Lucas scratched the back of his neck. “It fascinates me, the way it all works, how resilient the body is.”
“I’m just amazed at how resilient you two are,” Mom cooed. “I tell you, I never thought anyone would get Naomi to settle down, and I was just telling Walter the other night I actually believe you two are going to see it through.” She patted Lucas’ chest. “I had my doubts at first, but you both seem so happy.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I said bitterly, taking a sip of my wine to keep myself from saying much more.
“Oh, you know what I mean, darling. You were never the type who wanted to settle down. Always roaming and wandering.”
“Getting life experience, mhm,” I said, teasing her, though she didn’t hear the sarcasm.
“You can get life experience with someone by your side, can’t you Luke? It wasn’t practical for a woman Naomi’s age to be so…free.”
I rolled my eyes, looking away, and Lucas seemed to sense the tension. “Well, lucky for me, I convinced her to settle down, Colette. I don’t know what I’d do without her.”
I looked over at him, surprised by his words. It had been so long since I’d heard anything remotely close to that, especially in the middle of a fight that had only fallen to a simmer, not completely lost its heat.
Did he mean it?
He met my eye again, his jaw tight, and he nodded slightly, just enough for me to catch it. My lips upturned. It was a show for my parents. We were a united front with them, and until we left, the fight had been forgotten. Here, nothing else mattered.
My mother heaved a sigh, and when I followed the sound with my gaze, I realized she was watching our interaction carefully. “Look at them, Walt,” she said, hands clutched together in front of her chest. “Just like no one else is in the room.”
I smiled sadly but looked away. Truth was, Lucas and I both knew we were only like this because others were in the room.
When we were alone, it was never so good.
Chapter Fourteen
Clara
I scrolled through the patient’s file on my way down the hall, concerned about his liver enzymes, though everything else appeared to be normal. When I reached the nurses’ station, I handed off the iPad to one of the nurses behind the desk. “Can you run a complete panel for the patient in two twelve? Page me as soon as they’re in.”
“Of course.” She nodded, looking over the chart as I turned away.
“Excuse me?” I glanced to my left, where a young woman with olive skin and dark, shoulder-length hair was staring at me. “Are you a doctor?”
“I am.” I looked her over quickly, though she appeared fine. “Is everything okay?”
“It’s my sister. She’s…she’s in pain.” She glanced behind her, down the hall.
“Take me to her,” I said, though she was on the move before I had to give the go-ahead. We rushed down the hallway, stopping at the first door on our left, and she brought me in.
The girl in the bed was nearly identical to the one who’d come to find me, though she looked to be a few years younger. Her hands were pressed into the bed at her sides, a grimace on her face. I moved toward her bed, lifting the iPad from her monitor. “Hi, I’m Doctor DeVoss. You’re…Siobhan?”
“Yes,” she said, her voice strained. Like her sister, I detected a slight English accent. “Nice to…to meet you.”
“Well, let’s see what’s causing you an issue, and then we’ll decide that, hm?” I joked, scrolling through her chart. I glanced at the board on the wall. “Has the nurse been in since eleven?”
The older sister shook her head, biting her lip.
“And where are you hurting? At the incision site?”
The girl nodded quickly, rubbing her hand over her gown where the appendectomy scar was covered by gauze.
“Well, you’re not quite ready for your next dose, but it’s possible you’re metabolizing your pain medication a bit too quickly and it’s worn off early. I’d like to try a different type of pain medication, something similar to what you’d get over the counter to see if we can combat that pain a bit until we can safely get you something stronger. I’d just like to take a look first if that’s okay?”
“Su-sure.” She winced as I laid her bed back a bit more, and lifted her gown just enough that I could see the gauze. I pulled it back gently, looking over the incision. She sighed with relief as the pressure was taken off her wound. “That feels better.”
I smiled. “If your medication was wearing off, sitting in that position may have been putting too much pressure on your wound. Let’s keep you laid back for the rest of the day if we can. This all looks fine,” I told her, placing the gauze back over the wound. “It looks like Dr. Martin was your surgeon?”
She nodded, looking at her sister with a wide, goading grin. The eldest girl’s face flushed crimson, and she covered her mouth.
“What’s funny?” I asked, pulling my gloves off as I adjusted her blanket and put in an order for her medication. I was thinking of Luke at the mention of his name, though I tried to avoid it.
Siobhan shook her head, looking back at me from the bed with a smug grin. “Is Dr. Martin married?”
My blood ran cold at the question. “No. No, he’s not. Why do you ask?”
“Stop,” the older sister begged, her face even darker red than before.
Siobhan wrinkled her nose at her sister, the pain apparently all but subsiding. “Told you.” She turned her attention to me. “Emma thinks he’s hot and he was totally flirting with her, but she said anyone who looks like that must be married.”
My body tensed, and I took in the girl’s appearance closely. She was young—half my age—and beautiful, there was no doubt. Her sleek, dark hair, even tied back in a messy ponytail, was to die for, while mine was thinning and frizzy from years of bleaching. Her skin was creamy smooth and wrinkle-free, and even here in the hospital where she’d no doubt been up all night, she was still wide-eyed and awake. I’d gotten eight hours and had been yawning all morning.
“He was, hm?” I tried to seem more casual than I felt.
“Well, he asked if I was from around here,” she said, crossing one arm around herself. “Though I’m sure he was just being polite.”
I started to agree, but Siobhan cut me off.
“He asked if you’ve tried that restaurant called The Pharmacy, and when you said no, he said you should go some time. He said we, as in you two, should go some time.”
Emma narrowed her eyes at her sister, though she didn’t argue. Surely Luke was just being polite. He wasn’t hitting on a young patient’s anxious family member, was he? There was no way. I’d never seen him be anything less than professional with patients.
“I made a complete fool of myself anyway,” she said with a sigh.
“Oh, I’m sure you didn’t…” I cocked my head to the side. I should’ve wanted her to, but I couldn’t. She seemed too sweet to have ill will toward. She reminded me so much of my sweet baby cousins—the closest things I had to nieces or daughters.