Chapter Twenty #2
“There are several of my madrigals who have parents who are deployed, and some with grandparents in other states. I’m sure their families would love to watch it as well,” Gabe pointed out.
“The troops!” Dawson and I said in unison, making everyone laugh again.
“If we could somehow get word to any Michigan troops deployed overseas that it would be livestreamed, I’m sure they’d tune in, if possible,” I said, leaning on the table. “Might be hard this late in the game, though.”
“I have connections,” Dawson said. “Both with the livestream equipment and the military.”
“Major’s right, though. We don’t have much time,” Shep said. “I can help with setup, but on the day of the event, I can’t leave my post.”
“Leave it to me,” Dawson said, waving his fancy prosthesis that covered his right hand.
“When we get home, I’ll email the students who work the livestream for games, and we’ll meet tomorrow morning to plan.
Then we can arrange a time to meet at the gazebo.
Maybe Tuesday after school? They only have school on Monday and Tuesday this week. ”
“That’s cutting it close, but if you think we can do it, then we will. We’ll make this year a test run if nothing else,” Shep said. “At least those at the hospital can see it.”
“And we have dinner here on Thanksgiving,” Gabe pointed out. “We can make some flyers to pass out, so people know it’s happening. Word of mouth like that will have it spread around quickly.”
“If we can get flyers to the diner by tomorrow night or Tuesday morning, everyone will know before Thursday’s dinner anyway,” Mason said, to which everyone laughed.
Cameron pointed at him. “I’ll have Becca make them tonight.” He turned to Dawson. “As soon as you have the channel it will be broadcast on, text me and we’ll get them to the printer immediately.”
“Just use the city’s YouTube livestream channel,” Shep said with a shrug. “Normally, they just stream the board meetings and stuff, but this is the perfect use for it, and it will be available for replays if someone is working and wants to watch it later.”
“Or the troops!” Dawson said. “They can always watch it the next day if they miss it live.”
“We’ll have them at the diner by midday tomorrow,” Cameron said, standing. “Text me if something comes up at the meeting with the kids, and we’ll hold off.”
“I don’t see any problem here,” Dawson said. “The equipment is portable, and the kids can count it as community service hours for their graduation requirement. We’ll meet around 7:30 a.m., so I can text you an all clear to print by 8:00 a.m.”
“Glad to be of service, but I must be off. Lots to do at the tree farm for opening night,” Cameron said with a wave.
Ivy walked in and leaned down by Irving. “You may want to take Hazel home,” she said, and he swung his gaze to her. “She’s exhausted and can’t get comfortable in these chairs.”
Irving slid his plate onto the table, the roll barely touched. “I tried to convince her not to come,” he said with a head shake. “Stubborn woman.”
Ivy laughed the kind of laugh of someone who had obviously been in the same position at one point.
“Until you’ve carried around a watermelon on your belly for nine months, you don’t get to tell someone who has what to do.
Lucy said her belly was tight when she had her hand on it, so Hazel probably should get off her feet.
Also, make sure she has plenty of water. ”
“Labor?” The one word came out as terrified as his facial expression was when he turned to me.
I held my hands up. “Don’t ask me. I do bones, not babies.”
Ivy snickered as Irving unlocked his chair and ordered Star forward. “Take her home and see how she feels. That’s all you can do.”
“Right,” he agreed with a head nod and a nervous breath out. “See everyone Thursday.”
“Maybe!” Ellis said with a wave, to which Irving grinned, crossing his fingers.
“Do they know what they’re having?” I asked, and Ellis shook his head.
“Nope, they decided to be surprised, or at least they’ve decided to surprise all of us. Maybe they know. Either way, I’m happy for them. They’ve been through a lot. This little one will be well-loved.”
“As are all the little ones in this town,” I pointed out.
I searched the other room until I found Jaelyn again.
She was playing a fancy hand game with Lucy that kept making her frown.
The splint seemed to be hindering her ability to complete the task.
