A Doctor's Promise (Lifeline Air Rescue Book 1)

by Scott, Laura

  “Yes, of course.” Elizabeth O’Connor bravely approached Ty’s bed. “This is Billy the bear, and he wants you to get better soon.”

  It was all Shelly could do not to snatch the bear away and throw it back in Mark’s mother’s face. But she couldn’t do that to Tyler.

  And this was how it started, she thought helplessly. This is how the O’Connors would use their wealth to win Ty’s love.

  “I’m sorry,” she interrupted, finally finding her voice. “But Ty isn’t really up for visitors. If you could put the bear on the recliner on your way out, I’d appreciate it.” She thought she did a good job of remaining polite when every instinct she possessed wanted to grab Ty and to run.

  To another state. Far away from Jared and his overbearing, obnoxious parents.

  “We won’t stay long.” Joseph O’Connor stepped forward, forming a united front with his wife, silently challenging Shelly to physically throw them out. “After all these years, a few minutes won’t hurt.”

  She narrowed her gaze, tightening her grip on the rail. Throwing Jared’s parents out on their rear ends would be sweet, but Tyler shouldn’t be a witness to such violence.

  Especially from his mother.

  “Are you really my grandma and grandpa?” Ty asked, his gaze swinging between the two of them.

  “Yes, we really are.” Elizabeth’s expression softened as she turned toward Ty. Shelly nearly whimpered in distress. This couldn’t be happening. Ty was her son. They couldn’t take him away. She wouldn’t stand for it! Why didn’t they just go back to Boston where they belonged?

  “Cool.” Ty’s eyelids drooped from the effects of the medication, but he fought the urge to sleep, forcing his eyes open. “It’s Grandparents Day at school next week, and I didn’t want a pretend one.”

  “A pretend one?” Elizabeth frowned and leaned closer. “What do you mean?”

  “You know, there are some grandmas and grandpas that don’t have grandkids of their own, so they come and pretend to be ours.” His eyelids drooped again, and his words began to slur. “I’m glad to have my own . . .” His head rolled to the side as he succumbed to the effects of his pain medication.

  Shelly’s shoulders slumped as the implication of Ty’s words sank deep. As much as she wanted to kick the O’Connors out, she hadn’t known about Grandparents Day. Ty hadn’t mentioned anything about it, until now.

  “We’ll be there, Ty, I promise.” Elizabeth’s voice broke, and she turned toward her husband who put a reassuring arm around her shoulders. “Did you hear that, Joe? Grandparents Day!”

  “As you can see, Ty is exhausted and still suffering the effects of his surgery. He needs to rest.” Shelly kept her voice firm, her eyes daring them to push. “Please leave.”

  “Mom, Dad, come with me.” Jared spoke for the first time, his expression grim. “I’ll take you back to the hotel.”

  “Oh, but—”

  “Now.” Jared’s terse voice overrode his mother’s protest. “You’ve seen Ty for yourself. That’s what you came here for. Maybe you can see him again tomorrow.”

  Over my stone-cold dead body, Shelly thought. She watched as Joseph and Elizabeth tore themselves away from Ty’s bedside with obvious reluctance, following Jared to the door.

  Shelly took note of Jared’s clenched jaw and smoldering gaze as he escorted them out. He was angry? With her? Seriously? What had he expected? That she’d welcome his parents with open arms? That she’d forgive his ultimate betrayal? Going behind her back to allow his parents to visit?

  Not a chance. When the door closed behind them, Shelly’s knees gave away, and she sank into the chair next to Ty’s bed and buried her face in her hands, fighting tears. What should she do? What were her options? Running away had worked before, but it had been easier to do that before she had a nursing license. If she wanted to work as a nurse, she’d leave a paper trail a blind man could follow. But she didn’t have to be a nurse. And she’d always wanted to see the West Coast . . .

  No, she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t give up a career she loved or uproot Tyler to drag him across the country. He loved his school and the child care arrangements she had with Ellen. Alex was Ty’s best friend.

