“Well, bless her heart,” Ruby said. “Don’t worry. Just tell her someone will be there in the waiting room for her when she’s ready to be released.”

“I sure will,” Hope said. “And thank you so much.”

“Of course,” Ruby said, and then hung up.

Vera and Vesta Conklin, the two other stylists, had eavesdropped on the call.

“What’s wrong?” Vera asked.

Vesta frowned. “Sister, you don’t have to know everything.”

Ruby grinned. “That was Hope Talbot. I need to find someone a ride home from ER.”

Duke’s heart skipped a beat. “Is it for Cathy Terry?” he asked.

Ruby’s eyes widened. “Why yes, it is. Do you know her?”

“Not really, but I’m the one who took her to ER. I saw her fall. I offered to stay, but she said there was no need, and obviously, she now has a need. I’ll do it. I didn’t like leaving her like that anyway. Felt like I was leaving a job half-done.”

“This is great!” Ruby said. “And I’m almost finished with your cut, so the timing is perfect.”

* * *

Duke parked near the ER entrance and jumped out before hurrying inside. He didn’t know when she’d be ready to leave, but he didn’t want her to be somewhere waiting, and went straight to the front desk.

“Hey, Carol Ann, I’m here to give Cathy Terry a ride home when she’s ready to leave. Can you let somebody know?”

“Absolutely,” she said.

Duke chose a seat that would give him a clear view of the hall. He didn’t know how she was going to take his reappearance, so being quiet and cordial might be his best bet. He was fine with cordial, but as Hope and Jack were fond of telling him, being quiet wasn’t one of his better traits. He had a tendency to talk before he thought about what was coming out of his mouth, and he blamed it on having no one to answer to but himself.

While he was waiting, Dan Amos came in with a bloody rag wrapped around his left hand. Duke heard him say he might be needing stitches, and then they rushed him back into the exam area.

A few minutes later, Dan’s wife, Alice, came running inside.

“What exam room is Dan in? He’s here somewhere getting stitches.”

“He’s in 3A,” Carol Ann said.

“Thank you,” Alice said, and went through the double doors into ER on the run.

Duke continued to wait, thinking to himself how fast someone’s life could change, and remembering the day that drunk driver hit Hope head-on as she was coming into work. If it hadn’t been for her long-lost sister’s appearance on that day to donate blood, she would have died.

He glanced up at the clock. It had been over two hours now since he’d dropped her off here. He was beginning to worry that she might be seriously hurt when the doors suddenly swung open, and an orderly appeared, pushing Cathy out in a wheelchair.