Knocking at Her Heart (Conover Circle #1) by Beverly Long Read Free Book Online

Kelsie, you stay
here with Carol.  I'll be back in a few minutes.”
    Sam knocked on the door at the
top of the stairs. Waited. Knocked again. Looked downstairs to see if he could
get some direction from Carol but she was busy with the kids. He reached for
the doorknob. Maddie's living room surprised him. While the downstairs was painted
in bright primary colors, the choices here were more subtle. There were blues
and violets and deep pinks. Fresh flowers poured out of several vases and
plants covered the sill of the bay window. Lacy curtains fluttered in the
spring breeze. A braided rug highlighted the polish of the oak floor.
    “Maddie?” he said, his voice loud
enough to carry through the space. When there was no answer, he didn’t
hesitate. He walked toward the open doors down the hall. His concern mounted as
he saw Maddie sprawled face-down across her bed, the sheets twisted around her
legs. Her breathing was loud yet shallow. Her white kitten was sleeping at the
end of the bed.
    “Maddie?”  When she didn’t
respond, he placed two fingers on the soft part of her inner wrist. Strong and
steady. A bit fast perhaps but nothing unusual. He felt her skin. She most
definitely had a fever. He wanted a more accurate reading but didn't see a
thermometer close by. He looked at her laceration. She’d removed the bigger
bandage and had a simple strip covering the cut. The skin around the area
looked fine. No red streaks running up her arm.
    Her hand wasn’t the problem. But
whatever it was, it was kicking her butt.
    Maddie’s eyes fluttered
open.  “Sam?”
    Her voice was weak, and his
presence clearly confused her. “Carol was worried,” he said. “Can you turn over
so that I can get a better look at you?”
    By the quick set of her jaw, he
could tell she wanted to refuse. But then common sense, fear, or perhaps just
plain exhaustion took over, and she slowly turned over, taking care to keep the
sheet pulled up past her waist.
    He reached behind her and plumped
up a pillow so that she could prop herself up. She had on one of those shirts
with really thin straps and a built-in bra. Her arms had nice muscle tone and
her skin was lotion-smooth. It would have been nice to focus only on those
things, but now definitely wasn’t the time. He gently grasped her chin and
turned her face toward him. Her pretty eyes were shadowed with dark circles,
but her pupils looked about right. 
    “I think I'm dying." 
    She didn’t sound like she was
kidding. “Not on my shift, you don't." He pushed her hair away from her
face. "When did you eat last?"
    “Around eight last night.”
    “What did you have?”
    “Cold pizza and cookies.” She sighed.
“It was a bad combination. Or maybe it was because I ate the whole box. Do you
think that’s what is wrong?”
    He shook his head. “What have you
had to drink today?"
    “I had some juice this morning,
but I … I wasn't able to keep it down.”
    “How many times have you
vomited?”
    “A couple.”  Maddie closed
her eyes and sank back against the pillow. “Don’t get too close. I’m sure I
smell.” 
    She and everything else in the
room smelled like the lilacs next to her bed. “You're probably dehydrated on
top of everything else,” Sam muttered. He tapped on her chin. “Open your eyes.”
When she did, he asked, “Anything else I should know?”
    She pointed at her abdomen. “This
hurts.”
    Fever. Vomiting. Abdominal pain. Sam
had an ugly suspicion of what might be the problem. He started to pull down the
sheet at her waist. With more strength than he’d thought possible, she yanked
it the other direction.
    “Maddie, I’m not making a pass,”
he assured her. “I need to examine you. I’m a doctor.”
    She shook her head. “You’re an
orthopedic surgeon.”
    “That means I did go to medical
school.” If he was right, there might not be a lot of time to waste. “Let go.
Now.” 
    Looking even more miserable, she
released her tight grasp. He pulled the