shoved me out the door. I landed on my hip. My bag got caught on my ankle. He tried to slam the door, but smashed my foot instead. My ankle hurt, but then I walked on it for quite some time, slipping and sliding on the ice and snow, making it worse.”
“Jeez,” Gabe said, shaking his head, a deep frown on his face, and rage in his eyes.
“Lie back and let me take a look at this side,” Dr. Bell said.
Ella settled on the table facing the wall. The gown fell down her back as the doctor ran her fingers over the worst of the bruised area, checking the bone. She bit back several yelps.
“Good, Lela. Now I want you to lie flat on your back.”
Every time someone called her Lela, a fist squeezed her heart, making it hurt all over again.
Ella complied and gave the doctor an appreciative smile when she closed the gown over her breasts. The lace bra barely hid a thing. Her nipples stood out against the black material. The doctor pressed on her side and over her abdomen. Satisfied she didn’t have any belly pain, the doctor clasped her hand and checked her fingers. She did the same with the other hand.
“Your hands look okay. No signs of frostbite.”
“The prickly needles stopped in the car a little while ago. My feet are taking a lot longer.”
“Her boots and socks were soaked through, along with her pants and jacket. Her hair was soaking wet and covered in ice. I got her into the truck, stripped off her wet things, and cranked the heater.”
“Fast thinking. Keeping her in those cold, wet clothes could have made the situation worse,” the doctor confirmed, working her way down her right leg, pressing on her calf, moving down to her ankle. She wrapped her hand under her heel and lifted her foot. Even that slight movement hurt when her ankle flexed. “Which way hurts more? This way? Or this?”
“Both,” Ella bit out.
“Looks like you’ve got a bad sprain, and a couple of pulled tendons and muscles. I’ll get you a brace to wear to stabilize your ankle while it heals. Your toes look okay. Do they still hurt?”
“Yeah, a little.”
“I’ll give you some pain meds before you go. All in all, I’d say you are very lucky. No broken bones, but that hip will ache for weeks. The bruise goes down to the bone. That will take time to heal.”
“Thanks to the weather and pulling the trailer, I wasn’t going that fast. I hate to think . . . man, if I’d missed seeing you out on that road . . .” Gabe hung his head and ran his fingers through his short dark hair, raking it back.
She understood just how he felt. The gravity of what happened to her sister hit her hard on the plane after she’d had time to come off the adrenaline high and everything settled in her mind. The wave of grief and guilt would come again when she had too much time to think. Gabe felt that now. He’d finished his tasks to keep her safe and make sure she didn’t die on him—like she could have if he hadn’t stopped and saved her.
“Gabe,” she said softly, drawing his attention to her. “I’m fine.”
Dr. Bell turned to the cabinet under the sink on the other side of the room and rummaged through a couple of drawers and found a black brace. She undid the straps and came back to slide it over her foot, securing the straps around her ankle. The added support did make it feel better.
“You’ll want to ice your hip and ankle a couple of times a day to help with the swelling. If it’s not getting better over the next week, come back and we’ll take another look. I expect it will take a couple weeks before it’s completely healed.
“Go ahead and get dressed. I’ll grab your meds and come back with your paperwork.”
The doctor left. Gabe stood and gently pulled the gown off her arms and tossed it to the top of the exam table without a word. He grabbed her sweater and pulled it over her head. At this point, she figured her hair looked like a rat’s nest, so she barely ran her fingers through the shoulder-length strands
“Jeez,” Gabe said, shaking his head, a deep frown on his face, and rage in his eyes.
“Lie back and let me take a look at this side,” Dr. Bell said.
Ella settled on the table facing the wall. The gown fell down her back as the doctor ran her fingers over the worst of the bruised area, checking the bone. She bit back several yelps.
“Good, Lela. Now I want you to lie flat on your back.”
Every time someone called her Lela, a fist squeezed her heart, making it hurt all over again.
Ella complied and gave the doctor an appreciative smile when she closed the gown over her breasts. The lace bra barely hid a thing. Her nipples stood out against the black material. The doctor pressed on her side and over her abdomen. Satisfied she didn’t have any belly pain, the doctor clasped her hand and checked her fingers. She did the same with the other hand.
“Your hands look okay. No signs of frostbite.”
“The prickly needles stopped in the car a little while ago. My feet are taking a lot longer.”
“Her boots and socks were soaked through, along with her pants and jacket. Her hair was soaking wet and covered in ice. I got her into the truck, stripped off her wet things, and cranked the heater.”
“Fast thinking. Keeping her in those cold, wet clothes could have made the situation worse,” the doctor confirmed, working her way down her right leg, pressing on her calf, moving down to her ankle. She wrapped her hand under her heel and lifted her foot. Even that slight movement hurt when her ankle flexed. “Which way hurts more? This way? Or this?”
“Both,” Ella bit out.
“Looks like you’ve got a bad sprain, and a couple of pulled tendons and muscles. I’ll get you a brace to wear to stabilize your ankle while it heals. Your toes look okay. Do they still hurt?”
“Yeah, a little.”
“I’ll give you some pain meds before you go. All in all, I’d say you are very lucky. No broken bones, but that hip will ache for weeks. The bruise goes down to the bone. That will take time to heal.”
“Thanks to the weather and pulling the trailer, I wasn’t going that fast. I hate to think . . . man, if I’d missed seeing you out on that road . . .” Gabe hung his head and ran his fingers through his short dark hair, raking it back.
She understood just how he felt. The gravity of what happened to her sister hit her hard on the plane after she’d had time to come off the adrenaline high and everything settled in her mind. The wave of grief and guilt would come again when she had too much time to think. Gabe felt that now. He’d finished his tasks to keep her safe and make sure she didn’t die on him—like she could have if he hadn’t stopped and saved her.
“Gabe,” she said softly, drawing his attention to her. “I’m fine.”
Dr. Bell turned to the cabinet under the sink on the other side of the room and rummaged through a couple of drawers and found a black brace. She undid the straps and came back to slide it over her foot, securing the straps around her ankle. The added support did make it feel better.
“You’ll want to ice your hip and ankle a couple of times a day to help with the swelling. If it’s not getting better over the next week, come back and we’ll take another look. I expect it will take a couple weeks before it’s completely healed.
“Go ahead and get dressed. I’ll grab your meds and come back with your paperwork.”
The doctor left. Gabe stood and gently pulled the gown off her arms and tossed it to the top of the exam table without a word. He grabbed her sweater and pulled it over her head. At this point, she figured her hair looked like a rat’s nest, so she barely ran her fingers through the shoulder-length strands
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