by Kristy Tate
“They had to up the security,” Letty told her. “Celebrities bring out the crazies. I had a woman call today demanding to know what we were feeding Zach Walden.”
Charlie chuckled, but her laughter died when the stern-faced security guard pushed open the door to let her in. “He must be in the restroom.”
Charlie waited in the room alone for a long moment, then she went to the adjoining restroom and rapped on the door. When only silence answered, she knocked again and called out, “Mr. Walden?”
He stepped out from behind the window curtain, looking sheepish and unsure. He wore only the blue and white paisley hospital gown, but it matched his eyes. He would have been handsome if he hadn’t looked so haggard and unshaven. He weaved on his feet and grabbed the curtain to steady himself.
Charlie rushed to his side. He collapsed against her and she half-dragged him back to bed. He fell on the mattress, and the hospital gown hitched around his thighs.
Doing his best to cover himself, he muttered, “I now understand why women dislike dresses.”
She pulled on the bedcovers and tucked him in. “Why were you hiding behind the curtain?”
“I wasn’t hiding,” he said. “I was trying to run away.”
“Why?”
He sniffed. “I want to go home.”
“Hmm, maybe it would be a good idea to get dressed first.”
“Clothes…unnecessary.”
“You might feel differently if you have to bend to pick something up and your gown comes undone.”
“Well, I guess it wasn’t such a good idea. I can barely stand without falling over.”
She smiled as she looked at his chart and noted that he’d recently been pretty heavily medicated for pain. “And there is that. Better wait until you regain your balance…and your shoes.”
He studied her as if seeing her for the first time. “It’s you.”
She touched her hair, fidgeting beneath his stare.
“You’re the one who rescued me.”
“Yes.”
He swallowed audibly. “You saved my life. They say I called you ‘angel’ when you found me.”
She nodded, smiling at the memory. “You asked if you were dead.”
“And I would be, if not for you.” He motioned for her to sit—something she rarely did while working.
She settled into the orange upholstered chair beside his bed and noted the crazy number of flowers lining the windowsill. “No. Someone else would have found you.”
“But I was lucky to be found by a nurse.”
“And a doctor.”
“Ah, yes. Dr. Palmer,” he said in a flat voice.
“You’ve met Kirk?”
He nodded.
“He’s a good doctor,” Charlie assured him.
“I’m sure he thinks he is.”
Charlie tried not to bristle. “Kirk—I mean, Dr. Palmer—is the reason I became a medical professional.”
“Really?” he asked, sounding amused.
She nodded. “I’ve known him most of my life. He’s my brother’s best friend. And he was so passionate about saving people and easing suffering that I…well, I wanted to be a part of that, too.”
“And do you like it?”
“What does that have to do with anything? I’m doing something important.”
“Changing sheets and bedpans…”
“We can’t all be professional athletes-turned-successful-businessmen.”
He bit his lip and looked out the window. “Forgive me. I didn’t mean to be rude. Nurses—and doctors—are, well, being a healer is a noble calling, isn’t it?”
She nodded, feeling mollified. “I wanted to thank you, too.”
“Me?” He looked confused. “Whatever for?”
“For the Wonder Weight Loss app!”
“The what?”
“The Wonder Weight Loss app. Not to be redundant, but it’s simply wonderful. Because of you, I lost more than fifty pounds.”
“Really? Because of me?”
She nodded. “Well, the Wonder Weight Loss clinic and the Ricardo Sanchez workout videos had something to do with it, too, but your app—”
“Wait.” He held up his hand as if stopping traffic. “Wonder Weight Loss? I work for the Wonder Weight Loss Company?”
She gazed into his blue eyes, wondering what she was missing.
He looked away from her and blinked hard. If she didn’t know better, she’d have thought he was battling tears.
He turned back to her, studied her, and seemed to reach a decision. “Can I confide in you?” he whispered.
CHAPTER 2
This was the woman from his visions—hidden curves beneath her ugly uniform, generous lips, deep brown eyes, and thick, soft hair. Not his fiancée—he couldn’t even recall her face—but this woman had been in his dreams for days.
He touched his head. “I’ve been trying to piece my memories together. The last thing I can remember, I was the quarterback for the Rams, and we were in the championship.” His voice caught. “I don’t remember going to work for Wonder Weight Loss clinics.”
She smiled at him and he felt better just looking at her. “You don’t work for Wonder Weight Loss. You developed an app that tracks calories and activity levels. Here, I’ll show you.” She pulled her phone out of her pocket.
He gaped at it. “That’s your phone?”
“Yes.”
“Can I see it?”
She handed it to him.
“It’s so slim,” he said, turning it over in his hands. “And all these icons?”
“Apps.” She pointed at one that looked like a tiny, jagged mountain and a pair of Ws. “That’s yours. You developed it. It’s saving lives.”
“You said you lost fifty pounds.”
“I did.”
“It’s hard to believe. You’re so tiny.”
“Now. My brothers and their friends used to call me Chomp-It-Down Charlie.”
An idea struck him. “Will you be my nurse?”
