by Stacy Eaton
I glanced at him, thankful for such great parents. “Thanks, Dad. We’ll talk about it later.”
“In the meantime, expect to be in the hospital at least five or six more days. While you are here, they want to run some cardio tests on your heart, too, since you coded in the ER. We want to make sure we cover everything before we let you out.”
“As long as I have visitors and can start eating real food, I don’t care how long I have to stay.” Of course, I didn’t mean that. Who really wanted to be in the hospital?
Dr. Marshall laughed and said his goodbyes shortly after that. Most of what he had said was good news. I wasn’t keen on the idea of being out of work for that long, but I’d do what I needed to do to heal. I’d also use that time to decide if I wanted to go back to the job. Maybe this was my chance to change careers—if I could figure out what the hell I wanted to do instead.
“You know, you could come stay with us,” my mother suggested after the doctor left. “We do have that great in-law suite we used for your grandmother. It’s all set up for a, um, someone with your complications.”
“Mom, you need to get over the fact that I’m going to be in a wheelchair for a little while. I’m not happy about it myself, but at least I’m alive, and I have no intention of staying in that thing forever. I will get the use of my legs back.”
She tried to smile, and I saw her swallow the lump of emotions caught in her throat. “Of course, you’re not, Tucker. I just hate that this happened to you in the first place. You should have stayed closer to home, then this wouldn’t have happened to you.”
“Seriously, Mom? Haven’t you watched the news? Police are being targeted all over the country, not just in New York.”
My father held his hand up, “Let’s not get into an argument about this. You know your mother worries about you and your sister being here in the city.”
“And Houston isn’t a city?” I retorted, feeling extremely testy from the pain.
“Yes, but I think your mother just wishes you were closer to home.” He paused and glanced at my mom. “I think it would be a good idea for you to come home for a few months. We’re within twenty miles of several hospitals there, and they have some excellent rehab centers. Staying in the in-law suite would be great for you. We could even hire a live-in nurse for a few weeks to help you out if you need it.”
“What? I don’t want a live-in nurse,” I hissed. “I’m not a damn invalid.”
“Tuck, are you able to take a shower by yourself? Able to get up and get things? No, you’re not, and from what the doctor says, it’s going to be a while before you can.” My father, always the voice of reason.
“It’s not a bad idea to have a live-in nurse,” My mother spoke up. “I know of a service we can contact. Mrs. Barrons had one for a while after she broke her hip and refused to go to a nursing home.”
I studied both of my parents. “I’ll think about it, but I don’t know that I want to leave New York. This is my home now.”
“Let’s think about this for a minute, Tucker. How are you going to get into your apartment? You have to climb one flight of stairs to get to it, and you damn well know there is not enough room for you to move around inside that place with a wheelchair.”
Damn, he was right. I hadn’t even thought about the stairs. “Maybe I can stay with Marisha,” I put in quickly.
My mother’s eyebrows hiked up. “Her apartment might have an elevator, but it’s smaller than yours.”
Now she was right. Shit.
“I said I’ll think about it. I still have at least five days here. Let’s not plan my future in five minutes.”
After that, a hospital volunteer showed up with my food, and the nurse came in to give me more meds. I spent the afternoon napping, and when I woke up, it was time to move to my room. Thank god. I didn’t even have a phone in this room, and the fact that I couldn’t reach out to Camille was driving me nuts. What must be going through her mind?
I took a nap after they moved me, and then dinner was delivered. Right after dinner, I asked my parents to move the phone closer so I could use it and dialed Camille’s cell number.
“Do you all mind if I have some privacy?”
They stepped out while the phone was ringing, and Camille answered on the third ring.
“Hey,” I said by way of greeting.
“Tuck! Oh my god! How are you doing?”
“I’m okay. I have a long haul in front of me, but I’m going to be alright.” I heard her sniffle, “Are you crying?”
“No! I don’t cry, you know that,” she denied quickly. “Okay, so maybe I’m a little misty. I was so freaking scared.”
“I know. I know you were. Thank you.”
“Thank you? Tuck, you got shot because I couldn’t get to the guy in time.”
“Yeah, but the gun was pointed at my head. If you hadn’t jumped on the guy’s back, he would have put the bullet in my brain. I can recover from a stomach wound.”
She sniffled again, “I’m so glad to hear your voice. Are you able to have visitors now?”
“Yeah, I am. That’s why I’m calling to tell you to come see me. I’m worried about you.”
“Why are you worried about me?” she squeaked.
“Because of what happened. I don’t want you thinking it’s your fault. I want to make sure we talk about everything and get it out in the open. Are you going to counseling?”
She laughed, “What do you think? Of course I am. I’ve already been through two sessions.”
“Good. I’m glad they are making you go.”
“So I can stop by and see you tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I’ll be here.” I told her what room I was in.
“I’ll see you in the morning, Tuck. You know I love you, right? I was freaking out that you weren’t going to make it.”
“I love you, too. I’ll see you soon.”
