Page 65 of Tacos & Toboggans
“You’re the newest doctor in town, and you’ve helped a lot of people already, so I thought you were more than worthy of the right. Mayor Tottle didn’t see it that way, so here we are.”
“No, I mean, why would you think you shouldn’t be doing it. Your business is legitimate.”
“Yeah, that’s what he said too,” I admitted, scrunching my lips up. “I even told him the truth about never turning it into a full-time business, but he said if I couldn’t think of the lighting ceremony from the lens of Little Bird on the Moon, then I should think of it from the lens of The Bird’s Nest. While it was attached to the diner, it was the first food truck in Bells Pass and was successful because I took the helm and steered it.”
“He’s a smart man,” Major said, tucking me back under his arm while we walked. “This comes back to that trusting yourself thing. Once you teach yourself to do that, you’ll find it easier to stop second-guessing yourself about everything in life.”
“Any tips or tricks on how to do that?” I asked, my laughter soft in the still night air.
“When you make a decision, make it based on the consequences you’re willing to accept versus the rewards you might gain,” he said with a shrug.
“I don’t follow.”
“It’s simple,” he explained as we reached the sidewalk. “For instance, the issue of dating me. Not dating me wouldlead to some very boring consequences, whereas dating me would lead to some very exciting rewards.”
I snorted, punching him playfully. “You’ll take any opportunity to convince me to date you. Besides, we just had dinner at the diner. That was a date.”
“It was, but I wasn’t referring to just one dinner. I was referring to—”
“Give me your wallet and no one gets hurt,” a voice said as someone stepped out of the trees lining the park.
Fear shot through me as I stared at the man. He wore a black mask and a black hoodie. Try as I might, there wasn’t one thing I could find about him that made him familiar. That might have been the terror running through me, though, especially when my gaze landed on the long, sharp knife in his hand.
Major held up his hands near his chest. “Relax, man,” he said calmly. “It’s in my back pocket, that’s all I’m reaching for.” He kept one hand in the air while he pulled his wallet out of his back jeans pocket and held it out.
“Take the cash out. Hurry up! Hers, too!”
Once the wallet was open, Major pulled out a few bills and held them out, waiting for the man to snatch them. “She doesn’t have her purse or her wallet. It’s in our car.”
Before I could react, the man lunged forward, holding the knife to my throat. “Give me your purse!”
“She doesn’t have it!” Major exclaimed.
The man stuck his hand in my coat pocket, the action digging the knife further into my skin, leaving a painful burning in its trail. Before I could think of a good plan, he rammed into me as he took off. He caught me off balance, and I twisted, pulling my arm into me the moment I realized I couldn’t catch myself.
“Jaelyn!” Major yelled, reaching for me, but it was far too late for him to break my fall.
My head bounced off the concrete, and I lay there dazed, staring up at the stars.
“Don’t move,” he said, his phone to his ear as he checked me over. “Does anything hurt?”
I blinked, my vision swimming a bit when I did. “My head. Just give me a minute.”
“I’m calling 911,” he said, and before I could argue, he started giving our information to the operator. As he spoke, he stroked my hair tenderly, his hand occasionally straying to my cheek to cup it. It was evident at that moment, as I gazed into his worried eyes, that trusting myself was the only obstacle in our way.
I slid into the bed next to Jaelyn and flipped the light off. She was already asleep, but I wasn’t sure I’d catch a wink, even as tired as I was. Sleeping would mean taking my eyes off her for more than a heartbeat, something I hadn’t been able to do since she was in the back of an ambulance being assessed by the EMTs. Would she go to the hospital and get checked out? No. She insisted she was fine, even as the EMTs bandaged her neck wound, which was thankfully superficial. They agreed that she likely had a concussion, but she still refused to be transported to the hospital. As hard as she smacked her head on the ground, she was lucky she didn’t have a subdural hematoma. Then again, she might, but we wouldn’t know because she refused to go to the hospital!
Deep breath, Major, I ordered myself.
After sucking in some breaths, I remembered that I was a medical doctor and could treat a simple concussion at home, even if she had put up plenty of bluster about it when I told her she was sleeping in my bed so I could keep an eye on her. The way she moaned about being so tired and that if I woke her up, I would be the one who needed a hospital made me laugh, but I was smart enough to do it on the inside.
The adrenaline had left me shaking, so once she was in bed, I took a shower, hoping the hot water would work out the knots in my neck and relax me enough to catch a few winksbefore waking her in two hours. Tomorrow was a clinic day, so at least it wouldn’t be a day of surgeries after the busy weekend we’d had. I’d already let Dr. Russel know that I’d need a pass for a few days on any surgeries unless they were emergencies he couldn’t handle. I’d been in the operating room practically nonstop, and I still had to deal with the knee situation this week.
Thankfully, he agreed, and since I was a new doctor, we still had some control over how much surgery I did. I’d jump in if he needed me, and he knew that, but if I could get through the week without being in the operating room, I’d be grateful. Especially after doing Alan’s surgery last night and then having to scrub in and take the pin out of AJ’s foot this afternoon. It wasn’t difficult or time-consuming, and I was happy to do it, but I didn’t trust my leg anymore, and that was nerve-racking. What was more nerve-racking was being held at knife point while questioning if I could protect the woman beside me. The answer had been no.
Don’t go there, I scolded myself. The situation tonight had nothing to do with your disability. Even Gabe said you did the right thing by not trying to fight the guy. It could have resulted in something far greater than a concussion. He was right, but that didn’t make it any easier when she was the one injured. She’d been through enough in the last few months. All I wanted to do was protect her.
My phone beeped, and I grabbed it so it wouldn’t wake Jaelyn. The text was from Ivy.
