Landon strode down the hallway with a bag from Golden Loaves in one hand and a cup of Zaire’s favorite froufrou coffee from A Jolt of Java in the other.
He paused just outside her doorway and angled a glance toward the ceiling. “Okay, You called me back here to try to make things right, so just help me to hold my tongue and be nice.”
“You talking to someone?”
Landon spun around to find Micha standing in the hallway behind him.
In the past, he might have been embarrassed to be caught talking to God by one of his friends, but not this time. He tipped a nod toward Zaire’s door. “My ex-in-laws are in there. So yeah, I was begging for an extra measure—or ten—of patience and kindness.”
Micha chuckled. Then frowned. “I was really surprised to find out you two were divorced.”
Landon sighed. “Yeah, I was the idiot who messed things up. I forgot that you wouldn’t know. We should have stayed in touch on social media more.”
Micha smirked. “I’m not really a social media guy. Been too busy being a dad and going through medical school and internships. I’m sorry things went sideways between you two. I never would have seen that coming.”
Landon looked forlornly at the number 103 above Zaire’s door. “I messed up royally, Micha. So bad I’m not sure I can fix it again.”
Micha reached out to squeeze his shoulder. “Then it’s a good thing it’s not up to you to fix things, huh? All you can do is step out in faith and do the right things from here on out, and leave the rest up to God.”
Landon nodded. “Yeah. And that’s the reason you found me out here begging for help from above.” He smiled.
“Well, I’ll add my prayers to yours then.”
“Thanks.”
Micha gestured to the door. “I was just about to go in for my morning rounds. Shall we?”
Landon nodded. “After you.”
Landon took a breath and followed Micha into the room. Hopefully, he wasn’t about to get a hide full of lead.
The truth was he had always gotten along fairly well with Zaire’s parents until he’d gone and made the biggest mistake of his life. So, if they were angry and upset with him he couldn’t blame them. He was angry and upset with himself! He could hardly expect them to be any less-so when he had treated their daughter the way he had.
He braced himself as he and Micha stepped around the curtain. He’d known this whole process was not going to be easy, but the truth was he hadn’t quite realized just how difficult it would be to face his past mistakes. To realize that they truly might be set in stone. To face a future where he would have to live with that mistake every day for the rest of his life.
From where she lay on the bed, Zaire was curling one strand of hair around a finger, like she used to do when they were in high school. Just that simple action sent a wave of melancholy and yearning through him.
Zaire looked up, her eyes a touch glassy and droopy. A huge, sloppy grin broke across her face. “Micha!” Using her good arm, she threw back her covers and clumsily fumbled her way off the bed to throw that same arm around a startled Micha’s neck.
Landon swallowed down the surge of jealousy that immediately sprung to life, and set the coffee and sandwich on her bedside table beside the other cup of coffee that she hadn’t touched, it seemed.
Micha stood frozen to the spot for just one second and then he patted Zaire on one shoulder and pushed her back from him, tossing Landon an apologetic look.
Zaire’s gown slipped off one shoulder, and the little ties in the back weren’t doing much to keep everything covered. Landon rubbed the back of his neck and kicked at a speck in the tiles at his feet.
“Oh. My. Lands!” her mother exclaimed. “Zaire, honey, here. Get back into bed.”
Zaire didn’t seem fazed by the fact that she had just thrown herself at Micha in her current state of dress—or undress as the case may be. And she wasn’t done yet. Landon’s name burbled from her lips next, and she threw her good arm around his neck with just as much exuberance as she had greeted Micha.
Landon wasn’t sure whether to be encouraged or discouraged by that fact. But he couldn’t help grinning at Micha over her head before he set her back from him and looked down into her face. “I’m going to guess that you’ve had some pain meds recently?” He nudged her toward the bed, but she remained stubbornly planted in front of him, staring dreamily into his eyes.
And drugs or not, he liked it. Oh man, he liked it.