  Shelly lifted her head and swiped at her face. Her gaze landed on the stupid giant teddy bear. Billy the bear. The O’Connors had left it on the foot of Ty’s bed. More proof they couldn’t manage to do the smallest thing she asked of them.

  But it was time to stop running and to face her past. She wasn’t the scared kid she’d been when she’d gone to the O’Connors after Mark’s death. She could hold her own, hire a lawyer if she had to.

  The bottom line was that Ty wanted grandparents and not, she suspected, only because of Grandparents Day at school. How could she deny his desire for a family? Her parents had passed away when she was barely out of high school. Now Ty not only had doting grandparents, but he also had Uncle Jared. The man who’d wormed his way into their life. Who’d kissed and held her as if she were the only woman in the world. The man who’d traveled over a thousand miles just to find Ty.

  The man who’d broken her heart.

  Tears threatened again, and she brushed them away impatiently. What was done couldn’t be undone, but she couldn’t help thinking she would have been better off alone.

  SHELLY COULDN’T BELIEVE Jared had the nerve to return to Ty’s room ninety minutes after he and his parents had left. He caught her as she was leaving Ty’s room to take a quick break while Ty was sleeping.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t even try to tell me that little scenario wasn’t planned.” Shelly wasn’t in the mood to hear any more of his lies. Hadn’t she been through enough already? “Just go away and leave us alone.”

  He nodded and held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “If you want to believe that, then fine. I didn’t plan it, but I can’t say I’m completely sorry it happened this way. Now you can see for yourself my parents don’t mean any harm. They just want to see their grandson.”

  “They want to buy him, you mean.” Shelly didn’t try to hide the bitterness in her tone. She walked down the hall, moving farther away from Ty’s room. “The same way they tried to buy him before he was even born, six years ago.”

  “Shelly, wait.” He lightly grasped her arm, but she quickly shook him off. “Don’t let this animosity ruin what we have. Let’s talk about this. Please?”

  “Talk? About what?” Furious, she rounded on him. “About how you lied to me? How you did the one thing I asked you not to do? You used me to get to Ty.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” Jared stared at her. “I already told you, I fell for you long before I knew who you were.”

  “And I fell for you before I knew you were scum,” she countered. “You and your parents want to see Ty? Fine. I’ll agree to a few visits. On my schedule, not theirs. When it’s good for Ty, not when they have a whim. But as far as ruining what we have? That’s impossible because we don’t have anything.”

  “You don’t mean that.” The anguish in his gaze tugged at her foolish heart.

  “Yes, I do.” She steeled her resolve. “There is nothing between us, Jared. And there never will be.”

  He was silent for a moment, so she turned and headed down the hall toward the elevators. Without glancing back, she knew Jared hadn’t followed her. She told herself she was glad that he’d finally gotten the message through that thick skull of his.

  As she stepped into the elevator to go down to the hospital cafeteria, she told herself she didn’t need him. She didn’t need anyone. She’d been doing just fine by herself over these past six years. This mess with Jared’s parents only proved that she would have been better off if she hadn’t met Jared O’Connor in the first place.

  But the hollow knowledge formed a pit in her stomach, completely ruining her appetite.

  ALONE ON THE following Monday morning, Jared sat in his office, staring blankly at the wall. The Lifeline crew was out on a flight, but the peace an
d quiet in the hangar didn’t ease the torment in his heart.

  Was this how desperate Mark had felt when he’d taken to going to Stephan’s night after night, looking for something, anything to brighten his bleak future? Drinking wasn’t the answer, but for the first time in years, Jared could understand why his brother may have gone down that route. Looking back, he should have realized Mark had developed a drinking problem, but he’d been too wrapped up in his own career to give much thought to his brother.

  Until it had been too late.

  He pressed the palms of his hands over his burning eyes. All the lives he’d saved as a physician, the way he’d found Shelly and Ty for his parents—nothing he’d done could erase his guilt over Mark’s death. Why had he thought otherwise? Why should Shelly forgive him when he knew she was right? When he couldn’t forgive himself? Not when he knew his actions had stolen Mark from her forever.

  The urge to call Shelly was strong. He found himself wanting to call her, to talk to her every hour of every day.

