A bright light shone in her eyes. A man asked, “Miss? Hey, can you hear me?”
Killer was still barking but farther away. She reached for the leash but couldn’t find it. Why wasn’t he on the leash? She blinked again. Then she croaked out, “Killer? Where are you, boy?”
“Killer’s your dog, right?” the male voice asked her. He was calm, which made her even more scared. She tried to focus now that the light was gone. A man’s face swam in front of her.
“Yes. Is he all right?” She tried to sit up, but something held her down, and her head hurt. Bad. “Killer?”
“He’s fine. My buddy’s got him a few feet away from you. I need to know how you’re doing before I can let him over here. What’s your name?”
Now Rarity could see the voice was coming from the man she saw above her. “What happened?”
“Answer my question, and I’ll try to answer yours. What’s your name?” The man smiled, and for some reason, she smiled back.
The action made her head hurt even more. She groaned, then answered him. “Rarity Cole.”
“Hi, Rarity. And your dog’s name is Killer? It’s a little optimistic for his size, isn’t it?”
Rarity almost laughed, but the action made the pain worse. “He came to me with that name. He’s okay?”
“He’s fine. What happened? Why are you on the floor in the back of the crystal shop? Do you remember?”
“I was looking for Sam. Her lights were on, and I needed to give her a card.” Rarity closed her eyes again. The lights were too bright when she had them open. But with them closed, she felt like she was falling. Although she felt the floor on her back. So where could she fall to? She opened her eyes again. “Is Sam okay?”
“I’m here, Rarity. I’d gone out back for a smoke, and when I came inside, Killer was barking. Who hit you?” Sam’s face came over to the other side.
“Ma’am, you need to stay back until I stabilize her.” The man’s voice sounded closer. He put a neck brace around her neck. “We need to take you to the hospital to be checked out.”
“Is that necessary?” Rarity was starting to wake up. She lifted her head, and a blast of pain made her close her eyes. “Okay, fine, I’ll go. Sam, can you take care of Killer? And put a sign up at the store. Just say I’m closed for the day.”
“Sure. But I’m following you to the hospital. I’ll drop Killer off with Shirley,” Sam said. She was somewhere to Rarity’s right. “I’m sorry this happened.”
“Me too. Why would someone hit me in your shop?” Rarity asked, but no one heard her since the EMTs were wheeling her out of the shop and into a waiting ambulance. Drew’s voice stopped her movement.
“Where are you taking her?” Drew grabbed her hand and leaned close. “Rarity, are you all right?”
“Someone hit me in Sam’s shop.” Rarity relayed the obvious. “Killer, he’s still there.”
“We’ll take care of your dog.” Drew squeezed her hand. “I’ll check in with Sam. What hospital?”
“Flagstaff South. She needs scans, and the Sedona hospital isn’t equipped for that,” the EMT said.
Rarity felt herself wanting to go to sleep.
“None of that. I want to hear the story of how that cute little dog got such a big name,” the EMT said. “We need to get going.”
Rarity thought she really should figure out what his name was. She felt Drew let her hand go.
“I’ll see you soon, Rarity.” His words were tight. “I’ll call Archer.”
“Okay.” Rarity saw the EMT’s shirt and a nametag, or at least one of them, near her head. She squinted to read it. “Mark, do you have a dog?”
Chapter 14
By the time she’d arrived in a hospital room for the nurses to watch her and finally give her some pain meds, she decided she might have seen all sections of the hospital besides maternity and the cancer section. She’d come to the hospital for a scan a few months ago, but she’d been in and out before she could evaluate the place. That was the one thing about being a cancer survivor—you got to know hospitals and cancer centers well. Each one was a little different. Each had its own feel. But they were all positive, hopeful, and the white walls had upbeat posters both for staff and patients. Or at least the ones Rarity had been in.
She’d heard horror stories about other places, but she’d been lucky. Sam believed in the power of being positive, or at least she had before this Marcus thing. And Sam’s words had transferred over to Rarity. There was no need to add worry to the discussion until you had something to worry about. “One step at a time” had to be her motto. Breast cancer or a bump on the head, it didn’t matter. You didn’t cry wolf until you saw the drool dripping out of the jaws.
Sam hurried into the room as soon as the nurse had settled Rarity into bed. She’d given her a pain killer in her IV, and for the first time since she’d gone down in Sam’s shop, her head wasn’t throbbing. She smiled at Sam. “Hey, you didn’t have to come.”
“Of course I did. No matter how horrible I’ve been acting lately, I’m still your best friend. At least if you haven’t given up on me.” She pulled a chair closer and sat down, dropping her tote on the floor. “Shirley has Killer. He didn’t want to leave the shop with me. He kept barking at the door the EMTs took you out of, but Drew picked him up, and then I got him to Shirley’s. He’s not happy, but she had pumpkin dog treats, so that helped.”
“I wonder how much he remembers about Martha disappearing. Poor little guy.” Rarity felt the medicine pulling her toward sleep. “So who hit me?”
“We don’t know. Drew thinks they might have been waiting for me to come back from my smoke.” Sam blushed. “Sorry, I picked the habit up again when Marcus moved into the house. He smokes, and things were just so crazy.”
“You’d been smoke-free for years.” Rarity shook her head, but then the pain hit. “I guess the pain’s telling me not to be judgmental. Just be careful. I don’t want you to get cancer.”
“I promise, I’m quitting again.” Sam sank into the chair. “Anyway, I heard Killer barking and ran back inside, but the guy that hit you was gone. Drew’s talking to the neighbors and pulling street camera footage to see if he can find him.”
“I’m sorry I’m such a bother,” Rarity said, the sleep pulling her down.
“You’re kidding, right? You didn’t ask to be attacked.”