Page 37 of The Cowboy's Baby Dare

ERIN

“Hello?” Poking my head through the front door of my mom’s family practice, I survey the waiting room.

It’s empty. No patients. No one at the desk.

Thinking that I’ll head to her office to drop off the lunch I brought her, I cross the lobby. It’s weird being back in this small building. In high school, I worked weekends here at the front desk, but I haven’t been in since.

Even during my short visits to town, I never once came in here. There was just no reason to.

I’ve just set the to-go bag on her desk when the bells on the front door jingle. Thinking it must be my mom or the receptionist, I go to the front.

It’s a patient, though. A woman and her teenage son, who is clutching his arm.

“Hi, can I help you?” I ask, smiling warmly at the pair.

The woman hesitates before speaking. “Yes, um, my son hurt his arm playing football and we were hoping someone could take a look at it. Is Dr. Toomey in?”

“Uh, one second. Have a seat, please.” I pull my phone from my pocket and call my mom’s cell.

There’s no answer.

Which is weird.

Where is everyone?

Sighing, I slip the phone back into my pocket. I had planned on only being here for a minute, but I can’t walk away from someone in need. Even if they aren’t my patient.

And, even though I don’t work here and I shouldn’t be doing this for all the legal reasons, the words seem to slip out of my mouth. “I’m also Dr. Toomey, Mary’s daughter. If you want to come to the back, I can take a look at it.”

The woman looks surprised, but grateful. “Really? Thank you so much!”

I lead them to an examination room and have the teenager sit on the table. “So, what happened?” I ask as I slip on some gloves.

“I fell during a tackle and landed on my arm weird,” he explains, grimacing in pain.

Examining his arm, I can tell that it’s not broken, but it’s definitely sprained. “It looks like a sprain, but we’ll do an X-ray just in case. I’ll get that set up for you.”

I leave the room to see if at least the receptionist is back yet so that she can order an X-ray, and instead I find my mom coming in through the front door.

“Where were you?” I ask.

She looks frazzled, her hair out of place and her lab coat askew. “Oh, Erin, thank goodness you’re here. I had an emergency at the hospital, and the receptionist called in sick today so I was the only one here. I—”

I cut her off. “It’s okay, Mom. I took care of the patient who came in with a sprained arm.”

She looks at me incredulously. “You did what?”

“I know, I know. But I couldn’t just leave them waiting. And it looks like it’s just a sprain, but I want to order an X-ray anyway.”

To my surprise, she grins.

“What?” I ask.

“Nothing.” She turns around. “I can call the technician in from the hospital. Go tell your patient to sit tight and they’ll be here soon.”

I can’t help but narrow my eyes. He’s not my patient. I’m just helping out.

I head back to the exam room anyway, though, and give the boy and his mom an update.

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