  A knock at his door interrupted his whirling thoughts. With a frown, he dropped his hands and called out, “Come in.”

  He couldn’t have been more surprised when Shelly opened the door and entered the room. She didn’t smile, but simply asked, “Do you have the schedule?”

  “Huh?” Jared stared at her in surprise.

  “You know, the flight schedule? I called earlier, but they said you were working on it. I need to figure out when I can return to work.”

  So she wasn’t handing in her resignation, at least not yet. A nurse with Shelly’s skills could get a job anywhere, and he figured it was only a matter of time. Even if they could manage to avoid each other most of the time, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t end up flying together.

  He glanced blankly at his desk, then noticed the corner of the schedule buried beneath a stack of paper. The schedule used to be built in the computer, but they’d had a few glitches, dangerous when you were depending on having a certain number of staff available to fly, so he’d gone back to paper temporarily while the IT guys tried to find a fix.

  “You can take all the time you need,” he said gruffly, handing it over. “I’ll find a way to cover your shifts.”

  “I can’t afford to be off much longer,” Shelly informed him, staring with apparent fascination at the document in her hands. “My hot water heater went on the fritz. Ellen, my sitter, is with Ty right now. Dr. Graves is discharging him tomorrow, and Ellen is learning how to take care of his pins while I’m gone.”

  He soaked up the information about Ty, even though he’d secretly been calling and speaking to the surgeon each morning to find out Ty’s progress for himself.

  “Anyway, I think I can pick up some shifts starting on Wednesday, even though Tyler can’t go back to school yet. Keeping him occupied at home will be the biggest challenge.”

  She studiously avoided his gaze, and Jared tried to think of something to say. Something to get her to keep talking. He’d happily buy her a new hot water heater if that was what was causing her financial crunch, but he knew she’d slap that offer right back into his face. He almost told her his parents would love to stay with Ty while she worked but bit his tongue before the words shot out of his mouth like a cannon. No doubt, Shelly would rather mud wrestle a five-hundred-pound gorilla than allow his parents to have any influence over her son.

  “How’s Ty feeling?” Jared asked, holding his breath and bracing himself for the inevitable brush-off.

  “Better. His arm still hurts, but he’s already figuring out how to manage tasks one-handed.” She reached over and took a pen from Jared’s desk, then proceeded to write her name on the schedule. “I see Kate requested to be off Wednesday and Thursday, so I’ll take those shifts for her.”

  “I’ll let her know.” The conversation was uncomfortably stilted, but he couldn’t find a way to ease the tension. Once, they had communicated like old friends.

  But those days were gone.

  Shelly set the schedule down. “Do you need anything else from me? Any paperwork?”

  “No.” He wanted to bring up Mark but wasn’t sure how to approach the subject. “I, uh, need to tell you something about the night Mark died.”

  Shelly went tense, and he wondered if this would be the issue that would tip her over the edge, causing her to quit her job and leave for good. “What do you mean?”

  “I’ve been living in guilt these past six years.” This time, he was the one who avoided her gaze. “Mark came to me the night he found out you were pregnant. The night he proposed to you. He told me he was going to quit school, marry you, and write full time.”

  “He did?” She sounded surprised.

  “We argued. I—” he swallowed hard, then continued, “I tried to talk him out of it.”

  “Why? He hated law school,” Shelly interrupted. “That was just something he did to please your parents.”

  “Not that.” He forced himself to meet her gaze. “I tried to talk him out of marrying you. I’m sorry, Shelly. I thought he was crazy to rush into things. I all but told him he had no clue what he was doing. But I was wrong. I never should have tried to talk him out of marrying you. But I did, and we argued, and then ten minutes later, he was dead.”

  “Oh, no,” she whispered, covering her mouth with her hand. “I had no idea.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s the truth. Finding you and Ty felt like the least I could do to make up for Mark’s death. I don’t expect you to forgive me for my actions that night. I can’t find a way to forgive myself. I’m not sure why I thought I could replace Mark in Ty’s life.”

  Shelly shook her head. “It’s not your fault.”

