The Fine Line Book One Between Worlds Series

The Fine Line

Book One

Between World
Series

Tracee Ford

Edited by

Richard Sprigg

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or
are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any
resemblance to actual events, locations, organizations, or person,
living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © Tracee Ford 2015

Smashwords Edition

Licensing Notes

All rights reserved. No part of this book may
be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written
permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in
articles and reviews.

Cover: Select-O-Grafix, LLC.

Editor: Richard Sprigg

Terror is not
imagined.

It’s real…

This book is dedicated to
all of the people who stood behind me on this project, believing in
its reality.

Special thanks to Eileen
and Jeannie.

And to B.J. and my son,
David, for your

patience and
encouragement.

Love you both.

Very special thanks to
Richard Sprigg, editor.

Prince Charming?

Exhaustion tugged Robin’s energy levels
lower than when she had been interning two years ago with a local
hospital. She’d grown accustomed to the graveyard shift. Now, her
job with the government, while lucrative, demanded a lot of her. It
was difficult adjusting to the lack of sleep.

She had taken a position with the county’s
children services division doing ongoing cases. Because of her
outstanding work, she had been offered a promotion to the intake
assessment department. It paid slightly better, but as with
everything, there were necessary sacrifices, one of those being the
on-call pager.

She worked feverishly all through the night
with the police officers by her side. The goal: to help a sibling
group settle into a foster home. She reported to work promptly at 8
a.m. and when she walked into her apartment at 4:30 p.m., she
dropped onto her bed and quickly fell asleep.

At 5:50 p.m. she woke to her cell phone
alarm blaring. So, she hurriedly put on her softball uniform and
grabbed her cleats. She swept her long dark brown hair up into the
ball cap and darted out the door. She pulled onto the parking lot
to see the rest of the team waiting.

The agency formed a softball league, as they
did every year. Tonight, the local sheriff’s department hosted the
event. Spectators were out in full force, too.

Robin played outfield. After three innings,
she ran to the dugout triumphantly, the ball in her mitt. The
children services team needed more runs and as she stepped up to
the plate, she knew this was their chance to jump ahead. She smiled
at the pitcher, who she knew well. Deputy Marvin Reed had stood by
her side a few times since she had started with the investigations
department.

Marvin pitched the ball and the crack of the
bat echoed as it struck the leather ball. Teammates cheered as
Robin rounded first and then second base. Suddenly, she felt her
left ankle twist and before she knew it she tumbled to the ground.
Members of both of the teams ran to her. The pain throbbed in her
ankle and instinctively, she grabbed her injury.

Wendy Snyder, Robin’s best friend and
roommate, a sweet yet outspoken woman, knelt beside her.

“
You think it’s broken?”
she asked.

“
It hurts really badly.
It’s a shame we’re not playing the paramedics tonight,” Robin
replied as she continued holding her ankle.

“
You tripped on that
rock,” Wendy said as she pointed. “We need to get you to the E.R.;
have it looked at. It could just be sprained,” she said
encouragingly.

After the long drive and a 30 minute wait,
she limped into triage and explained everything to the nurse.
Embarrassed by her appearance, the anger swelled in her. She knew
she needed a shower and most of all, she craved sleep.

After the initial consult, she made her way
back out to the waiting area for another 30 minute wait. Finally,
she heard her name called from the open door. Wendy helped Robin to
her feet and she hobbled to the door. As she passed through, pastel
colored curtains lining the walls filled her vision. The sounds of
the E.R. brought back terrible memories of her internship; all of
the loud coughing, gagging, and chatter made her skin crawl. She
detested hospitals.

“
The doctor will be in to
see you shortly,” the nurse said.

A sigh escaped Robin’s lips. Irritated and
sleep deprived, she flopped back onto the gurney. Her brown eyes
closed as she gave up her fight against the intense exhaustion. It
felt as if she slept for only a few minutes when she felt the touch
of a warm hand on her forehead. She thought she was dreaming until
she heard a man’s voice, smooth and comforting. She also heard
Wendy’s whispers. Wendy told the doctor about the incident at the
ball field as well as Robin’s terrible night of on-call.

“
Miss Hillard,” the voice
said softly, his hand still planted on her forehead. “Miss Hillard,
can you wake up for me, please?”

