Chapter 12
Where… where am I again?!
Poppy blinked. Her head felt fuzzy. And she couldn’t remember where she was or how she’d gotten there – wherever there might turn out to be.
Okay… I remember being cold. And then warm. And then….
She remembered being in someone’s arms, warm and safe and comfortable. There was nothing sexy – or even all that distinct – about the memory, and yet, something about it made her cheeks flush pink, and she swallowed heavily, her lips parting to gasp out a breath.
“Oh – it looks like she’s waking up. That’s great – the last thing we want a potential hypothermia patient to be is unconscious.”
Hypothermia…?!
Poppy’s head seemed to swim as everything came back to her in a rush.
The avalanche.
The faint, indistinct sound of Max calling her name.
The vague awareness of chilly winter sunshine on her face, after having been buried beneath ice-cold snow.
And Max’s hands, digging me out, rescuing me, saving my life…
Poppy frowned.
But then?
She had to admit, everything after that was kind of a blur.
The only strong recollection she had was of the warmth of Max’s chest against her cheek as she listened to the steady thump of his heartbeat in her ear.
And the sense that, as long as she could hear his heart, everything was going to be okay.
She couldn’t hear anything now, though – and she didn’t even know where she was. And where was Max?!
Poppy jerked into full wakefulness, sitting up suddenly on whatever surface it was she’d been lying on, gasping for breath.
“Whoa, whoa, easy there!” A woman’s voice sounded from beside her, and Poppy swung her head around, eyes wide.
She didn’t recognize the woman at all, but she decided to make an educated guess that she was a doctor – Poppy might not have been able to see her credentials right away, but the white coat and the stethoscope slung around her neck made it a pretty safe bet.
Blinking, Poppy looked around.
Okay, linoleum floors. White walls. A desk with a ton of paperwork. I guess I’m in some kind of medical clinic.
Which made sense, after having been buried in an avalanche. Of course Max would bring her somewhere she could get checked over for injuries after the avalanche had buried them both.
But where is Max?
Maybe he was in another room, getting looked after? Or maybe –
Maybe he was badly injured, and they had to fly him to a bigger hospital, or he broke his arm, or – or –
“Just take it easy now,” the doctor said again, patting Poppy’s hand.
She had a kind manner about her, her curly, gray-streaked hair piled up high on her head – but the last thing Poppy wanted right now was to take it easy.
“You’re fine, but you had a bit of a shock.
I want you to take your time and sit up slowly. ”
“But – Max – where –?” Poppy realized she sounded panicked and breathless, and she forced herself to take a deep breath, closing her eyes and composing herself before trying again. “Max – the man who brought me here. Is he okay? Where did he go?”
“Ah – you came in with three people,” the doctor said, cocking her head. “Two of them I know, they live here in Girdwood Springs. But the other one –”
The doctor’s words were cut off as the door to the room opened, and two people walked through it.
The first, a short woman with very long blonde hair and wearing a patchwork skirt, was followed by a tall, dark-haired man, who, Poppy thought, looked a little intimidating, though the expression on his face was mild enough.
Maybe it was just his height and the broadness of his shoulders – Poppy wouldn’t have been surprised to see him standing outside a nightclub, forbidding people entry.
She waited for Max to appear at the door next, but there was no sign of him.
“Oh! You’re awake!” The blonde woman smiled brightly, laughing a little. “That’s such a relief – well, I knew you’d be fine, but it’s good to see you sitting up!”
Poppy had to admit, she felt a little bewildered.
She supposed these two must be the people the doctor had told her she’d come in with – perhaps they were good Samaritans, who’d seen Max carrying her and offered them a lift, in which case she’d have to be sure to thank them properly.
Just as soon as she found out where Max was.
“I got you this,” the blonde woman said, setting one of the cups she was carrying down on the bench by the examination table Poppy had been lying on. “It’s hot chocolate. Lots of goodness to warm you up! And your m— I mean, Max said you’d like it.”
“Max? He’s here then?” Poppy asked, sitting up a little straighter. “I mean – thank you for the hot chocolate. And for helping us out getting here. I mean that, really. But –”
“Okay, remember what I said about staying calm,” the doctor interrupted her.
She lifted Poppy’s hand and took her pulse, pressing cool fingers against the inside of her wrist. “Like I said, you need to rest up a little. You seem to have come through everything remarkably well, with no signs of hypothermia, hypoxia, or hypercapnia, but I want to check your pupils to make completely sure you don’t have a concussion – though that may not show up for another few hours.
