Healing Her Heart

bang from some one slamming a car door nearby that she finally regained her

he kissed

dsheimmediatelyknewh

ckly,cuttinghimoff.“I

ng,”shesaid,desperatel

w

dn’twalkanywhere,no

hesoutforme?”sheas

thi

openedthedoor,andpull

e,”he

uchharsherthanshe’di

nbyathread?“Go

beneathheralready-so

,Gabedidn’tjustletherg

adtoopenthe

d,shemadeherwaytowar

,”shesaidwithabright

dastheelevatordoorsop

uttontoclo

sclosedandtheelevato

nrelief.Thetremblingi

utchesandeverything

ed?Abetterquestio

pen

loofreputationonherver

tthegood-lookingERdoc

rkedelsewhere

easonshe’dbeenfightin

mplicationofamaninher

onship,nottoju

lips.Gabe’s kiss hadn’t justbarreledagainstthew

ro

eyesandpraye

hbetterthenextmorning

tcare,heronlyoptionon

wntothepointsheproba

manywayjusttorestthean

ranothertwelve-hourshi

ghtshift,soshe’dhave

thesky,makingitagrea

rydonewastricky,butshe

ortogetdownin

ouldn’tseemtostopth

eshe’dalreadydecided

shemusthavecheckedh

fshe’dmiss

llfro

orwomanassheplacedth

ie’snumberseveraltimes,

ie’sphonewasturnedoff

atAnniehadmanagedtok

owayofcallingforhelp

ceso

sfrustrationyesterday

stoodalltoowellwhatwa

beggedhermothertol

hadanexcuse—eithershe

wasafraidGeorgewould

llyleaveheralone.She’d

m,butitwasn’tuntilhe’d

nthedeadofthenight,go

Larissahadtriedtoconv

adbeenroughonbothoft

obshe’dbeenabletogetw

ney.Larissahadgottena

useholdexpenses.Whensh

chool and had gotten a decent-payingjobatalocal

togoint

eadedofftocollege,her

buseherinanyway.Hewass

ppy,shedidn’tcare.In

aintoAnniethatsh

astevening,shecouldo

maybenotcompletelydeaf

e

gthoughts,shefinishedh

hehadasecretweaknessf

her,stayingupaslateasp

hernextn

nklefeltevenbetter.Sh

rwork.Eventhen,shewr

pp

dthesun,streaksoflight

pital.Shehurried,tryin

eresecondstosparebefor

dthee

Julie.“Ithoughtforsur

thepast

eeshiftsinarow,andthe

responded.“

urchasedatownhouseon

idehadsufferedakitchen

ghthaveputinabidforth

gottenit.Nextyear,shes

ughmoneyfora

omtonight?”Larissaas

sthechargenurse,andsh

roa

saidwithawrysmile.

,”Debrasaid.“We’reshor

eamandhelpcoverthetra

,And Julie,you’reteamt

eded.”Larissaexchangedawincew

As They Walked Away To Their respectiveteams.“I

running

”Larissaagreed.Toolat

tobefair,shewasgladsheh

ra,Julie,andJessica

Larissadealtwithastea

mapatientshadcomein.Sh

dtakent

djokedastheypassedinth

gh

muttered.Theyweretota

hesametime,andthenDeb

tquartertoeleven,and

hedoctorsworkedeight-ho

lythoughtaboutGa

dkissmadeherblush,an

enashewentovertot

eallsetfordischarge,”

eryouhavetofollowupwi

wmornin

rlypatientsaidashestoo

andoftenforgottotakehi

tofbreath.Inreadinghi

nursinghome,buttheo

en.”Shehelpedhimoutto

overtoescortthe

isedtoseeyouhere.”Ga

.“How’sy

oreturningtofacehim.“

esinmycarifyo

hashrug.Thewayhest

ofhislabcoat,shesense

en,theirtraum

ustoffHighwayZ,”Gabes

ear-oldwoman,andhervita

od

ithdreadasshereadth

nearHighwayZ.Granted,

Annie’ssafekeeping. “Weshouldcallacho

dGabeintothetraumabay

atientwasreallybad,they

ferredassoo

odi

llwhentheambulanceba

undingagurney.Themome

espitethemassiv

ithseriousheadinjury,

lemicshock.Wehavefl

thervictim?

tlythiswasa

takingcareofAnnie,but

ndthewheeloftheca

edhe’dintende

____

donAnnieforasolidho

.Larissawatchedtheflig

tlypr

sekeepAnniesa

oicebrokeintoherpray

hehadtogetaway,justf

rmured,sl

ayingbeneaththeoverh

thadhappenedtoAnnie?H

theroad,helplessash

idn’thelperasetheimag

’tKurt,shetriedtotell

bandanddashedontother

comin

aths,tryingtocalmherr

helpAnnierightnow.Sh

gtubeandacentralvenou

sofbloodint

thetraumateami

to go back inside, shiv

ngthroughthethinfabric

whichmadeherfeelguilty.It wasalmostfourinthemor

estayedoutsidelong

outAnnieandtofocushe

ostillneeded

oughthetraumabaywhen

r,lettinginablastofcoo

ippedoverherfeetwhe

therehol

hesaidinaharshtone,wa

ie’sgone,andit

xicated?Hecertainlya

steady.Sheswallowedha

bles,notmuchprotection

heroom,shefoug

yone?Couldn’

ened.Hetookasteptowa

rd,draggingthemetal

sedthegunandpointedi

rtoos