I drive like a bat out of hell in the direction Lee’s GPS tells us to go. Fifteen minutes later, we’re at the ER. But then we sit for almost an hour. Finally, Sherm gets in to see the doctor, who, after looking at the X-rays, sets his elbow and says it’s probably not broken.
“I’m going to cast it just to be sure,” he tells me. “A non-displaced fracture of the growth plate won’t show on X-ray for a week or so, so it’s just a precaution.”
Sherm and I are sitting in the waiting room while Lee goes over the discharge instructions with the nurse at the desk, when the school nurse comes through the sliding doors of the ER. She’s abandoned the slacks and sensible shoes she was in earlier for spiky heels, a snug red top, and a black skirt that barely covers her ass. She flips her loose brown hair behind her shoulder when sees us and comes straight over, stooping down next to Sherm.
“Hey, Sherm,” she says.
He nods warily at her.
She gives him a big grin. “I wanted to see how you were doing. Everything okay?”
Sherm nods again.
“Cool cast,” she says, brushing a finger over the bright yellow fiberglass under his blue sling. “Can I sign it?”
He shrugs, so she goes to the nurses’ desk and comes back with a green Sharpie. She pushes the sling up a little to expose more of the cast.
“Let’s see,” she says, tapping the end of the Sharpie to her glossy red lips as she thinks, then she jots, To the bravest kid I know, get better soon, Candy in big loopy scrawl.
Sherm reads it and pride flickers in his eyes.
I gain a little respect for Candy . . . until she slips into the seat next to me, splays my hand open, and writes her name and a phone number across my palm with the same green Sharpie. “I was thinking maybe we could catch a drink later.”
“Maybe,” I say, resisting the urge to wipe my palm clean on my jeans. This gets so fucking old.
Her smile becomes distinctly more suggestive. She runs a finger along the vein in my forearm. “Give me a call. I’ll meet you wherever you want.”
I look wearily toward the exit, wishing I was anywhere but here. My heart kicks in my chest. Adri is at the sliding door, staring at us.
I push up from my seat, forgetting that Candy exists.
Sherm is out of his chair and bouncing in front of Adri in a heartbeat. He reaches for her hand.
She stoops lower and looks at his cast. “Are you okay, Sherm? I was so worried about you.”
Her voice is soft and reassuring. Hearing it both stirs me up and calms me down.
He smiles and sticks out his cast. “You want to sign it?”
I realize Candy’s still talking to me when Sherm comes over and takes the Sharpie from her.
“. . . guess I’ll see you later,” she says, laying her hand on my bicep.
“Yeah . . . sure.”
Adri is still watching. When her expression darkens, I realize what I just agreed to, but Candy’s already slipping past her out the door.
Lee finds me as Adri signs Sherm’s cast. She’s so focused on Sherm that she seems to have forgotten what we were fighting about when she got Adri’s call. That Buchanan worm called Lee the minute I left his office this morning, telling her she needs to rein me in. I’ll have to pay that asshole another visit. Next time, I’ll let my fists to the talking.
“We’re good to go. They gave me what he needs for tonight, but we need to make a pharmacy run before morning.”
When I glance at the doorway, Adri and Sherm have taken the seats right next to the exit and are deep in conversation. I want to know what they’re saying. Hell, I want to know everything that devastating blonde is thinking, especially where it concerns me. But I give them their space. After a minute, Adri stands and she and Sherm come over to us.
“What did the doctor say?” she asks.
“Same thing as the nurse,” Lee answers. “He dislocated his elbow, but they don’t think it’s broken.”
Adri’s cringe is subtle, but her guilt is written all over it. “I’m so sorry this happened. I feel responsible. I was one of three teachers on yard duty, but I just didn’t . . .” Her pained eyes flick to me. “I