That fact made him grateful. But it also made his heart tighten and his need for her crystallize.
As clearly as he saw her standing at the foot of his father’sstretcher, he could see her and why she was so perfect for him, and why he could never let her go.
Janae walked into the shift supervisor’s office, finding her colleague, Christian Greensburg, standing there.
Christian had been her mentor in the department, and had trained her to hone and use her skills to bring the best possible outcomes to her patients.
He was smart, supportive, and direct. If you messed up he let you know in no uncertain terms, but if you needed him, he always, always had your back.
She needed him now.
Grady Henderson wasn’t a man she knew very well, but he was Adam’s father. Even though Adam had pissed her off tonight, something they’d have to address later, her focus was on relieving Adam of some of his worry about his father.
“Hey, Sanders. I thought you were off for the next few days.”
“I am,” Janae replied.
One of the perks of her job was that she worked three twelve-hour shifts per week. Granted, she usually picked up an extra shift or two on her off days to meet her present financial goals, but this week, she’d opted out of overtime because of the fashion show.
“Christian, there’s a patient by the name of Grady Henderson who’s being prepped for surgery.”
Christian quickly took his seat behind the desk and immediately began typing on the keyboard.
“Yeah, I’m about to start assigning staff to his case now.”
“Yeah… about that.” Janae exhaled, trying to gather her thoughts.
“What, you wanna clock in?”
“I’d love to, Christian. But I can’t. I’m involved with his son. Itwould be a conflict of interest. But I trust you. Can you take his case and handpick the nursing staff for his procedure?”
Janae could see Christian’s eyes dim with sympathy. “You got it, Sanders. We’ll do our best to keep him safe.”
He stood up and gave her arm an understanding squeeze before he left the room.
Seeing Adam so obviously worried about his father had done something to her. In the flash of a moment, her justifiable anger had melted when seeing the heavy concern that weighed on him, drooping his strong shoulders, and aging his smooth skin by decades.
It hurt, seeing Adam this way. Yes, his father was the one undergoing surgery and she was concerned about the man’s well-being. Surgery, under the best circumstances, was always a risk to even the healthiest patients. However, her most pressing concern was that Adam was in pain.
That should’ve frightened her. It should’ve made her give herself a mental shake and get her mind right. But instead, the only thing she cared about was giving him this small assurance, that whoever was in there with his dad, would treat him well.
“You’ll worry about this noise in your head later, Janae.” She whispered the words to herself so that even she could barely hear them. “Right now, go on upstairs and support your man.”
She turned on her heels, her brain shouting at her to stop and think about what she’d just said. And her answer was a resounding no. Maybe later she’d admit how ridiculous it was to claim a man who might’ve been on the verge of breaking up with her before the call from his mother. Maybe then she’d have a complete meltdown. But right now, Adam needed her, and claiming him as hers made perfect sense.
Chapter 28
Janae walked down the hall of the surgical stepdown ward lugging a thermal food bag in one hand and a bag with some miscellaneous things in the other.
Adam’s father’s surgery had gone better than expected. His leg was properly set and he’d had no complications from the anesthesia. He’d woken up a few hours later in recovery, barking at the nursing staff to get that plastic contraption out of his nose.
Janae and his assigned nurse had laughed, and helped him remove the nasal cannula before he started pulling at the leads and connections he needed to keep in place.
Janae had sat by Adam’s side, translating the medical jargon so that he and his mother were informed, and they were relieved to know Grady Henderson was going to be just fine.
This morning, she’d dozed off in the family waiting room with her head against Adam’s shoulder, with him stroking her arm until her eyes fluttered open.
“Hey, you,” he greeted her. “You’ve been here all night.”
