Page 17 of Secrets Bared
Maggie hopped up to help Mom out of the booth, and Luke moved aside. Mom could easily lean on her, placing an arm over her shoulders, as both women stood a head shorter than him. Once they were steady, he cleared his throat. “I’ll get the doors. Are you all locked up?”
“Just flip the lock as we go out, Maggie. Shorty said he’ll get the rest in the morning for breakfast shift.”
“You got it.”
Luke held the door to his car open while Maggie helped Debbie lower herself inside.
The waitress pulled a bag from her purse and laid it over Deb’s ankle. “There. Hopefully that will keep the swelling down.”
Mom patted her arm. “Get back safely, dear.”
“I will. Feel better, Deb.”
Luke shut the door carefully, then looked at the angel in a yellow Busy Bee shirt. “Ice pack?”
“It didn’t seem to help the swelling but I’m hoping to keep it numb for her.” Maggie bit that plush bottom lip, and Luke had to fight the urge to pull it out from underneath her tooth. “I’m worried it’s broken.”
He nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she gets seen.”
“Keep me and Shorty posted?”
“Of course. Thank you again, Maggie.”
“No problem.” She turned and waved, heading off to an ancient sedan parked at the end of the block.
He watched until she got into her car and drove away. Then he slid inside his own car to get his mom to the county hospital.
Chapter 5
Afterhoursofwaiting,and three cups of shitty vending machine coffee, the hospital finally released Luke and Debbie in the wee hours of the morning. A thick walking cast encased Mom’s foot and shin.
“I can’t believe it,” Mom groused from her wheelchair. “Slipped in the alley and broke my ankle in two places. Two!”
Luke put the brakes on the wheelchair next to where the valet had pulled his car up outside the emergency room doors. “You just had to be an overachiever, didn’t you?”
“Hush, you.”
He chuckled as he helped her inside, handing her the bag of pain pills they’d picked up at the hospital pharmacy. “Let’s get you home so you can get some sleep.”
Buckling himself into the driver’s seat, he got them back on the road to Hawthorn Hills.
“Twelve weeks…” Mom muttered. “That fool doctor said I can’t work for three whole months.”
“If you push it, it’ll be even longer.” Watching his mom argue with the doctor had been equal parts stressful and hilarious.He’d have to bring her back for a follow-up visit with the orthopedic specialist, but the ER doctor had warned her if she didn’t take care, she could need surgery.
“How am I supposed to get the money for any of this if I can’t work? Or if I have to hire someone to take on the cooking while I recover?” Deb leaned her elbow against the car door and propped her forehead up in her palm. “I don’t know what I’m going to do, Luke. The business insurance will claim it’s my fault if I try to use it, for not salting back there.”
Luke signaled his turn for the highway even though there was no one around at this hour. The stars were only just starting to fade from the sky. “I thought that was more to protect the employees, anyway. What’s wrong with using your health insurance?”
Mom rubbed her forehead. “Our deductible is so high. I couldn’t afford anything better, premiums for the self-employed are ridiculous. But if I need surgery, it’ll be useful.”
Luke nodded along. “One thing at a time. Let’s focus on getting you home first.” He had savings, but suspected his mother wouldn’t take money from him. “Then we’ll get you healed.”
By the time he got them back to the house, dawn was kissing the horizon. He helped his mom navigate the front porch with her crutches, opening the door for her. His eyelids were getting heavy, but he wanted to get her situated before he crashed.
She brushed him off and hobbled up to her bedroom with the crutches grasped in one hand and the other on the railing.
“I’ll get you a drink so you can take your pill,” Luke called up. He hung his jacket up on the hook and entered the kitchen. Pouring Mom a glass of water, he carried it and the pills upstairs.
