14. Nora
14
NORA
N ora paced beside Clint’s hospital bed with her arms crossed over her chest. They’d been here for three hours, and the nurse had only come in once.
“Will you please sit down? I’m getting motion sickness just watching you ping around the room,” Clint said.
“I’m just impatient. Someone should have been in here by now.”
“They already said they have two patients who are more important than me.”
Nora rounded on him. “You’re important too.”
She was being ridiculous. It was her job to know which patients needed to be seen first, but all reason had jumped out the window now that it was Clint on the patient list.
Seeing him in pain was twisting her in knots. She was having sympathy pains for the first time in her life, and it was totally unwelcome.
The older nurse walked back into the tiny room like she hadn’t just disappeared for two hours. “Let’s take a look here,” the woman said without looking up. She stepped up to the point of care cart and started typing.
Nora’s jaw clamped shut as the nurse went through the motions. She could see the readings, but the woman kept a scowl on her face.
“You come here often?” Clint finally asked.
Nora rolled her eyes. Did he really think he was going to sweet talk this woman into being friendly?
The older nurse turned to him and stared. “Only when they make me.”
Clint made a clicking noise behind his teeth. “Same. My drill sergeant made me come this time.” He hooked a thumb toward Nora.
The nurse looked at Nora for the first time before turning back to Clint. “It’s a good thing. You really messed things up this time.”
“One time I got kicked by a cow and broke my sternum. I had a hoof print on my chest for weeks.”
The nurse went back to recording his vitals. “I bet that was fun.”
“It hurt like the dickens to cough or laugh for weeks.”
“Or sneeze,” Nora added .
Clint snapped his fingers. “I forgot about that. I almost cried when I sneezed once.”
By the time the nurse finished her initial notes she was smiling and giving Clint her full attention. “How’s your mama?” she asked. “I bet that woman needs a gold star after all you’ve put her through.”
“She’s fine. Been praying the Lord would protect me every day since I was born.”
“You better give her a big hug tonight. It’s not easy raising reckless boys.”
“How many kids do you have?” Clint asked.
Nora sat back and watched Clint work his charm. By the time the nurse left, she promised to have a doctor come by within a quarter of an hour and Clint had volunteered to take her grandson on a pack ride.
As soon as they were alone again, Clint gave her a strained smile. He’d been careful not to move, but that probably didn’t stop the pain.
“Can I get you anything?” she asked.
“Thanks, but I’m fine. Just bored to tears.”
Nora settled into a chair at his bedside and propped her arms and chin on the railing. “I can’t believe you got that woman to smile.”
He tilted his head and hooked a finger under Nora’s chin. “I wish you’d smile.”
She’d always wondered what people meant when they said a man gave them butterflies, but this rustling in her stomach had to be it. Clint’s attention had a way of flipping her around like a gymnast on uneven bars.
She squirmed under his watchful gaze. “How’d you get that woman to open up to you like that?”
“I don’t know. I just talked to her.”
“Yeah, but you’d made friends with her by the time she left. It took you ten minutes.”
Clint tilted his head. “Don’t worry about her. You’ll always be my number one.”
The way he singled her out had her chest swelling with happiness. “That’s not what I meant. I mean, you have a way of bringing out the best in people. You’re so friendly and easy to talk to.”
“You are too,” Clint said.
“Not like you. I have old friends. I don’t make new ones.”
“So? I like you just the way you are. You’re strong and determined. You know what you want and go after it. Your boldness is one of the things I like most about you.”
Nora scoffed. “That’s one way to put it. Most people just think I’m stuck up or mean just because I don’t walk around with a smile on and rainbows following me.”
“Who needs rainbows when you’re Nora St. James? That’s more than enough to make me happy.”
Nora rested her chin back on her crossed arms. “Thanks for being such a good friend. ”
Clint’s grin faltered, but his eyes were still bright and alert. “Right back atcha.”
The door opened, and Mrs. Lindsey stepped in holding a card and a small stuffed bear. “Well, I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Nora stood and swiped her hands down her shirt. She hadn’t been caught in a compromising position, but answering questions about why she was cuddled up so close to Clint’s bed would be awkward.
“Mrs. Lindsey! I was just thinking about you,” Clint said.
Martha Lindsey was well into her eighties, but she didn’t let anything slow her down. The woman had been in charge of every event in their church since before Clint and Nora were born.
“I don’t wanna know what you were thinking,” Mrs. Lindsey said as she shuffled to his side and pressed a kiss on his forehead. “I’m just delivering get well cards and gifts to the patients. What brings you in?”
Clint pulled the sheet off his leg. “I think I broke it.”
“You think?” Mrs. Lindsey said. Her words dripped with sarcasm. She looked up at Nora and gave her a once-over. “Are you his caretaker?”
“I guess I am for the moment,” Nora said.
She’d been trying to get in Mrs. Lindsey’s good graces since she was a kid. The woman always signed Nora up for service projects and events at church, but she didn’t say much else.
However, it looked as though Clint was her favorite.
Mrs. Lindsey looked back to Clint. “You think you’ll be better before Thanksgiving?”
Clint scoffed. “I’ll be better as soon as they straighten me up again,” he said, pointing to his leg. “I’ll be there on Wednesday to fry turkeys.”
Thanksgiving was only a few days away, and the church always cooked meals for the soup kitchen. Clint and his dad always fried the turkeys, and Nora was always in charge of candied yams–her least favorite food of all time.
“Great,” Mrs. Lindsey said with a nod that didn’t shake her hair sprayed white curls. She turned to Nora and lifted a brow. “And you’ll be in charge of the candied yams.”
Deja vu. It was the same every year.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Mrs. Lindsey nodded, satisfied with her delegations and placed the card and teddy bear on Clint’s bed. “Get well soon. We’ll see you at church on Wednesday.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Clint said as he watched her walk out.
Nora stepped back up to his side. “You might not be able to fry turkeys. You’ll probably be on crutches for a while. ”
Clint rested his head back against the pillow and closed his eyes. “I’ve spent plenty of time on crutches. This ain’t my first rodeo.”
Nora sat back down beside the bed. Sure, Clint had been injured before, but a broken bone like this one could tie him down for weeks.
Whatever his recovery looked like, Nora would be there for him. After he’d given her a place to live at her lowest point, she’d do everything in her power to return the favor.