Alex

by Vanessa Devereaux

  “I want my daddy,” sobbed Sasha.

  “Oh honey.” Julie leaned over and kissed Sasha.

  “I’m here in his place,” said Alex. “Your daddy told me to take good care of you and that’s what I’m going to do.”

  “But I want him.”

  “Sasha, you want me to go see if I can find some ice cream?” asked Eva, hoping that might help the situation.

  She shook her head. “I want my daddy.”

  Sasha cried and a tear began rolling down Alex’s face too.

  “Alex, Eva, would you go and leave her with me for a bit,” said Julie. She winked at them.

  Eva put out her hand and Alex slipped his into her palm as they walked outside.

  “I just don’t know what I can do,” said Alex, hanging his head down.

  Eva flicked away the tear from his cheek.

  “She’s going to be okay isn’t she?” he asked.

  Eva nodded. “She just needed some antibiotics, rest, and plenty of fluids. Being in the hospital is the best place for her.”

  “Thank you for giving her such TLC.”

  “It was my pleasure because she’s a sweet little girl.”

  “It breaks my heart that she wants her daddy.”

  “I know how she feels. When I was sick I wanted my dad to be with me to read me a story and put on our usual puppet show.”

  “Puppet show?”

  “Yep, I had a box of them and each night my dad would put on a puppet show before I went to sleep.”

  “Maybe that’s what I can do.”

  “Alex, it’s almost midnight.”

  “I’m going to round up anything that can be made into a puppet. Anything to help her deal with not having her dad with her.”

  ****

  Eva was the sort of woman he wanted to have around forever. Wow, first time he’d ever thought that about a member of the opposite sex. They’d found some teddy bears, some dolls, and combined with her sewing skills learned in stitching up patients, Eva had helped him dress them up and add some strings.

  Julie was asleep when they first crept back into Sasha’s room. She looked up when she saw them.

  “Why don’t you go get something to drink and have a nap in the family lounge,” Eva told her.

  “Okay, but I won’t be long.”

  “What’s that?” asked Sasha pointing to the largest teddy bear.

  “They’ve come to make sure you’re okay and do as the doctor tells you so you can get better,” he said.

  Sasha pulled the blanket up and sucked her thumb as Alex sat on the bed and danced the teddy back and forth. He smiled as what looked like the corners of her mouth curling up began to spring forth on her face.

  “He’s funny. Let me hold him.”

  She reached out and Sasha took him and put him under the blanket beside her.

  “Who’s she?” asked Sasha pointing to the doll.

  “This is Lucy. Can you say hi?” asked Alex.

  “Hi,” said Sasha.

  “She’s got the flu and needs to rest, so can she sleep with you tonight?” asked Eva.

  She looked at the doll and then Alex. “Does she have a daddy?”

  Alex shook his head. “That’s why we thought you could help her out.”

  Sasha nodded and held out her hand for the doll. She grabbed it and put it next to the teddy. Her eyelids fluttered and Eva tapped him on the shoulder.

  “I think we should go and let her sleep,” she mouthed.

  “Nighty, night Sasha, I’ll be back in the morning to see you,” said Alex leaning over and kissing her forehead.

  ****

  Eva couldn’t stop yawning the following morning. She’d had to apologize to two patients and then explain the reason for her sleepiness. She hadn’t realized she’d fallen asleep as soon as she’d gotten home that evening until her cell phone woke her.

  “Hello.”

  “Hi, Eva.”

  It was Alex and he sounded hoarse.

  “You okay?”

  “I think I’m coming down with that flu.”

  He’d no doubt caught it from Sasha who she’d heard was well enough to go home.

  “You want me to come over and check you out?”

  “Doesn’t that sound tempting.”

  She smiled. “I’m a doctor.”

  “I thought you couldn’t be mine anymore.”

  “We won’t tell anyone.”

  “Sure, and could you bring me some ice cream? I’ll leave the door open because I’m heading to bed and I might be napping by the time you get here.”

  “Okay. I’ll pick up something for supper too, that is if you’ll feel up to eating?”

  “Sounds great.”

  Eva pressed the end call button. He sounded like he was going to lose his voice any second. She’d pick up soup, soda, some pudding, and everything else that as a doctor she usually advised patients to drink or eat. She was sort of looking forward to babying the big tough guy.

  ****

  Alex hadn’t heard Eva come into the room until he opened his eyes and saw her standing there. He felt hot, like his face and chest were burning, his body ached, and he wanted to sleep.

  Eva sat on the bed. “I won’t ask how you’re feeling because I can tell by looking at you.”

  “Yeah, I’ve felt a lot better.”

  “Have you taken your temperature?”

  He shook his head. “You have a thermometer because if not I have one in my bag in my car.”

  “There’s one on the shelf in the bathroom.”

  Eva got up and left the room and then walked back in putting the plastic cover over the tip.

  “Open wide.”

  Even doing that hurt the muscles in his jaw.

  She placed it under his tongue. That hurt too. He wanted to speak, but the thing was taking forever until finally he heard a beep.

  Eva removed it and looked at it. “Ninety-nine degrees.”

  “I feel hotter than that and only an hour ago I was shivering.”

