Call It Magic by Janet Chapman

Author:Janet Chapman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2020-05-04T16:00:00+00:00

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* * *

“You should start slowing down,” Gretchen said in a raspy whisper, gesturing at the road ahead. “It’s that sign on the—”

She stopped talking when Katy drove past the entrance to Moose Point Condominiums. “I told you I’ll pick up my car tomorrow,” Gretchen continued. “I shouldn’t be driving with a painkiller in my system.”

“Then I guess you’ll have to stay at the station tonight.”

“I don’t need to be babysat,” she snapped hoarsely, “for a sore throat and three tiny stitches on my brow.”

“And a possible concussion,” Katy added, “as well as a couple of bruised ribs.”

“I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

“And you can go right back to taking care of yourself tomorrow.” Katy flashed her a smile. “But tonight, I’m afraid you’re stuck with me.”

Her passenger fell silent and stared out the side window. Katy felt her smile fade. She didn’t care how much Gretchen groused. Nobody should be alone after being so brutally attacked. And something told her a good part of Gretchen’s protests had to do with her not wanting the firefighters to see her all beaten up; Katy remembered—all too well—feeling perversely embarrassed and ashamed at finding herself a victim four weeks ago. She also knew the sense of absolute aloneness could be even more wounding than the attack itself.

“The men need to see for themselves that you’re okay,” Katy said into the silence. “You have to realize they’re going to feel responsible for your getting hurt.”

Gretchen looked over in surprise. “They were busy doing their own jobs.”

“I heard Ike say he should have known better then to send us to tend drug overdoses all by ourselves.”

“He was told there was a deputy sheriff giving CPR to one of them,” Gretchen rasped. “Ike knew we weren’t alone.”

“Where was the deputy? When I heard you scream, I only saw you and your patient.”

Gretchen dropped her gaze to her lap. “I . . . ah, I told him I had it covered and sent him to go find you. What happened to your patient?” she asked in an obvious attempt to redirect the conversation.

“I found a teenage girl down on the beach with her boyfriend.” Katy chuckled. “Both of them scared to death their parents were going to find out they’d been smoking pot. Apparently, it doesn’t agree with the girl, so the boyfriend took her away from the crowd, and she fell asleep waiting for the dizziness to pass.” Katy shrugged. “My guess is whoever called 911 saw them and thought the girl had also overdosed. The kids started apologizing when I showed up, thinking they were the reason we were there. And when I assured them they weren’t, the brats took off down the beach. I didn’t bother chasing them, figuring anyone that agile didn’t need a medic.”

“Probably right.”

“I was just climbing up the bluff when I heard you scream.” She smiled again. “And as luck would have it, I happened to notice a rake leaning against the side of the shed as I ran past.

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