by Brina Cary
Oliver glared at him. Unfortunately, his hope of his glare causing his father to spontaneously combust was not to be. “This isn’t the time nor the place.”
“Oh, on the contrary, it’s actually the perfect time and place. You just got married. You need to kiss the bride.”
Fine, if it would get them to stop, he would kiss Synthia. He stood up and grabbed her lightly by the arm. Feeling her go stiff, his eyes searched hers. Was she afraid of him? Or was she afraid of being kissed? He hadn’t known that her husband had died. What if she was still in love with him? She deserved better than Oliver Brooks, the man that no one could love.
Gently, he placed his hand on her cheek. He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. Their softness surprising him. As she exhaled gently, her lips parted. Their light pink buds begging for more. He leaned in once more and kissed her again. This time he was a little less gentle and a little more demanding. She parted her lips slightly and he entered. His hand on her cheek shifted to slightly behind her head. Her mouth tasted like crisp honeydew and cinnamon. A weird combination, but it compelled him. It called to him in a way unlike anything ever had. He felt her arms come up and wrap around his waist. His hand gripping her upper arm made it’s way to her waist. He slipped it under her shirt, to lightly grab her waist, skin to skin. If only…
The sound of a throat clearing brought him back to himself. They were being watched. Jumping back from her, as if burned, he wondered just how much of a fool he had made of himself. Looking around he noticed that his father had placed a hand over Daniella’s eyes and was staring at him in shock. Frank was looking at the floor in embarrassment and Jack was grinning wildly at him.
“Is this a bad time?”
Turning quickly, Oliver came face to face with the jerk of the century, Enrique Montoya, the man that hated people. “Hey, Montoya. Hey, how’s it going?” He hated when Oliver called him that, which was one of the reasons he did.
“I was told that I needed to see a patient; however, this patient doesn’t have any insurance. She needs to go to Saint Luke’s and they can handle it from there.” There was no hatred lacing his words. In fact, there was no emotion whatsoever. It was like he felt nothing. It was as if nothing could penetrate the steel covering his heart.
“Actually, she’s my daughter and this is my wife. Per hospital regulations, you have to treat them here at Avalon.”
A hint of a smile graced Montoya’s face before it was masked. It was as if Oliver had imagined it.
“Very well. The MRI that was done this morning didn’t reveal anything of significance. However, the patient’s white blood cell count is rising. I’ve done leukemia markers to check to see if it’s leukemia. The results should be back soon.”
“Dear Lord…”
Oliver turned just in time to catch Synthia as she collapsed to her knees. The sound of them striking the hard floor made Oliver cringe. Montoya wasn’t known for his bedside manner, but even he could have done better at breaking this news to a parent. “Synthia. Synthia, come on. It’s going to be ok. Everything’s fine.” He looked at Jack, “Get some ice water.”
“No, I’m ok. I just… I just need to sit here for a moment.”
She turned as if trying to loosen his hold on her. He gave in and released her, and just sat with her on the cold tile floor. Montoya would pay for this later. If it was the last thing he did, Oliver was going to make sure that Montoya knew he needed to treat his patients and their families better than this. Or one day Montoya was going to wake up with his own Lucy Woods and regret it for the rest of his life. Oliver never wanted anyone to go through that…
As Oliver looked at Synthia lying behind Daniella, softly stroking her hair, he began wondering just what she had been through in life. It was hard for him to imagine that she wanted this life, but as he watched her with Daniella… a part of him wished he could crawl on the bed with her and comfort her. He wished he had the right to do it. He wished he had the courage to do it.
“Oliver?”
“Yes?”
“Why are you staring at me?”
“I’m sorry. I just… What do you want out of life?” As the words left his mouth, he wished he could take them back. She flinched and shifted slightly. “I’m sorry, please don’t answer that.”
“No, it’s ok. I don’t ever think about what I want. I used to want a lot of things, but I’m a parent. As a parent, you do what you have to for your kids. Doesn’t matter if it’s what we want or not. I’m a waitress. Some days I make good money, other days not so much. The team I work with is great. If I need to change a shift then I can. They’re all parents themselves and know what it means.”
“Where do you work?”
“At a little cafe called Will’s Diner.”
Oliver scrunched up his face, trying to think of the place. “Is it on 32nd street?” At the shocked look she gave him, Oliver assumed that he was right. “That’s a nice place, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen you there.”
“When have you been there?”
“I don’t know…” He didn’t really. It was probably after a call in and he was normally on call on Tuesdays. “Maybe a Tuesday night, really late.”
“Oh, I don’t work then.”
She had a soured look on her face, as if something about that night bothered her. “Why is that?”
“When you’ve been in have you ever seen a guy that’s about six feet tall and tan — like, REALLY tan?” He thought about it for a minute and vaguely remembered a jerk that might fit that description. The guy had been practicing sort of grab-assy behavior, something Oliver didn’t approve of. He nodded at her. “He’s why I don’t work Tuesday evenings. I always have the day shift that day. He followed me home one night.”
He scrunched up his face and balled his hand into a fist. He didn’t trust himself to speak, but knew he had to. “Did he ever hurt you?”