  “Yeah, that would be a thing called the flu.”

  “You think you should stick around here just in case…okay, I know what you’re going to say,—you’re a doctor.”

  “Anything I can do for you?”

  “You’ve opened yourself up for that one.”

  “So you’re not that sick.”

  “Believe me; I ache all over, including my cock.”

  “Maybe the rest will be good for it. After all, it has been used a lot this last week or so.”

  “But by the time it’s working again, you might be gone.”

  “Denver’s not that far away, you could some see me on weekends.”

  Suddenly that didn’t sound like an option. He wanted her here 24/7.

  “I forgot I’m supposed to be babysitting Sasha. My mom’s out of town and Julie’s taking classes at the community college. Did I tell you she’s going to be a teacher?”

  “That’s great. How about I stand in for you?”

  “I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

  “It’s no problem. I wasn’t doing anything else tonight.”

  ****

  “You are a wonderful person,” said Julie slipping on her jacket. “I thought I might have to skip tonight’s class.”

  “Just glad I can help.”

  “How’s Alex feeling?”

  “Crappy.”

  “I feel bad that he most likely picked up the bug from Sasha.”

  “At least everyone will have some immunity when winter flu season rolls around.”

  Julie grabbed up her bag and books. “You do know he’s fallen for you big time, don’t you?”

  She had a feeling, but Julie had just confirmed it. Truth was she’d fallen for him, his family, and the town. In fact, she could see why her brother and sister-in-law had chosen to settle down there.

  “He’s a special guy,” said Eva.

  “He’s like his brother and those types of guys are very hard to find, so maybe you s
hould think about that before you head to Denver next week.” She winked at Eva and left.

  “Auntie Eva,” called Sasha from her bedroom.

  “I’ll be right there.”

  Her brother’s two kids called her Eva and now she sort of liked the Auntie moniker.

  Sasha sat up in bed, looking one hundred percent better than she had forty-eight hours ago.

  “Are you going to read me a story?”

  “Of course,” said Eva walking over to the bookshelf. “Which story would you like to hear?”

  “I like the fairy one.”

  Eva skimmed the titles and pulled out one that said Fairy Magic.

  “Okay, you have to snuggle down while I read.”

  “I want Uncle Alex to read to me too.”

  “He’s resting, but he’ll be back on story reading duty very soon.”

  “I love Uncle Alex. Are you going to be my real auntie?”

  Eva didn’t know the answer to that. She’d made her plans to go to Denver, but each second she was with Alex, with his family, she wasn’t sure if she could leave.

  “I don’t know.”

  Eva quickly started to read before Sasha asked any more questions about her and Alex. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to answer them, more like she didn’t know how to respond.

  Chapter Seven

  Alex woke up missing Eva. First night they’d not spent together. It was past midnight and he didn’t want to wake her but he had to be selfish just this once because he needed to hear her voice.

  He flicked on the light and squinted as he reached for his phone. He knew her number by heart now.

  “Hello.”

  “I know it’s late, but I missed you,” he said.

  “I missed you too.”

  “Sasha okay?”

  “Yes, we read three books and then she fell asleep. I’m her Auntie Eva who’s going to accompany her to the daycare graduating into kindergarten party in October.”

  He loved the sound of that. Eva sticking around or maybe coming back to town.

  “Eva, I know it’s a lot to ask you but tell them you don’t want the job in Denver.”

  “Alex, I can’t. Jobs like that one don’t come along twice in a lifetime.”

  She was right. What had he’d been thinking? Must be the meds he’d taken.

  “I’m sorry, that was wrong of me to ask you.”

  “It’s okay Alex, and I promise you I’ll be back to see you and my brother. When I leave next week it won’t be goodbye forever.”

  He squeezed his eyes shut. The thought of that made his gut wrench. The thought of never seeing her ever again would break his heart in two.

  “You getting lots of rest?”

  “Sure, Doctor. I suppose I should let you get back to sleep too.”

  “Yep, tomorrow’s my last day at the office.”

  ****

  Alex wasn’t sure if it was some of the lasting effects of the flu or if his down mood was due to Eva leaving. He’d opted not to say goodbye to her in person and she’d strangely, quickly, accepted it without putting up any protest. Should he read anything into it? Maybe she was having second thoughts about leaving? He only hoped that was the case.

  “I guess I’ll see you when I come back for Sasha’s kindergarten tea party,” she’d told him so casually that it had almost hit him like she’d thrown a brick into the center of his chest, aiming at his heart and finding it on the first attempt.

  “I guess so.” He’d played it the same way, twirling the pen around on his desk wanting to tell her that he’d made a huge mistake. A summer fling wasn’t what he wanted after all. He wanted to make this relationship permanent, which meant they’d have to figure out who was going to draw up the schedule on who traveled to see who on what weekends. He also wanted to tell her they’d be no other woman for him now that he’d met her. Could he ask the same of her? What if she met some handsome, wealthy coworker who swept her off her feet in the Mile High City? Bile had risen in his throat just imagining her with someone else.

  “Have a safe journey and I hope the new job is all that you’d hoped it would be.”

