his name?”
“Buck, Buck Remington.”
Cori directed her full attention to the patient. “Mr. Remington, I’d like you to take some deep, slow breaths to calm yourself. Can you do that for me? I’ll lead the way?”
Buck nodded, as they each slowly sucked in air through their mouths. “Now let it out through your nose,” she told him, and he dutifully followed her lead.
Once she had him breathing normally, his pulse slowed to a more acceptable pace. An older woman with pure white, shoulder-length hair and deep red lips leaned over and handed Gage her pink sweater. “Maybe you can put this under his head. That floor’s hard.”
“Thanks,” Gage told her, while Cori threw the generous woman a quick smile.
Gage looked to Cori for approval. She nodded, then he carefully lifted Buck’s head and rested it on the folded sweater.
“Have you been diagnosed with hypoglycemia, Mr. Remington?”
He nodded again. His pulse quickened and sweat beaded on his forehead.
She looked up at Gage. “He needs glucose. Could you get him a glass of orange juice from the bar?”
“Sure.” Gage jumped up and rushed back to the tavern.
“I caught him as he went down,” a tall, lean gentleman, probably in his late sixties or early seventies and wearing a cream-colored cowboy hat offered. “He didn’t hit anything but my chest, so nothing should be broken. Court’s the name. Steve Court. Been Buck’s friend for the past ten years or so. Never know’d him to drop like that. Glad I was close by to break his fall.”
“You did perfect,” she told the man, then directed her attention back to Mr. Remington. “Can you sit up?”
He nodded and she motioned for Mr. Court to please help her.
She cradled his head and shoulder with one arm, and Mr. Court leaned down to help put Buck upright.
Gage returned with the juice.
“Drink this, Mr. Remington. It’ll make you feel better.”
Buck did as he was told and quickly slurped up all the juice, then handed the empty glass back to Gage. “Thank you, son,” he mumbled, his hand visibly shaking.
A siren screamed in the distance.
“Don’t worry, Gramps. We’ll get you checked out at the hospital, and you’ll be fine.”
“I’m not going to no dang hospital. I’m fine now. Just lost my balance is all.”
He struggled with each movement as if his limbs wouldn’t cooperate with his mind.
“Just rest for a bit, Mr. Remington. Take your time. There’s no rush.”
“Not going to no dang hospital.”
Two male EMTs walked into the lobby and came over to the group. The glow of the swirling red lights from their ambulance pulsed in through the windows and stained the walls with their fiery color.
“Gramps, stop being so obstinate. I’ll be right there with you.”
“You ain’t been with me since you was a kid. Don’t think you can tell me what to do now. I can make my own decisions.”
Cori quickly realized their relationship was in even worse shape than Gage had led her to believe.
She reached out and took Mr. Remington’s hand. “I knew a Buck when I was in medical school. He was a kind, thoughtful, easy-going man. I think those traits go along with the name. I have a feeling you probably didn’t eat a meal for a long time, and because of that, you might not be your sweet self. Your grandson only wants what’s best for you, and so do I.”
Buck nodded, staring into Cori’s eyes. His demeanor changed and Cori could see the tension drain from his body. He relaxed his shoulders, and gently squeezed her hand.
Cori worked on instinct and purposely stopped herself from thinking about what she was doing or saying despite the fact that she had started second-guessing herself a few months back.
Her self-doubt and stress had caused her to walk away from her ER position at Manhattan Central Hospital for some much-needed rest and reassessment. She’d been chronically fatigued for weeks from lack of sleep. And after nearly running off the road with her nine-year-old daughter Hailey in the car on their way home from another school event that Cori had all but missed, she knew her life had to change.
Those changes began with her turning in her resignation.
Up until that moment, Cori had thought she could do it all. Now she wasn’t so sure she could do anything right, and that included diagnosing hypoglycemia in an elderly man with the appropriate symptoms.
She gazed at her patient and saw all the fear and loneliness in his light blue eyes.
He couldn’t seem to stop staring at her, as if he was trying to place where he’d seen her before, but Cori knew that wasn’t possible.
“Rose? What are you doing here, Rose? I thought you were...”
“My name is Cori, Mr. Remington. I’m not Rose.”
He hesitated for a second, smiled and whispered, “You remind me of my wife. Same color hair and eyes. And your voice, there’s something familiar about your voice. She was a looker just like you, and a real spitfire. That woman could get me to eat hay if she asked me to. Always kept me on a schedule. Since she passed, I don’t know when to eat or what to eat. I’m all mixed up. It ain’t right that she left first. Ain’t right at all.”
“My grandmother passed a couple years ago,” Gage told her.
She understood Buck’s despair much better now. She could identify with it.
“It’s hard losing someone you love, especially your soul mate. Believe me, I know how you feel. I lost my husband five years ago. He took a piece of my heart that I’ll never get back. But he wanted me to go on and be well and love again. I’m sure Rose wanted the same for you. You need to take care of yourself for Rose.”
His defenses seemed to tumble down, and she saw only love in his eyes. “She always took good care of me.”
“Then don’t let her down. Please allow these competent professionals to take you to the hospital to run a few tests. I’m sure it won’t take very long, and if everything goes well, your grandson will have you back here in time for the barbecue tonight.”
Gage’s eyes were moist as he turned to his grandfather. “We’ll get you fixed up, Gramps. I’m here now, and I’ll see to it that you get everything you need.”
“Thanks, son,” Buck told him as he allowed one of the EMTs to help him into a wheelchair and roll him out of the lobby.
Cori and Gage stood, and at once she caught a whiff of cinnamon mixed with citrus. Nothing heavy. It was more aromatic than anything else. She gazed around the room, wondering if there was a candle burning or
