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“Steven?” She ran after him only to have someone grab her arm and spin her around.
“Rose, I—”
“Let go of me.” She tried to shake free as she met the gaze of whoever had had the audacity to stop her. But Dr. Myers held firm, his blue eyes filled with concern and his expression grim.
“Come with me,” he said and half dragged her to an empty office.
Once they were inside, he released her, and she staggered across the room to the desk. She whirled around, ready to march right back out that door, but Dr. Myers blocked her path.
“There’s nothing you can do for him right now,” he said. “They’re in the process of determining the damage and hooking up his IV to start administering medication. I only have a moment.”
Her legs gave out, and she sank into the nearest chair. “Oh God. What happened?”
“He was in a car accident, but we think he had a medical emergency that led to the crash.” Dr. Myers glanced at her as if assessing how much to say. “Possibly a heart attack, but I’ll know more once I get in there and run some tests. You stay here, and I’ll get someone to sit with you.”
Like hell. “Need I remind you, Doctor, I’m an RN? I’m coming with you.”
“And need I remind you, Rose, we have a strict policy that prohibits hospital staff from treating family members?” Her five-foot-four stature was no match for Dr. Myers’s six-foot frame when he put a firm hand on her shoulder and pushed her back into the chair. “I’ll send word as soon as I can.”
Without waiting for her response, he spun on his heel and was gone. Rose put her head in her hands. A heart attack? How? Why? Steven was twenty-nine years old and one of the healthiest people she knew. She’d joked he was going to work himself into an early grave, but she’d never expected that.
The door opened, and Marie, the head RN for the ICU, came in. “So he’s told you, then.” She handed Rose a cup of coffee.
Rose took a sip, more out of habit than because she actually wanted or needed the beverage. Marie perched in the chair beside her, taking her free hand. The room was dimly lit with a desk lamp, and Rose found comfort in the darkness.
“It’ll be all right.”
If only she could believe her. But Steven sounded like he was in a bad way. The other half of Dr. Myers’s message finally resonated.
“What did he hit?” she asked.
“What’s that?”
“Dr. Myers said St—” Her throat closed around his name. “Dr. Myers said he was in a car accident. What did he hit?”
“I don’t know the full story,” Marie said. “But I gathered from the little the paramedics shared that he lost control of the car and hit a tree.”
At least no one else was injured. Small favors. She tried to focus on the good news. Steven was in the best hands in the area. She’d seen Dr. Myers work magic on patients in worse shape. And Steven was young. He had a better chance than most.
Still, she couldn’t just sit there and wait. She needed to do something.
“I have to make a call.” Not wanting an audience, she stood and raced out of the room. After glancing up and down the hallway, she ducked into a storage closet across from the office. Her fingers shook as she scrolled to Lanie’s name in her phone.
“Hey, Rose, what’s up?”
“You need to come to the hospital,” Rose said in a rush. “It’s your brother.”
“Steven? What’s wrong? What happened?”
“He was in a car accident.” Rose couldn’t bring herself to tell her the rest, not yet. It still didn’t feel real. Besides, Dr. Myers had said a heart attack was possible but not confirmed. There was no sense in getting her future sister-in-law worked up over the phone.
“Oh no! Let me call my dad, and then I’ll head on over. What floor are you on?”
“The ICU.”
Lanie gasped and promised she would be there as soon as she could, but Rose barely heard her. She disconnected the call and went back to the office. Marie was still there, her eyebrows pulled together in a frown.
“Lanie is on her way, and she’s calling her dad.” Rose slid into her chair. Her coffee sat on the desk behind it, but she couldn’t bring herself to drink it. Instead, she allowed her eyes to take in the details of the room in hopes it would ground her in the moment. A large leather rolling chair was turned to face the dual monitors set up above a docking station on the desk. Mahogany bookshelves towered in the back corner, casting ominous shadows in the soft light of the lamp.
