Welcome To Corbin's Bend

by Thianna D

  Elly wasn't foolish enough to believe she and Jerry wouldn't have their share of difficulties. Perhaps things wouldn't work out between them. Perhaps she'd be the one to depart Corbin's Bend. But for right now, she gratefully accepted the shelter of his embrace and had no desire to leave his arms.

  "You didn't finish your breakfast," he commented idly after a few minutes.

  "I was too upset to eat."

  When he drew back to look at her, she couldn't resist running her fingers through his sun-dappled brown hair. He smiled. "You need to eat, sweetie, or they won't release you tomorrow."

  "You don't think there's a chance we can get out of here today?"

  He lightly kissed her nose. "No. Not after what happened yesterday. They'll want you to get up more today. Sit in a chair for a while. Take an arm-in-arm stroll with me along the corridors to make sure you don't grow dizzy again."

  Though she wanted to leave the hospital as soon as possible, the thought of spending more leisure time with Jerry did hold a certain appeal. "I guess that's not too bad."

  He chuckled. "Glad to hear you say that. I'd hate to think my company was wearing thin already."

  Giving her nose a wrinkle she said, "You know that's not the case. I'm so grateful you were able to stay with me, when you would have been much more comfortable in your own bed doing the things you normally do. You probably want to get back to your clinic, too."

  "I've been checking in with them every so often. Luckily, yours was the only emergency we've had in the past few days, and they have no difficulty handling the usual day-to-day stuff."

  "All the same, I bet they miss you."

  He frowned. "Trying to get rid of me?"

  "No. Just feeling guilty about keeping you."

  "Well, don't. If I had to leave for any reason, I'd arrange for someone else to stay with you. So relax."

  A new nurse came in and regarded their cozy side-by-side position with an exaggerated frown. "I don't believe Mrs. Benson is up to any hanky-panky, yet, sir. Are you her husband?"

  "Brother," they both answered at once and the nurse laughed.

  "Right. I can see the definite family resemblance in the way you two siblings hug. Did the other nurses actually buy that story?"

  Jerry rose from the bed. "Extenuating circumstances."

  The nurse regarded Jerry carefully for a moment, then nodded, and Elly let out a sigh of relief. The last thing she wanted was for Jerry to get in trouble for impersonating a relative. After introducing herself, Jennifer went on to ask Elly if she wouldn't like to take a shower and slip into a new gown. "We can waterproof your bandage. I suspect you'll feel one hundred percent better once you've freshened up a bit."

  Elly agreed.

  "Good. If you think you can manage on your own, I'll stay here and change your linens, so you can call me if you get dizzy or need help," Jennifer suggested.

  Jerry assisted Elly out of bed and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll go down to the cafeteria and have a little breakfast while you're getting squeaky clean. Want me to bring you back some more oatmeal?"

  "No thank you."

  "You barely touched your breakfast," Jennifer noted with a frown. "Would you drink a protein shake?"

  Elly shrugged. "If I had to, I guess."

  "Perfect," Jerry piped in. "You're favorite flavor is chocolate, right?" She rewarded him with a shy smile and a nod.

  "I've got just the ticket then." Bending forward, Jerry gave Elly another peck. "Be back in a jiffy."

  "Your brother's super cute," Jennifer said after a moment. "I wouldn't mind having a 'brother' like him take care of me. Not in the least."

  Elly met the other woman's gaze. "He's a life saver. Literally."

  Chapter 11

  After Elly showered, washed her hair and changed her gown, admittedly, she did feel better, but her spirits didn't improve until Jerry returned carrying what looked like a large, chocolate milk shake.

  "For you, milady," he said, bowing as he offered her the treat. "Chock full of protein and vitamins, so drink up, afterward you and I can go for a stroll down the corridors. I even managed to secure a robe from the gift shop that has closures on the sleeves and back, so you can slip into it with your IV in place. That way you won't feel too undressed while we're chatting with the neighbors. Jennifer can help you into the garment, or I can."

  Surprised by this thoughtfulness, Elly held out her arm. "Would you?"