They were adorable together, and I smiled at how selfless she was all the time.
She stayed with Audrey last night through the surgery.
Once Audrey went to Alan’s room, Jaelyn curled up on the couch in my office until I finished my paperwork.
I’ll admit that I sat there ten minutes longer than necessary to watch her sleep.
She was serene, and it settled my racing pulse.
When I dropped her off at her cottage for the night, barely able to form a sentence, I helped her to her bed, took off her shoes, kissed her silly, and then covered her up.
I’d wanted to stay and crawl under the covers to hold her, but I couldn’t.
Scaring her this soon after earning her trust wasn’t smart.
Besides, I needed a shower and food, not to mention my leg needed a solid six hours to charge.
Speaking of that, I still needed to talk to Dawson about getting the leg interrogated.
“She’s just like Lucy,” Shep said, and I snapped my attention to him.
“What now?” I asked, tuning back into the conversation.
“Jaelyn,” Shep clarified. “She’s very attuned to others’ needs and emotions.
People call them empaths because they can sense emotions and know how to calm others or make them feel better just by being there.
I think that’s why she and Lucy always gravitate to each other.
Somehow, they fill each other’s reservoirs when they get low. ”
“Yeah, that makes sense, actually,” I said with a nod. “Jaelyn is extremely empathetic.”
“She has to be to keep Audrey Violet calm the way she did last night,” Dawson said with a shake of his head. “Honor said she was like the Grammy Whisperer.”
Snickers from around the table occurred, but it was clear I was in the hot seat, the way their attention was focused on me.
“Would be a shame to see her get hurt,” Gabe said, leaning on the table with one elbow, his chin resting on his palm. “Joy would not take kindly to that.”
“Lord, imagine Holly and AJ if they got word someone hurt Jaelyn,” Dawson said, shaking his head.
“Wouldn’t be pretty,” Ellis agreed, biting his lip with worry. “Ivy and Audrey would be harder to corral, though.”
“Listen, as an army doc, I did surgery in the desert inside a tent and sweated less than I am right now,” I said, wiping my brow. “I have no intention of hurting Jaelyn.”
“You know what they say about intentions,” Gabe pointed out. “Even good ones can take a turn.”
“They say that?” I asked, glancing between them, hoping to elicit laughter, but got none.
“You’ve been in town only a few months, and the skills you exhibit indicate you’re a bit advanced for a career in a town this small,” Gabe pointed out. “You have skills big city hospitals would trip over themselves to get.”
“Been there, done that,” I said with a shrug.
“LA and Denver. Didn’t care about the lifestyle or the demands of that kind of life, not after living through what I lived through overseas.
I can appreciate a city for what it can offer, but when I drove into Bells Pass, it was a different feeling.
More like home. A place where you could make a life and enjoy it.
Trust me when I say that wasn’t the case in the big cities.
Besides, Bells Pass feels small, but that doesn’t mean we can’t provide excellent care for those who live here, right?
Would you rather that Alan was sent to Saginaw last night because there weren’t enough providers to go around or a surgeon with the skills to deal with his comorbid conditions?
My ego doesn’t require constant stroking.
Never has, but if it had, that would have been blasted out of me nine years ago along with my leg. ”
The look around the table told me that my status as an amputee was not new information, which meant it had been disseminated between last night and this morning. Good, one less thing for me to do. Now I could use my spare time to take one beautiful Spanish goddess out on a date.
“Respect,” Gabe said, standing along with the other guys. “I’m glad you’re picking up what we’re putting down.”
“Somewhere this side of hurt her and die,” I said, holding my fingers a millimeter apart. I gave them a well-intended salute as they waved and headed to pick up their families. Only Dawson remained, and he refilled our coffee cups as Jaelyn walked into the kitchen.
“Hey,” I said, holding my hand out to her.
She looked at it for a beat before she slipped her hand into it, as though she wasn’t sure she was comfortable with that kind of PDA.
