as he can," he told her. He drank the glass of water and went back to sleep.
When she went into the kitchen to get herself a drink, Fox looked up from the soccer match he was watching. "Is he sick?"
"I think so, he doesn't, but his leg's bothering him badly." The thought of Santos becoming seriously ill was too much for her. All she could do yesterday was step out of the paramedics' way, but she wouldn't let her brother endanger his life so foolishly when she could insist he seek help.
More than an hour passed before the doorbell rang. Expecting Dr. Moreno, Maggie rushed to open it. Rafael walked in. She grabbed his hand. "You've worked on medical emergencies. Will you please look at Santos's leg? He refuses to go to the hospital, and I think he should."
Santos sat up and wiped his forehead on his sleeve. "If I turn up there again, the press will describe it as a suicide attempt."
"Who cares what they say?" Maggie argued. "I don't want to attend two funerals in a week."
"She's exaggerating," Santos complained.
"Prop your leg on the coffee table," Rafael directed. Santos had on boot-cut jeans and rolled the pant leg up over his calf. "Is this the bandage the doctor put on in the arena infirmary?"
Santos looked down at the blood-stained gauze. "Yeah, I've been too busy to have it changed."
Rafael looked at Maggie and shook his head. "Can you find a pair of scissors?"
"There are some in the kitchen utensil drawer," Santos offered.
Maggie quickly returned with them, and Fox followed her. She didn't want to look, but Fox leaned over her shoulder to have a good view. When Rafael cut the gauze and removed the bandage, she felt sick and had to dive for a chair. "That's no scratch so you're the one who exaggerates."
Santos looked down at the bloody wound. "So it's more of gouge, so what? Moreno will be here soon."
"Did you really call him?" Maggie asked.
"You think I was pretending?" he answered, clearly insulted.
"When did you call him?" Rafael asked.
Maggie looked at her watch. "It was more than an hour ago. He should have been here by now."
Rafael picked up the phone from the coffee table and handed it to Santos. "Call him again and tell him we'll meet him at the hospital."
Santos leaned back and closed his eyes to rest. "I'm sure he'll be here soon."
"He can't do enough here. Call him and we'll go. You and Fox stay here, Magdalena."
Too dizzy to stand, Maggie remained in her chair but still offered a faint objection, "No, I want to go."
"I'd rather watch soccer than spend another minute in a hospital." Fox went back to the kitchen.
"Stay here with him," Rafael repeated softly. "They might want to keep Santos overnight, and you look as though you ought to be in bed yourself."
Maggie wished she could stand up to him and insist she go, but her legs lacked the strength to carry her. Things were going badly all around her. She hated being so helpless. At home, she lived such an orderly life, but here, she could barely keep up with the problems. "Come back as soon as you can."
He leaned down to kiss her and smoothed her hair. "Always."
"Wait, will you leave me your phone number? I won't call unless we have another emergency."
"Where's your phone? I'll put it in for you."
She rolled off her chair and pulled it out of her purse. His fingers brushed hers as he took it and sent a wild thrill clear up her arm. She wondered where he'd gone and what he would have said if Santos hadn't needed him so badly.
"There, you have my number and I have yours," he said. "I should have given it to you earlier. I don't want you to feel abandoned."
He looked more resigned than loving, and she didn't want to believe Fox's awful comment had turned him against the whole Aragon family. Santos sent Dr. Moreno a message, then limped out the door on his own. Rafael regarded her with a half-smile as he closed it behind them.
She hadn't said she loved him, and maybe she'd lost the chance. Hoping it wasn't so, she sank down on the sofa and looked at the papers scattered over the rug. What did it matter what Augustin had thought, when the present posed such difficult challenges?
Fox called from the kitchen, "You want some ice cream?"
"If you'll bring me some in here." She didn't care what flavor