  "My pleasure." He assisted her to her feet and eased on the fleecy green robe, which coordinated well with the pink gown Jennifer had helped her into, and made sure the covering was well fastened in the back. "Perfect," he murmured, giving her fingers a squeeze. "Now drink your shake, and we'll go for a walk."

  Smiling at his playfulness, she sat down again just as his phone buzzed. He glanced at the display and frowned. Her stomach clenched in response.

  "This is Dr. Douglas." He listened, then checked his watch. "How long ago? Okay, yes. I understand. Tell her not to worry. I'll be there as soon as I can."

  "What's wrong," Elly asked when he disconnected the call.

  "I'm sorry, sweetie, but we're going to have to postpone our walk. I have an emergency. A driver ran over Beth Little's beagle. Hit and run. She's hysterical and the dog needs emergency surgery. My team can set things up, but I need to do the operation."

  "Of course," she replied smoothly, despite her pounding heart. Traffic accidents were rare in Corbin's Bend. Drivers always kept an eye out for children and pets. When he hesitated, she waved him off. "Don't worry about me, Jerry. I'm fine."

  "I know you'll be." He pressed the speed dial number on his phone. "I'll check if Brent or Marcus can stay with you."

  She put a hand out to stop him. "No, Jerry. Don't. I feel guilty enough keeping you; don't pull them away from their jobs as well. I need a little alone time anyway. I have some thinking to do."

  "If your words are meant to reassure me, they don't."

  She rose to her feet and stepped closer to him. "I want to be with you, Dr. Douglas, more than anything, but even you have to admit this is a big step for me. I was brought up to believe divorce was wrong, and my husband was always right. However, I'm slowly coming to accept Arthur may have been wrong about many things. I think he cared about me, but I also think he cared more about how I made him look. Appearances are terribly important to him, and he considered me an embarrassment sometimes."

  "Hmm. We need to talk some more about that, but not now. Okay?"

  Nodding, she kissed him on the cheek. "I'm fine. Go do your job."

  He held her face between his hands, then bent forward to kiss her gently on the lips. She understood Jerry merely meant to reassure her, but Elly met the gesture with greedy enthusiasm and an open mouth. With a groan, Jerry clutched her closer and deepened his kiss. Their tongues met and the scent of peppermint flavored toothpaste, coffee and Jerry filled Elly's nostrils. A heady combination, which only fueled Elly's desire for more, but she pulled away with reluctance. Jerry needed to leave.

  After a moment, he stepped back and lowered his arms. "You really don't play fair, do you?" She grinned at him, and a euphoric sense of feminine power infused her when he groaned again. Jerry didn't hesitate to express his attraction for her, while Arthur disdained all outward displays of affection. He maintained such a tight lid on his self-control, even their sexual interludes reflected little passion or desire.

  "I'm torn between turning you over my knee for teasing me, and carrying you over to the bed and ravishing you. Neither of which would be appropriate given your current condition, and that frustrates the dickens out of me, which you no doubt intended from the start, didn't you?"

  When her grin widened, he gave her a nod. "Just as I suspected, you bewitching wench. I'm going to have my hands full with you, I can tell." His expression sobering, he ran his palms up her arms. "I'll call as soon as I know anything, all right? Be a good girl and do as the nurses and doctors say, and I'll try to get back here by dinner."


  Elly shook her head. "Don't worry about returning if you need to stay. I'll miss you, but I'll survive a night without your commanding presence making sure I do everything I'm supposed to."

  "Hmm. Now, I'm worried." He bent forward and gave her a peck on the cheek. "You'd best behave, or you may earn yourself a spanking after all," he warned, giving her nose a tap before he rushed out of the room. As she listened to his departing footsteps, Elly's smile and momentary elation disappeared; swallowed up by an insidious depression layered with self-doubt and recrimination. Who was she fooling, anyway?

  Jerry arrived at the clinic close to noon. Though he'd driven as fast as possible, bending if not outright breaking posted traffic laws more than once in his desire for speed, an hour had passed since the accident. Not good. Time was of the essence in accidents such as this one.

