by Tina Beckett
The man glanced at him one last time and then moved around to get behind the wheel of the vehicle. The other EMT, who’d been tending to the patient—a boy this time—rattled off the child’s vitals. This one was around ten years of age. Once he was done, he murmured, “Sorry about that.”
Addy smiled, although it was strained. “Not your fault. Do you mind taking him inside and asking someone to find him an exam room?”
“Not a problem.”
She started to walk off as another rescue squad arrived. Garret’s fingers encircled her wrist and gave a reassuring squeeze before releasing his grip. “Hey, you okay?”
“I’m fine. Leo’s just a jerk sometimes.”
It sounded as if it was more than just sometimes. But there was no way he was going to say that. Plus, Addy was already heading toward the back of the vehicle, stethoscope swinging around her neck, her steps sure and determined.
He caught one more glance at Leo, who threw a scowl his way, but wouldn’t hold his gaze.
A fourth ambulance came in, and Garret headed straight for it just as another doctor burst through the emergency-room doors. Lyle Hascup, known for his work in the burn unit, had made it to the hospital more quickly than he expected.
He let Lyle take the lead on what turned out to be an adult female, the one with grease burns to her arms and torso. The woman was in obvious pain, writhing on the gurney, but still asking about her baby in loud tones. Lyle tried to get her to calm down, but she wasn’t having it. He glanced at the rescue worker. “Do you know where the baby is?”
“He’s following. It took longer to get him stabilized.” The man’s voice was low. “Head and neck trauma from a fall.”
Lyle nodded. “Dr. Stapleton, that is up your alley—do you want to take that one?”
His gut tightened in dread. “Yes. But make sure there’s another neurosurgeon in the building, just in case.”
“Got it.” Then the other doctor was busy with his own patient, barking out orders and running alongside the gurney as they rushed the children’s mother inside.
Addy came over. “Have you got the next one? I’m going to go start treatment on the other children. Lyle will do great with the mother.”
“I’m good. Go.”
The first ambulance pulled out as did the second, which contained Addy’s ex. Questions burned in his head, but, as Addy had said, now was not the time. Besides, Addy’s relationships were none of his business. Unless it affected her work.
His hand burned with a phantom pain that reminded him that sometimes your private life did bleed into your professional life. He ignored the thought and waited for what seemed like an eternity before finally hearing the telltale wail of the fifth and final siren. The rescue vehicle pulled in and there was a rush of activity in the back as the other squads pulled out to make space for the newcomer.
The back doors swung open and a young EMT jumped down. “We’ve got a critical patient here. You a doctor?”
Only then did Garret realize he wasn’t wearing his lanyard. He’d taken it off in his office so it didn’t continually bump the edge of his desk—a constant annoyance.
He also realized the man was staring at his hand, a quizzical look on his face as his eyes swung up again.
“Yes, I’m a neurosurgeon. You can ask anyone inside that building.” He didn’t go into the fact that he was now basically a desk jockey—a bean counter—who, while retaining his medical license, rarely treated patients nowadays.
“That’s good enough for me.”
His partner jumped out of the vehicle and came to help lower the gurney as vitals were read. They weren’t great. Skull fracture or a brain bleed were at the top of his list. He wouldn’t know until he could get a CT scan. He quickly peeled back the baby’s eyelids, looking for pupillary reflex.
Neither pupil was blown, which was good, but the right was a little more reactive than the left. He didn’t carry a penlight with him anymore as a matter of course. He’d have to borrow one inside, although it would be next to impossible to hold a light while using his good hand to peel apart the baby’s eyelids.
He gave a quick listen to his patient’s heart, instead, which thankfully sounded strong even if the baby’s blood pressure was lower than he’d like it to be. He glanced at the baby’s head. No bleeding that he could see in front and the backboard and neck brace prevented him from looking at the back of his skull at the moment.
“Let’s get him inside. I want a CT of his head and neck to get a visual on what’s going on in there.”
They rushed the baby into the emergency room and transferred him from the ambulance gurney to one of the hospital’s. He read off orders to the nurse who, in turn, called up to Radiology to let them know they were on their way. “Any idea if there’s another parent in the picture besides the mom?”
The EMT shook his head. “I don’t know. Another squad was treating her. Maybe check with them.”
They were already long gone, but it didn’t matter at the moment. He called another nurse over. “Can you see if mom is able to sign a consent form? I’m taking him upstairs.”
“I’ll get on it and call you when it’s done.” It was gratifying not to have anyone question his requests, not that he’d thought they would. But he had expected more sideways looks or raised brows. He’d gotten none.
By the time they arrived in the imaging department, the consent form had been signed and scanned into the system. “The mother’s pretty upset,” the nurse said.
“Understandable. I’ll let you know as soon as we have an idea on...” he glanced at the form on the electronic pad “...Matthew’s condition. How are the other kids?”
“Mostly smoke inhalation. One broken finger from the melee right after the fire broke out. It’s already been splinted. They’ll be admitted overnight to watch for anything else.”
