by Laura Iding
Kim gave them a quick glance and then turned toward the patient. “Josie, my name is Kim, and I’m the OB doctor on call. Who is your regular OB physician?”
“Dr. Eric Kampine. Why?” Josie’s eyes were wide as she astutely realized something was going on. “What’s wrong?”
“You’re fine, and your baby is fine,” Kim gently reassured her. “But I’m concerned you have some signs and symptoms of preeclampsia, also known as toxemia. It’s not life-threatening to you or your baby at this point, but it is something we need to treat. I’m going to admit you upstairs to the OB unit, and I’d like to give your doctor a call to let him know what’s going on.” Kim smiled and took Josie’s hand. Seth was impressed with her calm bedside manner. “I promise I’ll stay with you until your doctor arrives, all right?”
Josie nodded, clutching Kim’s hand.
“I’d like to get her connected to a continuous fetal monitor. Do you have one down here, or should I send someone up to get one?” Kim asked.
“We don’t have them here. We always borrow from the OB/GYN unit upstairs,” Seth told her.
“Okay, then, let’s get her up there as quickly as possible.”
Kim wouldn’t get an argument from him. Seth was glad he could safely hand over Josie’s care to someone better prepared to deal with it. He’d only delivered a couple of babies in his career and he preferred to keep it that way. Pregnant women and babies made him nervous.
More than nervous. He’d always intended to stay far away from that scene. Watching his brother and sister falling in love had only reinforced how vulnerable they were to getting hurt down the road. He’d decided not to go down that path himself.
So why had he momentarily imagined how radiant and beautiful Kylie would look carrying a child? His child?
Rotating his head from side to side, he tried to ease the tension that had knotted there. He was tired, that was all. He hadn’t slept well the night before, thinking about Kylie and Ben, wishing she’d asked him to stay. Heck, as if that hadn’t been bad enough, she’d even followed him into his dreams.
There wasn’t time to visit Kylie and Ben now, though. There was documentation and further assessment to do before Josie could be transferred upstairs with Kim. And there were still several other less urgent patients he needed to see.
It wasn’t until later, when the bedlam had died down a bit and he was heading upstairs to see Ben, that he realized he hadn’t experienced that same flash of interest with Kim that he normally did when he met a beautiful and potentially available woman.
Like when he’d first met Kylie.
He frowned, trying to figure out what was different. Kim was pretty, with her cloud of red hair, and she was smart. But he hadn’t felt one iota of male interest—at least nothing more than friendly admiration. He hadn’t experienced the slightest urge to ask her out, or to investigate whether she was seeing anyone.
The realization caused a flare of panic. Because even in the past, when he’d gone out with women for brief periods of fun, he’d felt that spark of interest when meeting someone new. It was one of the reasons he always made his no-strings intent clear up front. He’d always assumed commitment wasn’t a part of his genetic DNA makeup.
Now he found he was only interested in one woman.
Kylie.
CHAPTER NINE
PATIENTLY waiting to hear news from the OR about Ben wasn’t easy for Kylie. It was impossible to sit quietly, reading or working, when she had no idea how her son was doing. And since going to the gym or for a run to burn off her excess energy wasn’t possible, she paced the small floor of Ben’s hospital room instead.
Finally Dr. Greenley came up to see her, dressed in his OR scrubs, face mask dangling around his neck. “Kylie? Ben’s surgery is finished. He’s in the post-anesthesia care area now. As soon as he wakes up a bit more, the nurses there will bring him back up here to his room.”
“He’s okay?” she asked, coming to a halt in front of him, twisting her hands nervously. “The surgery went well?”
“The surgery went fine,” he assured her with a gentle smile. “He remained very stable throughout the procedure. Of course, we’ll want him to rest his left eye for a few days, so we won’t know how well his vision has returned for some time yet. But I’m very optimistic he’ll make a full recovery.”
