She brushes the blonde hair out of her face. She is stunning. A small dimple pops out when she smiles back at me.
This clearly isn’t the first time she’s had to deal with a worried parent.
“They’ll be in shortly. Sorry for your wait.”
“Is there anything you can give him for the pain?”
“Can I see your arm?” She bends down to get on Troy’s level.
“It hurts.” His voice is small, now down to a quiet whimper in the face of this stranger.
“I promise I’ll be gentle.” The nurse gives him a soft smile.
Troy shakes his head, his brown hair flopping into his eyes.
“Buddy, if you show the nice nurse your arm, I’ll get you some ice cream tonight.”
“And a new toy?” Troy sniffs, his brown eyes wet as he looks up at me.
“Whatever toy you want.”
“Okay.”
She has a tender touch as she examines his arm. “Do you know what happened?”
“He fell off the playground equipment at school today.”
It was probably the most heart-stopping phone call I’ve ever gotten. Having played pro football during my twenties, I’ve had my fair share of hits and bad calls. I brushed them off. It’s what you do.
But getting the call that your child is hurt?
Nothing can compare to your son getting injured.
“It doesn’t look to be too serious. The doctor will be in soon to read the X-ray, but I’ll get him something in the meantime.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
She squeezes my shoulder. “I have a six-year-old at home, so I know what it’s like to see them in pain.”
I know I shouldn’t be looking at her, but the woman is sexy as hell. The blue scrubs she’s wearing do little to hide that fact. “Has she broken her arm before?” My laugh is awkward around this woman who is now pinning me with hazel-green eyes.
“She broke her leg last year. She told me she wanted to bea ballerina like she saw on TV. Turns out her version of a ballerina involved a lot of jumping off ledges.”
I press a kiss into Troy’s soft brown hair. “Sounds like this one. He wants to be a superhero when he grows up.”
“I was trying to fly today,” he tells us.
“Maybe we save that for the superheroes, hmm?” she tells him. The nurse gives Troy another smile that has him agreeing.
“You must have the magical touch. I think he would’ve fought me a lot harder on that.”
“Listen…”
“Derek.” I hold my hand out to her.
“Derek, hi. I’m Sutton. I’ll make sure your son is in good hands. I know how hard it is to see them in pain.”
“Fucking sucks.”