I could respect that by not kissing her silly in public, but her touch always calmed me, and right now, I could use a heavy dose of that to calm my swirling thoughts and emotions. “All done?”
“We are,” she said with a nod and a smile at Dawson. “Honor will report back to Audrey that all is set up and ready to go.”
“Good,” Dawson said with a nod. “The last thing we want is Audrey trying to organize stuff from the hospital room.”
Jaelyn moved around behind me, but I refused to let go of her hand, so I just slung mine over my shoulder so I could continue to hold it. Dawson lifted his brow but didn’t comment. Smart man.
“I spoke with my contact at the prosthetics company, and he’ll be at New Beginnings on Tuesday. He can’t check the knee offsite, though.”
“Wow, word does travel fast around here,” I said, surprised that he already knew the details.
“We’re efficient,” he answered with a shrug.
“Do you have his number?” I asked, and Dawson nodded, pulling a card from his shirt pocket and sliding it across the table.
“Thanks. I’ll call him and see if he can bring a loaner with him on Tuesday.
This one will either need to go into the company, or more likely, I’ll need a new one.
It is what it is, but I need something to use so I can keep doing surgery.
My old C-Leg is around for emergencies, but I’m not sure I could do a full surgery with it anymore. It doesn’t hold a charge long either.”
“Can’t have that,” Dawson said. “I’m sure Corbyn can hook you up with a loaner. Do I even want to know what a new microprocessor knee costs?”
“You absolutely don’t,” I said, laughing at the look on his face. “The one I’m using is six figures, but it's worth every penny when I don’t have to worry about it during surgery.”
Jaelyn stiffened behind me, her hand tightening in mine, but I refused to let her pull away. Prostheses of any kind are expensive. That’s just the truth of the matter.
“My VA insurance will cover it. But there’s no way to get to a VA hospital to have it interrogated. Assuming it can’t be fixed, that is.”
“It doesn’t have a replaceable battery?” he asked.
“Sure does, but this is already the second battery change on it. It's been out of warranty for two years, is already six years old, and I've been abusing it. It’s likely toast. I appreciate the assist,” I said, lifting the card and tucking it in my pocket.
“Anytime. If I can help any other way, just let me know. I’d better get the kids rounded up and head home, too. I’m sure AJ could use some time off that foot.”
“She mentioned she was sore,” Jaelyn said with a nod. “But like really sore and I was kind of concerned.”
Twisting to see her face, I noticed the lines that told me she’d come in here for that reason, and I’d made her sit here through the discussion instead of picking up on the cue. “She started walking on it, right?”
“Yes,” Dawson said behind me. “But as you instructed. Only in the boot and with both crutches. You said it was healed on X-ray last week.”
Jaelyn was laser-focused on me, and her eyes said she wasn’t comfortable with the situation either. “I shouldn’t have said anything. Ignore me.”
“I won’t,” I said, standing and bringing her fingers to my lips to brush a kiss across.
“She shouldn’t be sore this far out from surgery, even walking on it.
I want to look at it just to be sure.” Turning back to Dawson, I lifted a brow.
“Want to meet me at the hospital, or want me to look at it here?”
“You don’t have to do that on a Sunday,” he said, but I could tell he wasn’t sure what to do as his gaze darted to the other room where AJ sat at the table, her foot propped up on a chair.
“Dawson. Here or at the hospital?” I asked again, and he finally swung his gaze back at me.
“Here. The hospital makes her anxious now.”
“Understandable,” I said as we walked toward the great hall. “I’ll visually assess, but if I think it needs an X-ray, we’ll have to go in.”
“Give me a minute to talk to her,” he said, holding up his finger as he approached his daughter.
“Thanks for mentioning it,” I said, trailing a finger down Jaelyn’s cheek. “You have a way with people, and others notice it. Keep being your wonderful self.” Then I did what I said I wouldn’t do, and I pressed a kiss to her lips right in front of God and everyone.