  Beth Little was being comforted by her friend Harriet Long, but she was still crying. She leapt to her feet the moment he stepped inside the door.

  "Oh, Dr. Douglas. Please save Mitzy. She's all I've got in this world."

  Jerry patted her hand. "I'll do everything I can to help Mitzy, Beth. I promise. Did you recognize who hit her?"

  Beth pressed a tissue to her nose and shook her head. "I was too upset to note the license plate or make of the car, but the vehicle was large, like an SUV, and dark blue. I did manage to catch a quick glimpse of the man, so I think I'd be able to recognize him. He ran over Mitzy on purpose, Dr. Douglas. I'm sure of it. He steered right for her and drove over her like a bump in the road, except he didn't slow down even that much." Then she wailed.

  Giving Beth a reassuring pat on the arm, he turned to Harriet. "Why don't you two head over to Endelé. I imagine the surgery will take a while, and my waiting room isn't intended for hour-long visits."

  Harriet gave a nod. A gray-haired woman in her fifties, Harriet Long had a no-nonsense view of life and death. She had no pets of her own, so Jerry suspected she found it difficult to understand how pet owners could become fixated on their furry companions. However, Beth was Harriet's best friend, so she'd do everything she could to ease the distraught woman's pain. Their arms firmly linked, Harriet encouraged Beth to accompany her to Endelé where they would sip Margueritas and chat.

  With a final word of reassurance, Jerry rushed toward his surgery to change and scrub up.

  Six hours later, Jerry removed his mask and gloves and tossed them in a nearby bin. He hadn't been able to save Mitzy, and a part of him mourned for the little beagle that had her rear end and internal organs crushed by a careless driver. He accepted the fact that not everyone in the world was an animal lover, but he couldn't understand how some people could be so unfeeling and dismissive about other people's pets.

  Knowing he would need to deliver the sad news to Beth, he stopped first in the kennels to check on Muffin, who was alone now. The cat had been released to a shelter, since no one at Corbin's Bend had the time or patience to tame a feral cat that left furrows on your hand if you attempted to pet it, and the Bichon Frise had been sent home to recuperate with her owner. So, the only occupant was Muffin, and she didn't belong in the kennel either, but he had no other place to keep her.

  She still wore her wrap, but appeared to be doing so well, Jerry would suggest Jenny remove the binding tomorrow. Even so, the frisky poodle would need to be watched until her ribs had fully mended. She barked, then whined when she spotted him, and he gathered she wanted to be let out for some playtime.

  "I'll try to be back soon, little one. I need to go talk to Mitzy's mommy and give your mommy a call. If I can, I'll come by and let you out later. I didn't mean to rouse you with false hopes, but I wanted to check on you before I drove back to Denver."

  Making sure everything was locked up tight, he left the clinic and drove to Endelé.

  Though the Margueritas had helped anesthetize Beth's anxiety a bit, she still sobbed when he sat down at her table and told her Mitzy's injuries were too massive for him to save her. He continued to speak quietly with the grief-stricken woman, assuring her Mitzy hadn't suffered. In truth, from what his techs said, the animal had been unconscious when she was brought in. After assessing her injuries, and doing what they could to stabilize her until he arrived, they gave the beagle only a twenty percent chance of survival. However, Jerry's philosophy was to try to save every animal brought into him. Definitely not the most profitable way to run a veterinary clinic, but he wasn't in business for the money. He needed to pay his expenses, which weren't small, and make enough money to purchase food, pay his co-op fees and maintain his home, but even several of the people working for him volunteered a portion of their time.

  Jerry's practice wasn't a high money making venture by any means, but the community both supported and needed him, so they helped subsidize the clinic, which allowed him to serve his clients at a fraction of the cost he would normally have to charge. And a six-hour surgery like Mitzy's would run into the tens of thousands of dollars. However, from experience he suspected Beth Little would pay only a portion of that cost. Corbin's Bend harbored quite a number of animal lovers who made sure one of their own didn't suffer any more than she had to, which caused him to wonder who did the hit and run on the small beagle.

