Page 58 of Love Overdose: St. Louis

“All good?” I asked.

“All good.”

I remained on the porch while she stood on the other side of the threshold.

“Call me later?” she asked.

“I will.”

“Even if you get busy?”

“Yes.”

She searched my face as though measuring the promise against everything I had told her about my schedule. Then she nodded.

“Okay.”

I kissed her once more, keeping it brief enough that I could still leave.

“Lock the door.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

I waited until she closed and locked it. Her face appeared behind the narrow glass pane, and she waved her fingers at me. I smiled, then turned toward my car. My phone rang as soon as I settled behind the wheel. The hospital’s number appeared on the screen.

I answered immediately. “Dr. Valentine.”

“Dr. Valentine, this is Dr. Patel. I apologize for calling on your Sunday, but we have a fifty-eight-year-old male who arrived with a suspected intracranial hemorrhage. Dr. Carter is tied up in surgery, and the bleed appears to be expanding.”

“Has imaging been completed?”

“CT is available. Radiology is uploading the angiography now.”

“I’ll review it on my way. Have neurology continue monitoring him, keep him NPO, and alert the OR that we may need a room.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

“I’ll be there in twenty-five minutes.”

I ended the call and looked toward Frankie’s house. She had disappeared from the window. I left her arms less than five minutes ago, and work had already reclaimed the rest of my Sunday. I pulled away from the curb and called the hospital to confirm that I was on my way once the patient’s scans became available on my tablet. The hemorrhage was significant. My phone rang through the car speakers before I reached the interstate.

Dad.

I accepted it. “Good morning,” I said.

“Elijah,” Ron announced. “My favorite neurosurgeon.”

“I’m your only neurosurgeon.”

“That doesn’t make you less of a favorite.”

Xander laughed through the speakers. “He said the same thing when Christian joined. His favorite lawyer.”

“I am his favorite lawyer,” Christian said.

“You’re his only lawyer,” I pointed out.

“I’m also on this call,” Xander said. “And somehow I haven’t been declared the favorite anything.”