Another nurse came over. “ER just called up. The mother is single and says the dad is out of the picture. She’s having someone call her mom, who’s in Michigan.”
Michigan. Hell, that might as well be the other side of the world. If they couldn’t find a relative or friend who could watch the kids as they were discharged, what would happen to them while their mother was in the hospital recovering?
That really wasn’t his call. And right now, he had a little boy to worry about.
The imaging technician made quick work of getting the baby into the machine. Since he was still unconscious there were no issues with keeping him still, a very small blessing. All in all, the procedure took less than five minutes.
While a nurse waited with the baby, Garret looked at the scans, noting immediately there was indeed a basilar fracture, which would make sense since the mother had reportedly dropped the baby when the grease had flared toward her. The force of his head striking the hard tile floor could have caused a linear fracture like the one he saw on the film. He didn’t see any areas of brain compression that might indicate an active bleed. Another good sign.
The fact that he hadn’t gotten burned as well was a testament to the way his mother had reacted to the fire by turning away. It could have been worse. Much worse. It didn’t look as if he’d need to call in an actual surgeon. They could treat conservatively and get a good result, hopefully. The baby’s eyes were darkening underneath, meaning he would have two good-sized shiners by morning, but that was also normal with this particular type of fracture.
No neck injuries that he could see on the scans, so they could take the collar off and find a bed in the pediatric ICU area so he could be watched.
He quickly wrote up orders for Matthew’s care and made sure there was a room available. The baby’s vitals were stabilizing, and he was starting to stir. And fuss. No wonder. He had to have a massive headache. Garret touched a finger to the back of the baby’s hand. “Don’t worry, little guy. We’re going to take good care of you and hopefully g
et you reunited with your mom very soon.” He made a note to hand off the case to another of the hospital’s neurologists. He would see who was due to come through to do rounds in the morning, since it was already getting late, judging from the sky. But for tonight, he would check on the baby before he left the hospital.
Speaking of which, he wanted to peek in on the mom as well. Glancing down at his curled fingers, he hoped her hands would fare better than his had.
By the time he made it back to the emergency room, the rooms had been cleared out and there was no sign of Addy. Maybe she’d left for the day. He glanced at his watch, surprised to find it was almost nine in the evening. He was supposed to meet her in the morning for the whole surfing thing. He’d done his best to think of a way to weasel out of it, but had come up with nothing.
Just as that thought hit, she rounded a corner and stopped dead as if shocked to see him. Had she thought of turning in the other direction only to realize it was too late? It was what he might have done, given the opportunity.
He decided to speak up first. “How are they?”
“I was just about to ask you the same question. I was on my way to the elevator to check on the baby.”
“Matthew.”
“Sorry?”
Why had he said that? “The baby’s name. I saw it on the consent form.”
“Ah. How is he?”
He nodded toward the chairs at a nearby waiting area, noting the way her eyes widened.
“He made it, didn’t he? Grace will be devastated, if something happened.”
“He has a skull fracture, but nothing that time can’t heal.”
Addy sagged into one of the chairs. “Thank God. Grace kept saying she would never forgive herself for letting go of him.”
“If she’d held on, he might have shielded her from the flames, but would have gotten the worst of it himself.” Garret sat beside her. “I take it you’ve heard about how the others are?”
“They’re all in rooms for the night. We juggled some patients so we could keep the family as close together as we could. Two of them will be on oxygen for the duration of the night. One of them could probably be discharged, but—”
“There’s nowhere for them to go. Yeah, I heard that from one of the EMTs. I take it the grandmother is making arrangements to come down?”
“Yes. Grace said she found a flight. She should be here later this evening.”
“How is she, by the way? The burns?”
“Believe it or not, she’s fairly lucky. She has several partial thickness burns. Most of the ones on her arm and neck, though, are superficial. But there are two areas on her hands that are deep.”
Also known as second-degree burns, partial thickness burns affected the first two layers of the dermis.
He swallowed. “Her hands. Nerve damage?”
“Possibly, but they’ll keep an eye on them and watch for infection. It could have been a whole lot worse.”
He leaned back, expelling the air in his lungs. “I just got done saying that after looking at Matthew’s CT scans. Did they lose their house?”
“No. One of the EMTs told me the fire was contained quickly. One wall in the kitchen has some fire and water damage, and smoke, obviously, but it could have been—”
“Much worse.” He laughed.
She smiled and twisted in the seat to look at him. “So how does it feel to play doctor again?”
Play doctor? He glanced sharply at her.
“It feels strange. And kind of nice.” He was going to avoid thinking about any other connotation behind her words. “I’ve missed it.”
“You’re still a doctor, Garret. You realize that, don’t you?” She touched his injured hand, sending a burst of heat through it. The friction from her fingers was almost unbearably intimate. “This...” she brushed her skin against his once again “...doesn’t affect who you are or what’s in your head. In your heart.”
