Shoulda Been A Cowboy (38 page)

Damn. Doc Monroe was the last person Domini wanted to
see, but it appeared she'd have no choice. “Okay. Call
her.” She looked at the concerned faces hovering above her.
“But no one calls Cam, got it? I will talk to him after I've
seen Doctor Monroe. There's no reason to make him worry.”

“
Neva. Get your car and bring it around back.”

Neva disappeared. Bea left to make the call, leaving
Domini with Dave. She attempted a smile. “Help me up?”

Dave extended a hand and Domini slowly rose to her feet.

“
See? I'm fine.”

He just shook his head. “No. You're
stubborn.”

At the doctor's office, Domini convinced Neva to
return to Dewey's to help with the lunch rush. But Neva walked
her into the clinic, making sure Domini didn't skip out on her
appointment.

She filled out the medical forms, intentionally leaving
some sections blank. Although medical records were supposed to be
confidential, in a town the size of Sundance, Domini wasn't
taking chances.

A young nurse called out, “Domini McKay?”

Domini followed the nurse back through the maze of exam
rooms and ran straight into…Keely. She couldn't go
anywhere in this town without running into a member of Cam's
family.

Keely's blue eyes narrowed. “You look like a
ghost. What's wrong with you?”

“
What are you doing here?”

“
Doc Monroe and I are working on a project
together and I'm wrapping a few things up. Where's Cam?”

“
At work. What project?”

“
Nice try,
sis
,
with the bait and switch, but you didn't answer my question.
What's wrong with you?”

“
Maybe she didn't answer because that's
none of your business,” the nurse retorted. “This way,
Mrs. McKay.” She led her into an exam room in the farthest
corner and shut the door in Keely's face. The nurse gave her a
tight smile. “I'll get rid of her, don't worry.”

“
Thank you.”

The nurse weighed her, took her blood pressure and her
temperature. Then she drew a vial of blood. She gestured to the gown
on the exam table. “You'll need to get undressed
completely. Put the gown on with the opening in the front. The doctor
will be in shortly.”

Domini perched on the exam table. Before too long her
eyes began to droop and she laid back. The last thing she remembered
was the crinkly sound of the paper beneath her bare butt as she tried
to get comfortable.

Two sharp raps on the door startled her awake.

Doctor Monroe strode in and smiled. “I'd ask
how you are, but the fact you're here is pretty much my
answer.” She sat on the rolling stool and flipped through the
papers on the clipboard. “Why don't you tell me what's
going on?”

“
It's silly I'm here at all. I passed
out in the kitchen at Dewey's, my coworkers panicked and
offered me the choice of the emergency room or you, so here I am.”

“
Mmm-hmm.” The doctor didn't look up.
“Your medical history seems to have quite a few gaps.”

“
I'm not sure about some of it.”

“
Because…?”

“
I was orphaned at age eleven and they didn't
have my full medical history. Then my medical records were lost in
the immigration paperwork.”

“
Mmm-hmm. Understandable.” Doctor Monroe
shut the folder. “But complete and total b.s. So why don't
you tell me the truth if you expect me to help you?”

Startled, Domini stared at her.

“
First thing, strictly off the record, I assure
you I've never had designs on Cam McKay, which you might've
mistakenly believed. Cam is a patient. I don't date my
patients. Period.

“
Secondly, I take my patient's
confidentiality very seriously. No one works for me I don't
trust. Access to medical records is strictly monitored. No one on my
staff will blab any part of your medical history to anyone. I
guarantee it. So whatever you tell me, will be held in the utmost
confidence.”

“
You won't tell my husband?”

“
Not without your consent.” Doctor Monroe
stood and pulled out the table extension. “Lie back. Let's
see if we can't figure out what's going on with you.”

Good thing she already had her blood pressure taken,
because right now it was through the roof. Domini closed her eyes and
flinched when the doc's cold hands started poking her abdomen.
She knew the exact moment the doctor figured it out.

“
Do you have a uterus?” She poked the area
above Domini's hipbones.

“
No.”

“
You still have ovaries.” She traced the
scar above her pubic bone. “Surgical rather than vaginal
removal?”

“
Yes.”

“
Please sit up.”

Domini gathered the edges of her gown together. She
heard the doctor return to her chair. Heard the squeak as the chair
rolled toward the desk. Heard her flipping through the scant
paperwork looking for answers.

Doctor Monroe's pale red eyebrows were drawn
together. Her teeth were digging into her lower lip. She
seemed…agitated. “I don't have to ask if you're
having problems with your menstrual cycle.” She looked up. Her
eyes were compassionate, yet held resolve. “Will you please
explain to me why a perfectly healthy thirty-year-old woman has had a
hysterectomy?”

“
It wasn't by choice.”

“
Excuse me?”

She might as well tell the whole sordid story. “I'm
not sure about all the technical medical terms, but I started having
issues with my menstrual cycle when I was fifteen. I had no one to
talk to. My caregivers at the orphanage didn't care, so I
suffered through it. Halfway through my sixteenth year, I could feel
these…lumps in my abdomen. The pain was excruciating. Whenever
I brought it up, I was told it was part of being a woman. Until one
day I passed out from the pain. Someone called an ambulance and I
ended up in the hospital. I was in and out of a drug-induced haze
when the doctors did tests. I remembered thinking maybe my appendix
had burst.”