“No, nothing like that…” The way that she paused told Oliver that she was afraid of the tan man, afraid of what he might do if she worked Tuesday evenings. “He is just a creep. I’ve dealt with them before.”
“Has he bothered anyone else?”
“Sheila doesn’t work late at night on Tuesdays now either, but she won’t talk about it.” She sighed deeply and stroked Daniella’s hair once more before continuing. “The problem is that we need the money. I’m going to have to take the Tuesday night shift.”
“Over my dead body.” His tone was harsh, angry almost. He wasn’t going to let her take that shift, no matter what.
“Oliver, I’m grateful that you married me, so Daniella can be treated, but I need to be able to pay you back. I can’t do that if I don’t work.”
Oliver could tell by the way she set her jaw, stilled her movements, and narrowed her eyes that the matter was not up for discussion. “Very well. I have something that I have to do tomorrow evening too. You see, I’m on call Tuesdays, which means I’m on call tomorrow night. Jack might be able to watch Daniella for us.” He made sure to use that term ‘us’. He hadn’t planned on being married, but if he was going to be married, then he’d be damned if someone laid their hands on his wife and he’d be damned if his wife didn’t understand that he believed in being a cohesive family unit. Daniella might not be his, and they might not have married for love, but he was going to protect her as if she was for as long as he could.
Synthia frowned as she saw Jacob Jerkowsky walk through Willy’s doors. The man was so tanned from that fake tanning stuff that he was orange like a carrot. His black hair was greasy too. His personality was just sleazy. Synthia hated working Tuesday evenings, but there was no way that she was going to be a freeloader. That’s what she felt like with Oliver — a freeloader. The hospital was being wonderful to her and Daniella. People were constantly dropping off food, coloring books, just seeing if they needed anything, and saying hi. It seemed like they were the talk of the place. Synthia still couldn’t believe they were married, but she was going to pay Oliver ev
ery dime back. It might take her a hundred years, but she was going to do it… even if she had to deal with Jacob the Jerk to do it.
Stepping up to the table with a pot of coffee in her right hand, she hoped he would behave this time. If not, she’d dump the whole pot in his lap. By accident, of course. “What can I get for you today?”
“Ooh, honey, how ‘bout you and Sheila at my place. We could do the tango.”
“Sorry, but I’m not on the menu.”
“You’d be amazed at what some money can buy. I’m pretty sure you’re within my price tag.”
“I am in no man’s price tag.” She ground the words out between clenched teeth.
“I could buy an hour with you for less than you’d think.”
“If you’re not going to order food, then please leave. You’re disturbing the other patrons.”
“I’m not disturbing anyone, sexy.”
“I have a name. It’s on the badge that you’ve been staring at since I walked up to the table.”
“I’m not staring at your badge…”
“And I’m done here.”
Smack!
She ground to a halt. Narrowing her eyes, she tightened her grip on the coffee pot.
“Get your ass up!”
Synthia didn’t have to turn to know the voice belonged to Oliver, but she did anyways. There was the matter of hot coffee after all. “Oliver?”
“Synthia get back.”
“Oliver, please don’t!”
“Who the hell is this?” Jacob the Jerk leaned back in the booth. The scum motioned towards Oliver, with a sleazy look on his face.
“I’m her husband.” Oliver’s voice boomed throughout the room.
Synthia took a step back. Oliver’s face was red, his lips were a tight thin line, and his stance was confrontational. He reminded her of an angry bear. However, there was something more… something that made her stomach clench.
“I said get up.”
“I’m not in the mood to deal with you. I was negotiating with her.”
“We were not negotiating you filthy…”
“Synthia, go in the back.”
“I will not.”
“Please go in the back. I will come get you in just a minute. You can go all angry on me then; however, this jackass will not touch another woman as long as he lives. He will not stare at, leer at, or speak to a woman.”
“Oliver, please… it’s not worth it.”
“Synthia, you’re my wife. I won’t have anyone disrespecting you like this.”
“What do you think you’re doing? You’re being a troglodyte!”
He smiled, as if he was shocked and pleased that she knew the word.
A sigh came from Jacob. “I just want to use her as a cum bucket for a bit.”
Oliver lunged at him, swinging, shocking her. The sound of glass shattering and the feeling of hot coffee on her legs made her jump, propelling her into action. “Oliver! Ollie! Stop!”
“What in Sam Hill is going on out here?”
Synthia swung around. “Willy! Make them stop!”
Chapter 10
Oliver looked up as Jack entered his office. “Hey, they’re still sleeping, so I’m getting caught up on some things. I need to run over to the clinic later. I put a note on the door for now.”
“Ollie, they know. The board knows about the clinic. You’ve been called up for a board action. I shouldn’t be telling you this, but they’re going to vote soon. You’re up against a room full of hardasses… They’re going to be voting on doing a peer review on all of your cases for the last six months to determine if you did anything wrong because you were moonlighting.”
“Is it really moonlighting if I own the place?”
“It’s a place of competition. That constitutes as moonlighting.”
