—A family member of my patient. She needed a diversion, so I took her with me to get the food.—
—Wasn’t it dangerous to leave the child alone that long?—
Carli didn’t know the circumstances, and he could hardly fill her in with privacy laws as they were.
—There were other doctors around. The surgeon and nurses. They’d contact me if I was needed. Sometimes, my job is to provide emotional support and comfort to the family, too.—
In this case, that was more of his role. The child was a young teen. His older sister had brought him in after a severe beating from their drugged-out mother, who had also been admitted to the psych unit. The sister was in her early twenties but a college student who lived in a dorm. They’d needed to talk about how they would contact the father who lived halfway across the country. But none of this was anything he could tell Carli.
—That’s good you were there for her.—
Just like Carli to understand. Hopefully, she really did and wasn’t just saying it
—You seemed to be having a great time, dancing and laughing.—
Did he sound pathetic and jealous now? Maybe he was, but he didn’t want her to know that. Her response came back fast.
—Did you want me to sit at home by myself?—
—No, of course not. I hoped you’d find something to do.—
Like see her parents or her brothers or sister, not go to a bar and pick up guys. Especially looking totally hot. The guy she’d been dancing with had been staring right down into her cleavage. She hadn’t noticed, because she’d been staring at his mouth. It sucked knowing he wasn’t the only one she did that to.
—You looked good dancing. I assume you had your CIs in.—
—I can feel the beat, even if I’m not wearing them. The music last night was loud and easy to move to.—
And she had been moving, but not in his arms. His plans for the night had included a great dinner at a five-star restaurant, dancing to a big band with his arms wrapped tightly around her, his fingers caressing her back. They’d gaze at the stars from the observation windows on the top floor of the building, and then finally he’d kiss her at midnight. Any plans after that he’d kept open, depending on her mood. He’d been hoping they would move a bit beyond kissing, but there was no way he’d push her into anything she wasn’t ready for.
His phone buzzing brought him back from his daydreaming,
—Where are you now?—
—I’m still at the hospital. Took a short nap in my office. Have to check my patient again, though nurses know where I am if anything changes.—
The poor boy had some internal injuries and a few broken bones that required surgery. Horrible drugs and what they could do to a person.
—Do you need anything?—
He needed her. What would she say if he texted that?
—I’m fine for now. I may run home later to change but will most likely spend today here to monitor.—
The child wasn’t out of the woods quite yet. He was scared, in pain, and worried about his mother even after what she’d done to him. At least, when Blake was in with him, he seemed to calm a bit, as if he knew his doctor wouldn’t let anything else happen to him.
—Let me know if you need something. I can swing by and drop off some food or run errands if you want.—
What he wanted was to have Carli here by his side. She could make the worst situation seem brighter, but her car wasn’t in the best shape, and he certainly didn’t want her taking an unnecessary trip out and through Boston traffic on New Year’s Day. It was barely ten degrees outside.
—Think I’m all set for now.—
She should be spending her day off doing something fun, not picking up fast food for him and being at her place of work on her day off.
—Just remember I’m happy to help.—
It made him happy that she seemed to understand about his job. Far more than Priscilla ever had.
A knock on his door had his head whipping around. “Come in.” It was one of the unit nurses beckoning him. “Be right there.”
