After Dr. Ames left, Jed offered, “I’ll find someone to cover my rounds tomorrow. That way you can stay off your feet and keep your knee iced and elevated.”
“You’re not gonna stay home on my account.”
As the two men locked horns in a battle of wills, Ray stepped in. “Like Al said, I don’t have anything to do. I’ll come over tomorrow morning, Jed, and stay till you get back. I’m not a great cook, but I can fix sandwiches for lunch. Same with next week if Al still needs help.”
Since his wife died, Ray had too much time on his hands, Jed knew. He probably looked forward to doing a few things for his friend. Glancing from one man to the other, Jed asked, “Can I trust you two to stay out of trouble?”
“He got into trouble when I wasn’t around,” Ray joked.
“I’m sure that if your dad gives his word,” Brianne interjected, “he’ll keep it. And if he does, and he listens to the doctor’s instructions, maybe I’ll bake him bread sometime soon.”
Al grinned at her. “Homemade bread? I’ll make sure I put my leg up and not move.”
They all laughed.
Moving to Ray’s side, Jed clasped his shoulder. “Thanks for calling emergency services and notifying me.”
Ray looked a bit embarrassed and just shrugged.
“That’s what friends are for.”
“Don’t go all maudlin on me,” Al grumbled. He looked up at Brianne. “You don’t have to stick around and watch me make a fool of myself on crutches.”
Brianne laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Take care of yourself.” After a goodbye nod to Ray, she stepped outside the cubicle.
Jed joined her in the hall, remembering the conversation they’d had before they left Beechwood. His gut tightened once again. Had he subconsciously asked her to take that money out of his wallet, knowing she’d see Trisha’s picture?
No.
It had simply been one of those coincidences that happened.
A nurse hurried by them and he was almost grateful for the activity. It made private conversation impossible. “Thanks for coming along,” he said to Brianne now.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Yes, you did. I saw the way my dad’s eyes lit up when you came into the room. He was scared. You helped him deal with that fear.”
“What I did was sidetrack him. It isn’t hard to get Ray and your father to talk about their poker games or about Packers scores.”
More and more often, Jed realized how Brianne almost belittled herself, how she didn’t recognize her own accomplishments. Did that come from having two accomplished parents and needing to be perfect? From knowing she was adopted? “You have a gift with people, Brianne. I wish I had it.”
“You do!” she protested. “You sincerely care about each one of your patients, and they feel that. Do you know how many doctors today don’t have that gift?” She paused for a moment, then added, “I think it’s always harder dealing with family than with anyone else. They expect you, as a medical professional, to have all the answers. You think your dad was less scared because I came? I saw the relief on his face because you were here. Don’t underestimate the bond between the two of you, Jed. It’s there. Maybe you’re just too much alike to see it.”
Wasn’t that a thought! Jed chuckled. “Don’t say that to my dad. He’d probably bar you from the house.”
“He’s proud of you, and you admire him, too. Maybe someday the two of you can tell each other what you really feel.”
“I think you’re wearing rose-colored glasses,” he teased, unable to help himself. Sometimes he thought she was naive, but maybe she was just an extreme optimist.
After a quick look around, Brianne became very serious, and Jed braced himself for what he knew was coming.
“I’m sorry I noticed that picture in your wallet,” she began. “I didn’t intend to pry—”
“Didn’t you?” He didn’t ask the question unkindly, but she could have simply not mentioned seeing the picture.
Though she looked flustered for a moment, her chin came up and her eyes met his squarely. “No, I really didn’t intend to pry. But when I saw that picture, a lot of things made sense. Sometimes when you’re treating children, you look so sad.”
How could she put her finger on it so easily? He’d believed he was a lot better than that at hiding what he was feeling.
A technician scurried past with a carrier of lab tubes, and Jed used the interruption to end the conversation. “Brianne, this isn’t the place to talk about this—if I wanted to talk about it. I don’t.”
“Have you ever talked about it with anyone?” she pressed. “It might help.”
“No. You find it easy to tell me how much you miss your parents. I’m not like that. And when a child dies…” He shook his head, as the ache in his chest became so great he couldn’t even finish the thought.
Brianne reached out and clasped his forearm. “Jed, I’m sorry.”
Stepping back, he pulled away from her—away from her youth and her innocence and her heartwarming sincerity. All of those were too much to deal with when he thought about Trisha. Especially when he thought about Trisha.
Why? Because Brianne would make an excellent mother?
Wherever that thought had come from, he pushed it into the deepest recesses of a forest where he never hiked anymore. “I’ll walk you to your car.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to see you safely inside it,” Jed insisted, and wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Their walk to Brianne’s vehicle was a silent one. He guessed everything he’d said was still on her mind.
It never left his.
When she drove away moments later, he couldn’t help but wonder if Brianne might be right. Would talking about Trisha help him find peace of mind?
A long pass sailed into the very blue, end-of-January sky, and Jed almost lost it in the descending sun. With Ray and his dad engrossed in a checkers marathon, Al had insisted Jed find something to do Saturday afternoon and stop hovering. So when Rob had called…
Slipping over the ice, Jed knew he was nuts for playing football out here at his age, but it felt good to be tossing the ball again with Rob. Although they’d had a warmer than usual spell last week, it had snowed again last night—a good four inches.
