Long Distance Lover

by Donna Hill

  He slung his hands into his pants pockets, pushing aside his lab coat in the process. As usual he was garbed in his faded jeans and a T-shirt, very un-doctorlike but folks around the hospital had gotten used to it, and the chief had grown weary of trying to get Alex to conform. Alex insisted that it made his patients feel more comfortable.

  “I’ll take your advice into consideration.”

  “That’s wise, as I am.” She winked at him. “We have a full day so you need to get your head out of the clouds and into gear.”

  He opened the door.

  “She’ll be here today at eleven. Don’t forget what I said.”

  He shot her a parting look and walked out.

  “You have to go back?” Kelly asked, a note of alarm lifting her voice.

  “I got the call last night. Reggie had a heart attack.”

  Her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh no. Is he all right?”

  “I don’t know. He’s in the hospital, hasn’t regained consciousness as of the phone call from his wife.”

  She limped over to the couch and slowly sat down then looked up at the worry tensing the space between his brows. “When are you leaving?”

  “This afternoon. I know you have a session today. I’ll take you to the hospital then I need to head to the airport. The hotel is paid for and we can arrange for a car service to get you back and forth. I’ll turn in the rental van.”

  She pushed her loose hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ears. “Don’t worry about me, okay? I’ll be fine.”

  He came to her and sat down, put his hand on her thigh. “I really hate to leave you alone. I’m the one who got you all the way out here away from everyone and everything and…”

  She stopped him. “I’ll be fine. I promise.”

  He heaved a sigh then nodded. “You know the routine with your medications, even if you have a bad day, right?”

  “Yes. I know what to do. And you know that as long as I get enough rest and don’t get worried about things, I’m pretty okay.”

  He leaned over and put a light kiss on her forehead. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be.” With David gone maybe she would have a chance with Alex…maybe.

  Chapter 19

  He spotted her the moment she walked through the doors of the hospital and for reasons that escaped him the aggravation of the previous hour, debating with a parent over the proper treatment of her child’s broken wrist, suddenly evaporated.

  She was listening to David. Her expression was tense but animated as he spoke. No, she wasn’t beautiful in the traditional sense, her features were a mixture of this and that and on anyone else it would have been a mess. But put together on Kelly it was an intriguing, natural beauty unadorned by makeup and fancy hairstyles. She put him in the mind of Angela Bassett, strong, flawless complexion, can’t-be-ignored features with an inner energy that forced you to look at her and a smile that lit her up from the inside out.

  He slowly put the chart down on the desk when her gaze scanned the crowded room and found him. He would pay Ruby money on the belief that he’d sworn he saw a glimmer of a smile move her lips. And not the kind of “I’m glad to see my doctor” smile. But an “I’m glad to see you” smile.

  They walked toward him. David’s usual scowl was in place. Alex ignored it and him.

  “Good morning. You’re scheduled for eleven.” He glanced quickly at the overhead clock. “You’re a little early.”

  “I made the decision to bring her early,” David said. “I have a plane to catch.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad.”

  “What?”

  Alex switched his expression of sarcasm to one of concern with a cocking of his brow and tightening of his mouth. “It’s too bad that you had to do that. We could have arranged to have an ambulette come and pick her up…is what I meant.”

  “I wasn’t aware of that.”

  “Will you be gone long?” Hopefully.

  “I’m not really sure. However, I’m always accessible by cell phone and Kelly has all of my numbers.”

  “I’m sure she does.” He zeroed in on Kelly. “How are you feeling? Have a good weekend?”

  An instant of panic sparked in her eyes. She glanced away, took a quick breath and pushed out a tight no-teeth smile. “Pretty good. Quiet actually,” she said while nodding.

  “Yeah, me, too.” He held on to her with a look before clearing his throat and reluctantly returning his attention to David. “If you speak with the nurse at the registration desk she can get all the information so that Kelly can be picked up and brought back on the days she has a session.”

  “I’ll be sure to take care of it.” He didn’t move.

  “Maybe you should do that now, David. You need to be at the airport in less than an hour and I still have to wait awhile before it’s my treatment time.” She looked up at Alex. “Do you think the service could take me back to the hotel today?”

  “I’m not sure of the schedule on short notice. But the nurse would know. If not, I’ll make sure you get home safely.” He felt David shift his weight in his direction. “We’ll get you a car service. There are plenty that the hospital is affiliated with.” Man, he was easy.

  “Great.” She looked at David. “Maybe it can get set up today,” she said suggestively, wondering how long he was going to stand there throwing off nasty vibes. His chest must have puffed up to twice its natural size he was so pissed off. It was plain even to a blind man that these two had no love lost for each other. For the life of her she really couldn’t understand what David’s problem was. She’d liked guys before. She’d been with her share of men. David knew it. But there was something about Alex Hutchinson that totally rubbed him the wrong way.

  David pushed back the cuff of his white shirt and checked his watch. His eyes darted from Alex to Kelly to the nurses’ station, calculating the distance and if he would be close enough to hear what was said.

