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“Oh, and Lainey?” I call out after her.
She whips around to face me, her thick brown hair a second behind her, cascading over her shoulder as she stares at me with those big green eyes.
“Don’t let it happen again.” I smirk, knowing how well that comment will piss her off.
She says nothing, but I can see the way she bites her tongue and tries to stifle a laugh before rolling her eyes and turning toleave again, an extra sashay to her hips to taunt me. I chuckle to myself in the empty hall, this girl making me think that maybe there is still hope for hospital life yet.
Chapter Nine
Lainey
Dr. Ryan is going to be the death of me.
Why can’t he just be a pretty face? Instead, he’s a pretty face and he’s intelligent. He has such a gift and a charisma with patients that I wholeheartedly admire. Couple that with his never-ending work ethic and incredible body, and I’m mush.
Oh, and he’s funny. Every teasing word that comes out of his mouth sets my blood on fire. I think about him all the damn time, and I’m sick of it.
My fingers tremble as I reset the IV pump, feeling like it’s my first day on the job when the warmth of Dr. Ryan’s eyes hover over me.
We’ve already rounded on this patient and moved on to others, but when abnormal lab results came back that delayed his discharge home, Dr. Ryan insisted on delivering the news himself.
Which is why he is going to be the death of me.
“You think I’ll be out by the weekend?”
Dr. Ryan stands to shake our patient’s hand. “I think you’ll even be ready to hit the golf course by then.” He gestures overhis shoulder to where I’m still standing. “I’ll get the antibiotics changed, and Lainey will bring them in as soon as she can.”
I nod to the both of them, a silent excuse to exit. I’m only a few feet down the hall when he calls out to me. “How’s school going?”
I pause, spinning on a heel to face him. “How’d you know I was in school?” I don’t recall telling him that.
“I overhear a lot when I’m sitting at the nurses’ station.” He gestures for me to walk with him, our steps falling into a smooth rhythm.
“I didn’t take you for an eavesdropper.”
“I prefer to call it research.”
Before he gets another word out, shouting from the nurses’ station ensues as the phone on my hip starts to ring.
We round the corner at the same time to see Dr. Keeton standing at the desk, unit phone in his hand. He sees us out of the corner of his eye and slams the receiver down, causing the phone on my hip to silence.
“You,” he growls, pointing a pudgy finger in my direction. He storms over to me, face flushed and fists clenched, reaching me so fast I need to take a step back so he doesn’t crash into me. My pulse thunders in my throat as Dr. Keeton stares me down.
“Are you an idiot?”
He hovers over me, and I go to take another step away from him. Instinct screams at me to run away, to cower in on myself at the sound of an angry man. Two years ago, I would have done exactly that. I would have thrown out any apology I could muster in hopes that he’d leave me alone before he got too mad.
I open my mouth, an apology on the tip of my tongue for whatever I could have possibly done wrong when I feel the brief touch of a warm hand on my lower back. I don’t need to turn around to see whose hand is guiding me towards courage. It’sthe hand of the man who sets my blood on fire, and right now, I need to feel that burn.
I step forward, meeting Dr. Keeton’s grim expression with my own. “Can I help you, Dr. Keeton?” I force my voice to remain as flat and cool as possible, knowing it will piss him off even more.
His eyes flick to my nametag. “Tell me, Lainey, what nursing program did you graduate from? I put in strict NPO orders for a gentleman who is to have his gallbladder removed this afternoon, yet I just checked on him and he’s eaten half a bag of M&Ms. A smart girl like you should know better than that.”
A small laugh escapes me at his audacity. “I’m well aware of what NPO means, Dr. Keeton. I also reminded the patient of those restrictions this morning.” And again, at breakfast when all he was offered was ice chips. “I’ll have you know we don’t hand out candy as a welcome-to-the-unit gift, so I won’t take responsibility for his actions.”
Dr. Keeton takes a long look at me, the veins in his neck straining against his thin skin. He steps forward into my space once again, an intimidation tactic, most likely. His eyes squint once, flicking to a spot above my head before abruptly turning on his heels, mumbling obscenities under his breath as he storms toward the patient’s room. The tension vaporizes from my body the further he gets down the hall, replaced by a faint trembling. I cross my arms, tucking my hands underneath to still their shaking.
I exhale and turn to peek over my shoulder, noticing Dr. Ryan still standing tall behind me.
