Free The Winter of Candy Canes (A Sweet Seasons Novel) by Debbie Viguié Page A

and let herself drift.
    A few minutes later they arrived at the nurse's station, and the paramedics placed her on a bed. She opened her eyes and saw the kindly nurse who always seemed to be there.
    “Hi,” Candace said.
    “I heard there was an elf down, and somehow I just knew it had to be you,” the nurse said, shaking her head.
    “I had to come see ‘the Hospital Zone,’” Candace said with a smile. “Can we have a ceremony renaming this place just like we did for the Party Zone over the summer?” she asked.
    “Sure, why not.”
    A minute later one of the other security guards came in with a bandage wrapped around his hand.
    “And what happened to you?” the nurse asked.
    “We got the family who attacked the candy cane elf, and one of the boys bit me. I just want you to check me for rabies.”
    “You caught them?” Candace asked.
    “Yes. They've been ejected from the park.”
    “What about the presents?”
    “They had already abandoned them. Luckily, we found them and gave them to a family with four little girls.”
    Candace smiled.
    “All right, you take that bed over there,” the nurse said, directing the guy with the bite. “Everyone else, into the waiting room while I assess the damage.”
    Candace waved to Josh and her mom as they headed reluctantly out of the room.
    The nurse took five minutes to clean and bandage the guard's hand before turning her attention to Candace. She gave her some pain killers. “Your tights are ruined,” she said, producing a pair of scissors and finishing the job of cutting them away. The nurse then gave her a thorough examination.
    “Well, you've got a lot of cuts and bruises, especially on your shoulder. You're going to feel those for a while. And you're going to have a nasty bruise on your cheek. What happened there?”
    “One of the other kids hit me, trying to snag a present.”
    “Nasty business.”
    “What about my knee?”
    “You need your own doctor to check it out, maybe do a couple X-rays. It's likely he'll put you in physical therapy to strengthen the muscles around the knee, just to make sure the kneecap doesn't try to slip back out. Other than that, you're going to have to keep it pretty immobile for the next few weeks.”
    Candace blinked at her. “What do you mean by immobile?”
    “I mean this,” the nurse said, bringing out a full leg brace and a pair of crutches.
    “How am I supposed to work in that?” Candace asked.
    “Oh, I think that's the least of your worries,” the nurse said.
    “How am I supposed to go to Winter Formal in that?”
    “Carefully. Now let me show you how to put it on. Then someone needs to take you home to get some rest.”
    The brace went all the way from her ankle to her hip and prevented her from bending her knee at all. Once it was on, Candace struggled to swing her leg off the bed, stepping with her right foot first and then swinging her left leg after.
    “How am I supposed to use the crutches if I can't bend my leg?” she asked.
    “At first you'll shift your body so your left hip is higher in the air than your right one. Don't worry, though, you should be able to put weight on it Monday, after you see your doctor. Then you'll just use the crutches for balance and support.”
    Candace felt her head start to spin, and she grabbed onto the bed for support.
    “I gave you some pretty potent painkillers, and I'll send some more home with you. They'll likely make you sleepy and alittle dizzy.” She grabbed a wheelchair, and Candace collapsed into it gratefully, although she struggled just to do that without being able to bend her left leg.
    The nurse wheeled her into the waiting room, and her mom and Josh rushed forward.
    “She should see her doctor on Monday,” the nurse said to her mom. “He might want to set up some physical therapy for her knee. She'll need to wear the brace for the next couple of weeks, even while she's sleeping, to make sure the muscles around the kneecap can heal,” the nurse said.