  He wasn’t listening. “I suck at relationships. I always have. I’ll never be able to replace Ty’s father. Only the man you fall in love with, the man you eventually marry has that right.” The truth spoken so boldly tore at his heart. He’d fallen in love with Shelly. Yet, he also knew he was the last man on the planet she’d ever love in return. “If I hadn’t interfered, you and Mark would be happily married by now.”

  Shelly didn’t say anything to that, and he didn’t blame her. After a moment, she turned and left the office, closing the door behind her.

  Confessing his role in Mark’s death should have made him feel better.

  But it didn’t.

  SHELLY WALKED BRISKLY through Lifeline’s hangar, practically running by the time she was outside. Her breath heaved from her lungs as she searched for her car.

  A cramp in her side had her doubling over, gasping with pain. Why was she running? You couldn’t run from your memories. Hadn’t she learned that the hard way?

  You and Mark would be happily married by now.

  Jared’s words echoed in her mind. They weren’t true, but she hadn’t been able to find the words or the courage to tell him.

  When she could breathe, she drew in a deep lungful of air and tried to clear the haunting memories away. She didn’t have time for this. To stand here thinking about Mark. About Jared. About the real reason Jared had tracked her down. She didn’t want to empathize with him or understand him.

  And most of all, she didn’t want to hear about how badly Jared longed to play the role of father figure in Ty’s life.

  She turned in a complete circle, unable to remember where she’d parked. There. She saw her car and ran toward it. After sliding behind the wheel, she drove back to Children’s Memorial, doing her best to calm her nerves before making her way back to Ty’s room.

  Her hands were shaking when she opened the door. She pasted a bright smile on her face. “I’m back.”

  “Did you get your schedule worked out?” Ellen wanted to know.

  “Yes. Wednesday and Thursday. If you’re sure you’re okay with watching him.”

  “Perfectly fine. The pin care is easy-peasy. And I’m sure Alex will appreciate having his friend back.” Ellen smiled as she motioned for her son to get off Ty’s bed. “Come on, Alex. We need to go.”


  “Aw, Mom, why?” Alex acted as if he’d been separated from Ty for months rather than a few days.

  “Because I said so.” Ellen rolled her eyes at Shelly. “Emma is probably ripping Daddy’s hair out as we speak.”

  A smile tugged at the corner of Shelly’s mouth as she pictured Ellen’s husband Jeff playing dolls and dress-up with Emma.

  She could easily imagine Jared doing the same thing.

  Stop it. Jared would have his own children one day. He didn’t suck at relationships. He’d been wonderful to her until . . .

  Whatever. It didn’t matter.

  She walked Ellen and Alex to the door, giving Ellen a quick hug of thanks as she left. As her friend walked away, Shelly noticed another familiar woman walking toward her.

  Jared’s mother. She quickly closed Ty’s door, standing in front of it like a sentinel guarding the gate.

  “Hello, Shelly.” Elizabeth didn’t seem the least bit daunted at Shelly’s militant posture. “I’m glad to see you. I’d like to talk to you, alone.”

  Shelly lifted her chin. “I’m not sure we have anything to discuss.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong.” Elizabeth’s smile faded. “I know I did you a grave injustice six years ago, and I’d like to make amends. I think it’s time I learned more about the woman my son loved enough to marry.”

  14

  The sick feeling in Shelly’s stomach quadrupled in force. Obviously, Jared’s mother didn’t know the truth either. No one did.

  And Shelly wasn’t anxious to be the one to enlighten her.

  “Honestly, this isn’t necessary.” Shelly struggled to maintain her composure.

  “I think it is.” Elizabeth glanced up and down the hospital corridor. “We can talk here or go someplace more private—it’s up to you.”

  Shelly hesitated, then reluctantly gave in. “I need a minute to let Ty know I’ll be gone for a bit.”

  Elizabeth nodded, and Shelly was surprised the woman didn’t insist on going into Ty’s room with her. She ducked her head inside the door to find him engrossed in a children’s movie on the television. Children’s Memorial had a cable channel that catered to kids, which was perfect. “Ty, I need to take a walk for a few minutes, will you be okay while I’m gone?”