it’s quaint and old-fashioned, but this isn’t a Norman Rockwell painting. It’s real life. Keeping it from changing isn’t doing the people who live there any favors.”
He didn’t respond.
“If you approved the drilling we might eventually be able to attract a doctor or something. Kelsey says there’s nothing right now. There was an older lady in town who was a retired nurse, but she passed last year.”
“What about tourism? I’m not the only person who likes small towns.”
“There are no hotels. No events, except the Humboldt Rodeo. We’re not really on the way anywhere, unless you’re a trucker headed for Lincoln, and trust me, those guys can’t even spare the money for a two-dollar tip.”
“But you’ve seen Midwest. They ruined it. It’s like a slum without a city.”
“It might not look pretty, but they got a health clinic out of the deal. And old people dying for lack of a doctor really spoils the picture, you know?”
He was silent.
“It’s not a toy town, Lane. It’s real people with real lives.”
She thought of Kelsey, lying in the ambulance, maybe conscious, maybe not, and suddenly the inside of the car felt close and hot. She couldn’t catch her breath and tears glossed her eyes so the world looked like an impressionist painting. Lane patted her thigh again but this time he left his hand there. It was tempting to let it lie, but then she thought of Kelsey bouncing her way south while people like Lane clung to their pretty views and quaint towns and she shook him off. When she leaned her forehead against the window the cool glass felt like a wet washcloth and she managed to blink away some of the tears.
“Open your window a little,” Lane said. “You look like you’re going to faint.”
She hated to follow orders, but she opened the window a crack and sucked in air.
“You lost somebody, didn’t you? To this… this problem.” His tone was gentle and she felt the heat of tears behind her eyes. Again. Dang, she was turning into such a girl.
“My stepfather. He was in an accident, and he…” She had to swallow down the ache in her throat to keep going. “He didn’t make it to the hospital.” She gestured at the road ahead, though the ambulance was still nowhere in sight. “Did you see those two guys? Do you think they could help somebody with a skull fracture? No. And now Kelsey…”
She rocked her head back and forth against the glass, closing her eyes. “Just get us there, Lane. Just get us there.”
***
Sarah didn’t say another word until Lane pulled into the ambulance lane and stopped at the hospital’s glass back doors.
“I’ll bring Katie in,” he said.
She started to object, but heck, she trusted him. And Katie had looked at him like he was Barney the Dinosaur or something. The kid was probably starved for male attention. She’d spent a few days with her father now, but a drop of rain couldn’t make up for a yearlong drought.
Sarah stepped out of the car and slammed the door. “See you in there.”
She headed inside at a fast walk and almost slammed into the automatic door as it slowly slid open. Glancing around the tiny waiting room, she spotted Mike slouched sideways in a chair against the wall. He was gazing wearily up at a large-screen TV where Nancy Grace was railing about some new travesty of injustice—with the sound off, thank God. Mike had one leg over the arm of the chair and looked like a cowboy waiting to ride.
He straightened when he saw her. “Where’s Katie?”
“Lane’ll bring her in.”
He looked like he had a few questions about that, but she shot him a glare. “How come you’re out here? Where’s Kelsey?”
“They wouldn’t let me back there. Said they’d call me when they finished her tests.”
“Was she conscious?”
“Oh, yeah. The whole way here. She was talking and everything. Her head’s still hurting, but the pain was letting up.” He looked sheepish. “I tried to call you, but your cell was off or something.”
She jerked the phone out of her purse and stared at the screen. He was right. It was off.
“Dang,” she said.
He grinned.
“What’s so funny?”
“Haven’t heard you talk like that in years,” he said.
She was grateful for the interruption when Lane came through the door, carrying a sleepy Katie in one arm.
“Daddy!” The kid held out her arms and leaned toward her father, spilling from Lane’s arms into Mike’s. Sarah did her best to ignore the knifepoint