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He smirked, as if something amused him. “I’m Kye.”
“You live here too?” I asked.
He nodded. “Yep.”
“Aspen,” Levi’s voice called out, and my attention instantly shifted to find him at the bottom of the stairs. “You’re awake.” He seemed tense.
“Yes, I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” I explained.
“You needed it. If you could come into the office with me, I have someone here I’d like you to meet.”
“Okay.” I looked back at Kye. “Thanks for taking the boxes for me.”
“Anytime you need my muscles, just let me know,” he replied.
I felt my cheeks warm and wished interactions with attractive men didn’t make me blush so easily. He stepped aside and waved for me to go ahead of him. I made my way down to Levi, who was waiting on me at the bottom, but he was scowling at Kye.
Levi’s face softened when he dropped his eyes to meet mine. “Come with me.”
I followed him into the office and noticed two men already inside. One was older with white hair and a distinguished look, and the other had silver in his temples, but wasn’t as old. They were both well dressed and appeared to be completely focused on me.
“Aspen, this is Dr. Carmichael and Dr. Andrus. Dr. Carmichael has been our physician for over twenty years. Dr. Andrus is the number one cardiologist on the East Coast. I’ve spoken with them, and both are willing to come here and handle most of your medical visits. When specific equipment is required, Dr. Andrus will set up a private entry for you to go to his office. They’ve brought the required paperwork and release that you need to sign so that your current doctors can hand over all your medical records.”
I stood there, staring at him, not sure what to say. The questions swirling in my head were overwhelming. I didn’t know what was more important. What to address first. This wasn’t something that just happened—I would know.
Dr. Andrus, the younger of the two physicians, stepped forward and held out his hand to me. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Aspen. I want you to know that I’ve worked with hundreds of people who suffer from Ebstein’s anomaly. I’m certain that I can not only take over your care, but also improve your condition.”
I slipped my hand into his and shook it. I had no doubt he could too. That wasn’t the issue. Having the number one cardiologist would be life-changing for me. I smiled weakly at him, then turned to Levi.
“I can’t switch doctors,” I told him softly. “I don’t have insurance—I mean, well, I do through the state. I’m on Medicaid.” I glanced at the two doctors in the room with us and wanted to cry. “I’m positive that they don’t take Medicaid.” I tried to laugh, but it didn’t sound very convincing. More like I was choking on my own saliva.
Levi cut his eyes at the doctors, then back to me. “A private insurance plan is currently being handled and will cover their cost.”
What? I shook my head, not understanding what he meant exactly. “I don’t have that kind of money, and I know Irish didn’t either. Not even in her savings.”
Levi’s jaw twitched, and I noticed the vein in his neck appearing. “You won’t be paying for it.”
Did he think he was going to be paying for it?
“Absolutely not,” I replied, shaking my head. “I don’t know what you do for a living, but I do know I refuse to let you pay for my health care. I don’t even know how you found out about my heart.”
“We look for cases such as yours to take on and provide the proper insurance. I’m the head of cardiology at Miami Medical. You qualify for the program through the research grant,” Dr. Andrus informed me.
I blinked several times, then turned back to Levi. “How? This kind of thing takes months, years, to get into, and every time I’ve tried, I got declined. You don’t just contact them and have the head of cardiology at Miami Medical approve you and show up at your home.” I looked at the doctors, then back at Levi. There were clearly things I didn’t know about him that I realized I should. “Who are you, Levi?”
He rubbed his beard and flicked his eyes over to the doctors, then back to me. “That’s something to talk about later. Right now, let’s just get the paperwork signed.”
Something to talk about later? I just stood there, looking at him.
His face softened, and the pleading look in his eyes got to me. “Please, Aspen. Sign the paperwork. The other questions we can deal with later.”
Sign the paperwork because I had been accepted into a program in less than a day that my gran hadn’t been able to get me into my entire life. Levi drove a Harley and dated strippers, but he wasn’t just some ordinary guy. Ordinary people didn’t have these two men making house calls.
Feeling as if I were walking in some sort of daze, I went to the paperwork that Dr. Andrus placed on the desk. He handed me a pen and showed me where to sign. He asked about the medications I was taking, symptoms, and my last hospitalization, which he’d known details about, oddly enough. I answered as if on autopilot. My mind kept telling me this was a dream. It didn’t make sense.
When he finally nodded and stood up, I watched him speak to the other doctor and then Levi before he told me he’d be back next week. I stared down at my hands in my lap, listening to Levi talk to Dr. Carmichael. Thanking him for his help. When the door closed behind the last doctor, I lifted my head and looked at Levi.
I was convinced I was stuck in a dream, and I hadn’t woken up yet. I’d pinched myself several times, and I’d felt every one. How was this real?
