Remote Consequences Read Online Free Page A

Remote Consequences
Book: Remote Consequences Read Online Free
Author: Kerri Nelson
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Patty, too, and had almost opted not to hold a funeral at all. It was expensive and sad. I hated funerals. But it was a big deal in a small town. Everyone out in their Sunday best. It was a rite of passage that all locals expected, and I didn't want to let Aunt Patty down. In the end, I'd honored her wishes.
    Dr. C. had been a part-time father figure to us growing up. I knew it wasn't a coincidence I'd chosen medicine after having him in my life all these years.
    He'd loved Patty, but they'd never married. I'd never asked why, and it had never mattered to us. But I had noticed his absence at the funeral. Deciding that now wasn't the best time to push the issue, I motioned to Paget.
    My sister had become distracted by the reflection of the nurse's watch on the wall. It had caught a beam of sunlight coming through the window as she checked Paget's blood pressure. Paget was following the light around on the ceiling as if it were the North Star.
    "Our girl is going to be just fine," Dr. C. reassured me, and then he motioned for me to walk with him down the hall.
    With Paget occupied for the moment, I chose to follow him.
    "What happened, exactly?" I asked once we'd cleared the room.
    He made his way to a door marked Doctor's Lounge and opened it, motioning for me to enter.
    "Am I even allowed in here?" I scrunched my nose at him.
    He winked at me in return—those same bushy salt-and-pepper eyebrows dipping down at the top of his nose in a caterpillar maneuver. I giggled. It felt good to laugh, if only for a moment.
    "I don't know all the details, Mandy. But I do know that she somehow ended up on Main Street and walked in front of a car."
    My hand went to my mouth. "She was hit? But her chart says—"
    He shook his head. Leaning over to pour a cup of steaming coffee in a Styrofoam cup, he continued, "No. She was shoved out of the way in the nick of time. The head lac is from when she hit the pavement."
    I caught my breath between gritted teeth. "The driver?" I ground out.
    He turned and handed me the coffee, along with two sugar packets and a red plastic stirrer. "He's okay. A little shaken up. But no damage."
    My heart rate tried to return to normal. I hadn't realized how accelerated it had been for the last twenty minutes or so since I'd run from the police station.
    "I don't know what she was doing there. I had her with a sitter. I had to work."
    I sat down on the art deco velvet-covered sofa and sipped the coffee. Despite the heat outside and the flush in my cheeks from the adrenaline overdose, I was chilled inside.
    "It's not your fault, Mandy. You don't know how many times she's done things like this in the last year. It was getting harder and harder for Patty to deal with."
    I looked up at him as his voice caught on the name Patty .
    "She didn't tell me. Why didn't she tell me?"
    Dr. C. joined me on the sofa with his own cup of coffee. He stirred it absently. "You know she was one tough cookie. She liked to handle things her own way. Even when she got sick—she refused any help with Paget until…well, until she finally called you."
    I knew my aunt had been one of the strongest women I'd ever known, but I didn't know how much she'd struggled to keep up with Paget in the end.
    He shook his head, set his coffee down on the table, and reached over to pat my knee.
    "Not to worry about that now. You can go check on Paget and then get back to your work. I'm going to keep her here overnight. Just to watch for signs of a concussion. I'll keep her under close watch. You can get a good night's sleep."
    I was disappointed with myself yet again when I felt a twinge of relief at the idea of sleeping through the night and not being worried about the police showing up at the door with my sister—little girl lost—again.
    "Everyone in this town will think I'm totally incompetent—if they didn't already."
    Dr. C. reached over and touched my chin with his index finger.
    "Chin up, Panda. No one thinks that. You're doing the best you
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