I hung the phone up, twisting just enough to set it on the bedside table. When I turned around, Josey was leaning against the doorjamb. How long had she been standing there?
Chapter 9
Josey
After a couple of stressful days, it sure was nice to get a good amount of sleep and actually make it into my building’s gym to get in a workout. I finished off thirty minutes of cardio and then did a round of weights for my upper body.
When I got to the hospital, my blood was pumping smoothly, and I felt alive and awake, and strangely excited to visit Tucker.
He’d been moved, and I found him on the phone when I slipped into his room. I didn’t announce myself and instead leaned back against the wall as he spoke to someone. When I heard him say that he loved the person, a stab of sadness slammed into my chest. I’d never thought about him having a girlfriend. Of course, someone like Tucker would have one.
“Hey, how long you been standing there?” he asked as soon as he noticed me.
“I just walked in as you were putting the phone down.” I came around to the side of the bed and sat in one of the chairs. “How are you doing?”
“I hurt like hell, but I’m trying to stay positive.”
“Good idea,” I replied. “It only makes things worse if you moan and groan about things you can’t change.”
“Yeah, I know.” He stared at me for a long moment. “So, the doctor said I will be here for five or six more days and then released. He suggested I go back to Texas with my parents to recover since I’ll be out of work at least six months to a year before I can even go back to light duty.”
I wondered if his girlfriend would go with him. I shook my head at the errant thought. “Are you going to go?”
He sighed and leaned his head deeper into his pillow. “I don’t want to, but they reminded me that my place isn’t suitable for a guy in a wheelchair.”
“Why’s that?”
“I live on the second story, no elevator.”
“Ah,” I laughed, “that could pose a problem.” He grinned and the smile he sent my way made my heart skip a beat. Oh
, no! I was not going to fall for another man who only liked me as a friend. Nope, not going to happen. “So you’re thinking about going to Texas then?”
He shrugged and winced at the movement. “I don’t know. It makes sense because my parents have an in-law suite where I would have privacy, and it would accommodate a wheelchair. My grandmother lived there for about five years before she passed away.”
“Then that sounds like a better option.”
“Yeah, but I don’t know if I want to leave the city.”
“Tucker think about this: If you stay here, you can’t get into your apartment. Chances are you’ll end up in a rehab hospital, and, trust me, they are as bad as regular hospitals, if not worse with getting rest and food. You can’t drive and getting a taxi with a wheelchair is rough. Transportation as a whole is a nightmare, unless you call on friends to help, and I know that after a while that gets old because you feel like you are taking advantage of people,” I paused, adding softly, “unless your girlfriend is going to take care of you.”
“Yeah, I can’t imagine taking advantage of my buddies like that.” He totally skipped over the girlfriend comment, and I tried not to show my disappointment at not having an answer. He wiped his hands down over his face. “I just hate the thought of moving all the way back to Texas, and my mom said they’d hire a private nurse.”
“That’s good.”
“No, it’s not,” he spat out. “I don’t want some stranger living with me, taking care of me, and all that.”
I laughed at him, “Tucker, what’s the difference if they do it here in the hospital or in your home? You need help; having a private nurse is a good thing.”
“Yeah, but I don’t want some crazy woman taking care of me.”
I found the comment quite funny. “Why do you think they would be crazy?”
He gave me an odd look. “Maybe you haven’t come across this in your job, but in mine, I’ve come across some pretty loony caregivers.”
“You do know that most services allow you to interview the nurses so you get one that you want, right?”
“No, I didn’t know that.”
“Yeah, well, maybe you’ll find one that isn’t crazy.”
Tucker stared at me for another few moments. “Would you do it?”
“Would I do what?”
“Come be my private nurse?”
I burst out laughing, “You’re kidding, right?”
He shook his head, his eyes so intent that I knew he was serious.
“Tucker, I’m a surgical nurse, not a rehab nurse. You need someone who can help you with learning to get around and help with therapy. I’m not trained to do that.”
“Yeah, but you’re a nurse. You could attend therapy with me, and then help me at home.”
“Tucker, you already said you can’t live in your apartment.”
“Yeah, but you could come back to Texas with me.”
My jaw dropped open. Was he really serious? Before I could respond, his parents entered the room.
“Josey, it’s nice to see you again,” Theo Wheatcraft called as he entered.
“Yes, so nice of you to stop by,” Gloria tacked on and studied me and her son for a second. “Did we interrupt something?”
Oh, she was good. “No.”
“Yes,” Tucker said at the same time. “I was trying to convince Josey to come back to Texas with me and be my private nurse.”
“You mean you’re going to come home?” his mother blurted.
“Well, yeah it looks like that might be the best answer to this situation, but only if Josey will be my nurse.”
“Tucker, I can’t do that. I have a job here. I can’t just leave my job to be your private nurse.” I was a little awestruck that he had even come up with this whole scenario.
“Take a leave of absence,” he suggested with a shrug.
I stared at him, having no idea how to even respond because I was so shocked that he would suggest such a thing. I couldn’t just leave my job to take care of him.