I definitely want you to come back here if you feel any kind of dizziness or confusion, a bad headache, have any ringing in your ears, or just if you feel like something’s not right. Okay?”
Poppy waited with barely concealed impatience as the doctor shone a pencil light in her eyes, then asked her for the month, date and year, and the name of the town she was in.
But she did her best to answer without getting snappish – the doctor was only doing her job after all, and Poppy really was grateful she was being taken care of so diligently.
“Okay, I’m satisfied we can discharge you then,” the doctor said, flicking off her penlight. “But come back the moment you experience any of the symptoms I mentioned, all right?”
“All right,” Poppy agreed peaceably, as the door to the office opened once more – but once more, it wasn’t Max, but yet another man she didn’t recognize.
“Doctor Wu?” he said, leaning into the room. “If you have a minute, I just need to check some things with you.”
“No problem,” Doctor Wu called over her shoulder to him, before turning back to Poppy with a smile. “As I said, you’re free to go whenever you feel up to it. Take your time.” She turned to the man and the woman. “You’ll make sure she gets home safely?”
“Absolutely!” The blonde woman beamed, and the man – who definitely seemed like the strong and silent type; but then, it seemed his companion could talk enough for both of them – nodded.
“Then I’ll leave you now. And make sure to take extra care in the snow in future.” With a final nod, Doctor Wu stood and crossed the room, closing the door gently behind her.
Poppy licked her lips, glancing back and forth between the man and the woman. Doctor Wu had just seemed to assume they were friends, but to tell the truth, she’d never seen either of them before in her life.
Seeming to sense her confusion, the blonde stepped forward, her smile still bright on her face.
“Oh – maybe you don’t remember us. You were pretty out of it! But I’m Margot, and this is Levi. We found you after the avalanche, and Levi carried you here to get checked out. Make sure you drink your hot chocolate!”
“Thanks,” Poppy said, lifting the cardboard cup and taking a sip.
After all the incredible food and drink she’d stuffed her face with over the past few days it seemed a bit weak and watery, having clearly come out of a cheap drinks machine, but she wasn’t about to complain.
Plus, she had other things on her mind right now.
“And, uh, nice to meet you both – I really appreciate your help. But… you said, um, Levi was the one who carried me here? Is Max okay?”
“Oh, he’s perfectly fine!” Margot said, waving a hand airily. “But you know, he would be. Shifters are a tough bunch!”
Oh. Okay. Whatever that means, Poppy thought, frowning as she sipped her hot chocolate again.
“He did say he had to leave, though,” Margot continued. “I was a little surprised. I thought he’d want to stay here with you, but he said he needed to deal with some things and he hurried out just as soon as he could.”
Poppy’s heart sank. She had to admit, she was a little surprised. Surprised, and more than a little disappointed.
But, she told herself, I can’t jump to conclusions. Yeah, I’d love to see Max’s face right now. But I need to at least talk to him before I get mad about him leaving me here, especially since Margot and Levi seem friendly enough. Well, Margot does, anyway.
“It was a shame, I wanted to talk to him some more,” Margot mused, sipping her own hot chocolate.
“He said he didn’t know anything about the magic that caused the avalanche, but I wanted to ask him a few more questions, just to see if I could figure out where it came from on my own.
But it’s weird that a shifter, even a half-shifter, wouldn’t be able to sense the magic himself. ”
Poppy stared at her.
The… what?! The magic avalanche?! And there’s that word shifter again…
She shook her head. None of that made any sense. Maybe she should call Doctor Wu back after all – maybe she was hearing things.
“Um. Well. Sorry I can’t help you with the. Uh. Magic avalanche?” she said slowly and carefully – though just saying it aloud made her wonder if, aside from being concussed, Doctor Wu wouldn’t just have her committed.
“Oh, that’s perfectly fine.” Margot shook her head, still smiling. “I’m sure I’ll figure it out on my own! With Levi to help me, of course.”
She smiled up at the man by her side, an adoring look in her eyes.
And Levi, despite his seemingly gruff exterior – from what Poppy could tell anyway, given he had yet to say a word – turned his head to look down at Margot, an equally besotted look on his own face, going from fearsome guard dog to lovesick puppy in half a second.