“You’re so hot. Did I ever tell you how hot you are?” She sidled a step closer and stroked one finger down his chest as a giggle slipped from her. “I’m sure I did. And then you broke my heart. Right in two. We were like two pieces of a puzzle. One day we were connected and, and, and”—she blinked slowly as though trying to find the rest of a fuzzy train of thought—“we made a nice picture. And then”—she pressed her fists together and then made a breaking motion and a cracking noise—“just like that, my heart…”
She let the words trail away but the wrenching impact of them remained. His hope sank at the pure pain reflected in her expression.
And then, unaccountably, a smile spread across those soft lips of hers. “But I’m really glad you came home. You’ll always be my one-and-only.”
Oh boy. She really is high. He knew there was no way she’d be saying that to him, otherwise.
“Yes, to answer your question. She has been given pain meds. Obviously.” Mrs. Kitzer practically pushed herself between the two of them to take Zaire by one arm and propel her toward the bed. “And you know very well, she doesn’t handle opioids well. She obviously doesn’t mean a thing she’s saying.” When Zaire started to comply with her prodding, Mrs. Kitzer glowered at Landon like he might be the sole cause for Zaire’s current impropriety.
But before her mother could urge Zaire back under the covers, Zai draped her good arm over her mother’s shoulders and lolled her head against her. “Mama be nice.” Her words slurred a little. “Landon’s so handsome. And he takes good care of me. I’m really am glad he came back. Aren’t you?”
Mrs. Kitzer practically moaned.
Across the bed, Mr. Kitzer fisted both hands before folding his arms.
Landon swallowed.
Much as Zai’s words warmed his heart and gave him hope, he knew it was time he put a stop to this nonsense. She didn’t even know what she was saying. “Here, Zai. Let’s get you back into bed.” Landon nudged Zai away from her mom and escorted her the couple remaining steps to her bed, pulled back the tangled blankets and helped her get covered up. He didn’t let himself even glance at the long expanse of her leg that protruded from the hem of the gown before it disappeared under the blankets, but his peripheral vision caught enough to bump his pulse up a notch, or ten.
Yeah, you’re a real winner, Landon.
Irritated with himself, he thrust the coffee he’d bought for her into one of her hands. “Here, try this. It’s your favorite.”
“Awe. You’re so sweet.” She blinked up at him and pooched out her lips. “Give me a kiss.”
Landon stood frozen for half a second before he loosed her hand and pulled away. But he couldn’t help saying. “Maybe some other time.”
Mrs. Kitzer hissed from the spot she’d retaken next to her husband’s side, and Mr. Kitzer shifted in a way that reminded Landon he’d once been a marine. It was likely a good thing that a hospital bed and the man’s daughter separated them.
Totally oblivious to the tense undercurrent, Zai sipped her drink and smiled at Micha. “Micha’s going to let me go home today, isn’t that right, Micha?”
Micha chuckled, looking like he’d been enjoying the little circus that was the Breckenridge/Kitzer family way. “No, Zai. Not today I don’t think. What I am going to do though, is see if we can’t get you switched over to a different pain med without so many side effects.”
Mrs. Kitzer waved a hand of dismissal at that. “They all affect her the exact same way except for regular Tylenol and Advil. It
should be in her chart. Anything with an opioid sends her…” She swirled one finger around near her temple.
Micha stroked a circular motion around his mouth and chin with the thumb and fingers of one hand. “Hmmm, well… Hopefully by the end of the week she’ll be able to get by with something lighter. For now, I’ll make a note in her chart for the nurses to keep a close eye on her. And”—he turned his attention back to Zai—“I need to check out that arm of yours, alright?”
“Check out.” Zaire laughed as though Micha had just said the most hilarious thing she’d ever heard. “Everyone knows you only ever wanted to check out Shiloh, Micha.”
Landon couldn’t help a grin when the doctor’s face turned crimson.
Zaire submitted her arm to Micha, curling the warmth of the coffee cup up near her cheek like she always did with any warm drink. Her head wavered a little, but she kept her focus on Micha as he worked. “She still loves you, you know.”