  Finally, the tears having run their course, Beth regarded him with woe-filled eyes. "Can I see her?"

  Jerry hesitated, fully understanding a furry child parent's need to say good-bye. He'd honored the request more than once, though sometimes it was best if the parent remembered their pet in life rather than how the animal appeared in death. Mitzy's surgery was extensive. They could wrap her in a blanket to cover the sutures, but her lips and jaws might remain stubbornly curled open from the anesthesia tube, and Beth would not be reassured by that sight.

  "It might be best if you don't, but give me a call tomorrow, and I'll let you know if we can make arrangements for you to spend some time with her. Either way, you and I will sit down together and discuss the next steps for Misty." He held her hand. "I wish I'd come here with better news for you, Beth. Did you tell Brent what happened?"

  She nodded. "He's going to check around for witnesses. Mitzy was a good girl, Dr. Douglas. She never hurt anyone."

  "I know. She was also a little dog. Perhaps the driver didn't spot her in time."

  "No, he did. He hit her on purpose. He actually swerved his vehicle to run over her."

  Jerry wasn't sure what to make of that. He couldn't conceive of anyone in Corbin's Bend being that cruel or heartless. Even those who didn't particular care for animals wouldn't deliberately hurt one. He'd only known of one person who'd purposefully injured an animal, and he couldn't imagine even he would be so vicious to kill someone else's pet without due cause. Or was there reason to the man's madness? Needing to contact Elly, Jerry assured Beth that they'd do everything possible to catch the culprit. However, he still wasn't comfortable leaving the distraught woman until Harriet promised to accompany her friend home. Jerry apologized, thanked her, and rushed outside to make his call.

  "Hello?" Elly answered, her voice a tinge uncertain.

  "Elly, it's Jerry."

  "Jerry." A mixture of relief and worry came across the phone line. "How's Mitzy?"

  "Unfortunately, her injuries were too massive. I couldn't save her. Are you all right?"

  "Sure. Why wouldn't I be?" He recognized both the false cheer and the redirection.

  "Oh, I could think of about a thousand reasons. You sound—on edge. Did something happen?" When she hesitated, he gave a slight push. "Elly, tell me. What's wrong?"

  "Nothing. I'm fine. Are you still with Beth?" A deliberate change of topic.

  "No. Harriet is with her. I think she's going to spend the night with Beth."

  "Oh, good. It's probably best Beth isn't alone tonight." Empathetic response buffered by a distancing third person. No doubt, Elly missed Muffin, but he sensed a deeper reason lurked behind her current reserve.

  "What was your last blood pressure reading?"

  "Jerry, I'm fi
ne." Direct avoidance of the question. Not good. Since pushing her wouldn't benefit either of them, he let the subject drop. He would find out more once they were face-to-face again. "All right. It's 9 PM now, so I should be at the hospital around 10."

  "No! I mean it's too late. Stay the night in Corbin's Bend and I'll see you tomorrow."

  Something was definitely up.

  "Are you going to tell me what's happened?"

  "I already did. Nothing. I'm fine. Think you can be here first thing in the morning?"

  "I can be there in an hour if you need me."

  "No. It's late and I'm tired. If I know you're out on the roads driving, I'll stay awake until you get here."

  "So, you'd rather I stay in Corbin's Bend tonight." He made it a statement, not a question.

  "There's no reason for you to drive all the way back to Denver, and you'll sleep better in your own bed. I can wait until tomorrow to see you. Then you'll get to take me home."

  "Is that what the doctors said?"

  "Yes. They're releasing me tomorrow. I'm so excited. I can't wait to hug Muffin again. I miss her so much." The false cheeriness she exuded was a cover-up. He had no doubt she was eager to be with her poodle, but her tone sounded more anxious than excited.

  "I sense you're trying to hide something, little girl, and I don't like it. Not one bit. You may be too sore for a spanking, but you're not too sore to do corner time, you know?"

  Though she offered no protest or denial, her slight gasp was unmistakable. He'd struck a tender nerve.