“What changed?” she asked, shocked by the candid conversation.
“You ready for a cliché? The Bible. I started reading the word and it gave me more peace than any counseling session alone could.”
“You had counseling?” She instantly thought of her conversation with Cece.
“I knew I had a problem, and I wanted to take care of it. I couldn’t do that in the public eye. It’s part of why I went off the grid. When people expect you to be someone you’re not anymore it’s suffocating and frustrating.”
Will he be furious about this talk later?
“I’m glad you found what you were looking for,” she said sincerely.
“Me too. Did I ruin things with us?”
“How about we get you fixed up, first?”
“Is that a way to say yes without saying it?”
She snickered. “No. it’s an ‘I can’t have this conversation when you’re laid so low and might not remember it later’.”
“Fair enough.”
“Glad you agree.” She glanced at the phone he kept in the Jeep. The appearance of service bars made her mentally cheer. She opened it up.
“Call Mercy General Hospital.”
She gripped the steering wheel tightly as she went through the prompts.
“Mercy General, this is Karen, how may I help you?”
“Hi Karen. My name is Lilac Fehr and I’m on my way into the hospital with a man who has a copperhead bite.”
“How long ago did the bite occur?”
“About twenty-five minutes now. It was on his ankle. He’s experiencing swelling, shortness of breath, and discoloration of the skin.”
“Do you know how tall or how much he weighs?”
“About six feet, two inches and one hundred and eighty pounds. Maybe.”
“How far out are you?”
“Another ten or fifteen minutes. I won’t lie, I’m not obeying the speed limits.”
“I’ll alert the doctors and be waiting for you when you arrive. What’s the patient’s name?”
“Thorn Finch.”
“All right, Ms. Fehr, please drive carefully, and we’ll make the proper arrangements.”
Some of her apprehension eased.
“Thorn?”
“Still breathing.
“Ha, ha. I need you to keep talking with me, babe.”
“’Bout what?” His words were slurred and his speech was sluggish. “You called me babe.”