Pushing Up Bluebonnets by Leann Sweeney Read Free Book Online

will be challenge.''
      ''You get the picture.''
      ''Can we hire someone to stick her finger? At least for now?'' I asked.
      Kate grinned. ''Do you really want to put someone through that kind of torture?''
      Nancy Song came though the door then and said to Kate, ''There you are.''
      ''Sorry. I wanted to fill in my sister. How did that go?''
      ''She's an interesting woman,'' Nancy Song said. ''Intelligent but perhaps a little strong-willed.''
      ''You mean as stubborn as a rusty pump,'' I answered.
      Song smiled. ''Texas has such an interesting language. She will learn and accept eventually. But be prepared for a few bumps in the road.''
      ''Oh, we're used to those,'' I answered.
      Song handed Kate a stack of diet plans. ''These will help. I gave your aunt the same ones. After the nurse trains her for blood sugar testing, the doctor will probably release her. I urged her to attend the hospital's diabetic support group as well and she told me she would think about it.''
      ''Great.'' How I wished they'd keep her one more day. But I should be glad Aunt Caroline had rebounded quickly. Once Nancy Song left us, I turned to Kate. ''Guess we'll have to wait on the doctor. Want to slip over to Ben Taub and pay JoLynn Richter that visit? You should see her. It's awful what someone tried to do to her.''
      ''I do want to go, but let's clear it with General Caroline.''
      Aunt Caroline was more than happy for us to leave. She wanted to shower and put on her makeup before the doctor arrived. On our fifteen-minute walk to Ben Taub, Kate told me Aunt Caroline seemed quite taken with her new endocrinologist.
      ''What is he? About thirty?'' I asked as we stopped at a corner.
      ''More like forty, but age has never mattered to Aunt Caroline when it comes to flirting.''
      During our walk—a far easier option than changing parking spots—I filled Kate in on what I had learned about the Richter family and how I had nothing on JoLynn. When we entered the lobby, I was grateful the place was as cold as a knothole in the North Pole because I was sweating bullets.
      ''Why don't you know anything about JoLynn?'' she asked. ''You're the queen of finding out anything on anybody.''
      ''Not this time. And that's very strange. If I can find baptismal records on someone born in the seventies— which I've done before—why can't I find anything on her?''
      As we entered the elevator, Kate said, ''Sorry, but I kind of like that. Apparently Big Internet Brother hasn't been watching everyone .''
      We rode in silence and then visited the restroom so I could run a comb through my sweat-dampened hair. Turned out I didn't have a comb, but Kate is always prepared.
      ''I like this cinnamon color. You should stick with it.'' She was watching me try to make her comb work a miracle—a miracle that wasn't about to happen.
      When she saw my frustration, she tousled my crown. ''Go with the natural look.'' Then she handed me a lipstick—Mocha Pink. ''This will help, too.''
      The lipstick did make me look more normal, especially since my flushed cheeks were less pronounced thanks to the AC. I no longer felt like I'd just emerged from a rain forest tour. We then walked down the corridor to the neuro ICU. Two men sat in the waiting area. One was a Montgomery County sheriff's deputy and the other a young man in his twenties.
      The deputy must be here for JoLynn, too. I smiled at him, but he didn't react. I stopped a nurse assistant about to enter the ICU and said, ''We'd like to visit JoLynn Richter for a few minutes. I'm working with Chief Boyd on her case.'' Not completely true, but how would she know?
      The woman thumbed at the deputy. ''Ask him.'' She then entered the unit without another word.
      Kate and I turned and walked over to the deputy, who had picked up a People magazine and was paging through it.
      ''Hi,'' I said as I approached with Kate on my heels. ''I was the one who identified Miss