Page 12 of A Forgotten Heart
Elsie swallowed. “He fell from the boardwalk and hit his head on the step.”
Something in the doctor’s expression kindled dread deep in Elsie’s stomach. “He’s unconscious because of the blow to his head, not the loss of blood.”
But it seemed like so much blood. How bad had the blow been if it was worse?
She drew in a ragged breath. “Will he wake up?”
The doctor didn’t answer. Instead, he handed her a pair of scissors. “Here, cut away his shirt. I need to see his shoulder.”
As she did, the doctor wrapped Nick’s head. The white bandage against his skin gave him a gray pallor.
Grinding her teeth, she refocused on her task, hands shaking. She couldn’t injure him further.
The doctor moved to Nick’s shoulder, working swiftly.
The vapors from whatever antiseptic the doctor had poured into a rag burned her eyes. She blinked away the blurriness.
The doctor dabbed the wound. “Tell me what happened.”
Images of wood splintering just in front of her face, of the look of shock on Nick’s face when he’d been struck, of spilled blood turning the white snow pink—they all replayed in front of her mind, raising her pulse.
The doctor didn’t stop working, but he raised an eyebrow, waiting for her explanation.
“We were on the boardwalk, just…talking.” Arguing. Saying things she’d never say to another living soul. “Then someone shot at us.”
The doctor glanced up. “Who?”
Her throat clenched tight. “I don’t know. A ghost? I never saw him.”
The doctor jerked his head toward a nearby table. “Hand me those forceps.” As she did, the doctor’s face became thoughtful. “You didn’t see anyone?”
“No. It was as if they shot from the sky.”
The doctor’s mouth tightened. “Or a rooftop.” He met her gaze.
A shiver feathered over her skin as the realization hit. It hadn’t really sunk in until now.
The streets had been deserted. Someone had to have been aiming for her and Nick.
Elsie gripped the edge of the exam table as her knees went weak.
“You best be speaking with Marshal O’Grady as soon as possible,” the doctor mumbled.
Why would anyone want to hurt her? Want to hurt Nick? The violence of it shook her.
Elsie studied Nick’s face. Did he have any enemies? It seemed laughable. He’d always gotten along with everyone. Reached out a helping hand.
He’d been a good man.
The doctor probed deeper into his shoulder, but Nick didn’t even twitch.
No, she didn’t want him to be in pain, but she wanted to see him flinch. Grimace. Anything to prove he was alive. But he lay motionless.
“Got it.” The bullet pinged into a metal tray. “After I stitch him up, I’ve done all I can.”
Then what? Just wait for Nick to wake up?
“I have to go deliver that baby.”
