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entrance to the emergency room.
    “Are you family?” I kept myself from laughing. She clearly didn’t know my aunt because the only people who loved her were family. She wasn’t a “people” person.
    “Yes, ma’am, I am her niece,” I respond.
    “Come on back.” She buzzes the doors, and I follow them through and wait until I’m told where my aunt is.
    “She’s in room four, the second one on the right-hand side.”
    I walk in concerned about what I am going to find and come face to face with the last person I was planning to see.
    Trevor. Trevor James is a doctor?
    “Hi, Ryann.”
    “Hi,” I respond shocked. One, that he was there, and two, that he remembered my name.
    Mom’s eyebrows rose. “How do you know each other, Ry?”
    I answer her. “This is Trevor. He came in with his friend Maxwell to Smith’s the other night.”
    “Oh! They are the ones that Sad—”
    “Yes, Mother.” I give her a look demanding that she shut up.
    Trevor watches us talk and then gets back to business with a smile. I don’t know if it was a smile of curiosity or a smile of amusement. “I was just telling Ms. Payne, that her MRI looks fine surprisingly. The horse that kicked her did a good job, but fortunately—”
    “I told the dumbasses I was fine. I’ve been kicked tons of times. He didn’t mean any harm.”
    “That might be so, ma’am, but I agree that you should have it checked out. And a mild concussion is all that you have. But just because it has happened before doesn’t mean that you will be in the clear every time it happens. It can cause per—”
    “Can I leave?” she asks sternly, not the least bit concerned about anything he has to say.
    “I will get your discharge papers filled out and have the nurse bring them back in when I am done. Should be about ten minutes.”
    She nodded her head.
    “Ms. Payne, if you experience any of the symptoms listed on the sheet I am going to give you, I want to see you back here, or at the very least, let me know. I will write my cell number on the discharge sheet. Please consider taking this as serious as it really is.”
    “I told you, this has happened a good handful of times and—”
    “I understand that, and I can see that. The damage shows on your scan. You are at risk of develop—”
    She relents and agrees. “I will do as you ask.” Under her breath, she mutters, “If it takes that for me to get the hell out of here. I have work to do.”
    I look at her, ashamed at her mouth. Good God, this woman. Mom just rolls her eyes, as she’s used to her stubborn brazenness.
    “Jackie, I just do not want …” he tells her concerned and hoping she understands the seriousness of the situation. He is looking at her heartfelt and actually being the advocate for his patient.
    “10-4 Trevor. Now, go get my papers,” she sputters.
    “Yes, ma’am,” he agrees.
    I feel the need to make an excuse for my aunt and apologize for her words, not to mention her utter disregard for her health, so I follow him out the door.
    “Trevor?”  He is standing at the nurse’s station advising them of what needs to be done. I freeze as I take in his good looks. His dark blond hair was cut short but styled, and his scrubs fit his body excellently.
    “Yes?”
    “I just want to apologize for my aunt’s actions. She is as stubborn as a goat—”
    “Yeah, I got that. Do you have a minute?” he asks me.
    “Yes.” My heart flutters a tad hearing him say these words.
    He leads me over to a computer that was set up a little to the right of the nurse’s station. It is stationed on a tall rolling cart for mobility. He types Jackie’s last name and her date of birth and scans his card on the reader beside it.
    “This is your aunt’s MRI.”
    I look at him lost without saying a word only because I don’t have a clue what I am looking at. I watch him speak his medical lingo and can see how intelligent he is. His green eyes were perfectly shaped drawing me in. I had never seen