Read Online Pool of Crimson by Suzanne M. Sabol - Free Book Online Page B

anything to do with the woman covered in dirt, grime, and blood. No one, that is, except the paramedic that was striding confidently across the hospital waiting room. It was quiet as he approached, as if the entire room waited on pins and needles with me to see what happened. He had an energy that seemed to spread out around him like heat from a fire. It was warm and homey and made me feel safe in a way that I’d never felt before. He stood silently a few feet from me for a long moment, waiting for me to acknowledge him.
    I didn’t want to look at him. I was tired. I wanted to go home, and God only knew what he wanted. I didn’t have the brainpower left to be smart and play verbal chess with anyone. I needed sleep and a hot bath.
    I finally raised my head, trying to convey to him my fatigue and annoyance that he would bother me at such a fragile time. He smiled; big, brilliant, and inviting. What exactly was there to smile about? It had been a real shitty night.
    “Hi,” he said with too much energy and that bright smile. He seemed to gleam even in the harsh hospital lights.
    “Hello,” I replied curtly. I didn’t have anything left in me to be cordial.
    “Would you like to go out with me?” he asked simply, no preemptive conversation, no buffer, nothing. He stood there, calm and collected with a confident grin on his face that didn’t seem to waiver no matter how long I stared at him in silence with my mouth gaping open.
    He seemed so sure, so confident. He threw me off my game entirely. “Wow, speechlessness. I bet that doesn’t happen to you very often. You don’t seem the type to be tongue tied,” he said, laughing to himself and a bit at me.
    “Um, n-no it doesn’t,” I stammered and shut my mouth quickly.
    I hadn’t been on a date in a very long time and this guy was standing in front of me with his hands in his pockets like my answer could crush him. No one has ever asked me out, ever.
    “Okay.”
    “Good.” His eyes brightened with a twinkle that brought a smile to my lips. I couldn’t imagine how his eyes actually got brighter, but they did. “How does tomorrow work for you?”
    Ah ... um ...
    “Yeah, sure,” I said with a small, shy smile. A flutter of awareness turned my stomach to butterflies and my skin flushed with embarrassment. “My name’s Dahlia, by the way,” I said, standing and extending my hand to shake his forcefully, pushing that other, less sure, self back down. I couldn’t let him see he made me nervous. He had a firm handshake, warm hands, and I was impressed that he didn’t ease up on me. Most guys tend to go soft when they shake hands with a woman. He didn’t.
    “My name’s Danny,” he said with a smile and a quick nod. “I’ll call you about a time, and I’ll see you tomorrow night,” he said quickly. His fingers lingered lightly over mine, sending a white-hot heat through me until he released my hand, leaving his card in my palm.
    He went back to his partner, who waited by the reception desk, watching with a shit-eating grin on his face.
    I sat speechless and stunned as a very large Latina nurse wheeled Jade back into the waiting room from triage. The poor nurse didn’t look happy with her patient.
    Jade saw me and stepped out of the chair before it stopped, pushing the chair back into the nurse. She got to her feet against the advice of the poor woman trying to stop her with a half-hearted effort. Jade limped over to where I stood without a glance back at the nurse. I met the poor woman’s eyes with a silent apology but she ignored me and went back behind the double doors of the triage unit. I had a sneaking suspicion that the nurse was secretly glad to get rid of Jade.
    Jade whimpered with every step but she hobbled over to me, determined.
    “Let’s catch a cab,” I said motioning toward her wheelchair. She shrugged me off and headed for the emergency room entrance, defiant to the last.
    I caught her arm quickly just above the elbow and stopped her