant supervision and care. She’ll be fine after about thirty-six hours of antibiotic, but it’s real important to watch her and keep fluids in her, as well as make her eat small amounts once she starts to feel like it. She is contagious, so you need to keep her away from the other kids if possible. Biggest threat is if they eat or drink from[LF60] the same dishes she used. Once she’s had about twenty-four hours of antibiotics, she won’t be contagious anymore.”
I nodded, then reached over and squeezed Preston’s hand. His fingers laced through mine, and he squeezed back. Uncle Mike’s gaze fell to our joined hands before he went back to looking at the chart in front of him.
“I’m getting her prescriptions printed out right now. We want to keep her here a little bit longer to get the first round of antibiotics in her through IV before you leave.”
“Yeah, of course. Thank you, Doctor,” Preston replied.
Uncle Mike looked at Preston. “She yours?” he asked, shifting his eyes to me, then back to Preston.
He thought Preston had a kid. No wonder he was acting weird about us holding hands.
“No, sir. Well, yeah. Daisy is my little sister. I take care of her when my mom needs me to.”