Page 11 of Lost and Found Cowboy
Because Woodland Hills was a small town, and she’d practically grown up there, Lorna recognized the woman at the desk. They’d gone to school together, but she’d been a few years younger.
“Hey Lorna,” the woman said, already holding out two visitor passes as she pointed to a set of a double doors. “They just took Izzy back. Put this on, then you can go on through. The nurse inside will tell you what bay she’s in.”
“Thanks Sara,” Lorna said, peeling the slick backing from the visitor sticker and slapping it to the front of the flannel shirt as she hurried toward the doors.
Another nurse sat inside, this one a young guy she didn’t recognize. He wore light blue scrubs with cartoon dogs on them and smiled up at her from the desk. “Can I help you?”
“I’m looking for Isabel Williams. She’s my daughter, but she was just brought in with Gertie Henderson.”
“Of course. She’s in that third bay, the one with the green curtain,” he told her.
The emergency room section of the hospital had seven rooms, each behind a different colored curtain, as if this were a game show and there might be a new car, or a washer and dryer set, behind them instead of someone suffering with an illness or injury.
The pitiful cry of an unhappy baby came from the direction the nurse pointed, and Lorna hurried toward it. Mack was right on her heels and drew the green curtain back to reveal a petite older woman with a cap of curly white hair standing behind it, her body swaying back and forth as she tried to soothe the fussy infant in her arms.
“I’m here,” Lorna said.
At the sound of her mother’s voice, Izzy lifted her head then stretched out her arms as she let loose with another heartbreaking cry. “Ma-ma.”
“It’s okay, baby,” Lorna said, taking Izzy into her arms and starting the same rocking movement Gertie had been doing. “Mama’s here.” The baby’s face was flushed, and her curly blond hair was damp with sweat. Lorna pressed a kiss to her forehead and that clawing panic returned at how hot her skin was. “Have you seen the doctor yet?” she asked Gertie.
The other woman shook her head. “No, we’re still waiting.”
Lorna tried to introduce the two, but Gertie explained she and Mack had met the summer before at the chili cook-off.
“Ma’am.” Mack tipped his hat at the older woman, but his attention was focused on the baby girl in Lorna’s arms. “Poor sweetheart.” He stood at the entrance of the exam room, the small space already crowded with the two women and the baby. “What can I do? Do you want me to find you all some coffee? Or water? Or try to check on where the doctor is?”
Lorna nodded, and he turned and headed toward the nurse’s station before she’d had a chance to tell him which of the things she wanted.
She cooed softly into Izzy’s hair, still rocking her and thankful that the baby seemed to be calming with the arrival of her mother.
Mack was back within minutes, three bottles of water in his hand. “We’re next on the list, so the doctor should be here any second,” he said as he passed Gertie a bottle of water. He took a moment to open the lid of one before he passed it to Lorna, whose hands were full with Izzy, and she once again, appreciated his thoughtfulness.
She took a drink, thankful for the cool water on her parched throat, then passed it back to him. He replaced the lid and had just set it on the counter when the doctor walked in.
He looked to be in his late forties with brown hair, a pleasant smile, and a pair of reading glasses perched on his head. “Hello. I’m Dr. MacFarlane,” he said, picking up the clipboard the nurse had left and quickly perusing the notes. “Tell me what’s going on with this little cutie?”
Gertie rattled off Izzy’s symptoms, the fussiness, the rubbing at her ear, then the sudden spike of fever.
The doctor had Lorna sit on the table with Izzy on her lap, then listened to the baby’s chest, tapped her tummy, and peeked into her ears and throat. “Yeah, she’s got a prettygood ear infection going on. I’ll have the nurse bring in some children’s Motrin to treat the fever, and I’ll write a script for some antibiotics. You’ll want to keep up with lots of fluids and rest, and if it seems like the ear is bothering her, using a warm compress against it will help with the pain.”
“So, she’s going to be okay?” Mack asked the doctor, his mouth set in a tight line.
Lorna hadn’t realized how worried he’d been—he’d seemed like such a rock for her since she’d taken the call from Gertie—but now that the doctor was there, she could see the concern in his expression and hear it in his tone.
“We’ll keep an eye on her here for a bit,” the doctor told them. “Make sure the Motrin brings her fever down, but she should be just fine.”
Lorna laid a reassuring hand on Mack’s arm. “Ear infections are pretty common. Max used to get them too.” She turned back to the doctor. “Thank you.”
“Yes, thank you,” Gertie repeated. “She was fine earlier today, so it just scared me when she spiked a fever and started fussing.”
“You did the right thing by bringing her in,” the doctor told them. “And like I said, we’ll have you all hang around for an hour or so, just to make sure we get the fever down. I’ll go get started on the prescription and the nurse will be in shortly.”
“That’s a relief,” Gertie said, sagging into the chair after the doctor left. “I would have felt terrible if something had happened to our sweet girl.”
Lorna gave her a one-armed hug. “Thank you so much for calling me and for everything. Are you doing okay? You must be tired.”
“I’m fine. Although, it’s been a while since I’ve stayed up past nine.”
