Page 28 of Taken By Storm

He made it to the hospital in less than twenty minutes, which meant it was a miracle he hadn’t been pulled over for speeding because ordinarily, that trip took closer to half an hour.

Walking into the ER, he spotted Jessica James behind the desk. He and Jessica had graduated from high school together and she now worked as a nurse.

“Hey, Jess.”

“Hi, Levi. What brings you here today? You alright?”

“Yeah. I’m fine. I understand Kasi Mills was brought in by her brother.”

Jessica nodded. “Oh yeah. She’s here. Doc already fixed her up, and I’m just working on her discharge papers.”

Levi released the breath he’d been holding since Paul’s call. If they were letting her go, her injuries couldn’t be too serious. “Can I go back and see her?”

“Um. Sure, I guess. She’s in exam room three.” Jessica grinned, clearly intrigued by his request. She was a big gossip, sohe suspected she was currently working on how she was going to spin this conversation later when she called her girlfriends.

“Thanks,” he said, hastily walking toward the exam rooms. He heard Kasi before he saw her, her raised voice carrying down the hall.

“I don’t give a shit if itispolicy, Monty. I’m not getting in that thing.”

“Kasi.”

Levi recognized Monty Bly’s voice, noting the resigned tone. Gracemont wasn’t a large town, and Levi had spent every single second of his life in it, which meant he knew pretty much every person who lived here.

“Don’t you ‘Kasi’ me. I’m not getting in that wheelchair. I’ll look like an idiot.”

Levi peered through the doorway of the room and spotted Kasi sitting on the edge of the exam table. She was wearing yet another pair of cutoff denim shorts and a pink T-shirt that was splattered with drying blood. She had a small bandage near her hairline, and she looked madder than a wet hen.

Keith stood off to the side, leaning against the wall, looking at his phone. If he’d been concerned back at the farm, it appeared to have worn off because now he just looked bored.

Levi stepped inside before Monty could continue the battle.

“What are you doing here?” Kasi asked, still scowling.

Levi crossed his arms, not bothering to hide his annoyance at her tone. “Paul called me.”

“Why?”

“Nope. That’s not the question. The question is why didn’tyoucall me?” Levi was looking at Keith as he asked.

Keith replied with a scowl. Levi figured Kasi’s brother probably had some choice words he wanted to add, but he held back.

Levi crossed the room to her. Now that he was closer, he could see a lump beneath the bandage and a large, painful-looking bruise on the side of her forehead. “You okay?”

Kasi nodded.

“She passed out,” Keith replied. “Hit her head when she fell.”

Levi looked over at Monty, who’d been an ER nurse here for close to twenty years. “What did Doc say?”

Monty spared a glance toward Kasi, who shrugged. Monty interpreted that as permission to respond. “Doc put in a half dozen stitches and said she might have a slight concussion. Bruised up her arms pretty good too. He gave her some pain medication and she’s supposed to take it easy the rest of the day.”

Kasi scoffed. “All caught up now?” Damn, she was not a happy camper. “Can I please go? The stand should have been opened by now.” She hopped down from the table, clearly intent on walking out.

“Kasi,” Monty started again, rolling the wheelchair toward her.

Kasi held up her hand. “Keep that thing away from me.”

“Here we go again,” Keith muttered.

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