a baggy shirt. She knew he didn’t believe her story and probably wanted him gone. Which he should be. Feeling a little chagrined to have followed a stranger into an exam room in the first place, he said, “I’ll wait outside, but I want to talk to the doc when you’re done.”
Dr. Ron met his gaze and nodded. “Sure thing. Now young lady, you hop right up here and let’s have a look at that arm.”
Austin heard the latter as he exited the room. There was a lot Annalisa wasn’t saying. Even though it was none of his business, Austin figured the doc should know his suspicions.
He folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the wall beside the door. Wilma whipped past, leading the way for a woman and a flush-faced, coughing child. Austin figured if a man stood here all day he’d catch every disease known to medicine.
A few minutes later, the wooden door swung open and Dr. Ron sent Annalisa down the hall with an assistant for an X-ray. Austin joined the doctor inside the exam room and shut the door.
“I think she’s lying,” he blurted.
Water sprayed as Dr. Ron washed his hands yet again in the strong-scented soap. “How did you get involved?”
Austin’s gut tightened. Was the doc accusing him of something? “I found her.”
A freckled eyebrow lifted. “You don’t know her? She’s not a friend or relative?”
Anxiety pushed from Austin’s gut to his throat. When he’d brought her here, he hadn’t been thinking clearly. He’d never considered that someone might point a finger at him. He rolled the brim of his hat between nervous fingers. “Never saw her before today. She was at Whisper Falls. Or rather under it.”
“Praying?” The doc’s lips twitched, but the humor didn’t reach his serious blue eyes.
“Probably. She was running from something or someone. She claims she was hiking, but I don’t believe her. Take a look at her shoes and clothes.”
“Could she have fallen while traipsing over the falls to pray?”
Austin barked a sarcastic laugh. “Did you notice the red marks on her throat?”
The doc raised both eyebrows in insult. The cowlick quivered. “If I hadn’t I should find another occupation.”
“What are you going to do about it?”
Dr. Ron spread his palms. “Nothing I can do. She’s a grown woman, not a child. If she says she fell, I have to take her word for it. She might be telling the truth, although like you, I don’t think the bruises came from a tumble on the rocks. The broken arm, however, very well may have.”
“Maybe.” Austin patted his hat impatiently against his leg. Dr. Ron was a good sort. He’d treated Austin when a horse stumbled with him, and he’d stitched him up a couple of times. He was trustworthy. “She’s scared of something, Doc. Jumpy as a grasshopper. I think someone hurts her.”
Dr. Ron pressed his freckled lips together in silent consideration before saying, “I’ll push a little harder for details, Austin, but if she wants to keep the whole truth to herself, I can’t force it out of her.”
At that moment, Wilma and Annalisa came out of the X-ray room and headed toward them.
Knowing the doc was right didn’t make Austin like the answer any better. Grumbling under his breath, he slapped his hat against his leg. “I’ll be in the waiting room.”
* * *
Annalisa sat perfectly still while the doctor wound wet cast material from her wrist to her biceps.
“Wear this for three weeks and then you get the grand prize,” the amiable doctor said, “a shorter waterproof version of this dandy little number.”
She stared dubiously at her forearm, frozen at a right angle. “When will I be able to move my elbow?”
“After this one comes off. Fortunately all the bones are aligned or you’d be on your way to Hot Springs to an orthopedist. All we have to do is keep the bone as still as possible for it to heal properly, and you should be as good as new.”
She shuddered at the memory of James’s strong hands and the loud pop as he intentionally rotated her arm until she screamed. The gleam in his eyes, the bulging veins in his neck. The fury.
She squeezed her eyes tight, scared just thinking about him. God, I never want to see James Winchell again. Show me what to do.
Dr. Ron’s gentle voice jerked her to attention. “I’m a doctor, Miss Keller. Anything you tell me is confidential. If you need help...”
He let the offer dangle while he completed the wrap and pressed his palms against the drying cast. Heat penetrated through the padding.
The doctor knew she hadn’t fallen, or at least he suspected.
She wanted to tell someone about the abuse, but shame held her back. Shame and the knowledge that she was responsible. She’d broken off the relationship once and been foolish enough to let James back into her life. She’d believed his promises and accepted his explanations. He was under stress at work. She’d provoked him. It wouldn’t happen again.
But it had.
Annalisa lowered her lashes. “Thank you, but I’ll be fine.”
Dr. Ron was silent for a couple of beats while he scribbled on her chart.
“Wilma will have some instructions for you on cast care and problems to look out for.” He ripped a piece of paper from a pad and handed her a prescription. “Austin will take you by the pharmacy to get this pain medicine filled. Take one if you need it, every four hours for pain. Nights are usually the worst.”
“Thank you, Doctor.” Annalisa slid off the slick, paper-covered table and went to the door.
“Call if you need anything,” he said, serious eyes boring into her as if he knew everything she’d been through. “Anything at all.”
Annalisa understood his implication. With a nod, she hurried out.
In the waiting room, the cowboy sat scrunched in a chair, one boot crossed over the opposite knee and his pale green gaze glued to the hall leading to the exam rooms.
When he spotted her, he unfolded his length from the small chair and stood. An imposing man, he was tall, and dark as a thundercloud with shoulders as wide as a quarterback’s.
One look at her casted arm and his mouth curved. “Lime green?”
From somewhere she found an answering smile and lifted the cast higher. It weighed a ton. “I’m a fashion diva.”
“Yeah, we get a lot of calls for those in Whisper Falls,” he said wryly, and she wasn’t sure if he joked or not. “Where to from here?”
She held out the prescription, feeling like a bum. She’d imposed on this man enough, but what else could she do? This wasn’t exactly familiar terrain. “Do you know where a pharmacy is?”
“Not
