Page 2 of Protecting Silver
“Incoming trauma. Fifteen minutes.”
“I’ll be right there.” Patch scrubbed his face, and swung his legs to the floor. He had slept so hard, that he didn’t remember how long he’d been down. He’d been on shift as a trauma surgeon for fourteen hours, before he went into surgery for another ten. When he’d crashed, he’d crashed hard. Looking at his watch, he made a quick decision. He pulled his phone and accessed one of his friends.
“Applewood.”
“Grady, it’s Patch.”
“Oh, hey, how are you?”
“Good, but I’ve only got a few seconds, I’ve got a trauma coming in, but there’s a reason why I called.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, remember that guy you sued, who went after Tymberly and ended up killing himself?”
“Dawson?”
“Yes, do you have the number of the guy who dug up all that information for your lawsuit?”
“Actually, I don’t, I talked to your patient. The guy whose wife fractured her ankle while hiking. I think his name was Wolf, or Bear, some type of animal. He said he’d call his contact, and we handled everything via e-mail after that. Would you like that guy’s number?”
“Sure.” Patch thought he had it, but wanted to make sure. He wrote down what Grady gave him, said his thanks, then after looking at his watch, he made the phone call.
“Is this Wolf?”
“It is, who’s calling.”
“I don’t know if your remember me, but last year I was the doctor who patched up your wife.”
“I paid that bill.”
“I know, it’s nothing like that. This is a personal call. You helped out my friend, the guy who had the messed-up shoulder. I was wondering if there was a way I could get ahold of the man who dug up that information on the man who messed up Grady’s shoulder?”
“May I ask why? Because, Tex is a very private person, and I only give out the information if I feel it’s warranted.”
“It’s probably nothing, but I’d like to look up a man from my past. In the last three years, I’ve learned some things that I didn’t know growing up, and I think, no, I know, I got the raw end of the stick. I want to make sure it’s not still going on.”
“Can you be more specific?”
Patch went on to tell him what he’d endured growing up, until he’d reached the age of twelve, and requested to live in a group home. Wolf asked very few questions, just letting Patch talk. When he was done, Wolf whistled.
“Damn, so you think this caseworker might have stolen you, then sold you?”
“I do. If he did it with me, how many others has he done it with? And are there others involved?”
“Let me run this by Tex. Can I have your contact information?”
Patch gave him his cell number, then said he had a trauma coming in and had to rush. They left if that if Tex was interested, then he would contact Patch. Patch thanked him, slipped his feet into his sneakers, and after tying them, made a mad dash for the door. He rushed down the hall just as the ambulance pulled up. The nurse that had woken him glared at him, but he only shrugged, and said one word, which embarrassed the hell out of her, just as he knew it would. “Bathroom.” He grabbed a gown, a set of gloves, then asked what they had as he went out to meet the ambulance.
Chapter 2
“I’d like to propose a toast,”Amber Dalton said as she raised her glass to the center of the table. “To Mom, may your marriage to Grady Applewood be everything you dreamed of.”
“To Tymberly,” all the other ladies at the table said as they clinked their glasses. After taking a sip, Ronnie Larson looked around the table, and giggled.
“Aren’t we a sad bunch.”
“Why do you say that?” Lorna Ball asked.