  Shit, it had sounded stilted, sarcastic almost, but he’d ended the conversation on that awful note.

  ****

  Eva still couldn’t get use to the size of the hospital in Denver, and she’d gotten lost twice in the first week. She’d put it down to the learning curve, but her mind hadn’t been on the job she’d coveted for the last year or so. She missed Alex, plain and simple. She had to get her head together because patients were counting on her. The next one was an eighty-year-old who’d been brought in because she’d lost weight and her daughter had said she’d hadn’t been eating much in the last month or so.

  “Hi Ruth, I’m Dr. McQuire,” said Eva putting out her hand. The woman slipped hers into her palm. It was cold and Eva felt every bone. She pulled up a chair and sat by the bed, noting Ruth’s collarbone’s jutting out from the hospital robe. Her skin looked pale and her hair unkempt.

  “I’m here to figure out why you’ve lost so much weight, but I suspect that maybe you’re not eating as well as you once did. Maybe it’s a digestive issue or…”

  “Nothing physically wrong with me it’s just not worth cooking for myself anymore. I’ve tried, but I just can’t bring myself to do it so sometimes I just skip a meal. It’s that plain and simple. I’ve no idea why my daughter’s making such a big fuss about a little weight loss.”

  Eva had noted that Ruth had become a widow ten months ago.

  “No, there’s nothing wrong with it but you can’t afford to keep losing weight or you’ll become malnourished.”

  “Well, at least I’ll speed up my death. I miss my husband so much, and I’m getting depressed.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know if it will pass or maybe you should give me some pills to help.”

  Broken heart, no medication for that.

  “I can certainly do that but sometimes they take the edge off your appetite so I’d like to try a few other things before we go that route.” Eva crossed her legs and made a few quick notes to herself so she’d remember who to contact once she left Ruth’s room. “I’m going to make a referral to a social worker and also Meals on Wheels and that way you won’t have to worry about cooking for yourself.”

  “It’s not the cooking part; it’s the eating alone that isn’t much fun.”

  This lady was almost fifty years Eva’s senior, but she knew exactly what Ruth was talking about. Since she’d met Alex, eating on her own had somehow lost its charm. No conversation, no witty banter, no sneaky glances across the table, no winking, and no foot sliding onto your own, her foot inching up under the hem of his jeans.

  “The social worker might be able to help you find a senior’s group. Sometimes being with other people in the same situation can help you adjust.”

  “Adjust, I’ll never do that. The perfect man only comes along once in a woman’s life.”

  Eva looked up from the notes she was making. She’d been on the line about actually taking this job or staying with Alex, but she’d kept quiet about it. Not telling her mother, Mike or Missy and no, she hadn’t said one word to Alex. What if she gave this up this opportunity at one of the best hospitals in the West, and it didn’t work out with him? She’d end up regretting it for the rest of her life. She’s hate herself and maybe Alex too. On the other hand if she didn’t take a chance on her and Alex and being in a long-term relationship with him, she’d also regret that until she was this patient’s age.

  She looked at Ruth who she was sure was reading her mind. How crazy was that?

  “You’re in love with someone,” Ruth finally said.

  Eva nodded. She had fallen in love with the sheriff from the small town in Montana. He had every single quality she had on her must have list so it was inevitable he’d steal her heart.

  “Then you know what I’m talking about?” asked Ruth.

  “I do, yes, and I’m going to help you in every p
ossible way I can.”

  Eva stood. “I’ll have the social worker stop by and together we’ll set out a plan to get you back on track.”

  Eva left the room and walked toward the elevators. She’d made up her mind what her next move would be.

  Chapter Eight

  Alex nodded to the waitress as she topped up his coffee. He skimmed through the paper and thought back to how calm it was in McQuire’s Café. Complete opposite to that morning when he first set eyes on Eva.

  He’d called her last night, but all he managed to reach was her voicemail. He’d left two messages and by the third call he’d opted not to do it again, just in case he came across as needy. Maybe she’d had a date. Bile rose in his throat, bringing it up into his mouth, and leaving him with a bitter taste.

  His brother’s death had taught him there weren’t many second chances in life. Take the opportunity while you can. He wanted something permanent with Eva and he had to tell her that. Even if she told him no, he wasn’t the right man for her. He had to at least tell her before she found someone else.

  He pushed away the half-eaten Café Classic and folded up his newspaper. He glanced at his watch. Alex had some vacation time due him for all the extra hours he’d worked. He could drive to Colorado, but he wanted to get to Eva as soon as he could before he lost his nerve again. He’d go to his office, book a flight to Denver, rent a car, head to the hospital where she worked, and spill out his heart. Whether he came back here a broken man, well, that was worth every chance.

  ****

  Eva hadn’t even had an opportunity to check her voicemail. Being a doctor in a busy metro hospital was more hectic than she’d ever imagined. She sat down, rubbing her feet, suddenly missing small town Montana. Today she was working the ER which added to the craziness of her job.

  “Dr. McQuire, you have a patient in cubicle five who’s complaining of chest pains.”

  “I’ll be right there.” She put her shoes back on and took the folder from the nurse and headed to the examination area thinking her break wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.