The Common Thread

by Jaime Maddox

  It had been a great outcome, and Rae was happy to put the Simonson case behind her, but there was always a new fire to extinguish, and with the drug problems facing the country, they were usually infernos.

  “Well, that’ll make about a million cars heading to the mountains for the weekend.” Nic hated the traffic in the city, and on this Friday before the July Fourth holiday it would stretch all the way to the Pocono exit of the PA Turnpike, some eighty miles of speeding, swerving cars challenging death at every curve of the road.

  “Ah, but we’ll be staying for the week.” Rae sounded pleased by the thought.

  Nic liked the idea, too. Since she’d moved back to Philly nine months earlier, she hadn’t made it home as often as she’d have liked. She and Rae made the two-hour trip at least once a month, but by the time they unpacked and cleaned up the house, it seemed it was time to turn around and head back to Philly. Nic always left with a heavy heart, disappointed that she couldn’t spend more time with her parents or relaxing at the lake before coming back to the chaos of every day life and the apartment they now shared.

  They’d put Rae’s apartment on the market. After six months of living next to each other, during which time they spent very little time apart, they’d decided to move in together. Nic’s place was the logical choice, since it was roomier. Nic secretly hoped to sell her place as well and move to the Northeast, where she could be closer to her sister.

  Getting to know Katie over the past twelve months had been one of the greatest experiences of Nic’s life. It amazed her to see the power of their common thread of DNA. Of course, they looked alike. The behaviors they shared were startling, though—from compulsive habits like nail biting and their common addiction to nicotine to their preference for classical music and their love of art. That they were both amateur artists who paid the bills with their careers in the medical field was too improbable to be a coincidence.

  Every day, Nic seemed to discover something else about Katie that fascinated her, and every night she said a prayer of thanks—to all the gods—for the gift of her sister. They were friends, too, not just linked by some familial obligation, and Katie made Nic smile and laugh and think. She wasn’t afraid to give Nic a piece of her mind, and that was one of the things she liked most about Katie. A genetic factor had definitely determined this feisty component of her personality.

  Chloe and Andre were the big bonus in this lottery she’d won. They were full of energy and optimism and love, and being in their company was wonderfully exhausting. She and Rae had been keeping them overnight on Fridays, to give Jet and Katie a date night. And Nic saw them every Tuesday, because she was off from work. With Katie and Jet both working, and Nan getting too blind to use the stove, Nic spent her Tuesday mornings preparing dinner for the Four Fs (Finan, Finan, Finan, and Fox) and Nan, who’d moved with them when they bought a house. Nic cooked very little but could make basic meals like lasagna and pot roast, which she delivered to the Four Fs once a week. She’d spend an hour playing cards with Nan before the kids arrived home from school, and then she’d help them with their homework before she headed home to feed Rae her dinner. It was nauseatingly domestic, and wonderful.

  Nic showered and read the paper and kissed Rae before heading out the door to work. Friday was one of her three days at the clinic, Jeannie worked the other two, and they rotated Mondays, so every other week they could have a three-day weekend. The arrangement worked perfectly for them. Jeannie had time with Sandy, and Nic could cover for her so she could travel, but she still had control and the peace of mind of knowing the clinic was in good hands.

  In the end leaving the ER had been easy. Since Jeannie’s clinic offered walk-in services, Nic still had some excitement in her practice. At least once a day she had to suture a wound or drain an abscess, and about once a week she saw someone truly sick, with heart disease or uncontrolled diabetes, and put her skills to use. It wasn’t as exciting as the ER, but the trade-off was a good one—she didn’t have to work overnight, she didn’t have to work weekends, and she didn’t have to work holidays. She could have gotten a job in a Philly ER if things hadn’t worked out at the clinic, but they were turning out just fine, and everyone was happy.

  It was only a fifteen-minute ride to work, and Nic parked right behind the building and let herself in the back door. She started at seven, taking the early patients with a skeleton staff of one nurse and a receptionist. Later the residents and other doctors would arrive, and the place would be hopping.

  “Hey, Jet,” Nic said.

  “Morning, Nic.”

  “Anyone here yet?” Although their scheduled appointments didn’t begin until nine, they left the first two hours of the morning open for walk-ins and encouraged their patients to use that time for any minor emergencies. It kept them out of the ER and helped provide a continuity of care.

  “Mr. Danbury is in the treatment room.”

  Nic turned and frowned. “Again? Wasn’t he just here like a week ago?”

  “Yep.”

  “Argh,” Nic replied.

