Read Online Accidentally Amish by Olivia Newport - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Olivia Newport
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what are these red spots on Lisbetli’s belly?”
Eight
V iolet-blue eyes stared down at her. Annie stared back. Footsteps drummed across the brown-tile floor.
“Is she all right?” Mo knelt beside Rufus.
“My head.” Annie gasped in pain.
“Don’t move!” Rufus and Mo said in unison.
“She needs a hospital,” Mo said.
“I’m fine,” Annie insisted, unsure which hurt more—her back or her head.
“I’ll call right now.” Mo moved to the phone on the desk. “But it takes forever to get an ambulance out here.”
“Who needs a hospital?” Annie said.
“Quite possibly, you.” Rufus glanced in the direction she had come from. “I don’t see what you tripped on. I was careful to keep my tools out of the way.”
“It wasn’t your tools,” she said.
It was seeing you.
“I’ve been known to be clumsy at various points in my life. This confirms the theory.”
Rufus plucked the rubber ball from behind Annie’s knee. “Here’s the culprit.”
Annie moistened her lips and turned her head toward the dining room, where forks, momentarily frozen in air, now resumed their purpose in the hands of hotel guests. Rufus rolled the ball back toward the little girl who stood staring at the scene.
“I’m calling an ambulance.” Mo picked up the phone.
“No!” Annie said, surprising even herself with her volume. “Just give me a few minutes.” Gingerly she tested one leg and then the other. Both bent at appropriate angles.
“There’s an urgent care center much closer than the hospital,” Rufus said. “Let me take you there. My little brother fell out of a tree once and needed an X-ray. They were very thorough.”
“With all due respect, Rufus, the buggy is too slow,” Mo said, “and you’ll bounce her around like a broken bedspring. I’ll take her in my car.”
Annie pressed one forearm against the floor and shifted her weight to it, rolling to one side as she began to stand up. Her bag suddenly felt like a hundred-pound weight. As if reading her mind, Rufus slipped the strap over her head and off her shoulder then offered himself for support while Annie painfully sat upright.
“I’ll bring the car around.” Mo disappeared before Annie could protest further.
“You should let her take you,” Rufus said. “Let
der Dokder
look.”
Annie had to admit she had taken a solid smack. Pain radiated out from her spine in at least three places, and already the back of her head was tender.
“No more arguments,” Annie said. “But I hope it doesn’t take long. I have a lot to do today.”
“First make sure you’re all right.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Considering how you ended up in my barn the other night, perhaps I understand more than you realize,” he said, “but you need medical attention.”
“I thought you people didn’t believe in modern medicine.” Annie lay back down on the floor with her head turned to one side. Lying flat was less painful than propping herself up.
“Who told you that?”
She tried to shrug and winced instead. “I don’t know. Isn’t electricity against your religion?”
“It is not that simple.”
“You’ll have to explain it sometime.”
“Gladly. But right now you’re going to a doctor.”
Mo honked then jumped out of the green sedan parked outside the glass lobby door.
“I’m going to pick you up,” Rufus said softly. “Very slowly. You tell me if it hurts too much.”
She nodded as his arms slid under her knees and behind her shoulders. She looped her arms around his neck. Once upright, he took a few test steps toward the door.
“You okay?” he asked.
Annie nodded and leaned her head toward his chest for balance, her cheek brushing the soft black fabric of his shirt. He smelled faintly of sawdust and hay, but she was afraid a deep breath would stab her rib cage.
A cell phone rang, and Mo dug in her purse for it. “I can’t talk now,” Mo barked into the device.
Then she froze and listened. She held up her
Eight
V iolet-blue eyes stared down at her. Annie stared back. Footsteps drummed across the brown-tile floor.
“Is she all right?” Mo knelt beside Rufus.
“My head.” Annie gasped in pain.
“Don’t move!” Rufus and Mo said in unison.
“She needs a hospital,” Mo said.
“I’m fine,” Annie insisted, unsure which hurt more—her back or her head.
“I’ll call right now.” Mo moved to the phone on the desk. “But it takes forever to get an ambulance out here.”
“Who needs a hospital?” Annie said.
“Quite possibly, you.” Rufus glanced in the direction she had come from. “I don’t see what you tripped on. I was careful to keep my tools out of the way.”
“It wasn’t your tools,” she said.
It was seeing you.
“I’ve been known to be clumsy at various points in my life. This confirms the theory.”
Rufus plucked the rubber ball from behind Annie’s knee. “Here’s the culprit.”
Annie moistened her lips and turned her head toward the dining room, where forks, momentarily frozen in air, now resumed their purpose in the hands of hotel guests. Rufus rolled the ball back toward the little girl who stood staring at the scene.
“I’m calling an ambulance.” Mo picked up the phone.
“No!” Annie said, surprising even herself with her volume. “Just give me a few minutes.” Gingerly she tested one leg and then the other. Both bent at appropriate angles.
“There’s an urgent care center much closer than the hospital,” Rufus said. “Let me take you there. My little brother fell out of a tree once and needed an X-ray. They were very thorough.”
“With all due respect, Rufus, the buggy is too slow,” Mo said, “and you’ll bounce her around like a broken bedspring. I’ll take her in my car.”
Annie pressed one forearm against the floor and shifted her weight to it, rolling to one side as she began to stand up. Her bag suddenly felt like a hundred-pound weight. As if reading her mind, Rufus slipped the strap over her head and off her shoulder then offered himself for support while Annie painfully sat upright.
“I’ll bring the car around.” Mo disappeared before Annie could protest further.
“You should let her take you,” Rufus said. “Let
der Dokder
look.”
Annie had to admit she had taken a solid smack. Pain radiated out from her spine in at least three places, and already the back of her head was tender.
“No more arguments,” Annie said. “But I hope it doesn’t take long. I have a lot to do today.”
“First make sure you’re all right.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Considering how you ended up in my barn the other night, perhaps I understand more than you realize,” he said, “but you need medical attention.”
“I thought you people didn’t believe in modern medicine.” Annie lay back down on the floor with her head turned to one side. Lying flat was less painful than propping herself up.
“Who told you that?”
She tried to shrug and winced instead. “I don’t know. Isn’t electricity against your religion?”
“It is not that simple.”
“You’ll have to explain it sometime.”
“Gladly. But right now you’re going to a doctor.”
Mo honked then jumped out of the green sedan parked outside the glass lobby door.
“I’m going to pick you up,” Rufus said softly. “Very slowly. You tell me if it hurts too much.”
She nodded as his arms slid under her knees and behind her shoulders. She looped her arms around his neck. Once upright, he took a few test steps toward the door.
“You okay?” he asked.
Annie nodded and leaned her head toward his chest for balance, her cheek brushing the soft black fabric of his shirt. He smelled faintly of sawdust and hay, but she was afraid a deep breath would stab her rib cage.
A cell phone rang, and Mo dug in her purse for it. “I can’t talk now,” Mo barked into the device.
Then she froze and listened. She held up her
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