He gritted his teeth, fighting the tension growing inside his belly and sweeping to other areas.
“It affects what I can hold in my hand, though, doesn’t it?” Even he could hear the bitterness in his words. “My whole life changed in the space of a few seconds.”
When he looked in her face he saw a wide range of emotions: concern, dismay and, finally, compassion. What he didn’t see was what he dreaded the most: pity. But even without that, he could guess what the next words out of her mouth would be before she’d even given voice to them.
“What happened, Garret? To your hand?”
CHAPTER FOUR
THE WAITING ROOM was still empty; the day-to-day visitors in this area had gone home for the most part. Addy loved it when the hospital was like this. Quiet and almost peaceful. You could almost forget there were life-and-death battles raging inside these halls.
The battle going on in Garret’s head right now might not be life or death, but she could tell he was trying to decide how much to tell her. She knew he’d been in an accident that had damaged his hand, but she didn’t know how it had happened, although she’d heard some vague rumors about his daughter dying and him going off the deep end.
“I was in a car accident four years ago. I was coming off a fourteen-hour shift, and I was tired.” He rubbed a hand across his brows, his mouth twisting. “I fell asleep behind the wheel.”
Something in her heart twisted, that meeting in his office taking on a whole new meaning that was impossible to ignore. Hadn’t she driven home desperately tired before—found her eyelids sinking and had to jerk herself back to wakefulness?
“I didn’t know.”
“I’m surprised, actually. I thought hospital grapevines were notorious about digging up the dirt on everyone.”
“Hard to do that on someone who’s just as notorious about his privacy. I heard you had a daughter who died. I’m sorry.”
“We lost Leticia to leukemia at age ten.”
His daughter had been ten? He must have married young. But it would be just as devastating to lose a child no matter what the age. “I’m sorry.”
She had to ask. “Is this why you wanted me to cut back on my hours?”
“Yes. I wouldn’t wish this—” he lifted his hand “—on my worst enemy.”
“I can understand that. But there’s still so much you can do, Garret. You showed that today as you were treating that baby. You could teach. I’ve heard stories about how talented a surgeon you were—still are.”
“I can’t do surgery at all.”
Her head tilted. “Yes, you can.”
Reaching over, he used his damaged hand to grasp hers, tried to raise it off the arm of the chair. He made it up a few inches before losing his grip. The laugh he gave was humorless. “See? Nothing more than a claw game. So do you want to rethink that?”
She leaned forward, forcing him to meet her eyes. “You can still do surgery. In here, Garret.” Her fingers lifted to touch his temple. His skin was warm, his dark hair tickling the back of her hand. She swallowed back a rush of emotion. “And then you can share that knowledge with medical students. You have so much to offer them.”
“No. Absolutely not.” His eyes darkened, pupils swallowing his brown irises.
“But why?”
He got to his feet as if he couldn’t stand her touching him. Why had she even done that? And how stupid was she for discussing this with him? She barely knew the man. He worked in the same hospital, but that didn’t mean they were automatically friends or confidants.
In fact, it appeared he resented her personal questions, as well he should. She owed him an apology.
“I’m sorry. I had no business asking you about your private life.”
He didn’t answer for a minute, a muscle in his cheek pulsing in the sudden silence. He finally blew out a breath. “I’m the one who should apologize. I overreacted. It tends to be a touchy subject
.”
And yet he said he missed practicing medicine. Why wouldn’t he want to share his love of it with others? She would probably never know.
“I pried where I shouldn’t have. It won’t happen again.”
He brushed off her words with a wave of his hand. “No harm done. I think I’ll go up and check on my young patient and make sure he’s okay before I head out for the night.”
“Okay. Good night.”
She wasn’t sure how to ask if they were still on for tomorrow. They probably weren’t. She wouldn’t blame him if he’d changed his mind about going after that tense exchange.
Well, she’d simply show up at the beach at the specified time and place. If he came, great. If he didn’t, she would still catch some waves on her own. In fact, it might even be better that way. No distractions. And no opportunities to put her foot back in her mouth.
Heaving a sigh that felt heavier than an elephant, she waited until he was out of sight and then got out of her chair and made her way through the exit doors. The image of Garret driving home late one evening and waking up in the hospital was not going to be easy to erase. But she’d better at least try. Because he’d made it very clear that he did not want to talk about his personal life with anyone.
And most definitely not with her.
* * *
It was a typical balmy South Beach morning. Addy propped her board against the rail of the surf shop and glanced at her waterproof watch—one of the few times she actually wore one nowadays, since she couldn’t carry her phone into the surf. Nine twenty-nine. He wasn’t coming. Why that sent a wave of disappointment sloshing over her, she had no idea. But it did. She’d told herself she didn’t want him to come and watch her surf, but it was a lie. Because unlike him, she did like to help people explore new things.
She’d never officially taught anyone to surf, and she had no idea if Garret would even want to try, but she had helped colleagues who’d had an interest in learning get the basics.
