He grabbed, she tried to stay on her feet, but the car kept coming and then Jonny shoved her hard. She slipped and skidded before falling into a pile of wet snow. Her body registered the cold and damp, but she ignored that. She spun and saw Jonny lying partially under the huge sedan.
“No!” She scrambled toward him.
Eddie had already stopped the car and was opening her door. The guys who had been pushing were rushing to Jonny’s side.
“I’m fine,” he said as he started to slide out from under the car.
“You’ll want to wait for the ambulance,” one of the men said.
“Does he need CPR?” Gladys asked as she came around the front of the car.
Madeline reached him. “Are you okay?”
He nodded. “Nothing’s broken.” He started to stand up, then winced and swore.
“What is it?” Madeline demanded, terrified of what had happened to him. “Is it your back? Your legs? Are you bleeding?”
From several blocks away came the sound of a siren. Someone had called 9-1-1.
Jonny groaned. “It’s not that bad. Seriously.”
“Too late,” she told him. “The cavalry is coming and you’re simply going to have to deal with it.”
* * *
The good news was the EMTs had agreed to transport Jonny to the hospital without sirens. This despite Eddie and Gladys offering to lead the way. Fortunately, Madeline had told them they’d done enough damage for one day. The two old ladies had retreated to their bowling holiday party, leaving Jonny to deal with the humiliation of being taken to the emergency room in front of half the town.
“I’m fine,” he told Madeline for the fourth time since he’d come back from getting X-rays. He ignored the throbbing pain and the seeping blood that stained the towel he’d been given. “It’s a couple of cuts and a sprain. Nothing more.”
She didn’t look convinced. “It looks awful.”
His left hand was kind of beat up. There was a growing bruise, a couple of gashes that were going to need stitches and some swelling around his wrist. It also hurt like a sonofabitch, but he wasn’t going to mention that. She was already worried enough.
“I shouldn’t have slipped,” she told him.
She sat in the single visitor’s chair in the small treatment room. He was on the bed, although sitting up. He refused to lie down. That was too much like admitting defeat.
“Did you plan to slip?” he asked.
“No.”
“Did you slip on purpose?”
“Of course not.”
“Then it’s not your fault. Blame the weather. Or the fact that I insisted on coming with you to the meeting.”
“You’re not blaming Eddie and Gladys.”
“They feel bad enough.”
The two old ladies had already called twice to check on him.
The doctor came in and pulled up a stool. “Gabriel Boylan,” he said. “You’re right-handed?”
Jonny held up his injured left hand and nodded. “Lucky, huh?”
“Better luck would have been not to get injured in the first place. Hey, Madeline.”
Jonny looked between them.
“Gabriel is married to my friend Noelle. His brother owns a couple of local radio stations.” She pressed her lips together as if concerned she’d been babbling. “Is he okay?”
Gabriel looked at Jonny. “Do I have your permission to discuss your medical condition in front of her?”
“Sure.”
Gabriel typed on his tablet, then turned it so they could both see the X-rays. “No broken bones. You’re banged up and bruised. It’s gonna hurt over the next few days, but you’ll be fine. We’ll need to put in a couple of stitches to keep the cuts closed while they heal.”
The doctor went on to give him instructions on how to care for his hand. They had a brief discussion on painkillers and how long Jonny should use ice.
“I’ve done this sort of thing before,” he said without thinking, then wished he hadn’t. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about injuries on a movie shoot. His hand hurt more and more, and while he knew he was going to heal, he also understood it was going to get ugly before it started getting better.
“Stopped cars with your bare hands?” Gabriel asked before turning to Madeline. “Did you get hit by the car?”
“No. I was busy falling into the slush.”
“Bump your head? Your hip? Your knee?”
She held up both hands as if to show they were fine. “I’m wet from the snow. I had a soft landing and am dealing with nothing more earth-shattering than guilt.”