Optimism was good, right? The tightness in her chest eased as she returned a weary smile. “I’m so glad to hear that, Dr. Greenley.”
A flash of awareness brightened his eyes. “Please, call me Geoff.”
“All right—Geoff.” Using his name didn’t come naturally, since she tended to keep things professional, but she’d noticed most of the hospital staff called the doctors by name, as if they were all on friendly terms. She’d learned to call Seth by his first name, hadn’t she? “I must admit keeping Ben quiet for the next few days is probably going to be my greatest challenge.”
Geoff chuckled. “You could be right. I can tell Ben’s activity level is high enough to keep you on your toes.”
That was putting it mildly, although she honestly didn’t mind. “Very true. Seriously, though, how quiet does he need to be? Can he watch movies and TV?”
“Absolutely. Just keep him from running around or playing any types of sports for a few days.”
She stifled a sigh, knowing from experience it wouldn’t be easy—especially once Ben was feeling better. “All right.”
“I’d like to keep him in the hospital one more night,” Geoff said. “But if all goes well you can take him home in the morning. I’ll see him in my office after the third day, so we can take the patch off and test his vision.”
She nodded, appreciating his cautious approach. “Sounds good.”
He took one step toward the door, as if to leave, then hesitated and turned back. “Kylie, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?”
She mentally braced herself, assuming Geoff wanted to know about Ben’s father, as most people did. She forced a smile. “No, of course I don’t mind.”
“Are you seeing anyone? Like in a relationship?” His tone was low, hesitant, as if it wasn’t easy for him to ask.
Surprised, she simply stared at him for a moment, even as Seth’s image flickered in her mind. She understood how Geoff might assume she and Seth were a couple, the way they’d been together in the emergency room yesterday. But a few brief kisses didn’t mean much to a guy like Seth.
Amazing how two attractive men had asked her out in the past two weeks. A part of her was honored, but, seeing as she’d never considered Ben’s ophthalmologist as a potential date, she wasn’t sure how to respond. “No, I’m not seeing anyone. But I’ve been very busy, between getting settled in our new home, my new job responsibilities and raising Ben.” She lifted her shoulder in a slight shrug. “To be honest, I really don’t have time to dedicate to a relationship.”
“I see.” His self-deprecating smile told her he understood her subtle message that she wasn’t interested, at least not right now. “Once things settle down, and if you do find some time on your hands, give me a call, okay?”
“Sure,” she agreed, feeling a tiny wave of relief that he’d taken her rejection so well. He was a good-looking guy, and certainly nice enough, but for some reason she couldn’t imagine going out with him. “Thank you again, for everything.”
“You’re welcome.” This time he didn’t hesitate as he walked out of Ben’s hospital room.
She let out a sigh and ran her fingers through her hair. Was she crazy to let a guy like Geoff Greenley walk away? She’d decided she didn’t need a man to make her happy, and she didn’t. Yet they still asked her out. From the brief interactions she’d had with the ophthalmologist she’d guessed he wasn’t a player, like Seth seemed to be. She’d bet Geoff hadn’t done anything to earn the nickname Romeo.
Tristan had hurt her, but she was smart enough to know that all men weren’t like her son’s father.
Maybe she would give Geoff a call when she
had some free time. She still had his card.
“Kylie?” Seth’s husky voice caused her to glance up quickly.
Her pulse leaped when she saw him standing in the doorway. He looked uncertain, as if unsure of his welcome. Every nerve in her body tingled with awareness, and her stomach clenched with the realization that she hadn’t felt any of this tension, this sexual awareness and excitement, around Geoff.
Only for Seth.
She tried to cover up her body’s untimely physical reaction. “Hi. You just missed Dr. Greenley. Ben’s surgery went fine.”
“I saw him leave,” Seth admitted as he ventured further into the room. “I—uh—didn’t want to interrupt.”