The only evidence that Micha had heard her was the fact that his hands—which up to that point had been moving smoothly as he unwrapped the bandage—hesitated for just a moment. He immediately set to moving again, but he tossed Landon a quick look that asked if there wasn’t anything he could do to make Zai change the subject.
But just then, there was a knock on the outer door. “Hello?”
Landon eased out a breath. Saved by her best friend. “Come in, Salem,” he called, having recognized Salem’s voice.
But Salem and Shiloh both peered around the curtain.
There was hardly space for everyone in the room, but Salem and Shiloh were both slight and able to squeeze in next to Landon.
Landon didn’t miss the way Micha stiffened at Shiloh’s presence, though he kept his attention on Zaire’s arm.
As Zaire noticed the twins, her face lifted in recognition. “Hey! I was just telling Micha—”
“Zai!” Landon cut her off with a curt snap.
Her expression slumped into a frown. “What?”
“Maybe you should let Salem and Shiloh tell you why they came by?” He gave the sisters a pleading look.
Salem and Shiloh exchanged a curious glance. But then Salem smiled. “Well, I actually came by to tell you how much I love you. And to say we’re really going to miss you today.”
Zai stretched her good hand toward her friend. “You don’t have to miss me. You can stay right here with me if you want.”
Salem’s brow lowered in confusion. “Oh, I meant on the wedding dress shopping trip. I have a bunch of appointments so I can’t really postpone the trip till you can come along, which makes me really sad. I was so looking forward to our girls’ day out.”
“Oh no! We were supposed to go wedding dress shopping today. Oh,” Zai whined. “I really wanted to go.” She cast Micha a surreptitious look. “Maybe after Dr. Stanton leaves, you can help me sneak out.”
Micha looked up. By his expression, he was trying to assess if she was being serious or simply still in the thrill of her high.
Salem leaned forward and squeezed Zai’s toes under the blankets. “Please don’t worry about it. The most important thing right now is for you to concentrate on getting better.”
Zaire slumped back against the pillows, a pout pooching out her lower lip. “But I really wanted to come with you. Because you’re my best friend in the whole wide world. You know that right?” Salem looked like she was about to respond, but Zaire kept talking. “I mean, it’s not like your marriage is going to last. But friends should be there for each other, even when we’re about to make a big mistake.”
Salem’s eyes widened in shock.
Shiloh actually gasped.
For a long moment both sisters stared at Zaire like she might be a creature from another planet, and then Salem cast a look toward Landon, and he felt the squint of her narrowed lashes as surely as he would have felt it had she pulled out a knife and thrust it into his chest.
“She’s a little high right now,” Landon explained.
“You think?” Salem wasn’t done glowering at him yet. Her look said Zaire’s words were all his fault.
Micha stood from where he had just finished wrapping a new bandage around Salem’s arm. “Well, the good news is the surgery site is looking excellent this morning. But I do need to give you all a heads up that I won’t want Zaire staying at her place alone for at least two weeks.” He glanced around, meeting everyone’s gaze except for Landon’s.
“She can stay with me,” Salem spoke up quickly, tossing a glance at Zaire’s parents.
“Nonsense!” From her place across the bed, Pam waved away the offer. “You have a wedding coming up, and more to do already than you can handle. Of course Zaire will come home and stay with us.”
Landon knew when to keep his mouth shut. And this was one of those times. But he highly doubted that Zaire would be pleased to find herself once again under the care of her domineering mother. And with the way Zai was so openly speaking her mind today, he might need to rescue her before she really hurt her mother’s feelings. But a soft snore lifted from the bed.
Everyone turned to see that Zaire had drifted off while they argued around her. The coffee cup was still clutched in her hand, and thankfully the lid had kept it from spilling everywhere. Landon eased it from her fingers and set it on the side table.
Micha looked satisfied. “Good. She’s finally resting. Now if you all don’t mind…” He swept a grand gesture towards the exit. “I think it really would be best if we all let Zaire get some much-needed rest. She has had a couple of very difficult days.”