Ready for the ball, Jed wasn’t as prepared for the melted patch of snow. As soon as he caught the football, he skidded and ended up on his backside on the ice.
Rob came trotting over and offered him a hand up. “Didn’t I tell you this would be a blast?”
Jed laughed as he got to his feet. “You just wanted a doctor around in case we hurt something.”
Rob laughed, too. “I knew you had this afternoon off and I needed a couple of hours away from paperwork. I really need a vacation, but I just can’t get away right now. This is the next best thing.”
Jed’s gaze scanned the small lake. There were a few ice huts that fishermen invested in along the eastern edge. Fishermen who weren’t as serious or who didn’t want to go to that expense cut holes with ice augers when or where they could. To Jed’s dismay, he thought he saw a fisherman using an ax toward the southern edge of the lake, where ice-skaters skated, mostly on weekends. He hoped the man’s hole wouldn’t exceed the twelve-inch limit. The warming trends they’d been having would make that area unsafe for skating if the ice didn’t freeze as thick or as solid again.
Shouts of laughter reached them from about fifty yards from the lake where children were sledding down a slope into a field. Jed could see the shine of saucers and the flash of sleds as kids and adults alike enjoyed the sunny late afternoon.
After he checked his watch, Rob said, “I’d better be getting back. The stack of paperwork isn’t getting any shorter. What about you? Are you going to stay for the bonfire?”
Jed could see that a group of people who had apparently been sledding were going to start a fire at the edge of the lake. “I might hike over there and watch the sledder
s for a while.”
Rob took the football from Jed. “I’ll hold on to this until we decide to play again.” Then with a wave, he loped off, covering the ground almost as easily as he had when he was a running back heading for a touchdown.
Jed noticed there were more cars now in the parking area by the lake. Parents had brought their kids to take advantage of the good sledding conditions. Suddenly he recognized one of the cars. It was Lily Garrison’s—he was sure of it. Moments later, as Lily got out and unfastened Megan from her car seat in the back, he saw Brianne exit the passenger side. All three were bundled up for sledding.
Confirming that fact, Lily and Brianne removed two sleds and a saucer from the trunk.
Without a second thought, Jed crossed to the trio as they approached the sledding area.
“Hi, Dr. Jed.” Megan piped up right away.
“Hi, Megan. Just what are you going to do with that silver thing? Pull a snowman on it?”
She giggled. “No. I’m going to ride it down the hill. It’s fun. Want to come?”
“I didn’t bring a sled. It would be hard skidding down that hill on my jeans,” he said, though they were already plenty damp from the snow and ice on the lake.
“We’d be glad to take turns with you,” Lily offered with a smile.
Brianne teased, “I can always share my sled with Megan and you can try her saucer.”
“You’d like to see that, wouldn’t you?” he asked.
“You could prove to us you’re not a stuffed shirt,” she retorted with quick humor.
Lily took her daughter’s hand and started walking to the top of the slope. “I’ll leave that one alone.”
When they were out of earshot, Jed asked Brianne, “Is that how you see me? As a stuffed shirt?”
Her answer was spontaneous. “No. But I think you see yourself that way sometimes. A little fun might do you a lot of good.”
He’d had such a good time with Brianne at the pool hall. She brought a freshness into his life, a spirit of happiness he hadn’t experienced in a very long time. Maybe she was right and he just had to let loose more often. It was funny, but now he felt as if he could.
“All right, Miss Smarty-pants Barrington.” He took the rope of her sled in his hand. “Let’s see who can make this sled go the farthest on this blanket of snow.”
A few minutes later, trudging at his side, Brianne asked, “How’s your dad?”
“Getting antsy. Thank goodness for Ray and his other buddies. After that brace comes off, I’d like to get Dad some physical therapy. Strengthening his back and leg muscles will help his knees.”
“Do you think he’ll go for that?”
“If he doesn’t, maybe you can convince him.”
“There’s a limit even to what I can do.”
When Jed saw her amused expression, he laughed.
A short time later he stood on the top of the hill with Brianne. It felt so good to breathe in the cold air that carried her perfume to him. She was dressed in a red ski suit with canary-yellow bands on the arms and across the front of the jacket. Her yellow hat came down over her forehead and covered her ears.
“Do you want to take the first run?” she asked him, nodding to the sled.
“No, you go first.”
They took turns for a while, trying to beat each other’s runs until the sun was almost slipping behind the horizon and the sled tracks became icy. Neither one of them bested the other because they guided the sled equally well. You couldn’t grow up in Wisconsin and not take sledding seriously, Jed supposed.
When Brianne returned to the top of the hill for at least the tenth time, huffing and puffing now, Jed just grinned at her. “How about we take one last ride together? They’ve got the bonfire going and we might want to warm up a little before we go home. I think Megan and Lily already headed over.”
“Sounds good to me. With more weight we can go faster and father.”
“Aerodynamics at its best,” Jed said with a chuckle, then motioned for her to sit on the sled first.
