Kaleidoscope Summer (Samantha's Story) (3 page)

Samantha laid back, her golden hair draped over the edge of the pillow, looking the way I suspected an angel might. I dragged a chair over next to the bed. “I need a statement from you about what happened out at the cove.” I realized I’d glanced toward the window and reminded myself to face Samantha as I spoke so she could lip-read.

Her smile said she understood, a multi-watt smile that shot a surge of adrenaline through my veins. Taking a deep breath I repeated the question.

“Sure. Although
there’s no great mystery involved.” She shrugged.

I pulled a n
otebook from my pocket. “Just need to complete my report. Start with
your name and address
,
t
hen
tell me how you fell
.”

S
he
relayed
the information and
pause
d until my pen stilled
.
“Arri
ving at night wasn’t real smart—a
nd not part of my original plan
.
I was running late
,
and
when
we
reached
Serenity
Cove
,
it was already dark. We had scarcely passed
the city limit sign when
Goldie
paw
ed my leg
,
let
ting
me know she needed
a pit
stop. When we reached the cove
,
it
looked like a good place
, so
I pul
led over.
I
followed Goldie along the dirt path. Near the bottom
,
I lost my footing.
” She winced as she pressed on her ribs, taking a moment before continuing
.
“
Not one of my bri
ghter ideas,
going down a rocky
trail
in
high-heeled boots. At any rate
,
I tumbled an
d slid down the embankment to the water’s edge
. The next thing I re
member
,
I was
in the back of an ambulance with sirens blaring.”

“You’re positive it was
an accident? You
didn’t see anyone around the area before you fell?”

“
Absolutely
sure
. If Goldie could talk, she’
d confirm my story.” A shy smile
crossed her face. “Not my finest performanc
e—m
a
k
es me a contender for the klutz-of-the-
year award.”

“You’re not the first person to plummet
down that
footway
.
” I shoved the notebook into my pocket. “I’m relieved you weren’t attacked. I’d hate to think we had a criminal on the loose.
I’ll need a copy of your driver’s license for identification purposes.”

I was surprised to see
her open
the
drawer of the bedside table and pull out a
small
wallet
.

“Being
I was traveling
,
I had
it
in the pocket of my jeans.
”
Had she read the questioning look on my face?

Evelyn breezed into the room
,
set a tray with meds on the
over
-
bed
table
,
and
motioned
toward the door. “O
ur patient needs to rest
now.”

“
I’ll drop by tomorrow
.”
I nodded to Sa
mantha and patted the top of
Goldie
’s head. Next
,
I went in search o
f Doc—
I
’d neglected to
call
him.

He was
leaning against the front
desk
,
talking with Thelma.
“Hey
, Logan. I hear you found
baby
.
”
He chuckled with a smug grin on his face.

I raised an eyebrow at Thelma. She shrugged and smiled.

I had no reason to question Samantha’s story, but I had to do my job. “
The patient claims
the fall
was an accident.” I eyed Doc closely to gauge his take on the situation.

“N
othing to make me doubt her story
.
” Doc tugged on his graying beard. “
No reason to think
anything else
.
If she had a place to stay
,
I would release her in the morning. But being
she doesn’t want to
inconvenience
anyone to come all the way from Stone Valley,
she’ll be spending a few days here
. Can’t take any chances.”

“How about her parents?”

“According to Samantha
,
they’re
both deceased. Her onl
y family is an elderly aunt
in Stone Valley. Her ribs will be pain
ful for a while, but
she won’t be down long.
”

I turned to Thelma. “I need
a copy of the patient’s
ID
.”
I handed her
the license Samantha had given me
.

She
slid
it
in the c
opier behind her
,
and handed me the print
out
.
I folded the paper and slid
it
into
my pocket. “
Thanks. Would you return her
license
?
”

“Will do. You
get some rest.” Always the caretaker.
I
still
appreciated how she’d
helped out after my mother died. I
’d
never pitched a baseball game without Thelma sitting in the stands beside my grandparents.