  She deposited her lunch bag in the kitchen and her purse in her locker, donned her lab coat, and made her way to the treatment room. She could smell Mr. Danbury’s foul body odor even in the hallway. He was curled up on the stretcher in the darkness, quietly awaiting her arrival.

  Nic didn’t turn on the light. “Good morning, Mr. Danbury,” she said as she found a seat in the chair beside the stretcher. “What’s going on today?”

  “It’s another sick headache.”

  “Did you try your medicine at home?”

  “Yes, I did. It don’t seem to help much.”

  Nic inquired about recent head trauma and fever, but nothing was unusual about his headache other than it was a bad one.

  She rose to examine him. “You smell awful,” she teased him.

  “Sorry about that. I lost my water.”

  He smelled like he’d lost his water, that was for sure, but when he continued Nic realized she’d misunderstood his words. “I lost my electric, too. Fell behind on the payments.”

  “So you have no water at your house, and no electricity?”

  “That’s right.”

  “How are you eating?”

  “My neighbors have been helping me.”

  Nic completed her exam and told him that all seemed well. “I’m going to have the nurse start an IV and give you some medicine for your headache.”

  “I appreciate that, Doctor.”

  Nic found Jet in the hallway. “Can you please start an IV and give Mr. Danbury a liter of saline? And thirty of Toradol and four of Zofran.”

  “Sure.”

  “Oh, and Jet? Call the social worker. The man is diabetic and had a bypass. I’m sure those are good enough reasons to have his power and water turned back on.”

  Jet smiled at her. “I’ll take care of it.”

  Nic handed her the chart and walked back down the hall to the staff kitchen. She opened her lunch box, which was packed with food, and removed a few items. When she was done, she headed down the hall to Mr. Danbury’s room.

  “I brought you some breakfast. When you have migraines, it’s important not to skip meals. That goes for your diabetes, too. Your sugar can drop too low and you can die. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

  “Don’t skip meals.”

  “Exactly.”

  Nic opened the bottle of organic, sugar-free orange juice and handed it to him, then peeled a banana. She placed both on a paper hand towel, then removed the wrap from a blueberry muffin and added that to his makeshift plate.

  “Doctor, could you find me a cup of coffee in this office?”

  Nic tilted her head slightly and scowled. “Don’t push your luck, Mr. Danbury.”

  Then he smiled, a wide grin that revealed mostly open space in the places that God had intended for teeth.

  Nic smiled back, a genuine smile filled with warmth and affection. “Do you want cream and sugar?” she asked.

  About
the Author

  Jaime Maddox grew up on the banks of the Susquehanna River in northeastern Pennsylvania. As the baby in a family of many children, she was part adored and part ignored, forcing her to find creative ways to fill her time. Her childhood was idyllic, spent hiking, rafting, biking, climbing, and otherwise skinning knees and knuckles. Reading and writing became passions. Although she left home for a brief stint in the big cities of Philadelphia and Newark, as soon as she acquired the required paperwork—a medical degree and residency certificate—she came running back.

  She fills her hours with a bustling medical practice, two precocious sons, a disobedient dog, and an extraordinary woman who helps her to keep it all together. In her abundant spare time, she reads, writes, twists her body into punishing yoga poses, and whacks golf balls deep into forests. She detests airplanes, snakes, and people who aren’t nice. Her loves are the foods of the world, Broadway musicals, traveling, sandy beaches, massages and pedicures, and the Philadelphia Phillies.

  On the bucket list: Publishing a novel, publishing a children’s book, recording a song, creating a board game, obtaining a patent, exploring Alaska.

  Books Available From Bold Strokes Books

  Rest Home Runaways by Clifford Henderson. Baby boomer Morgan Ronzio’s troubled marriage is the least of her worries when she gets the call that her addled, eighty-six-year-old, half-blind dad has escaped the rest home. (978-1-62639-169-7)

  Charm City by Mason Dixon. Raq Overstreet’s loyalty to her drug kingpin boss is put to the test when she begins to fall for Bathsheba Morris, the undercover cop assigned to bring him down. (978-1-62639-198-7)

  Edge of Awareness by C.A. Popovich. When Marija, a woman in the middle of her third divorce, meets Dana, an out lesbian, awareness of her feelings bring up reservations about the teachings of her church. (978-1-62639-188-8)

  Taken by Storm by Kim Baldwin. Lives depend on two women when a train derails high in the remote Alps, but an unforgiving mountain, avalanches, crevasses, and other perils stand between them and safety. (978-1-62639-189-5)

  The Common Thread by Jaime Maddox. Dr. Nicole Coussart’s life is falling apart, but fortunately, DEA Attorney Rae Rhodes is there to pick up the pieces and help Nic put them back together. (978-1-62639-190-1)

