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“I know. Me, too. I feel horrible thinking how I take her for granted.”
Will took a deep breath and nodded.
A female staff member in navy scrubs and a white lab coat approached them. A black stethoscope hung around her neck along with a photo ID on a chain. She was somewhere in her midforties with dark blond hair pulled back into a ponytail.
“Are you Ms. O’Shea’s family?”
“Yes,” Will answered, helping Annie to her feet as he stood.
Annie gave a small smile at how he didn’t hesitate when asked the question.
Family. Interesting thing about family. The three of them were closer than any family she knew. But it wasn’t a blood connection. Rose had been Will’s “mother” since he was eight. He hadn’t heard from his biological mother since she left. How could that happen? How could a woman leave her child and husband? At least Leanne in her own way had left Annie to protect her. That counted for something, didn’t it?
“Susan Wyatt,” the woman said, introducing herself. She transferred the chart she held to her left hand to greet them both, shaking first Will’s hand, then Annie’s.
“I’m Will Sullivan. This is Annie Harris.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m one of the staff orthopedic surgeons. I happened to be in-house checking on a patient, so the E.R. doctor asked me to see Ms. O’Shea.”
Will nodded.
“I just reviewed the X-rays. It appears to be a reasonably clean fracture. Since she’s resting comfortably we’re going to schedule surgery for early tomorrow afternoon. We’ll complete her workup, get an anesthesiology evaluation, then have her seen by the respiratory therapist and the physical therapy department. Generally we like to prepare our patients for what they can expect after surgery.” She perused the chart, then looked up at them. “Any questions?”
“Can I stay in the room with her?” Annie asked.
“Probably. Unless we run into a problem, she’ll come right back to the orthopedic unit afterward. I don’t know if you’re aware, but there is a surgery family waiting room. They allow two family members to wait there during the surgery. It’s on the first floor near the main lobby.”
As they spoke with the doctor, Rose’s sister joined them.
Ellen McAllister looked like Rose’s spitting image, except she had brown hair styled short instead of Rose’s trademark iron-gray topknot. Easily sisters, they shared similar features, including ample waists and bosoms.
Ellen reached for Annie’s hand as she joined them.
“Dr. Wyatt, this is Rose’s sister, Mrs. McAllister,” Will said.
“I overheard your comments on the surgery,” Ellen said. “Is this a hip socket replacement or what?”
“No,” Dr. Wyatt assured her. “I just reviewed her films with the radiologist. The break wasn’t bad. She’ll have a simple pinning that involves an incision and literally pinning the femur together, then I’ll sew her back up. She’ll have a drain for a few days, and a catheter for the first twenty-four hours. They’ll have her up and walking with a walker by the second day post-op.”
“Wow. That fast,” Will said on a breath. “When will she come home?”
“Most patients stay in the hospital five to seven days, depending on their health status before surgery and barring complications.”
“How long until she’s back to normal?” Ellen asked.
“That depends on the patient. But if everything goes as smooth as we think it will, I’d say three to six months, and you won’t even remember she had the surgery. She’s in good health and we haven’t found any problems so far.”
“That’s amazing,” Ellen said.
“It is, isn’t it?” Dr. Wyatt agreed with a smile. “Are there any more questions?”
“What do you think caused the break?” Annie asked. “Any chance of osteoporosis?”
“The CAT scan will tell us more, but I don’t suspect an unusual amount of deterioration. I’ll have her on calcium after surgery to improve her bone density and send her home with a prescription. Hopefully it will prevent any problems in the future.”
Ellen nodded. “Thank you for taking care of my sister,” she added.
“My pleasure. You’ll have to check with the admissions office to see what her room number is. You might want to get a cup of coffee or a bite to eat and give the staff a little time to get her settled in.” She glanced at her watch. “It’s later than I thought. The food court is probably closed, but the coffee shop is open. There are signs at the end of the corridor.” As she spoke she pointed.
“Thanks again,” Will said.
As the surgeon turned to depart she said, “I don’t have any cards on me, but if you think of any more questions you can have the hospital switchboard page me.”
It took Ellen two seconds to wrap her arms around Annie for a tight hug. “I have missed you, young lady.”
Then she turned to Will.
“And don’t you look handsome,” she said with a cluck of her tongue. “You know those nurses have been eyeing you for the past ten minutes at least.”
Will released an embarrassed chuckle and changed the subject. “Shall we hit the coffee shop?”
“More like the ladies’ room,” Annie said.
“So how are you, Will? Enjoying having Annie back?” Ellen asked, once Annie was out of earshot.
“You bet. I haven’t had anyone to spar with except Rose for so long, it took me half the day to get back in form.”
Ellen laughed. She lowered her voice and glanced around. “Don’t tell on me, but I snuck into the X-ray area and saw my sister.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Will shook his head.
“She was wailing that she’d gotten herself into a mess on Annie’s first day back.”
“That’s ridiculous. This sure isn’t her fault.”
“I reminded her Annie isn’t going to be leaving for any mission trips while Rose is on the mend. That improved her disposition considerably.”
“Ellen,” Will scolded.
“Oh, Annie will see right through that. She’s a nurse, remember?”
Still, Will could easily imagine Rose becoming a drama queen if she thought it would postpone Annie’s departure.
“By the way, I’ll be staying at the ranch until my sister gets home.”
“Why?” Will didn’t mean the word to sound blunt, but he was surprised. Surely Ellen and Rose weren’t of the opinion he couldn’t fend for himself?
“Respectability, Will. You can’t be staying alone at the house with a beautiful young woman and no chaperone.”
“Beautiful young woman?”
“Annie.”
Annie?
He’d thought of her as his buddy for so long. Not quite a sister, but not quite not a sister, either. Beautiful young woman? He shook his head. How had that snuck up on him?
“Sure. Sure. Okay. Thank you, Ellen.”
“You’re welcome. The pastor’s wife and I are going to take turns staying at the hospital. We’ll get help from the church ladies. I don’t get up to Tulsa as much as I used to. Good opportunity for us to get caught up on our chitchat and our crocheting at the same time.”
Will smiled, knowing she wasn’t kidding.
“Annie will stay at the hospital tonight while I get my things out to the ranch.”
“Okay,” he answered. Not that he was going to argue with Ellen as she issued orders. She was so much like Rose he found it a little unnerving.
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