Page 49 of The Coppersmith Farmhouse (Jamison Valley 1)
I scrolled through injury after injury. She appeared to be Jamison Valley Hospital’s most frequent visitor.
So far just this year, she’d been in to see Dr. Seavers three times, all for different ailments. One visit was to treat a bad burn on her hand. Another, a sprained ankle. The most recent, a bruised tailbone.
What the hell was happening in this woman’s home? And how was she related to Jess?
“Gigi, will you call in a prescription for Mrs. Cleary?” the doctor asked. “I want her to take a painkiller while her wrist recovers. I’ve wrapped it but it’s likely to hurt for a while.”
“Sure thing, Dr. Seavers. Anything else?”
“A neighbor brought her here and dropped her off. Can you help make arrangements to get her home?”
“Yes, no problem,” I said before walking back to Noelle’s exam room.
“I’m sorry you hurt your wrist but that wrap and the painkillers should help,” I told Noelle.
She gave me a small smile but didn’t speak.
“Dr. Seavers said a neighbor dropped you off. Is there someone I can call to come and take you home?”
“Well . . . I’ve been trying to get ahold of my son all day but he’s not answering his phone.”
“Would you like me to try him again for you?”
“If you don’t mind,” she whispered.
“Not at all. What’s his name?” I asked, even though I was ninety-nine point nine percent sure I knew the answer.
“Jess Cleary,” she said and then rattled off his cell number.
Should I tell her Jess and I were together? No. I wanted to talk to him first. There was absolutely a story here, one he hadn’t been comfortable sharing with me yet.
Never in a million years would I have pictured Noelle as Jess’s mother. Everything about him was sturdy. Solid. His personality, his voice, his body. Everything about her was the exact opposite. He had said she was sick a lot but I had not expected her to be so fragile.
I left her to collect her things while I headed to the back hallway of the clinic, pulling up Jess’s name on my phone as I walked. His phone rang three times, and I was starting to get worried I’d hit his voicemail again when he answered.
“What, Georgia?” he snapped. I knew he’d gotten my messages but now I knew he didn’t like them very much.
“Jess,” I said gently.
He was obviously expecting me to be pissed, so my quiet tone took him by surprise. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. But I’m in the clinic and your mother just came in.”
“Fuck. Did she hurt herself? She okay?”
“She sprained her wrist but she’ll be fine. The thing is, a neighbor dropped
her off but she needs a ride home. I guess she’s been calling but couldn’t get ahold of you.”
“Damn it,” he said. “Just drove out to the Drummond place. I’ll be at least a half an hour. Probably more like an hour. She’s gonna have to wait at the hospital for me. Or walk over to the station. That means by the time I get her home and settled, cook her some dinner, it’s gonna be late.” He let out an audible breath. “Fuck. I guess Maisy didn’t need to babysit after all.”
“It’s almost five,” I said, checking my watch. “I’m leaving here in a few minutes to get Rowen. Maisy’s coming over at five-thirty. Why don’t I take your mom to the farmhouse with me? She can wait with us until you get back. We can all eat together, then we’ll go from there.”
“Don’t want you to have to take care of her. Especially if she’s hurt,” he said.
“Ah, Jess, you do realize what I do for a living, right?”
“Georgia, she’s . . . she’s not right.”
