To Protect and Serve by Pat Adeff Page B

know.”
                  “How old was he?”
                  “I think around my age,” Joey chimed in.
                  Several minutes passed with only small talk happening.  In the background there were the haunting sounds of machines beeping, soft crying, and murmuring voices.  Punctuating this background noise was the occasional grunt or groan of pain.  Dr. Coburn came back holding the x-rays, and gave both Jackson and Christy clean bills of health, telling Christy to make an appointment to have the stitches removed in about a week.
                  As the doctor spoke, he pulled out a deck of cards from his pocket.  Glances were exchanged all around while they waited to see what the doctor was going to do.
                  “Do we each pick a card and high card pays the ER bill?”  Kate teased the doctor.
                  His eyes cut to Kate and a mysterious smile appeared on his lips.  “No, but that’s an interesting idea.  No, I just wanted to show you something.”
                  Then Dr. Darren Coburn, ER doctor extraordinaire, did something that Nancy had never seen a doctor do before.  He did magic without the use of needles, drugs or x-rays.  He proceeded to charm everyone into smiling by doing a feat of magic wherein he had Kate pick a card and
     
    write her phone number on it.  Then he made the card disappear, only to reappear under the battery in her cell phone!  It was phenomenal. 
                  Once Kate had examined the card in wonder and declared it was her original card, Dr. Coburn put the card in his pocket and returned to business.  
                  He handed all the follow-up papers to Kate and also handed her what appeared to be his business card.  Nancy was shaking her head in wonderment while she came to her feet.
                  Everyone gathered up their belongings and left the hospital after Nancy dealt with the admittance desk and gave the hospital the insurance information.  Christy and Jackson were put in the backseat of Nancy’s car, while Kate and Joey followed them to the house in his car.
                  Arriving home, they all walked into the living room where the bowl of popcorn had been upended all over the carpet and the tea cup was on its side with a small wet stain next to it.  The four young people looked at Nancy and she glanced back awkwardly.
                  “I guess I was a little excited when I got your call.  I’ll clean it up.”
                  “Nope, Mom.  You sit down with Christy and Jackson.  Joey and I’ll get it.”  Kate was in charge for the moment.  It felt good to have someone else giving the orders for a while.  Nancy sank wearily onto the couch and counted her blessings while she gathered in her kids.
                  She thought of calling Jonathon, but realized that all he’d do was ask her twenty questions and tell her everything she’d done wrong.  She wasn’t in the mood right now.  She’d call him tomorrow and let him know how everyone was doing.
                  Maybe.
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER 6
     
     
                  “Just a minute!”  Nancy shouted to whoever had just knocked at the front door.  She closed the dishwasher door and was wiping her hands with a kitchen towel when she opened the door.
                  Then she just stared.
                  Broad navy-blue shoulders filled her field of vision.
                  Mirrored sunglasses glinted in the sunlight.
                  The badge flashed as strong hands reached up to pull off sunglasses.
                  Dark blue, almost obsidian eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled.  The eyes cut to Nancy’s hand where the kitchen towel had just slipped from her fingers and fallen to the