“But a peer review?” Peer reviews were very serious business. They could cost him his ability to practice medicine. Were they really that upset about it?
“There’s more…”
“What?”
“If the vote for peer review succeeds, they’re going to get Daniella transferred to Saint Luke’s if you’re found at fault.”
“Peer reviews take weeks. They’ll know more by then.”
“They already established the committee. It’s meeting Friday afternoon. They’ll remove you if there’s any potential fault found.”
“Jack, I just need more time.”
“You might not be able to save her…”
“Yes, I will. I’m not going to let her die like Lucy did!”
“Ollie, you might not have a choice in the matter. None of us might have a choice in the matter. I’m sorry, Ollie… it’s time for you to learn that sometimes we don’t get a choice.”
“There’s always a choice, always something else we can do.”
“No, not always.”
He turned and stormed out, slamming the door behind him. He was going to get Daniella the care she needed. He wasn’t going to give up. As he stomped down the halls, people stepped out of his way. His face felt hot, like he was feverish or his blood pressure was through the roof. There was only so much that could be done, only so much left to try.
As he turned around the corner to Daniella’s room, he saw Montoya standing outside of the room. “Montoya,” he ground out. “What is it?”
“Dr. Brooks, I worked very hard for my title. I would appreciate it if you would use it.”
“Fat chance in Hell.”
Montoya sighed in response. “I was waiting to talk to your wife; however, it seems she is busy at the moment.”
“Then talk to me.”
“The patient is unfortunately very ill. She will die…”
“Dear God! Is this how you talk to all of your patient’s families?”
“I do not know any other way to be. Would you rather I give you false hope for her or would you rather I be truthful?”
Ollie stopped, what did he rather? To have the hope that everything would be fine or to know just how bad it really was? You can’t fix it if you don’t know it’s broke. “Fine, tell me how bad it is, but know that I will knock you into next week if you piss me off.”
“Touchy are we?”
“Very, so tread lightly.”
“The patient has a very rare form of blastoma that has invaded her bone marrow. We’re going to begin radiation therapy immediately; however, she will need a bone marrow transplant. If she doesn’t have one then she won’t make it. Her mother isn’t a match, I’ve already had her typed.”
Ollie felt like he had been punched in the gut. His legs turned to jelly and he had to grab the wall for support. She was going to die, just like Lucy had. Only this time, it would be because there were no matches. When the mother wasn’t a match, the chances of finding one were reduced significantly. With her father, an orphan, deceased… the chances dropped even further.
“What do I need to do?”
“Let me do what I can. You may think I’m a horrible person, but we both know that I’m the best in my field.”
Ollie couldn’t argue with him there. It was true. Montoya was the best pediatric oncologist in the US, maybe even the best in the world. If he said to let him work, then Ollie had to do it. No matter how much it hurt.
Chapter 11
“Hey, Ollie. Daniella and I were just talking about you.” Synthia knew from the look on his face that something was wrong. She had seen Montoya outside of the room, knew that he was bringing bad news and that he was using Ollie as the messenger. She couldn’t bear to hear the words from him… she needed just a little bit longer of normalcy first. However, what’s normalcy when you’re daughter is sick and there’s nothing you can do to make it better?
“Hey, sleepyhead. How are you feeling? Is your mommy keeping you company?”
“Yeah, but I want to see Charlie. I think he needs dinner. It’s dinner time for fishes.”
“Oh, don’t you worry about Charlie. He’s going to get fed plenty, I promise. What’s
on your menu for dinner?”
“Nasty stuff.”
The laugh escaped from Synthia before she could stop it. Daniella was right, it looked horrid, but she didn’t even know her little girl knew the words to describe something so putrid. The absurdity was amusing to her. “Sweetheart, would you like something different for dinner?”
“No, mommy. I’m not hungry.”
“Daniella, you need to eat, so you can get strong again. How about if your mommy and I go get you some jello from downstairs? Does that sound good?”
At the hesitant nod, Synthia frowned. If they left, who would sit with Daniella?
“I already called Frank. He said he’d arrange it. The sitter should be here any minute.”
As the words were out of his mouth, as if Oliver had summoned him, the door opened and Oliver’s dad entered the room. She watched as Oliver went tense and decided to intervene before things could get any tenser. “Daniella was just talking about how she wanted some jello. Are you sure you’re up to watching her for us?”
“Of course I am. I may be an old man, but I can definitely tell her some stories.”
“You always were good at the stories,” Oliver whispered harshly.
“As I recall, you used to love the one about the Sahara Desert lions, Ollie.”
“I’ve grown up since then.”
Synthia quickly kissed Daniella’s head and climbed off of the bed. “I think Daniella would love a story. We’ll be back soon.”
****
As she stirred her coffee, she surveyed Oliver. His expression was a mix of anger and sadness. “Ollie, what’s the deal between you and your father?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do. You act like you hate him.”
“Honestly, I don’t hate him. I just don’t want to trust him again.”
She raised her eyebrow at him, in an attempt to convey that she wished for him to continue. When he didn’t she waved wit her hand. “And?”