Interrupt? She felt her cheeks flush and hoped Seth hadn’t overheard their conversation. At least not the part where Geoff had asked her out. How did she get into these situations, anyway? Time to change the subject. “Ben’s in the recovery area now. He should be transferred up here soon.”
“That’s good. I’m glad the surgery went well.” He wasn’t smiling. His hands were tucked into the deep pockets of his lab coat and he wasn’t meeting her gaze, at least not for more than a nanosecond. Why did she get the feeling he was trying to put some distance between them?
He was the one who’d kissed her this morning, not the other way around.
Seth didn’t do relationships, she reminded herself. Things would be better all round if they simply remained good friends. “Oh, before I forget, I have something to show you.” She crossed over to her laptop computer and turned it on, tapping her foot impatiently as it took a while to power up.
“Yeah?” His expression was perplexed as he came up to stand beside her.
“By the way, how’s your patient?” she asked, desperate for something to talk about while the computer program took forever to download. “The one from the car crash?”
“She and her baby are hanging in there.”
“Baby?” She gasped. “Good grief, your patient was pregnant?”
Seth nodded. “Yeah, but she was pretty lucky. Especially considering the paramedic crew didn’t feel her high blood pressure was anything to worry about. She’s okay from the crash, but is currently being treated in the OB unit for preeclampsia.”
“Oh, dear. I hope she and the baby will both be all right.” Finally the software program was running. “I’ll add OB pathophysiology to my list of topics to cover during our next paramedic training session,” she added as she clicked the buttons to bring up the Web page.
“Good idea,” Seth replied. He glanced at the article she’d pulled up and frowned. “What’s this?”
“An article about your biological father, Shane Andre.” The dark furrow between his eyes made her wonder if she’d made a mistake to bring this bit of news to his attention. Helplessly, she waved a hand at the screen. “I just thought you’d be interested to know your father is considered a hero.”
He didn’t say anything right away, his gaze riveted on the laptop screen. After a few minutes he glanced at her. “Thanks, Kylie. It was nice of you to do this. But I don’t know if it matters or not. The whole situation seems so surreal.” He turned away, as if he didn’t want to read any more.
“Seth, he didn’t leave you and your siblings on purpose,” she said softly. For some reason she wanted to help him come to grips with his past.
Seth let out a frustrated sigh. “I know you’re right. But for some reason it still feels like a betrayal.”
“A betrayal on your mother’s part? Because she didn’t tell you?” she asked.
He nodded, hunching his shoulders a bit. “I just wish I understood why she kept the secret, that’s all.”
Secrets were tough. Hadn’t she felt the same betrayal when Tristan had announced he was leaving the moment she told him she was in labor? Talk about bad timing. And all those months she’d waited for him to change his mind hadn’t been easy, either.
Because Tristan hadn’t changed his mind.
“Just remember she loved you,” she suggested.
Before Seth could respond, Ben was wheeled into the room on a stretcher. Her son looked so small and helpless lying there with a large eyepatch over his left eye, she couldn’t help feeling a twinge of panic.
“Ben.” She quickly crossed over to where the nurse was maneuvering the cart alongside the bed. She took Ben’s hand in hers. “How is he?” she asked.
“A little nauseous, I’m afraid,” the nurse said with a note of apology. “I’ve given him a dose of Compazine, so hopefully that should help.”
“Mom?” Groggy from the anesthesia, Ben lifted his head. “I don’t feel good. My tummy hurts.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. The nurse gave you some medicine, so you should feel better soon.”
The nurse put down the side rail of the cart. “Ben, do you think you can scoot over to the bed for me?”
“I’ll lift him,” Kylie said, stretching over the mattress of the bed to reach for her son. Seth came up beside her and with his longer arms lifted Ben and gently placed him in the center of the bed. “Thanks,” she murmured.
Ben didn’t seem to notice his idol Seth was there. Looking miserable, he curled into a ball, clutching his stomach. Hating to feel so helpless, Kylie bent over and pressed a soft kiss on the tender spot above his temple.
