He let go and stepped back, taking her hand again. “Shall we go get your car?”
“My car?” She blinked. “What car? Do I have a car?”
He threw his head back and laughed. “Yes, you have a car, and it’s at the hospital.”
“Oh, that car. You’ll have to forgive me. You see, I was just kissed, and it seems that just about every other thought got wiped clean out of my head.”
“That sounds like a rather serious problem. It’s a good thing we’re on our way to a hospital.”
Jeremy held her hand as he drove except for those times when he actually needed to use his hand for something driving related because driving is generally considered to be a two-handed pursuit. When he pulled into the hospital parking lot, he said, “Do you know your next shift?”
She shook her head. “I thought I had today off, but I want to go in and make sure—they might be so swamped in there, I could be needed.” She knew she’d recommended several people for surgery, and she had no idea how that had all come about. She wished she’d checked in at the hospital before going to Tracy’s, but in reality, she would have been worthless—she’d given everything she had.
“Let’s go find out.”
They walked into the emergency room together, and Rebekah looked around for Dr. Hunsaker. She found him at the nurses’ station, filling out a chart.
“Nurse McClain,” he greeted her. “I didn’t expect to see you today.”
“I wasn’t sure if I was needed, so I thought I’d better check.”
“I’m glad you did, but not for the reasons you think.” He held out his arm and motioned for her to join him in one of the empty cubicles. “You did an amazing job yesterday,” he said, lowering his voice. “When those patients came in already diagnosed, we were able to treat them immediately, and I’m convinced lives were saved. You did this community a tremendous service, and I only wish we could thank you publicly.”
She shook her head. “Even if you were vague about my contribution, I wouldn’t want that kind of recognition. I just want to do my job.”
“I know that, and I appreciate it. That’s what makes the next thing I’m going to say even harder.” He looked her in the eye. “I’m prepared to offer you a job here at the hospital as head of nursing. You’d oversee every nurse in this building from the ER to the surgical floors, and your salary would increase by thirty percent. What this means, though, is that you’d have to withdraw your application for medical school.”
“I don’t know what to say.” Head of nursing? She’d had the thought once or twice that she’d like that job, but it had seemed completely out of reach. Now it was being offered to her, but at a cost she hadn’t anticipated. “I’m honored—I really am. I just wonder if I could have some time to think about it.”
“Yes, of course. And I realize I’m being selfish in wanting to keep your skills close to home, but I’ve never claimed to be unselfish. I want you on my team, Nurse McClain. Please think it over carefully.”
“I will. I promise.”
“Good. Now, take the rest of the day off, if you please. I’m told you almost looked like a patient yourself by the time you went home last night.”
“I was pretty tired.”
“I’m sure that’s an understatement. We’ll see you tomorrow for the afternoon shift, and not a moment sooner.”
Rebekah left the cubicle and went to find Jeremy, who was at the nurses’ station chatting with Harriet. “I have the rest of the day off, and I don’t come in until tomorrow afternoon,” she told him.
“Perfect. I see lots of good things in your future—things like a good lunch and then a nap.”
“A nap? That’s kind of a weird thing to do on a date, isn’t it?”
He smiled. “The lunch part is a date, but then you’re going home for a nap. I’m not a nurse, but I’m a paramedic, and I know exhaustion when I see it.”
She was about to argue with him and tell him she was fine, but that wasn’t the truth. She’d gotten a few hours of sleep the night before, but not nearly as much as she needed. “All right,” she replied. “Lunch and then a nap. And after that?”
“If you’re up to it, what would you think about a drive out to San Antonio to meet my family?”
“I’d love it,” she replied without hesitation.
“But only if you’re up to it,” he repeated.
“I’m pretty sure I will be, but I promise I’ll let you know if I change my mind.”
He put his arm around her shoulders and walked her to her car. “Sounds like a deal. Here’s your chariot, m’lady, and I’ll meet you at Comida in a few minutes. That is, if Mexican sounds good.”
“I’m a McClain from Texas, sir. I believe we’ve had this conversation before.”
He grinned. “I’ll see you there.”
Chapter Nine
Climbing into bed for an afternoon nap with a nice full cheesy stomach was one of the nicest things Rebekah had ever done. She fell asleep almost immediately, and when she woke up, she felt as though she’d actually gotten some good restorative rest. She picked up the phone and called Jeremy, just like he’d asked her to do, and they agreed that they’d leave for San Antonio in an hour.
Rebekah called Tracy and asked her to pass the word along to all the sisters that she was doing all right, and then she stood in front of her closet and tried to figure out what to wear. She’d only been taken home to meet the parents one other time, and that was the year after nursing school when she thought she’d been madly in love. His parents had turned their noses up at her because she was from a tiny little town called Bagley, and nothing good could ever come from a place like that. She refrained from telling them that she was part of the richest family in the whole region—if they didn’t like her on her own terms, she didn’t like them either. Within a week, she and her boyfriend had broken up, and she’d never regretted the decision, even though it stung.