No one moved for a moment, and finally Shiloh realized that she was blocking the entrance to the room and no one could leave unless she did so first. “Oh! Sorry.”
Shiloh stepped out into the hallway, followed by Salem, and then by the rest of the occupants of the room.
Landon sank into the chair that was positioned in the hallway just outside of Zaire’s room. Jonah and Pam Kitzer glowered at him as they passed, but didn’t pause to say anything.
Shiloh and Salem started away too, but Landon knew he needed to say something to Salem. He leaned over and touched her arm before she was out of reach. “Listen, back there”—he tipped his head toward the room they’d all just evacuated—“that was my fault. I’m sure things will be much different with you and Jett. At least I hope they will be… Anyhow, I wanted to let you know I’m sorry she said that. She was just speaking from her pain because her filters were a little shattered just now.”
Salem gave him a nod, even if it was somewhat frosty.
The sisters started away down the hall, but Shiloh glanced back longingly at Micha where he stood at the nurses station jotting some notes in Zaire’s chart.
The moment Shiloh turned back around to keep walking, Micha lifted his focus from the forms on his tablet. And there was such a look of longing in his gaze that it kicked Landon in the heart.
Landon gave him a few minutes to gather himself and finish his notes and the short conversation with the nurses—presumably to point out that Zaire would need careful watching over the next couple of days due to her reaction to the opioids. But then, as Micha started down the hall toward his next patient, Landon called to him. “Micha.”
Micha paused, and looked back.
Landon motioned to where the sisters were just disappearing into the elevator at the end of the hallway. “Don’t make the same mistake I did. If you have something good, hang on to it with all your might.”
Micha stared at the closing elevator doors for a long moment, watching the numbers descend, and then he returned his focus to Landon. “That’s just the thing. I’m not sure it was something good.” He started away again, but paused, turned, and quirked a brow at Landon. “By the way… I noticed the cot in there. You’re not really supposed to be staying in her room since you’re no longer her husband. But considering Zaire’s reaction to the pain meds, and the fact that we’re a little bit shorthanded around here right now…” He let the sentence trail away, t
ossing Landon a wink. “Better pull out your net while the fish are jumping, if you catch my meaning.”
Landon stiffened. “I would never—” He broke off, uncertain of what Micha had meant. Even back in high school Micha hadn’t been one of those crude guys who joked about sex all the time.
Micha’s eyes widened and he lifted his hands. “No man. I didn’t mean—I just meant… This might be an opportunity for you two to get to know each other again.”
Landon’s tension eased. “Yeah. I hope so too. She certainly likes me better when she’s high.” He grinned. “Think you could give me a bottle of that stuff to take with us after we get out of here?”
Micha smiled but merely turned and started away.
“What? Is that a no?” Landon called after him, with a chuckle.
When Micha disappeared into a room a couple doors down, Landon dropped his head into his hands and roughed his fingers through his hair.
Well that had gone about as good as climbing a sheer cliff with no ropes.
CHAPTER 9
Zaire woke, feeling like someone had stuffed a huge wad of cotton in her mouth. She wrinkled her nose and worked her tongue around, trying to restore some moisture.
“Hey, there. You look like you could use some of this.”
She blinked against the brightness of the light flooding into her room, and groaned at a stab of pain that shot through her skull. Somewhere in the quick glimpse she’d gotten of her room, she’d seen Landon holding up a pink plastic cup. Sleep called her to return, but she really needed a drink of water. She squinted her eyes open again, and tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness swirled through her.
“Here. Don’t move. I can just raise the head of your bed. You want me to do that?”
She managed the barest of nods.
A buzzing sounded and she felt the bed move beneath her, sending another wave of dizziness cascading over her. She pressed her good hand to the mattress and scooted herself into a more comfortable position, eyes still closed. Her other arm shot shards of pain clear up to her shoulder. She cradled it against her chest to keep it as still as possible.
Soft Kisses and Birdsong (Riversong Book 2) Page 8