  “I’ll take care of it.” He shot Alex a warning glance.

  Alex gave him a stiff, two-finger salute that only pissed David off more. He marched away, albeit with reluctance.

  Kelly didn’t waste an instant. “Before you say anything, I’m sorry about the phone call. It was silly. I should have said what I called to say.”

  Her admission caught him off guard. He was certain that they were going to play a game of pretend it didn’t happen. But what was more surprising was her expression. It softened, a hint of a flush warmed her cheeks and her eyes widened ever so slightly and Alex knew in that instant what she would look like when he made love to her for the first time—soft, vulnerable and willing.

  “What had you intended to say?”

  “That I was…thinking about my future, possibly a non-athletic future and I was wondering if you’d ever had a patient like that—someone whose life was totally altered. What did you do, what did they do?”

  Leigh’s image flashed in his head. He sucked in a shot of air. “I, uh…sure.”

  “I have everything taken care of,” David said, his timing impeccable.

  “Great. Well you have a safe trip. Kelly will be perfectly safe with us. And you, Ms. Maxwell, I’ll see you in about forty-five minutes.” He nodded to them both and walked off down the corridor.

  David’s jaw was so tight, Kelly could hear his teeth grinding. “Thanks for taking care of that.”

  He handed her a piece of paper. “Let me go over this quickly.” He put his hand on her back and ushered her to a bench out of earshot. They sat down.

  “Monday, Wednesday and Friday.” He pointed to each word. “The ambulette will pick you up in front of the hotel at ten fifteen. You should wait in the lounge near the exit when you’re done. Your name will be called when your driver is here to pick you up between two
and three.” He glanced at her. “Are you okay with this?”

  “Yes. It’s very simple. In a couple of days it will be routine. Don’t worry.” She smiled and patted his shoulder. “I really will be fine, David, and you’ll miss your plane if you don’t hurry.”

  He straightened then stood. “You’re right. I guess I can get a cab out front.” He reached for his traveling bag. “I’ll call you this evening.”

  “Okay. Give Reggie my best. Tell him to hurry up and get well.”

  “Yeah. I’ll call you.”

  “You told me.” She laughed lightly. “Go.”

  He looked at her one last time, wishing that he was taking her with him and out of the hands of the good doctor. He knew it was silly, this thing he had about the doctor. But in the years that he’d known Kelly and seen her with different men, he’d never felt the least bit threatened by them, never felt that they could ever take her away from him. Alex Hutchinson was a different story and he didn’t like it one bit.

  “Take care of yourself.”

  “I will.”

  David gave a sharp nod and hurried toward the exit. In moments he was swallowed up in the flow of human traffic on the busy circular walk of the hospital and out of Kelly’s line of vision.

  She glanced down at the paper in front of her. Monday, Wednesday, Friday…simple enough. And now with David gone and not hovering over every move she made, there may be a way to schedule Dr. Hutchinson into her routine. She sat down and waited.

  “Ms. Maxwell…”

  Kelly looked toward the open doorway and spotted Ruby. She smiled, eased up from her seat and eagerly looked forward to her treatment.

  Chapter 20

  “How are you today?” Ruby asked once they’d entered the treatment room.

  “Pretty good. Getting better day by day.”

  “Wonderful. And you didn’t experience any odd pain or discomfort following your last visit?”

  “No.”

  “And you’ve been sticking with the diet and the light exercises?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Ruby chuckled. “I’m sorry, honey. I know I can sound like a drill sergeant sometimes, but I want my patients to do well and in a hurry.”

  Kelly smiled. “I understand and I appreciate it. I really do.”

  “Okay then, let’s get started. You know where everything is. I’ll be back to get you started on the weights in about five minutes. I need to check on Mr. Harper on the treadmill. I leave him alone too long he’s liable to walk all the way to China.”

  Kelly laughed, feeling good and hopeful. “Is Dr. Hutchinson coming around?”

  “He got called away to an emergency surgery just before you came in. You’ll probably see him on Wednesday.”

  “Oh.” She felt as if she were suddenly stooped over, like all the air, the stiffness in her body, had been pulled out. She watched Ruby chastise Mr. Harper and knew that this was going to be the longest two hours of her life. But that didn’t stop her from glancing at the door every time it opened on the faint hope that Hutch would walk in.

  He didn’t.

  Kelly went through her rigorous routine of leg lifts and weight resistance. Ruby was a hard taskmaster and totally ignored grunts and pleas for mercy. The one joy was the sauna followed by a massage that almost made the two hours of torture worth it.

  “You need to go on down to X-ray when you get changed. We want an update on that ankle,” Ruby said as she massaged Kelly’s foot. “It looks good, no discoloration or swelling.” Gently she lowered Kelly’s leg and straightened up, rubbing the small of her back as she did so. “Whew, not as young as I used to be.”

  “None of us are.”

  Both women turned in the direction of Alex’s voice. He approached, taking off his surgical cap in the process.

  “How’d it go?” he asked.

