Inappropriate - Vi Keeland Page 0,87

nodded. “I wouldn’t think anything worse than stitches and maybe a broken bone or two.”

I blew out a deep breath. “Thank you. Can I turn around here?”

The officer rapped his knuckles on the hood of my car. “Sure thing. Be careful driving. Fog is dangerous.”

***

“Sir, I told you five minutes ago that I’d let you go back as soon as the doctors are done examining her.”

“A guy just walked in and went right back.”

The nurse at the registration desk shook her head. “He works here. Please take a seat, and I’ll call you as soon as you can go back.”

Whatever.

I took a seat and rested my head in my hands with my elbows on my knees. Who did they call for Ireland in an emergency? Her father’s in prison, mother was long gone, and her only aunt moved down to Florida. What if she needs surgery? Who would make that decision? I should’ve gotten Mia’s cell phone number for emergencies. Maybe she was her designated contact.

I lasted about three minutes sitting before I got up to pace again. I made sure to stay in the nurse’s line of view so she wouldn’t forget about me. When our eyes caught, she let out an exaggerated sigh and shook her head before looking away. I didn’t give a shit if I pissed her off. I only cared that she didn’t forget I was here.

About a half hour after I’d walked in, another nurse opened the door. “Family of Ireland Saint James.”

I walked to the door, and the woman looked at me. “You’re a family member?”

I didn’t even have to think about lying. “Yes.”

“And you’re her…”

I thought they might have asked her marital status when she came in, and I didn’t want to contradict her. “Brother. I’m her brother.”

The nurse nodded and opened the door wide for me to come into the back. “Right this way. She’s in bed four. The doctors just finished examining her.”

I followed her to a corner of the large, open room, and the nurse pulled the closed curtain open. “Ms. Saint James, your brother is here to see you.”

Ireland’s face was confused for a half a second, and then she smiled and nodded. She had a bandage on the side of her head and looked pale. But she was in one piece.

I went to her side, took her hand, and leaned down to kiss her forehead. “Jesus Christ. You scared the shit out of me. What happened? Does anything hurt? Are you okay?”

The nurse shut the curtain behind her.

“Yeah. I’m okay.” She pointed to the bandage on her head. “Just butterfly stitches on my head from where I hit something, I guess.” She lifted her left arm and winced. “They think I might have broken my ulna. I’m waiting for x-ray to come now.”

“What the hell have they been doing all this time if you didn’t even get any x-rays yet?”

Ireland smiled. “A nurse came back a little while ago and told me I had a very anxious visitor waiting. I can see you must’ve been a joy to keep in the waiting room. They did some lab work and examined me. But I’m fine, really.”

I dragged a hand through my hair. “Are you sure? County’s not the greatest hospital. I can take you over to Memorial.”

“I’m fine. They’ve been really great so far.”

“What happened?”

She shook her head. “I was driving, and the fog made it hard to see, so I was switching back and forth between my high and low beams, and the last time I flipped on the brights, I found a deer standing almost right in front of my car. I hit the brakes, but the ground was wet and slippery, and I lost control. Remember in Driver’s Ed class when they told you to turn in to a spinout instead of away from it?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I didn’t do that. I just reacted and didn’t even remember that until I got here.”

I brushed the hair from her face. “You acted on instinct. It’s normal.”

Ireland sighed. “I think my car is totaled.”

“Who cares about the car?” I began to pat down her body. “Is anything else hurt?”

She laughed. “No, Dr. Lexington. I’m really fine.”

A few minutes later, the nurse came back in. She looked at me. “Can I ask you to step back into the waiting room for a few minutes.”

“Are you taking her down to x-ray?”

The nurse shook her head. “Not yet. The doctor’s going to come back in and do another examination and would like