After she did, he realized what he’d suggested was going to be more complicated than he’d anticipated. Lowering himself behind her, he stretched out a leg on either side of her, his jeans pressing against her hips and calves. When he reached around her for the guide, he knew the intimate contact was going to tease them both. Brianne felt so damn right against his body.
With his head bowed to hers, he asked near her ear, “Are you ready?”
When she nodded, he used one booted foot to push them off, and soon they were flying down the hill, picking up speed. As the air rushed by them, Jed held Brianne tight. The world was a blur and he almost forgot the past he’d left, the future he’d been avoiding.
Then all at once their run was over. The sled ran out of speed, but his arms were still around her and he found his cheek next to hers. “That was some ride.”
When she turned to look at him, her cheek grazed his jaw. “It’s a shame it’s getting dark.”
The dusk was beginning to envelop them in purple shadows, and he thought about what it would be like to be with Brianne alone in the dark…in his bed.
The thought was so arousing, he slid back on the sled and then quickly stood. “We’d better get to the bonfire before Lily sends out a search party.”
“She knows I’m with you. She knows I’m safe.” Brianne stood, too, and her breath came almost as fast as his.
“Why do you think you’re safe with me, Brianne?”
Hardly a heartbeat passed before she answered, “I just know I am. You’re a good man, Jed.”
“Even good men have their weaknesses,” he confessed wryly, and lifted her chin, running his thumb over her cold cheek, which seemed to get warmer. When she shivered, he knew it wasn’t from the cold. Whatever this chemistry was between them, it was powerful.
“Jed…” she began.
He shook his head because he knew she was going to ask something he didn’t want to answer. “Not tonight, Brianne. Let’s just keep it simple.”
Then he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and they started up the hill.
When they reached the bonfire, Lily gave each of them a cup of hot chocolate someone had brought in a huge thermos. As they sipped and watched the flames, Jed saw Brianne’s gaze shift to two teenage boys who had a hockey puck and sticks and were batting the puck to each other in the flickering light of the fire.
“They look as if they’re having a good time.” He remembered his hour with Rob on the ice, and it brought back their high school days together.
“They remind me of someone I knew who wanted to make a career of ice hockey.”
Something in her voice alerted Jed and he asked, “Somebody important?”
“A childhood friend.”
“Maybe more than a friend?” he prodded.
“I thought I was going to marry Bobby Spivak. We met each other in kindergarten and went all through school together. We were best friends and then…more than that.”
Curious now, Jed asked, “Did he go off to play hockey and leave you behind?”
“No, he died and left me behind.”
Brianne had said it lightly, but he suddenly realized what it meant. She’d been abandoned by her mother, had lost her parents and someone else very close to her, too.
“Bobby’s the reason I became a nurse,” she said softly, her words a burst of white vapor. “When we were seventeen, he had a fall on the ice. Because of severe bruising the doctor did bloodwork and discovered he had leukemia. I postponed college to spend time with him—go with him to chemo, play cards, read. We’d always talked about everything under the sun and we had time for that, too. But it was still so sudden.” She gave a little shrug and it was eloquent because of everything she hadn’t said.
“Bobby was the best friend who helped you after you learned you were adopted?”
She nodded.
Just when Jed thought he had Brianne figured out, he saw another facet of her. She’d had to ma
ture beyond her years from the time she was fourteen. She had known sadness and grief and loss, just as he had.
In a flurry of childhood enthusiasm, Megan ran over to Brianne and tugged on her mittened hand. “Mommy said Penelope’s getting lonely for me in the car and we have to go.”
“Tell your mom I’ll gather up my sled and meet her at the car.”
“I’ll carry it over for you,” Jed offered.
Her serious expression was replaced by a smile. “I can drag it behind me, even after a day of sledding. I’m a lot stronger than I look.”
Brianne was trying to send him a message, and he got it: she was a strong woman no matter what her age.
He’d said he wanted to keep things simple today. But his feelings for her were becoming too complicated. He suddenly realized he didn’t just desire Brianne Barrington, he admired her and respected her, too. He also wanted to spend more time with her.
If he did, maybe he could tell her about Trisha.
It had been an odd week, Jed thought, as he finished rounds at the hospital. Every day he’d called from Beechwood during office hours to check on his father. He’d worked with Brianne as if he hadn’t revealed something important to her. He’d remembered holding her close as they’d sped down the snowcovered hill. During all of that, he’d considered the idea of talking to her about Trisha, until it began to feel more comfortable. Driving home, he realized—he didn’t know how to ease into the conversation.
When he walked in the door, his father said, “I’m going stir-crazy. I’ve gotta get out of here. Let’s go bowling tomorrow night. I know I can’t bowl, but at least I can watch the other guys have some fun. You can drop me off and one of them can—”
To ease into anything with Brianne, Jed had to be with her. “Maybe I’ll ask Brianne to go along. She and I can bowl, too, and bring you home when you’re ready.”
“You think Brianne likes to bowl?”
“I don’t know. But it won’t hurt to ask.” He remembered teaching her how to play pool, the feel of her body pressed close to his. However, tomorrow night wouldn’t be about any of that. They’d simply have a relaxing time and then maybe…talk.
The Most Eligible Doctor Page 10