“I don’t know…”
“It should be easy. The doctor said I can go home in a day or two.” He bit his lip. “But I don’t even know where that is. I need someone to help me. I can’t let Clive or my fiancée know about my memory loss.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not sure,” he said slowly. But he was sure of one thing, which was that he was happier and felt safer when Charlie was around.
#
Zach stepped into the small bathroom, switched on the light, and locked the door. His breath caught as he looked at himself in the mirror. Thirty-two. He scrubbed his hand over his bristly beard, searching for strands of gray. His tired eyes gazed back at him. Were those wrinkles between his eyebrows? His hair was still thick, but he was thinner. Less bulky.
He sat down on the closed toilet lid and studied his feet as a horrible loneliness surrounded him. If he was no longer playing football, he no longer belonged to a team. When was the last time that had happened? He’d started playing football when he was just a kid. He liked being part of a tribe.
He needed to call Clive and ask about their business, but every time he thought of Clive or his fiancée, revulsion swept through him.
What was that about?
He braced his shoulders, stood, picked up the razor and shaving cream the hospital had provided, and started to shave a face he barely recognized.
#
“It’s only for a couple of days,” Charlie told Lincoln later that afternoon.
The little boy blew out a breath. “But you already go home for three or four days at a time. What if you decide you like working on the third floor better than being here with us?”
“That’s not going to happen,” Charlie said as she checked Lincoln’s vitals. He had a rare and barely understood disease, encephalitis, that caused swelling in the brain.
“Promise?” Lincoln asked.
Charlie kissed her fingers and saluted Lincoln before leaving the room.
“It�
��s only for a couple of days,” she repeated to Zoe. “Mr. Walden will be discharged soon. He’s just staying for observation.”
Zoe didn’t look any happier than Lincoln about Charlie’s change of plans. “You’ll have to work with Kirk Palmer.”
“That’s not a bad thing,” Charlie said with a laugh.
Zoe raised her eyebrows and waggled her head. “You’re hopeless, girl. You have to get over him.”
Never. “You know I’ve known him almost all my life,” Charlie said. “I remember when he first started to shave.”
“Then it is definitely time to move on.”
“He’s such a good person.”
Zoe opened her mouth to say something, but must have changed her mind because she just shook her head and returned to her computer.
“And you know he’s a good doctor!” Charlie frowned at her friend.
“That doesn’t mean he’s right for you!” Zoe shot back, still scowling at her computer screen. “You need to wake up and see the light!”
Charlie hated to leave on such a sour note—even though she knew she’d be back in a few days. “I love you, Zoe.”
“Love you, too,” Zoe said, but her words carried an I’m warning you tone.
Charlie bumped into Layla in the stairwell. Layla looked slightly less artificial and made up in her nurse’s garb, but she still had the glossy lips, fake eyelashes, and artificial boobs that didn’t jiggle when she walked, or in this case, bounced down the stairs. “Hey, I heard you’re going to be attending Zach Walden! Lucky you!”
Charlie smiled. “I guess.”
“I wonder why he asked for you. I mean, I was there when he woke up, too.” Layla’s lower lip stuck out in a pout, which some men might have found appealing in an I’m-such-a-child way, but Charlie just found annoying.
“I’m sure it’s nothing personal.”
Layla hugged her clipboard to her chest. “Still, I’m jealous. He must be really rich.”
Charlie couldn’t help wondering why Layla would care. As the only child of the president of the Saint Luke’s Hospital chain, Layla would one day inherit more money than anyone would ever need.
“Oh, hey.” Layla perked up. “I’m going up to Big Bear this weekend with Kirk!”
Charlie froze.
“Doesn’t your family have a cabin right next door?” Layla asked.
Charlie nodded and cleared her throat. “Are all the Palmers going?”
“No!” Layla bit back a laugh. “That would be awkward. Isn’t there like seven of them?”
“Five—well, right, seven if you include Kirk’s parents.”
Charlie loved Peter and Janet Palmer and she didn’t want them exposed to whatever lurid craziness Layla had in mind.
“I’ve never been to Big Bear! Kirk said it snows in the winter! Isn’t that crazy?”
Crazy? It was crazy that Kirk would take Layla to Big Bear. “How have you never been to Big Bear? Aren’t you from here?”
“Yes, but our family skis in Mammoth—or the Alps.”
Right. So why change things up now? “So, you’re going skiing?”
“Why else would we go? Except for,” she winked at Charlie, “you know.”
Ugh. Charlie did not want to know…
#
“I don’t know why I’m so nervous.” Zach’s belly roiled with nerves—or maybe from all the bland hospital food.
“He’s your brother, right?” Charlie stood beside his bed. She smelled faintly of lavender and honey. Her scrubs hung on her like they belonged to someone else. “He’ll want to know you’re okay.”
Zach stared at the phone. He wasn’t even sure if he knew how it worked. “Maybe things have changed between us in the last seven years.”
“I’m sure they have, but some things never change. Brothers are still brothers. I fight with my brothers all the time, but I know they’ll always love me.”
