Apache Heart Read Free

wanted.”
                  “Why don’t you give me an overview of what I need to do to get oriented?”  Randi said helpfully.
                  He seemed relieved to turn the conversation back to work.  “Lozen finishes the prenatal clinic at three.  She’s our most senior nurse, and frankly, she’s the pillar of the hospital.  She can give you a tour, and introduce you to the staff.  There are two internists and a pediatrician. We have five other RNs and some LPNs.  There’s a nutritionist, a pharmacist, a small lab that can handle anything that’s not exotic, and a radiology tech.  All in all, they’re a pretty talented group of folks.”
                  “Sounds like you’ve got the bases covered.”
                  “We try.  Anything surgical or critical we stabilize and then send them on to the regional medical center.  Minor traumas we handle here—stitches, broken bones, snake bite, that sort of thing.”
                  “Somebody better show me where the anti-venom is then!”  Randi found that she was warming up to Dr. Cody.  She didn’t think that their rocky start was personal.  He seemed like he cared.  “Dr. Cody…” Randi hesitated, but thought she should just be blunt, “Is there anything I should know about being a white girl working on a reservation?”
                  “If you’re respectful and do your job, people for the most part will accept you just fine.  There may be things that puzzle you from time to time, but if you don’t understand something, ask Lozen or myself.  We’ll try our best to explain.”
                  “Thanks, I appreciate that.  One other thing…I’m more likely to answer if you call me Randi instead of Dr. Green.”
                  “I’ll keep that in mind.”  He pushed back from the little table.  “And feel free to call me Elan.”
                  Randi wandered down to the prenatal clinic to observe what was going on.  She realized she probably didn’t look like much of a doctor in her dirty slacks and blouse, so she took a chair in the empty waiting room.  A door to one of the examining rooms opened, and Lozen had her hand on the shoulder of a young woman maybe eight months pregnant, but the concerning thing was her black eye.  Lozen patted her and sent her on her way, and then motioned to Randi.
                  “Domestic violence?” Randi asked.
                  Lozen shook her head up and down gravely, “Yeah, you know, Indians and firewater.  It’s a bad mix.”  The nurse unwrapped her stethoscope from her neck and slipped it in her pocket.  “Dr. Cody sent you to me for a tour, didn’t he?”  She smiled.  “I’m kind of the Welcome Wagon around here.”  They walked down the main hallway, and Lozen pointed out the lab and radiology and introduced her to the techs.
                  “Tell me about Dr. Cody, he’s kind of a hard one to read,” Randi said as they headed toward the pharmacy.
                  “Yeah, no kidding.  That one runs hot and cold.  But he’s an excellent doctor, and he does a good job of keeping this place afloat.  I try to forgive his quirks.” 
                  Randi wasn’t sure how curious she could be without seeming like she was just sticking her nose in other people’s business, but she realized, there was something about Elan that she found incredibly appealing.  She laughed and asked casually, “Any quirks that I should be warned about?”
                  “Oh, I don’t know, he’s moody, I guess.  Probably nothing that couldn’t be fixed with a little less work and a little more fun in his life.  I don’t think he’s had a date in the last five years.”
                  “Maybe he’s…” Randi hesitated, afraid to veer into out and out