  “I don’t know how long I’m going to be considered a good patient,” Kelly said and lightly nudged Ruby with her elbow.

  “Told you, I’m here to whip you into shape whether you like it or not,” she said with a sharp nod of her head.

  “Unfortunately she means it,” Alex said. He came around Ruby and helped Kelly down from the table. “How does it feel?”

  “Wonderful,” she said on a breath.

  Ruby loudly cleared her throat. “She needs to go over to X-ray.”

  “I’ll take her over.” He pulled out a wheelchair from against the wall and opened it. “Your chariot.” He gave a mock bow that made Kelly giggle.

  “I can take her,” Ruby interjected.

  “That’s fine. I was on my way over there anyway,” Alex said.

  Ruby shot him a look of warning.

  “See you later.”

  He pushed Kelly out of the room and into the corridor.

  “Ruby can be kind of tough sometimes, but she means well,” Alex said while pushing her down the hallway.

  “I know. I don’t mind, really.”

  “How are you feeling today?”

  “Pretty good.”

  “Was David able to get you squared away for the hospital transport service?”

  “Yes, they’ll pick me up when I’m done. I have to let the nurse up front know when I’m ready.”

  “Uh…I can take you today. I’m off in an hour.”

  Her heart knocked in her chest. “Well…if you’re sure and it’s not taking you out of the way.”

  “It’s really not a problem.”

  A fire ignited in her stomach, fanning outward to her limbs then straight to her head. “Sure. Fine.”

  “It’s done then. I’ll meet you up front when my shift ends. If I run into any trouble, I’ll let you know.”

  She nodded her head, uncertain of her voice.

  “Here you are.” He pulled the wheelchair to a stop. “Steve, this is Ms. Maxwell.” He pulled her chart from the back pocket of the wheelchair. “X-ray of the right ankle.” He handed the radiologist the chart.

  “Sure thing. I have one ahead of her.” He looked down at Kelly. “You can wait right over there,” he said pointing to a row of chairs along the light green wall. “The nurse will call you when we’re ready for you.”

  “Page me when she’s done, Steve.”

  “Sure thing.”

  “See you in a few,” he said to Kelly before turning and walking away.

  Kelly, finished with her X-ray, waited near the entrance trying not to look as anxious as she felt whenever she saw a tall, brown-skinned man in a white coat approach. But she didn’t realize just how much she wanted to see Alex until he actually appeared in front of her. Was she smiling in response to his? She couldn’t tell. All she knew was that for the first time in ages, she felt excited about something other than the next race.

  “Sorry to keep you waiting. I had a consult.”

  “Not a problem.”

  He helped her up and held her arm while she adjusted the crutches.

  “I’m out in the parking lot.”

  They walked out in silence, but Kelly’s pulse was beating so loudly in her ears she wouldn’t have heard anything he said anyway.

  The three sharp chirps of the alarm disengaging on the silver Maxima snapped her out of her daydreaming.

  He opened her door and helped her in and she thought that a simple touch had never felt so good and he’d been touching her all day. Innocent touches but touches that set her on fire, making her want more.

  “You need more room, you can adjust the seat. The lever is underneath you in the center.” He turned the key in the ignition.

  “I’m fine.”

  You certainly are, he thought but didn’t say and had an overwhelming urge to touch the silk of her hair, t
uck the loose strands behind her ear so that he could better see her profile.

  “Hungry? We can stop somewhere along the way.”

  She was much too nervous to eat. And if she did she didn’t want to mar the beauty of her day with one of her episodes.

  “I’m fine. Thanks for asking.” She linked and unlinked her fingers on her lap, concentrating very hard on the process. It was much easier than looking at Alex. The warm, clean scent of him drifted to her much as sleep sneaks up on you and carries you away. She inhaled slow and deep. Inside she smiled.

  “So tell me about yourself,” Alex said, pulling to a stop and turning on the right signal light.

  “I pretty much told you everything. Not much to tell.”

  “Of course there is. What’s the secret that the papers haven’t picked up on, some laundry that’s stuffed in the closet?”

  “What do you mean?” she asked, the hitch in her voice in concert with the wave that ran through her stomach.

  Alex snatched a quick glance at her before making the turn. He frowned in surprise. “Only kidding.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap. It’s just that when you are out in the public eye, you get raked over the coals so often....”

  “I can imagine. It must be hard to always be under the spotlight.”

  “It can be. Especially just before and after major competition. Then there are the hounds that follow you around ‘just because.’” She snorted in annoyance.

  “How do you manage?”

  She shrugged lightly. “David protects us as much as possible. You try to live your life as best as you can so that when they do write something about you it’s not as ugly as it could be.”

  “Do you have fans that stop you and ask for autographs?”

  She giggled. “Not as much as basketball and baseball stars, but I get my share. Especially back home.”

  “Do you go out a lot? I mean in the evenings,” he hedged.

  “Not really. I go out every now and then.” She stopped, turned to him and the question was out of her mouth before she could stop it. “Are you seeing anyone?”