“
What did they find?”

“
Uterine fibroids. The orphanage director was
called in.” Domini fought back the anger. “I was a minor.
When the doctors told him the best option was removal of my uterus,
he didn't question it. He just signed the paperwork. I didn't
know any of this until after it happened when I woke up two days
later.”

“
There are so many other options besides the most
extreme one! Especially at your age! Why didn't they—”

“
What could I do? The orphanage made the choice
for me.”

“
And you had something taken from you without your
consent. My older patients who've gone through a hysterectomy
have emotional issues with the physical loss of part of their
womanhood. But to deal with that loss at age sixteen when you were
just a girl? Just becoming a woman—” Her voice broke, and
she looked away.

Domini watched in shocked silence as Doctor Monroe's
tears dripped on her white slacks. Not the reaction she'd
expected.

What did you expect? She'd call Cam and tell
him she could give him the babies you can't?

Finally Doctor Monroe composed herself. “I'm
sorry. It makes me so angry that there are monsters in the medical
field all over the world who can just play God and take away
choices…” She inhaled. Exhaled. “I get a little
worked up sometimes.”

“
It's okay.”

“
Did they have any idea what might've caused
the fibroids? It's fairly uncommon at that age.”

“
There were a lot of medical abnormalities after
Chernobyl. Some immediate, some issues that didn't show up
until years later. Of course, no one will admit that disaster had
long term affects on any of the Ukraine people.”

“
Of course not. Who monitors you?”

“
A gynecological specialist in Denver. I see her
once a year.”

“
Good. But now that I'm aware of your
condition, if you have any issues you're not sure of, I'd
be happy to treat you. I'm not a specialist, but I am
determined to make rural healthcare top notch.”

“
Thank you.” Domini fidgeted with the folds
of the gown. “Cam doesn't know.”

Doctor Monroe frowned. “Why not?”

“
Because when we'd just started dating my
friend Nadia died and left her son Anton an orphan and I couldn't
let him go into foster care. I'd have a hard time getting
custody of Anton as a single woman so Cam suggested I marry him.”

“
He did?”

“
It was spur of the moment. As a cop Cam has had
foster care training. His logic was if I married him, I wouldn't
be a flight risk and Anton wouldn't have to go into foster
care. So I said yes. I'm so selfish.” Domini started
crying. “Cam is the best man in the world and he deserves so
much better than me, especially with his brothers and cousins all
having kids. If he stays married to me that'll never happen,
he'll never have kids of his own and I don't know how to
tell him.”

“
Ssh. Hey. Here.” The doctor handed her a
tissue. “Take a deep breath. I can't tell you what to do,
because you already know what you should do. I don't believe
the only reason Cam McKay married you is so you could get custody of
Anton. No one is that selfless.”

“
You'd be surprised.”

“
There's no other reason?”

Domini blew her nose. “Well, the sex between us is
pretty spectacular.”

“
I don't doubt that. Look, obviously you've
dealt with the issues concerning Cam's handicap. I can't
imagine he wouldn't be as understanding when you tell him about
yours.”

“
But—”

“
Do you think any less of him because his leg is
gone?”

“
No!”

Two raps sounded on the door and the nurse poked her
head in. “Umm. There's a very agitated, very large,
uniformed man out here demanding to see his wife. He's armed
and he's scaring me.”

Domini's gaze zipped to the doctor's. “How
did Cam find out I was here?”

“
Don't look at me. I didn't call him.
Send him back.” Doctor Monroe patted Domini's knee. “For
now, let's concentrate on—”

The door opened and Cam barreled in. “Domini, are
you all right?”

“
I'm fine, Cam.”

“
You scared me half to death.” He cupped her
face in his hands. His eyes searched hers frantically. “Why
didn't you call me?”

“
You're busy and—”

“
I'm never too busy for you. Never ever
ever
too busy for my wife.” Cam glanced at the doctor. “What's
wrong with her? Is it serious? Is she gonna be okay?”

“
She's anemic for one thing. Which explains
the lightheadedness and fainting spells.”

“
You fainted?” Cam said incredulously.

“
Just once.”

“
How many times do you have to faint before you
see it as a problem?” Cam turned to the doctor. “What
else?”

“
Nausea. It sounds like she hasn't been
eating right or sleeping much.”

“
Anything else?”

“
Hypertension. Stress can create all sorts of
different reactions in the body.”

“
So what do I do to make her better? I'll do
whatever it takes.”

Her tears pooled again. She didn't deserve this
man.

“
For the anemia I'll prescribe iron tablets.
For the hypertension, bed rest for a couple of days.” The
doctor clasped the chart to her chest.

“
Thank you, Doctor Monroe.”

“
Yeah, thanks, doc, for seeing her right away. I
owe you one.”

She smiled. “Remember that when you see the bill.
Take care. Both of you.”

When the door clicked shut, Cam's mouth was on
hers, bestowing the sweetest, gentlest kiss that brought tears to the
surface again. “Thank God you're okay. I don't know
what I'd do if something happened to you, princess. I'd
absolutely lose my fucking mind.”

“
Listen—”

“
No, you listen. I'm taking you home and you
will not do a single goddamned thing but lay in bed for at least two
days.”

“
Cam—”

“
I ain't kiddin'. When Dave called
me—”

Domini placed her hand on his chest. “Wait.
Dave
called you?”