This was different, though. She wasn’t fresh out of school—she was older now, and more experienced. And Jeremy wasn’t like any other guy she’d ever met. He knew something potentially frightening about her, and yet he’d shown her nothing but kindness and respect. In fact, he admired what she did, but he wasn’t intimidated by it, and that gave her even more reason to like him. Well, to love him. She grinned at the thought.
She finally settled on a denim skirt and a white ruffled blouse. It was a little dressy while also being a little casual, and she hoped his mother would like it. She knew that mothers judged their sons’ girlfriends by the way they dressed and if they showed enough respect for the event they were attending.
“Should I bring anything?” she asked Jeremy when he picked her up. “A cake? A bottle of wine? Help me out here—I want to impress your parents.”
He laughed. “They’ll be impressed by you, not by anything you bring. And I haven’t told them about your gift. I didn’t want to get their hopes up—you don’t know for sure if you can help Greg, and I thought it would be better this way.”
“Thank you—I meant to ask you about that, but forgot. I’d much prefer it if they never knew. There’s a lot of pressure that’s involved with the whole thing, and I’d like to bring as few people as possible into the inner circle.”
“Agreed.”
As they drove toward San Antonio, Rebekah said, “I’m not sure if this is the best time for us to have this conversation, but I need to tell you a couple of things.”
“You have a captive audience right now, so you might as well go for it.”
“True. Do you remember my telling you that I was thinking about going to medical school?”
“Sure do. That was the day we met, and I’m never going to forget that day because it was so incredible. You were so incredible.”
It would be easy to let herself get distracted by the way he was looking at her, but she pushed that aside. “What I didn’t tell you was that I’ve already put in my application. I find out in September if I’ve been accepted.”
<
br /> “What? You’ve already applied? That’s great! What school?”
“UT San Antonio.”
“That’s quite a coincidence. We’re going to San Antonio right now.” He gave her an exaggeratedly comical face, and she shook her head with a smile.
“They’ve got a great program, and they’re close enough to home that I can bring my laundry for my mother to do, just like she does for Marti,” Rebekah said, not meaning a word of it. “I’m really hoping I get in, but there’s a fly in the ointment.”
“Well, that’s disgusting. Get it out!”
“I’d love to, but I’m not sure how. Dr. Hunsaker talked to me earlier about accepting a position as head nurse instead of going to medical school.”
“Really? Wow.” Jeremy shook his head. “Do you have any idea what you want to do?”
“I don’t. On one hand, being the head nurse is an incredible opportunity, something I think every nurse dreams about at least once or twice in her life. Dr. Hunsaker respects my opinion, and I think I’d be able to do a lot of good. On the other hand, though, becoming a doctor . . . that would be amazing.”
“Is Dr. Hunsaker going to wait to see if you get accepted, or do you have to give him your answer sooner than that?” Jeremy asked.
“Sooner. Lots sooner. And that makes it all the harder to know what to choose. With Dr. Hunsaker, I’m promised a job. With medical school, I have no promises whatsoever. I know I wrote a good essay for my application, and I know that my references are spot on and that I passed all the preliminary stuff, but if the other applicants did a better job, there’s no medical school for me. I like having security, but I also want to brave something new. You really have no idea how confused I’ve been.”
“And there’s another element to add to this decision,” Jeremy said. “Where will you live, and with who?”
“I thought I’d figure that out when I reached that point,” she replied.
“In most circumstances, that’s what you should do—get the job before you rent the condo next door and that sort of thing. But in this case, a few decisions have to be made ahead of time.” He looked over at her. “Where do I fit into your plans?”
“To be honest, two weeks ago, I didn’t even know you existed,” she replied. “I had every intention of moving to the dorms and concentrating completely on school. But then you showed up, and you knocked everything on its ear.”
“That’s what I do,” Jeremy said cheerfully. “I’m an ear knocker.”
“I noticed.” She squeezed his hand.
He didn’t say anything else until he’d taken the first exit into San Antonio and drove the car through the streets until they reached a pretty little neighborhood park. He got out, then came around and opened the door for her.
“Come here,” he said, motioning toward the swings. “Let’s have a little fun in the middle of this very tense conversation.”
“Is it tense? I didn’t realize it was tense.”
“Yes, it’s tense, but it’s understandable—we’re dealing with lifestyles and goals and dreams. Those things are always bound to be tense. At least we get to explore those options together.”
“True.”
They each took a swing, and Rebekah pumped higher and higher until she felt like her feet were about to touch the sky. They never did, of course, but it was a lovely thing to think about and to pretend.
“You asked how you fit in my plans,” she called out when they passed each other.
“And? What’s your answer?”
“My answer is that I plan to see you as often as you’ll let me. We’re not going to let something like this pull us apart.”
Jeremy hopped off his swing, and a moment later, she did as well. “I want to marry you,” he said. “I’ve wanted to marry you almost from the first moment I saw you. You want to see me as often as I’ll let you—well, I want to wake up to you every morning and fall asleep to you at night. Is there room in your life for that?”