  Jolt by Kris Bryant. Mystery writer Bethany Lange wasn’t prepared for the twisting emotions that left her breathless the moment she laid eyes on folk singer sensation Ali Hart. (978-1-62639-191-8)

  Searching For Forever by Emily Smith. Dr. Natalie Jenner’s life has always been about saving others, until young paramedic Charlie Thompson comes along and shows her maybe she’s the one who needs saving. (978-1-62639-186-4)

  Blue Water Dreams by Dena Hankins. Lania Marchiol keeps her wary sailor’s gaze trained on the horizon until Oly Rassmussen, a wickedly handsome trans man, sends her trusty compass spinning off course. (978-1-62639-192-5)

  Let the Lover Be by Sheree Greer. Kiana Lewis, a functional alcoholic on the verge of destruction, finally faces the demons of her past while finding love and earning redemption in New Orleans. (978-1-62639-077-5)

  Blindsided by Karis Walsh. Blindsided by love, guide dog trainer Lenae McIntyre and media personality Cara Bradley learn to trust what they see with their hearts. (978-1-62639-078-2)

  About Face by VK Powell. Forensic artist Macy Sheridan and Detective Leigh Monroe work on a case that has troubled them both for years, but they’re hampered by the past and their unlikely yet undeniable attraction. (978-1-62639-079-9)

  Blackstone by Shea Godfrey. For Darry and Jessa, the chance at a life of freedom is stolen by the arrival of war and an ancient prophecy that just might destroy their love. (978-1-62639-080-5)

  Out of This World by Maggie Morton. Iris decided to cross an ocean to get over her ex. But instead, she ends up traveling much farther, all the way to another world. Once she’s there, only a mysterious, sexy, and magical woman can help her return home. (978-1-62639-083-6)

  Kiss The Girl by Melissa Brayden. Sleeping with the enemy has never been so complicated. Brooklyn Campbell and Jessica Lennox face off in love and advertising in fast-paced New York City. (978-1-62639-071-3)

  Taking Fire: A First Responders Novel by Radclyffe. Hunted by extremists and under siege by nature’s most virulent weapons, Navy medic Max de Milles and Red Cross worker Rachel Winslow join forces to survive and discover something far more lasting. (978-1-62639-072-0)

  First Tango in Paris by Shelley Thrasher. When French law student Eva Laroche meets American call girl Brigitte Green in 1970s Paris, they have no idea how their pasts and futures will intersect. (978-1-62639-073-7)

  The War Within by Yolanda Wallace. Army nurse Meredith Moser went to Vietnam in 1967 looking to help those in need; she didn’t expect to meet the love of her life along the way. (978-1-62639-074-4)

  Desire at Dawn by Fiona Zedde. For Kylie, love had always come armed with sharp teeth and claws. But with the human, Olivia, she bares her vampire heart for the very first time, sharing passion, lust, and a tenderness she’d never dared dreamed of before. (978-1-62639-064-5)

  Visions by Larkin Rose. Sometimes the mysteries of love reveal themselves when you least expect it. Other times they hide behind a black satin mask. Can Paige unveil her masked stranger this time? (978-1-62639-065-2)

  All In by Nell Stark. Internet poker champion Annie Navarro loses everything when the Feds shut down online gambling, and she turns to experienced casino host Vesper Blake for advice—but can Nova convince Vesper to take a gamble on romance? (978-1-62639-066-9)

  Vermillion Justice by Sheri Lewis Wohl. What’s a vampire to do when Dracula is no longer just a character in a novel? (978-1-62639-067-6)

  Switchblade by Carsen Taite. Lines were meant to be crossed. Third in the Luca Bennett Bounty Hunter Series. (978-1-62639-058-4)

  Nightingale by Andrea Bramhall. Culture, faith, and duty conspire to tear two young lovers apart, yet fate seems to have different plans for them both. (978-1-62639-059-1)

  No Boundaries by Donna K. Ford. A chance meeting and a nightmare from the past threaten more than Andi Massey’s solitude as she and Gwen Palmer struggle to understand the complexity of love without boundaries. (978-1-62639-060-7)

  Timeless by Rachel Spangler. When Stevie Geller returns to her hometown, will she do things differently the second time around or will she be in such a hurry to leave her past that she misses out on a better future? (978-1-62639-050-8)

  Second to None by L.T. Marie. Can a physical therapist and a custom motorcycle designer conquer their pasts and build a future with one another? (978-1-62639-051-5)

  Seneca Falls by Jesse Thoma. Together, two women discover love truly can conquer all evil. (978-1-62639-052-2)