She could feel his surprise in the way he straightened, then instantly relaxed into their kiss, giving in to her.
She had analyzed so many parts of her life—picked apart every situation and every decision. But she didn’t do that now. She led with impulse, no second-guessing.
Because if she let herself overthink this, she would stop. She would hop down from the bed, flustered and filled with regret. Apologize, even.
Edie was done apologizing.
It was time she lived life in the moment. And in this moment, that meant kissing the man that had not only become one of her best friends, but someone she could see a future with.
The problem was, when she looked ahead at her life, she could clearly see two very different paths.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Tabitha could really do without all the media.
Even though the hospital had a designated area for them, vans and journalists spilled into every lot, every empty space. Cameras everywhere. Microphones galore.
She supposed one of their patients could be considered high profile. Politicians were treated like VIPs in many arenas, but at Seascape Shores General, every patient had equal rights and equal opportunities for treatment. And it wasn’t like an assemblyman was the most famous person to walk through their doors. With their relatively close proximity to Los Angeles, the hospital had treated many actors, directors, and influencers. Assemblyman Taylor hardly registered on Tabitha’s radar.
And some of that had to do with his condition. Of the five men, he had the fewest injuries. Dehydration was his biggest battle at the moment. Oh, and the curious part where he couldn’t actuallyrememberbeing on an illegal fishing expedition.
The original story that Mark tried to weave held little water, as Tabitha knew from the beginning. Seemed like his staff also came to the same realization, because now the supposed tale was that Assemblyman Taylor hadn’t known the fishing charter had plans to hunt great whites. He assumed everythingwas aboveboard and that they were merely on a sightseeing expedition where he had hoped to learn more about the at-risk-of-becoming-endangered creatures.
Honestly, it didn’t matter much to Tabitha what they told the media. The truth would come to light eventually. It always did.
Plus, she was much more interested in another patient from the missing charter: a man in his fifties that was dehydrated like the rest of the crew but also came in with blunt force trauma to his abdomen and a severe laceration on his left arm. Scans and x-rays revealed multiple broken ribs, but it was another altogether unrelated discovery that had Tabitha even more concerned for her patient.
She looked at the scan again, then at Dr. Clement, the head of oncology.
“I would never suggest that an illegal boating excursion is a blessing in disguise,” the tall doctor shrugged. Her blonde hair skated along her shoulders as she shook her head. “But in his case, I think it just might be.”
Cancer presented itself in all sorts of ways. Sometimes it showed up as a dull ache. Other times as a swollen lymph node. Sometimes, it wasn’t until a patient was really sick that the tumor—or multiple tumors—was ultimately discovered.
Tabitha still couldn’t understand why this man hadn’t presented with any of those symptoms though, considering the sizable mass on his liver.
“What’s your plan of action for him?” Tabitha was curious. She’d already sutured him up when he first came in. He wouldn’t remain her patient for long, but she never liked it when she had to hand off a patient to another doctor for an altogether different sort of treatment. Her goal was always to do the repairs and then send them home to recover.
“We’re going to see if he has family. He’s a good candidate for a living liver donation. It hasn’t spread to his lymph nodes, so that gives him some time.”
Tabitha trusted Dr. Clement’s judgment implicitly.
“I’ll be checking in on him in the next hour,” Tabitha said. “I’ll see what I can find out. You’ve already told him the prognosis?”
“Yes. We just got the pathology report back this morning and gave him the news. He’s handling it surprisingly well for a man lost at sea for three days.”
“He’s dodged death once already this week. We’ll make sure he can do it again.”
Shifts were never considered slow,not as a trauma surgeon, but today, the ER was calmer, something Tabitha was grateful for considering the drama that continued to surround the fishermen.
Some patients were easier than others, and this was definitely the case when it came to these men. Not to anyone’s surprise, Assemblyman Taylor was a nightmare, making demands that the hospital just couldn’t fulfill. He requested certain foods. Asked to switch rooms. Had way more visitors than was allowed and spoke at full volume on phone calls that disrupted hospital staff and neighboring patients.
But James—the patient with the recent cancer diagnosis—was what Tabitha referred to as low-drama. It was as though the man didn’t want to inconvenience anyone. He rarely pressed his buzzer, even when it was evident he was in pain and needed more medicine to take the edge off.
That afternoon, Tabitha came by to check on his bandage and found him gazing out the window, a wistful, faraway look in his eyes. It wasn’t from discomfort. She could tell the difference. She approached him quietly, not wanting to break his reverie.
“Oh.” He glanced her direction without startling. “Dr. Parker.”
“Hi there, James. How’s that arm feeling?”
