Kenya groaned.
Adanne yanked her hand from John’s to punch him lightly in the arm.
Kenya grimaced in return. Her mother opened her arms in a combination of welcome and goodbye. Adanne stepped into her aunt’s embrace. “Everything needed to wind down anyway. We wanted to make sure Kenya was okay before we left.”
Adanne gave her aunt a squeeze and turned back to Kenya, gratitude and love in her eyes.
“Speaking of that ... maybe it’s time to go. Looks like you’re in multiple good hands, Kenya.” John’s smirk said way more than his words.
He reached out to reclaim his wife’s arm, grinning wide, even as Adanne cleared her throat, her eyes sparkling. “I love you both.” She leaned down, pressing her cheek and an air kiss to Kenya’s. “Thank you for everything. And ... behave.”
“Too late.” Kenya gestured to her foot with a groan.
Adanne laughed and waved. John caught her hand, kissed it, and led her out of the emergency room exit. They had a hotel stay in Nashville and then a flight to catch on their way to an extended honeymoon in Europe, with a stopover in Iceland.
Kenya’s thoughts drifted to that country and a recent post she’d seen about their architectural wonder of a conference center. The structure was built to resemble the basalt columns of the island nation. What would it be like to host an event there? Images of Scandi design and hues of gray, blue, black, and cream filtered into her thoughts.
Speaking of the land of fire and ice. Her foot felt like an inferno,and she could use some glacial-level numbing power on it right about now. She shifted, groaning in the process.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Kenya blinked as that familiar warm timbre infiltrated her thoughts. The cadence and lilt that carried authority and compassion in one smooth tone. Too bad that voice never called her back after their first date.
SOLOMON TIPPEDhis mouth in amusement, which elicited a frown from Mrs. Stewart, who stood possessively next to her daughter. He’d seen a lot of things during his rotations in the hospital, but something about the scene of the bride fussing over her cousin and the groom eager to whisk his bride away made him smile. Not to mention Kenya fluttering her eyes like sleeping beauty, trying desperately to stay engaged despite her obvious pain.
Chuckling over this scene was probably not at all appropriate since she wasn’t at the hospital for a party like the first time he’d seen her. Over a year ago he’d volunteered to help lead the kids’ unit to the activity room for their surprise party. Solomon knew many of the children since he worked with them during physical therapy, helping them strengthen their muscles, some relearning how to walk after being bedbound for so long.
He had gone to the party because of the kids, but he’d stayed because of her. Her brief glance his way before she left was enough to be memorable. He saw Kenya again shortly after, when they had a short, stilted conversation at the reopening of the community center in Hope Springs.
The pieces then fell into synchronized order in his mind, leading up to the moment he worked up the nerve to ask her out when they walked out of the center together.
Now, as her eyes blinked rapidly, he squelched the longing to step closer.
Kenya whimpered, a sound of pain that drew her mother closer and tugged at his chest in an inexplicable way. He really needed to get going, especially since he’d left his friend hanging.
His eyes slid over her physique, medical observation trumping any other motive in his perusal. Golden gown torn down one leg, no shoes on, right ankle elevated and looking to be twice the size of the left. Ouch. Her foot looked worse than when they’d arrived.
“Has she been called back yet?” He directed his question to her mother, who observed him with wariness. She was grateful for him delivering them to the hospital, no doubt, but she seemed to also be quite aware of his attachment to her daughter.
“I registered her, but I haven’t heard anything yet.” She looked around the waiting room. “I know it’s a Saturday night, but there doesn’t seem to be many people here. She shouldn’t have to wait so long in pain.”
He agreed. And she also shouldn’t have to nod off and on in what must be an uncomfortable wheelchair. She needed to get her ankle checked out and rest. She looked exhausted.
“I’ll go see what I can do.”
He ignored Kenya’s protest and headed to the counter to determine what the holdup was.
“Dr. Anruchi, we haven’t seen you around here in a while.”
He turned away from the intake receptionist to the nurse who’d just stepped behind the desk. “Audrey. My favorite charge nurse.” He grinned and walked toward her. They’d worked a few hours together in the overlap of past schedules. He’d known her to be an efficient and compassionate professional.
“Oooh-wee, look at you. You sure do clean up nice! Did you get tired of all those steady, reliable hours in outpatient?” She tapped a couple folders together on the quartz countertop, the corner of her mouth lifting with a smirk.
He rested an elbow on the surface. Hopefully her jovial nature would work in his—well, Kenya’s—favor. “I haven’t abandoned you all completely. I’m almost done with my residency at the sportsclinic, but I still get called in-house from time to time. And yes, I do enjoy my mostly consistent sleep.”
He leaned closer. “How quickly are theguestsgetting called in to triage during this shift?”
Audrey narrowed her eyes. “You’re not judging us, are you?”
