Lawman. Diana Palmer
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gets to come home.”
Her face fell tragically. “What do you mean, ‘if’?”
“When,” he corrected irritably. “I meant, when.”
“You’ll have them call me, if I’m needed?” she persisted.
“Yes, I’ll have them call you. Go to the office and do the paperwork,” he ordered. She hesitated for a minute, glancing at Garon. “He’ll wait,” Coltrain assured her. “Git!”
She went.
Coltrain stared at the taller man through dark-circled eyes. “How well do you know the family?”
“We’ve spoken once until tonight,” he replied.
“They live next door to me.”
“I know where they live. What do you know about Grace?”
Garon’s dark eyes began to take on a glitter. “Nothing. And that’s all I want to know. I did her a favor tonight, but I am not in the mood to take on dependents. Especially spinsters who look like juvenile bag ladies.”
Coltrain was indignant. “That attitude won’t get you far in Jacobsville. Grace is special.”
“If you say so.” Garon didn’t blink.
Coltrain drew in a long breath and cursed under it. He stared after Grace. “She’ll go to pieces if the old lady dies. And she’s going to,” he added coldly. “Along with the other tests I ordered, I had them run an echocardiogram. Half her heart muscle’s dead already, and she’ll finish off the rest of it the minute I let her out—if she even lives that long. Grace thinks I sedated her. I didn’t. She’s in a coma. I didn’t have the heart to tell her. That’s why I can’t let her see Mrs. Collier—she’s in ICU. I don’t think she’ll come out of it. And Grace has nobody.”
Garon frowned. “Everybody has relatives.”
Coltrain glanced at him. “Her mother and father divorced when Grace was ten. Mrs. Collier had to take Grace,” he added without explanation, “and never let the girl forget what a favor she did her. Her mother was living out of town when she died of a drug overdose, when Grace was twelve,” he said. “Her father had been killed in a light plane crash two years before that. There are no uncles or aunts, nobody except a distant cousin in Victoria who’s elderly and disabled.”
“Why does she need anyone? She’s a grown woman.”
Coltrain looked as if he was biting his tongue. “Grace is an innocent. She’s younger than she seems,” he said enigmatically. He sighed. “Well, if you can drive her home, I’ll be grateful. Maybe Lou and I can manage something, if we have to.”
Lou was his wife, another doctor. They were in practice together with Dr. Drew Morris.
Garon scowled. He felt as if he was being put in charge, and he didn’t like it. But he couldn’t just walk off and leave Grace, he supposed. Then he had an inspiration. Someone had to be sacrificed, but it didn’t necessarily have to be himself. “Miss Turner works for me. She knows Miss Carver,” he began.
“Yes,” he replied. “Jane was her teacher once. She’s the closest thing Grace has to family in Jacobsville, even though there’s no blood relationship.”
So that was it. He shrugged. “I can spare Miss Turner to help out. She can stay with Miss Carver tonight.”
“Kind of you.” It was said with faint sarcasm.
Garon didn’t even blink. His dark eyes were glittering. He didn’t give an inch.
Coltrain, having met his match, drew in a slow breath. “All right. But I’m going to sedate Grace before I send her home. If Miss Turner can stay with her tonight, I’ll appreciate it.”
“No problem,” Garon returned.
COLTRAIN DREW GRACE into the emergency room, into a cubicle, and listened to her heart.
“I’m okay,” she fussed.
“Sure you are,” he agreed as he turned to pick up a syringe that he’d already filled. He swabbed Grace’s arm and shot the needle in. “Go home. You’ll sleep.”
“I didn’t call Judy at the florist to tell her I couldn’t make it in the morning,” she said dully. “She’ll fire me.”
“Not likely. She’ll understand. Besides, Jill, who works in the ER, is Judy’s cousin. She’ll tell her what happened long before you can call her,” he added with a kind smile.
“Thanks, Dr. Coltrain,” she said, standing.
“Your neighbor is going to loan Miss Turner to you. She’ll stay with you tonight,” he added.
“That’s nice of him,” she said. She made a face. “He’s uncomfortable to be around.”
He frowned slightly. “He’s in law enforcement. In fact, from what his brother, Cash, told me, he’s good at homicide detection…”
“I have to go,” she broke in, avoiding his eyes.
“You don’t have to like him, Grace,” Coltrain reminded her. “But you need someone to help you through this.”
“Miss Turner will do that.” She turned toward the door of the cubicle. “Thanks.”
“You’ll get through this, Grace,” he said quietly. “We all have to face the loss of people we care about. It’s a natural part of life. After all,” he added, joining her in the hallway, “nobody gets out of the world alive.”
She smiled softly. “It’s good to remember that.”
“Yes. It is.”
GARON WAS WAITING, his hands in the pockets of his jeans, pacing. He glanced up as she and Coltrain reappeared. He looked tired as well as irritated.
“I’m ready,” she said without meeting his dark eyes. “Thanks for waiting.”
He nodded curtly.
“I’ll call you if there’s a change,” Coltrain assured her. “Honest.”
“Okay. Thanks, Dr. Coltrain.”
“You’re welcome. Get some rest.”
She started toward the door without another word. She’d forgotten that her phone didn’t work, so how could Coltrain call her?
Garon followed behind her, his hands still in his pockets. He hadn’t said another word to Coltrain, who glared after him until a nurse caught his attention.
GARON OPENED THE DOOR for Grace and settled her into the passenger seat. By the time they pulled out of the parking lot, she still hadn’t spoken a word.
He glanced at her as he drove. “You know the doctor well, do you?”
She nodded without looking at him.
“He’s abrasive.”
Pot calling the kettle black, she thought amusedly, but she was too shy to say it. She nodded again.
His eyebrow jerked. It was like talking to himself. He wondered why Coltrain had given her a shot instead of something to take by mouth. Hell, he wondered why the doctor was so concerned about her that he wanted someone with her at night. A lot of people had serious illness in their families. Most people got through it without tranquilizers. Especially women as young as this one looked.
Well, it was none of his business, he thought. He pulled out his cell phone and called Miss Turner. She answered at once, obviously still up.
“Can you go home with Miss Carver for the night?” he asked her.
“Of course,” she replied