Page 7 of Down and Dirty

Gwen’s brows knitted together. Disappointment sounded in her quiet exhale. “Damn. She could have covered the birthmark and changed her name.”

I understood my sister’s reluctance to let go of the possibility. It was why I didn’t want to believe. We’d already lost my sister once, and now we were losing her all over again. “We can see if they’ll run a DNA match just to be sure.”

“Well, I guess you saved us all from accidentally rolling down a hill.”

Heat claimed my cheeks. I’d never been the sister with style and grace.

“Thanks for coming.” I knocked her shoulder with mine just as the door opened.

A doctor walked in, holding a clipboard. His dark hair and steely blue eyes reminded me that there was something I’d left out telling Gwen what happened. Something important.

“Is she going to live, Doc, or do we need to buy her casket?” Gwen asked.

“Forgive my sister. Gwen is just excited one day I’ll die. She plans to dress up like a Reaper at my funeral.”

The doctor lifted a brow.

“Yes, well, my sister promised to haunt all of the people who pissed me off,” Gwen said with a grin.

“I think she’s counting down the days until I kick the bucket,” I said.

Gwen shrugged. “My list of enemies is long.”

The doctor shook his head and stepped farther into the room. “Ms. Bennett.”

“Yes,” we both answered.

He sighed. “Faith Bennett.” He steered his focus on me and stepped over to my side of the bed. “I’m the Emergency Room attending, Dr. Myers. Your scan indicates that you have a slight concussion. I’d like to keep you here overnight for observation.”

“Oh no…” I said. My gaze flew to the window in the door, where the spirits were already starting to congregate. “Sorry, Doc. I can’t stay, but I’ll get one of my sisters to spend the night with me if you think something might happen.”

He turned his gaze to look at Gwen and frowned before he met my gaze again. “Do you have other sisters that don’t want you to die?”

“Oh sure,” I said, climbing off the bed. “There are over a half-dozen of us.”

“Good,” he said, making some type of note in the chart. “I’ll get your discharge papers ready, along with a list of what to look for over the next several hours.”

“Thanks, Doc,” I said.

“Please call me Brandon,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

“Okay.” I smiled back at him, caught a little off guard. Was he flirting with me?

“Faith Charlotte Bennett, thirty-four years old, Gemini, never been married but already owns the white picket fence and the house, and she can see ghosts,” Gwen announced. “Now that we’ve got that out of the way, you can run along and process the papers so I can spring her from this joint.”

His lips twitched as he cupped the board to his chest. “Ghosts?”

I smiled and grabbed one of the plastic bags the nurse left me and shoving my soiled clothes inside.

“How about the paperwork, Doc? I’ve got a hot man waiting in my bed for me at home.” Gwen patted his back and steered the doctor to the door.

“Right, I’ll get you processed out.” He glanced over his shoulder and smiled at me.

The door hadn’t even shut when I started in on Gwen. “The first guy in forever to flirt with me and you tell him I can see ghosts?”

She shrugged. “I ripped the bandage off. Get over it. Now, if he seeks you out, you’ll know that he won’t run scared like Ricky did when he found out.”

“Ricky was fifteen years old.”

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