I
slapped the edge of the desk
. “I’m out of here. Let me know if there’s any change.”

I
put
the truck
into gear
and
headed
toward Main Street
.
I’
d l
earned early in my career not to
get personally
involved. Yet
,
Samantha
had connected with the pro
tective
side of my nature.
I ignored
common sense
and
followed
the streets to my sister’s shop.

Chapter
Two

For almost thirty years
,
I’d perceived my emotional house to be built of brick.
Sadly
, not unlike the story of The Three Little Pigs, when the wolf showed up a
t my door and commenced to huff and puff,
my
house came tumbling down—the bricks
nothing more than mere straw.
~ Journal entry

Life had turned chaotic with no input from me, long before the accident
.
N
othing in my experiences
prepared me for this
calamitous
turn of e
vents
. Prayers for guidance
were
met with
only
silence. Insecurity raged,
leaving
my emotions
shredded
,
like climbing
a steep mountain withou
t a rope
and ending up
gripping
rock with bare hands.

Goldie b
ru
shed her paw against my knee
—her way of
alerting me someone had entered
the room.
I glanced
up
as
the
physician’s assistant
strode through the door
.
A scent of efficiency
followed
her
.

“Good m
orning
. Glad to see you’re up
and
sitting in a chair.” Evelyn
flipped open my
chart
and
removed a pen from the
pocket of her lab coat, her
legs
bare
down to her stylish high heel shoes
.
My
toes clinched at the thought of
how h
er
feet must throb by the end of the day
.

“Incredible view
.” I nodded toward the window. Could there be a bett
er location for a hospital room?
W
atching the wave
s tease the shore
earlier
,
I had faded into my own thoughts. Logan had invad
ed those
musings
.
I resisted
the inclination to fantasize
.
There wasn’t room in my life for a man until I found me.
Besides
,
I was in
Serenity
Cove
to
wrap up my birth
m
other’s estate
.

Reflections
were forgotten as
Evelyn
secured
the blood pressure cuff around my arm. “The hospi
tal has a great patio. I
t’s a
pretty spot for lunch or to relax
with a good book. There’s usually
staff or other p
atients to keep you company. Alt
ho
ugh
,
I see you have an
adorable companion
.”
S
he pull
ed a treat from
her pocket and offered it to
Goldie. “Compliments of Thelma.”

She
smil
ed and
took my temperature with an ear thermometer. I thou
ght back to when I was a teenager,
when
I’
d
hope
d and prayed
the
device
held
some
kind of magical healing properties.

“Temperature’s norma
l—
good. Any dizziness or nausea?”

“None. O
ther than the s
harp pain in my ribs, I feel great
.”

“Doc wants to monitor your
concussion for a couple of days
. You don’t want to be alone and have a problem.”
She stopped making
notations on the chart and
glanced toward the door
.
I followed
her gaz
e to a woman, the hem of her soft, paisley sundress
swirling about her ankles. I watched
,
waiting for her to speak. D
id she have the wrong room?

“Good morning.” Her lips s
tretched
as she
punctuated
morning
with an open
smile—a
c
heerful greeting must have
chi
med
through th
e room. Her
copper
-colored curls
bo
unced
as she waltzed on in
. She reached between the handles of the bag she carried and plopped the contents
on the bed. “I hope these are the right size. I asked Logan
,
but you know men.” She rolled her eyes.

She
greeted Evelyn with a quick hug and
moved closer to my chair. The gi
ld
ed
specks in her
intense
green eyes lit with a sparkle. “I’m Maggie Del
atorre, Logan’s sister. He says…place…
few days.”

I accepted
her outstretche
d hand
,
returning her smile
. “I’m Samantha Forrester—
my friends
call me Sam.
”
I already adored her flamboyant personality. “I’m deaf, but if you speak a little slower I can lip-read.”