“The nausea should pass soon,” Seth said.
“I hope so.” She hated seeing Ben like this.
Seth pulled up a chair for her, so she could sit right next to Ben’s bed. She silently thanked him with a warm look.
He pulled up a second chair for himself. She was surprised he didn’t take the opportunity to slip away. She should have urged him to go, if only to help keep the rumors at bay, but she didn’t.
Despite her determination to keep things friendly between them, she was too grateful for his quiet strength and support.
Seth swallowed a groan as he lifted his head. The muscles of his neck tightened painfully from the awkward way he’d fallen asleep in the chair.
It was early, he guessed, peering at the clock on the wall. Yep, barely five in the morning. It had been a long night. Ben’s nausea hadn’t gotten any better until they’d agreed to give him some stronger anti-nausea medicine called Zofran.
He stretched his neck side to side in an effort to loosen the muscles as his gaze sought and found Kylie, sleeping with her head cushioned on the mattress beside Ben. He hoped she’d slept better than he had. She hadn’t asked him to leave, so he’d stayed—although the only thing he’d been any help with was suggesting the stronger anti-nausea medication for Ben.
He wished he could have done more.
Scrubbing a hand over the stubble on his cheek, he knew he should find a razor and a toothbrush. He was scheduled to work this morning, so he needed to be somewhat presentable. Thank heavens the hospital would supply another pair of scrubs for him to wear.
He eased out of the chair, trying to be quiet, but Kylie awoke, lifting her head. “Seth?”
Her husky voice saying his name sent a shaft of desire straight to his groin. He battered down the sexual awareness and smiled. “How are you?”
“Okay, I guess.” She yawned, and he itched to pull her soft, sleepy body against his. “Where are you going?” she whispered, so as not to wake Ben.
“I have to work.” He tucked his hands into the pockets of his lab coat to keep from reaching for her. With her tousled hair and soft, rosy skin she was so beautiful it made his chest ache.
“Oh.” Was that disappointment shimmering in her eyes? “You need your sleep. You shouldn’t have stayed here all night if you had to work.”
First she was disappointed that he had to leave, and now she was concerned about his welfare. Her caring was a novelty. His relationships in the past had always been about fun. Light and friendly fun. This felt like so much more.
Things were different with Kylie.
Or maybe he was just a different person with Kylie?
“I’ll be fine,” he assure
d her, trying to smile.
She bit her lower lip in that endearing habit she had. It made him want to kiss her.
Which only reminded him how Greenley had asked her out. He’d been standing outside the door, double-checking a recent page, and hadn’t been able to help overhearing them talk. He should have walked away, but when he’d heard Greenley ask her if she was seeing anyone he’d held his breath, waiting for her answer.
No, I’m not seeing anyone. I really don’t have time for a relationship.
Her words had cut deep. They shouldn’t have bothered him, but they did. He was the one who’d always kept his distance from women. He was the one who’d created the no-strings rule.
A rule he suddenly wanted to toss out the window.
Ironic that he’d been running from relationships for years, only to want one now with a woman who didn’t appear to feel the same way.
“Thanks for staying, Seth,” she was saying now, still in a quiet voice so as not to disturb Ben. “Dr. Greenley plans on discharging Ben today, so I’ll probably take him home before you get off work. Ben won’t be allowed to have the eyepatch off until our appointment on Thursday.”
“I see.” His stomach felt as if it were being twisted by a meat grinder. So this was it, then? After the closeness they’d shared over the past few days, this was it? He wouldn’t see her again until she was back at work, transporting patients in from the field?
No way. Absolutely not.
This must be how women had felt when he’d left them. Especially Rachel, the baseball pitcher. Maybe he’d been unfair all these years. Maybe his aversion to relationships was only because he hadn’t given them a fair chance?
“What about our dinner?” he asked, trying not to sound desperate. “I’d like to cash in on my rain check once Ben is feeling better.”
