Lightning Strikes

Virtually, she was alone. No, Amanda corrected herself mentally. She wasn’t alone. She had Gordon. Suddenly assured that hearing his voice would get her mind back on track, she grabbed her cell phone on her desk and dialed his number.

“Yo,” she said.

“Yo, yourself,” Gordon countered with a chuckle.

In her mind’s eye, she could see him sitting at his desk, his appearance as disorganized as the papers surrounding him. Although dedicated to his job, he was not a workaholic as she was, which was good. In the event she gave in and married him, they would make a compatible team.

Marrying another doctor would’ve been a mistake.

“Hey, you still there?” Gordon asked.

“Sorry. I just had a free minute and wanted to hear your voice.”

“That’s nice, but are you sure everything’s okay? You sound sort of down.”

“It’s the weather,” she lied, then felt bad. “Actually, I’ve been taking a trip down memory lane. As you well know, that’s taboo.”

“What you need is some time away from that hospital. I hate you being there during this horrible weather. In fact, we shouldn’t even be talking on the phone.”

“Does that even apply to cell phones?”

He chuckled. “Who knows. Maybe you could leave now. You promised to cook me some of your lasagna the first chance you get.”

That had also been Noah’s favorite. She clutched the phone in a deathlike grip. It was in that moment that the loudest boom of thunder yet rocked the entire building, then plunged it into complete darkness.

Jeez Louise! That was all they needed—to lose power. But she knew it was a fact when she heard the whine of the emergency generator crank to life.

“Gordon, got to go. Power’s out.”

Hanging up, she fled the lounge and headed toward ER, knowing all hell was about to break loose.

* * *

“Damn!”

Noah’s phone was going crazy, but then so was his mother. They were facing each other at the back of the dark chapel like adversaries who were out for blood instead of blood-related.

His cell phone rang again, seemingly louder than ever, though he was surprised he could hear it above the pandemonium inside the chapel caused by both his announcement and the now-evident power failure, and the horrendous weather outside.

“Turn that thing off!” Melissa demanded, her blue eyes as cold as slivers of ice.

Noah controlled his temper, though just barely. At any given moment, it could erupt. If anyone knew how to push his buttons, it was his mother, who was as mad as she was upset.

“Look, I have to go.”

“Go?” Melissa’s voice had reached screeching level. “What do you mean, go? You can’t just walk off and leave me alone to clean up your sister’s mess.” She turned to look at the wedding crowd. “What about all those people?”

“They’ll go home.”

“How can you be so…so cavalier?”

“I’m not.”

She sniffed. “Yes, you are.”

“Dammit, Mother, I don’t have any choice. I’m on call at the hospital, and people’s lives depend on me.”

“What about your sister’s?”

His mouth turned down. “Come on, Mother. I doubt her life’s at stake.”

“Get someone else to cover for you.” Melissa’s tone was as haughty as her posture.

“I can’t. Besides, in this weather, I’ll be doing well if I can get there myself.”

“Your sister’s missing, for God’s sake,” Melissa responded, though now in a whiny, cajoling tone. “Surely she’s more important than your job.”

Noah didn’t bother to address that, knowing that his mother was selfish, a fact that would never change no matter what he said or did. “Have you ever thought that Randi disappeared because she wanted to?”

Melissa shook her head. “Why, that’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. She loves Hal, and besides that, she wouldn’t do this to me. Something’s happened. I just know it.” She wrung her hands. “And Hal, where is he?”

“How the hell do I know?”

“Don’t you dare use that tone with me!” Melissa’s eyes flashed. “Randi and I are your responsibility. You have to help Hal find her.”

Noah’s phone squealed again.

“I have to go.” When his mother would have interrupted, he added, “Look, I’m just as concerned about Randi as you are. But right now, I’m going to Vanderbilt.”

“But—”

His tone softened. “Hal’s here somewhere. Find him. He’ll know what to do. You stay put, and I’ll be in touch.” Noah leaned over and pecked her on the cheek. “Buck up, Randi’s going to be just fine and so are you.”

“Noah Howell!”

“Again, I’ll be in touch.”

Some time later, Noah raced through the doors of the emergency room, and, as he expected, the hospital was not only swamped, but chaos reigned. Phones were ringing. The skeleton staff was rushing around. And the emergency generator was acting like it didn’t want to work. If that son of a bitch went out…

Someone screamed in pain. In spite of himself, Noah winced. Times like this made him wish he’d chosen another profession, which was a lie, he told himself. Mending broken bodies was his specialty, and, though it was hard, he couldn’t think of anything else he’d rather do. Professionally, he was a savior.

Personally, he was one big screwup.

“Thank God you’re here, Noah,” Bethany Kent, an ER nurse said, her voice sounding strained to the max.

“Where to first?”

“Trauma two. It’s Friday night and two teenagers from a car accident were just wheeled in.”