Page 19 of Love Me Fearless

“I have to check on a patient there later today,” I say. “I can stop by.”

“Does Hutch know?” she asks.

A jagged, rough pain jostles my insides. “I’m sure Beth would have called him.” Hutch’s other sister, Thea, is in her final semester at Cornish in Seattle and is probably practicing like a madwoman, plus she’s auditioning for summer symphony opportunities.

“Right,” Sofie says.

We end the call with the promise to share intel as we get it.

I sit for a moment, my fingers hovering over Hutch’s number. I’m sure one of his sisters have notified him about Louisa. But what if he needs someone to talk to?

With a measured sigh, I flip my phone facedown.

I finish my morning of patient checkups and immunizations and treating sick kiddos, my concern for Louisa growing by the hour, then drive the short distance to the hospital, where one of my patients had emergency surgery yesterday.

Inside the hospital, I clip on my MD badge and stop at reception. Earl, my favorite volunteer, greets me with a giant smile.

“Afternoon, Dr. Greely,” he says, pushing a cut-glass candy bowltoward me. Today, he’s filled it with Werther’s hard candies and rolls of Smarties.

“Hey, Earl.” I pluck a Werther’s and unwrap it. “Is a patient named Louisa Hutchins still here?”

Earl slips his thick black bifocals on and taps his keyboard, his pale blue eyes focused on his screen. “Cardiac floor. Room 216.”

“Thank you.” I smile at him and pop the candy into my mouth.

“You have a great day,” Earl says.

I give him a wave and head for the stairs, making the quick decision to visit Louisa first, then my patient.

At the cardiac wing, I enter through the frosted glass doors and stop at the nurse’s station. I have yet to treat a patient in need of cardiac care, so the staff in this area of the hospital don’t know me.

A short nurse with dark hair and kind eyes glances up from her computer. Her nametag says Callie. “Can I help you?”

I introduce myself and the reason for my visit.

Callie nods along. “Her daughter brought her in. Scared it was a heart attack, but she was in AFib.”

Atrial Fibrillation is an irregular heartbeat caused by faulty electrical messages happening in the heart’s upper chambers. Though not necessarily life-threatening, it could hint at underlying heart issues. That Louisa is still here means they’re likely working to identify them, or maybe they’re preparing to treat it.

“Dr. Shelby will be doing rounds in an hour. Do you want me to give her a message?”

I smile. “Louisa is a special lady. If there’s anything I can do, please let me know?”

Callie’s eyes soften. “Will do.”

I continue down the hall to room 216. Inside, Louisa is dressed in a washed-out hospital gown, Beth lying next to her in the bed. Beth is tall and reedy, with long, wavy hair the same color as Hutch’s. So many of her features remind me of him that I have to pause and force a breath into my lungs.

She and her mom are focusing on what I’m guessing is the TVhanging above the door, but when I peek into the room, Louisa’s face brightens in surprise. “Ava!”

“I heard you were here.” I step into the room. It smells strongly of bleached cotton and stale pine.

“Hi Beth,” I say as the TV goes silent.

“Hey,” Beth replies as she rolls upright and steps from the bed, her deep green eyes rimmed with dark circles. She gives me a furtive glance, her hostility like quills on a porcupine’s back. This could be misplaced blame—I’m a doctor and her mom is sick—or something else.

Beth turns to her mom. “I’m…gonna get a coffee. You want anything?”

Louisa reaches for her hand, and the two share a brief connection I can feel from the other side of the bed. “I’m okay, thanks, honey.”

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