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As Austin's family laughed and joked, Lindsey felt worse and worse. She knew everything they said was true, and not meant in a vengeful way at all. Yet hearing about Austin's reputation in detail certainly did not make her feel any better.
Amber had called him a heartbreaker. His reputation at Sun Valley Community Hospital was the same.
Why would a loner heartbreaker suddenly want to saddle himself with a wife and son?
Very simply, he wouldn't. Her heart ached and she realized just how much she'd been hoping maybe Austin had changed.
She needed to remember that Austin was nothing more than a friend. He could never be the husband or father she needed.
Austin grew restless with the inactivity. He didn’t mind visiting with his family, but the constant togetherness was wearing him down. He wished he and Lindsey had more time alone to talk, but it seemed there were always interruptions.
Still, he was relieved his father was doing better. The following morning, they'd been forced to wait much longer than usual in the family center, until his father had been settled in a private room on a regular telemetry floor. Even then, they couldn't go visit right away as he'd gone for some sort of test. Aaron and Adam, the two physicians in the group had grilled the surgeon at length, then appeared satisfied with the discussion. It wasn't until much later in the evening that Austin and Lindsey were able to go up to see him.
He was thankful Lindsey hadn't mentioned returning home without him. He didn't quite understand why she was so anxious to leave unless Amber had said something to her. From what he could tell, she was getting along great with his family. He would have liked nothing more than to have introduced Lindsey as his fiancée. He'd blown his last proposal because he'd blurted it out without any warning in the most non-romantic way possible.
Now that he knew she'd been planning to divorce Sam, he was confident he could win her over. He needed to be patient and to show her with actions how much she meant to him.
Josh, too.
Adam continued to give him a hard time, payback for the way he'd flirted with Krista right under his nose a few months ago. Austin couldn't really blame him. He supposed he deserved it. Adam and Krista certainly looked happy together.
The same way he felt around Lindsey.
He glanced at her as they rode the elevators up to the third-floor cardiac unit, where his father's room was located. Her expression was serious, and he wondered what was going through her mind.
When the elevator doors opened, he held his arm in front of the electronic eye so she could pass through first. She thanked him with a smile, then fell into step beside him as he headed to his dad's room.
“Hi, Dad,” he said as they walked in. Finding himself eye to eye with his father made him stop abruptly. “Hey, look at you—up and walking around.”
His dad made a face. “The nurses forced me to.”
“That's because walking and moving after surgery is good for your heart, Mr. Monroe,” Lindsey said with a gentle smile. “You're doing a great job.”
“I still have the strength of a mouse,” he muttered, sitting down in a chair next to his bed with a small groan. “I can’t wait for them to spring me out of here. I’d rather recover at home, in my own bed with your mother beside me.”
“Speaking of Mom, she’ll be back in an hour or so,” Austin informed him. His mother had been at his father's bedside nonstop during his hospitalization. “She ran home to check in on the neighbors who are taking care of Murphy. We offered to go bring the dog back, but I think she needed a break.”
His father's grumpy expression softened. “She deserves a break after the way I scared her with this stupid heart thing.”
Had scared all of them, he thought. “Yeah, you really did that on purpose, didn't you?” Austin said in a dry tone. “Don't worry, she's fine. You will be back home, spoiling your grandchildren, before you know it.”
“Speaking of grandchildren, I hear Lindsey has a son named Josh.” The older man's gaze zeroed in on her. “Why haven't I met this young man?”
“I... uh...” Helplessly she looked at Austin. He gave a little shrug. He didn’t know who’d mentioned it, but there weren’t many secrets in the Monroe family. “No reason,” Lindsey said with a forced smile. “Of course you can meet him. He's downstairs entertaining Ben.”
“Next time bring him up with you,” his father said. Then winced and put a hand over his heart. “Wow, I feel like I've run a marathon rather than just walking up and down the hall a couple of times.”
The way his dad's face had grown pale concerned him. Lindsey must have been worried too, because she stepped forward and took her dad's wrist in her fingers. “Let me check your pulse.”
He glanced up, but unlike the critical care unit, there was no cardiac monitor in the room. They must have a remote location where the monitors are watched. “Lindsey?” He tried to hide his worry.
“Your heart rate is a little irregular, Mr. Monroe,” she said in a calm tone. “We better get you back to bed.”
“I'm fine,” his dad protested, but leaned forward and pushed up from the chair to do as she asked.
He swayed and nearly toppled over. Austin rushed forward to grab his dad's arm when it looked like he might not make it. Between them, he and Lindsey managed to get him back into bed.
“I'll call the nurse.” Lindsey pushed the button on the call right beside him.