Her eyes opened to see a man in a white lab
coat. She estimated him to be about 5’10”. His beautiful brown eyes
were full of comfort. His dark brown hair was a tussled mess. It
was shaggy with the front swept to the side. His scrubs were navy
blue which complimented his light complexion.

Robin still struggled to find consciousness;
she heard his sneakers scuff the floor when he shifted his weight.
He smiled when her eyes finally opened to meet his gaze. His face
was gorgeous. He had a precisely cut goatee and his smile made her
blush. Her pulse sped as she took in all of his features.

“
Miss Hillard, I’m Dr.
Gregory. Your friend tells me that you fell at a softball
game?”

His hand moved from her forehead to his
pocket as he pulled out a light pen. He flashed it in her eyes.
Squinting and still irritated, she sat up and groaned. Her body
felt lifeless as her energy level continued plummeting. Even her
speeding pulse didn’t overcome the fatigue. She flopped back
down.

“
Are you in any pain right
now?” he asked. “Head spinning? Anything like that? Have you eaten
anything?”

“
One question at a time
please,” she answered with a smile. “Yes, I’m in some pain. Yes, my
head is spinning. I’ve had no sleep. And no, I haven’t eaten since
lunch.”

“
Just relax. I’m going to
take a look at your leg and ankle first and then we might run some
tests just to rule out some other things, okay?”

“
What other
things?”

“
Well, are you usually
pretty steady on your feet? Is it like you to just fall
down?”

“
Well, I’m clumsy by
nature. Sometimes I have two left feet,” she said, “but I’ve never
fallen like that. Like I said, I’m tired. I’m also sure the large
boulder in front of third base didn’t help much.”

Robin felt his fingers and hands on her
ankle. She winched in pain with the pressure of his touch.

“
Tender there,
huh?”

She nodded and folded her hands neatly on
her stomach as she looked at him.

“
X-rays first, but I don’t
think you broke it. The swelling is minimal. I think you probably
just twisted it.”

“
Okay.”

“
Blood work to rule out
anything else and you need to eat something, so I’ll have the nurse
bring in a sandwich after we draw blood. So, just relax and we’ll
get you fixed right up,” he said as his hand touched
hers.

When he left, Wendy smiled. “He’s hot!”

Robin agreed, but changing the subject was
safer.

“
How long was I out?” she
asked curiously.

“
Only about an hour.
They’re really busy tonight.” Wendy paused. “Are you feeling
okay?”

“
I’m just really tired and
hungry.”

The phlebotomist came into the room and took
blood as Wendy’s cell phone rang. She left the room to take the
call. Another nurse came in with a turkey sandwich from the
cafeteria.

Wendy walked back in and sat down.

“
Well, Terri called and he
and Dalton ran your car back to the apartment,” she began. “They
said they hoped you didn’t break your ankle because they really
need you to cover for them while they are on their vacation. They
said, ‘If you’re off on sick leave you can’t be of any help to
anyone,’” she joked.

“
Oh, is that all they care
about?”

“
Jamaica is more important
than your ankle to them right now,” Wendy added.

The curtain slid open and Dr. Gregory
appeared with a wheelchair. Robin wasn’t expecting him. In fact,
she expected a longer wait and a nurse to show up.

“
Ready to get a good dose
of radiation?” he asked jokingly.

She smiled. She felt woozy as she sat up on
the side of the gurney. Quickly, the doctor was by her side helping
her stand.

“
I don’t think you should
put weight on it until we find out more. Put your arm around my
neck and I’ll help you,” he said as he smiled at her. Again, their
eyes collided.

In spite of her feelings of
self-consciousness, she put her arm around his neck. She felt his
arm slide around her waist as she hopped to the wheelchair with his
attentive assistance.

“
I’ll have her back in no
time,” he said smiling at Wendy.

“
Shouldn’t a nurse be
doing this?” Robin asked candidly before he wheeled her
out.

“
Well,” he said taking a
deep breath in, “we are swamped tonight and I don’t mind doing the
dirty work sometimes,” he laughed.

The silence was thick enough to cut with a
knife as they maneuvered through the hallways of the hospital. The
silence, however, didn’t last long.

“
So you injured your ankle
playing for your softball league? Who do you play for?” he asked
curiously.

“
I work for children
services in the next county over.”

“
That explains why I
haven’t seen you here before when I’ve called about child abuse
reports.”

“
The agency has a softball
team.”

“
What position do you
play?” he asked curiously.

“
Outfield
mostly.”

“
You any good?”