That was easy to believe. What was hard to believe was that anyone could not love Charlie. “How many brothers do you have?” he asked.
“Four, and you’re stalling.” She motioned to the phone in his hand. “Just call him.”
“You have four brothers?”
She nodded. “My mom said she couldn’t imagine a life without a daughter so she swore she’d keep on trying until God gave her one.”
“I’m sure your dad had something to do with that.”
“He was raised Catholic, so he went along with it.” She tapped her foot but a smile hovered over her lips. “You’re still stalling.”
He grimaced at the phone. He had to do this—after all, he was being discharged tomorrow and he needed a place to go. He’d tried calling his mom, but her number had been disconnected, which was just strange. She had used the same number his entire life. Ethan would know how to find her. He and Ethan had always been close—so why was he dreading calling him?
He glanced at Charlie. She was adorable when she frowned. Actually, she was pretty much always adorable.
“I’m leaving,” she told him. “It’s my lunch break. When I come back, you better have made the call.”
The door closed behind her with a quiet click. He dialed his brother’s number, went to the window, and gazed out over the ocean while he waited for Ethan to pick up.
“Hello?”
“Ethan, it’s me, Zach.”
Silence. Then, “What the hell do you want?”
Zach sat down, clutching the phone so tightly his fingers hurt. He racked his memory, trying to recall his last conversation with his brother. Of course, he came up empty. “I’m trying to reach Mom. I, huh, lost her number.”
“Well, you can’t call her now.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s three o’clock in the morning there.”
“Oh, of course…right. Can you just text me her number then?”
Ethan ended the call without saying another word. Zach worried that he’d never hear from him again, but seconds later the phone pinged with an incoming text with a string of numbers.
Zach sat down on the bed and cradled the phone in his hand, profoundly grateful Charlie had let him borrow it and had shown him how to use it. She’d helped him look up Eva Littleton, his fiancée, and Ricardo Sanchez, the health guru and head of Wonder Weight Loss Company. He’d even been able to find and watch a few of his last football games—including the one where he’d been injured.
Now, he discovered his mom had an Australian number.
What the hell?
He sent her a text, knowing she wouldn’t be awake, but unable to wait any longer.
Hey, Ma, it’s me, Zach, using a friend’s phone.
I don’t know if you heard about my accident. Just wanted to let you know that even though I’m shaken up, I’m unbroken.
The incoming buzz of her immediate response surprised him.
I’ve been dying to hear from you! I didn’t know how to get hold of you. Moose and I have been frantic with worry.
Moose? Who was Moose? She couldn’t mean an actual moose, right?
How are you??? What happened???
What to tell her? He made it a point to never lie to his mom, but he did shield her and he didn’t want to worry her unnecessarily. After all, his memories could return as soon as he hung up the phone. And, as far as the doctors could tell, there wasn’t anything else seriously wrong with him.
No one really knows why I blacked out on the hike, but I must have hit my head when I fell. Why are you awake?
She responded, Worrying about you, of course. And I don’t sleep very well when Moose is gone. When he’s here, he snores like a foghorn. HA HA. But I guess I’m used to it.
Zach turned this bit of information over in his head, wondering what it all meant. Maybe if he prodded for clues. Where’d he go?
A dental conference in Sydney.
A dentist named Moose? How had she met this man? How long had they been married? They were married, right? She wouldn’t just move to the other side of the wor
ld to shack up with a man named after an animal, would she? Could he look this creature up on Facebook?
I want to come and visit. I miss you, he told her.
Aw, sweetie, I would love that. I miss you, too. And I know Moose wants to take you on the fishing trip to catch some big barra that he’s always talking about.
Fishing? He hated fishing. Sounds great, Ma. I’ll plan it soon. There are just some things I need to figure out before I can go. I should probably let you get back to sleep.
Okay, love. Call me tomorrow when it’s a civilized hour so we can have a real chat.
Instead of having his questions answered, he now had a whole new set of them. What was a big barra?
#
“You’re just on the third floor for a couple of days, right?” Kirk asked Charlie as they stood in line at the cafeteria.
“Yes,” she said, frowning at him. He’d already asked her this. Twice. It was almost as if he didn’t want her on his floor.
“Why do you think he asked for you?” Kirk asked.
“Why not?” she countered.
He shrugged. “It’s just weird. Like he’s throwing his weight around. Why should we have to rearrange things for him? Who cares if he has a billion dollars?”
“The administration doesn’t mind. I don’t mind. Why do you?”
He pursed his lips, filled his tray with a kale salad and a serving of Brussels sprouts, and carried his lunch to a table. Normally, Charlie would have followed him, but her phone buzzed with an incoming call. She decided to take her lunch outside, away from Kirk’s churlish company.
Charlie found a table on the terrace with a group of fellow nurses, sat in a cold metal chair, and picked at her salad. She tried to dial into her coworker’s conversation but her thoughts kept wandering back to Kirk’s strange behavior. Why would he not want her to work on his floor? Why was he taking Layla to Big Bear?
Later, she discovered what could possibly answer both questions when she stumbled across Kirk and Layla making out in the supply closet.