“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” Gloria agreed with more enthusiasm than I had heard in her voice since she arrived. “You could take a leave of absence.”
I stood open-mouthed, staring at Tucker and then his mother. Are these people serious? “Tucker, you don’t even know me.”
“Yeah, but I go with my gut instincts, and they are very seldom ever wrong. I trust you. I know you could help me.”
“Why don’t we put this conversation to rest for a little while and think on it?” Tucker’s father announced, and I gave him a thankful look. At least someone was picking up on the fact that I was not comfortable with this conversation.
“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea, and besides I need to get down to the OR. I’ll talk with you later, Tucker. Mr. and Mrs. Wheatcraft, it was nice to see you again.”
Before anyone could say anything further, I raced from the room and around the corner to the elevators before I stopped and leaned my back against the wall. What the hell just happened?
“Hey, you okay?” I looked up to see Walker approaching.
“Yes, no.” I shook my head. “Tucker wants me to go back to Texas with him and be his personal nurse.”
Walker startled. “What?”
“I know—crazy, right? He doesn’t even know me, and he just came up with this wild idea that I would take a leave of absence and head out to his parents’ house in Texas to take care of him.”
Walker laughed, “Are you going to do it?”
“Are you kidding? Walker, I kind of have a very important job.”
“And you have a ton of vacation time you haven’t used. Why don’t you do it for a few weeks, and once he is doing better, you can help him find someone else to assist him.”
I pushed off the wall. “Are you serious?”
He shrugged a shoulder, “Yeah, why not? You know as well as I do that recovery has a lot to do with the people around you. If he likes and trusts you enough to ask you to do something like that, I’d take that as a compliment.”
“You’re both crazy,” I muttered and crossed my arms over my chest. “I can’t do that. I don’t even know the guy.”
Walker smirked at me. “You do know that Tucker asked about you a time or two, right?”
I squinted at him. “He did not.”
“He did, too. He asked me not too long ago if you were seeing anyone.”
“He did?” I squeaked out.
Walker put his hand on my shoulder. “He did. Honestly, Josey, I think this would be good for you. You were saying, what, a week ago at dinner that you needed a break.”
I rolled my eyes. “A break as in a vacation on a beach with cold drinks that had little colorful umbrellas in them and eye candy strutting around—not taking care of a grown man with a disability.”
Walker laughed, “Maybe if you take good enough care of him, he can be your eye candy.”
I glared at him and growled, “Really?”
He held his palms up at me, “Hey, I’m just saying you should think about it. Texas is a nice place. Tuck’s parents have a nice homestead out there with a horse farm. I’m sure you could get some relaxing in while you were there. He’s not that high maintenance.”
“You’re all crazy.” I threw my hands up in the air and stalked off.
“Think about it, Josey. You might really enjoy it,” Walker called to me as I hit the breaker bar on the stairwell door.
For the rest of my shift, I tried not to dwell on it, but what would it be like to spend a few weeks taking care of Tucker? What would his girlfriend think about it? And why the hell was I even entertaining the idea?
Chapter 10
Tucker
So that idea had come out of left field, and was a little unorthodox, but, hey, the moment I put the thought into words, I was personally sold on the idea. I trusted Josey, and while we didn’t know each other well, this would give us the chance to really get to know one another.
I didn’t think my mother w
ould have cared whom I suggested, as long as I was coming home. Now, if I could only get Josey on board with the idea.
For the next couple of minutes, my mother talked about what would need to be done at the house to get it ready for me to come home.
“Tucker, I think you put that young lady into a tight spot there. You might have considered coming about that a different way,” my father commented a short time later.
“Why’s that? I think it’s a great idea.”
“She has an important job here; she can’t just drop everything and run off to Texas to take care of you,” he reasoned.
A knock sounded on the door, and Walker walked in. “Actually, she probably could if she wanted to,” Walker declared as he entered.
“Hey, Walker, it’s good to see you. Thanks for stopping by.”
Walker approached my bed and shook my hand gently. “It’s good to see you. We were all worried about you.”
He took a few moments to speak with my parents, whom he’d met before when he’d brought Jasmine and Tony out to visit the ranch.
I waited as long as I could before I jumped right back into the conversation he’d interrupted. “Why did you say that about Josey? How do you even know what we were talking about?”
“I ran into her by the elevators; she told me.”
“She did?” I grinned. At least she was thinking about it.
“Yeah, you kind of threw her for a loop. I had to pick her up off the floor,” he pulled up a chair, “but before we talk about Josey, what’s going on with you? How did your second surgery go?”
“It went good. They still can’t give me a firm answer on whether I’ll walk again or not, but I’m determined to.”
“I wouldn’t see you any other way, Tuck, so you’re thinking of going back to Texas to recover?”
“Yeah, it’ll be easier to maneuver a wheelchair in my parents’ house—not that I plan on being in one that long.”
“I’m sure you won’t. Listen to your doctors and do what they say. If they tell you to rest, you need to do that. If they tell you to work harder, then kick ass.”