She reached her arms around his waist and stepped closer, laying her head on his shoulder. She could hear his heart beating against her ear. “Yes,” she replied. “Does that mean no medical school?”
“What? Why would it mean that?” He tilted her chin up and looked into her eyes. “Did you think I would make you choose between me and school?”
“I wasn’t sure,” she replied. “I just wasn’t seeing a way to give us all what we wanted at the same time.”
“Well, here’s the thing,” he said. “If you decide you want to go to school, awesome—I’ll marry you and you’ll go to school. If you want to take the promotion in Bagley, fantastic—I’ll marry you and you’ll run the nursing staff. The key here is that we’re married. I don’t care where we live as long as I’m living with you.”
She couldn’t help the tears that welled up in her eyes. “You mean that?”
“Absolutely. You’re the woman I’ve always dreamed of finding, and now that you’re standing here in front of me, I’m not going to risk losing you.”
“Well, all right then. That makes my decision a little harder and a little easier at the same time. Now I just need to decide what I want instead of choosing for both of us.”
“I’m with you all the way, babe.” He looked up at the sky. “I think we’re about to get some rain. You ready to go?”
“Yeah. Thanks for the swings.”
“You’re welcome. I thought they looked like fun.”
As they drew nearer to the Burtons’ house, Rebekah felt her nerves multiply. Not only was she still trying to decide what she wanted to do, but now she was about to meet her future in-laws—and see if she could give their son a better prognosis than the one he currently had. No pressure there.
“Something I should tell you before we get there,” Jeremy said as he turned the corner and continued east. “Things at my house are a little complicated. Greg’s in a wheelchair, and my mom works herself overtime to take care of him—she feels guilty because of what happened. And my dad . . . well, he blames me.”
“Why? What did happen?”
Jeremy didn’t answer for a minute, and she wondered if he was going to. Then he spoke. “It was Greg’s senior year in college, and he and his friends were celebrating their last football win of the season. They didn’t place in any championships, but they’d done all right for themselves, and they decided to go out to an all-night pizza place and hang out for a while. My dad asked me to drive by this place on my way home from work that night and make sure everything was on the up-and-up. Well, I was tired—I was working swing shift at a factory, and I forgot to stop by.”
He slowed the car and made a right-hand turn. “Greg and his friends rolled out of there around four in the morning, and they got hit by a drunk driver. They all survived, but they suffered various injuries, Greg’s the worst of all. My dad thinks that if I’d been there, it never would have happened, but how can we say that for sure? I mean, yes, maybe it wouldn’t have happened, but it still could have all the same. Greg and his friends weren’t drinking, so it’s not like I could have influenced them in that. And how was I supposed to stop someone else from plowing into them?”
Rebekah’s heart hurt for him. She could hear the anguish in his voice and wondered if he blamed himself too.
“So, in our own ways, we’re all trying to make up for what happened, but in reality, there is no way to make up for it. It’s the past, it’s over and done, and we’ve got to find a way to move forward. If you’re able to come up with a solution for Greg, that’s fantastic, but I want you to know that I completely understand if there’s nothing you can do. It’s been a long time, he’s been treated by several doctors, and my love for you isn’t dependent on whether you can fix my brother.”
She reached over and squeezed his hand. “Thank you for that. And thank you for letting me into your heart and your life—the more I get to know you, the more I realize just how lucky I am. Oh, by the way, Heather approves.”
“She does? She’s ne
ver met me.”
“True, but she approves. So that obviously means this whole getting married thing is a go.”
He grinned. “Well then, I approve of Heather, too.”
They pulled up in front of a modest white clapboard house, and Jeremy took Rebekah’s hand as they climbed the stairs. A young man in a motorized wheelchair answered the door, and Jeremy introduced him as Greg.
“So, you must be the girl from the hospital,” Greg said, reaching out to shake Rebekah’s hand. “My mom hasn’t been able to stop talking about you—her curiosity’s been eating her alive.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting her too.” Rebekah took the hand he offered, and she concentrated as the familiar warmth and vibration began, telling her where to look. Her attention was immediately pulled to his spinal cord, and she saw layers of scar tissue there. She also saw that his spinal cord had been severely damaged, but that his body had miraculously stitched itself back together, allowing him to have more movement than he would otherwise. She saw all this in a split second as she held his hand, and as he broke contact to move back and welcome them inside, her insight ended.
Greg moved farther back into the house to let his parents know they were there, and Jeremy looked at Rebekah with a question on his face.
“I needed a little more time,” she replied softly. “I have a good idea of the extent of his spine injury, but I need to figure out what can be done about it.”
“Do you need to touch him again?”
“I’m afraid I do, but that’s kind of weird. I mean, how many people want their brother’s fiancées to sit there and hold their hand?”
Jeremy chuckled. “Not a ton, but we’ll think of something. Let’s go meet my parents.”
Hannah Burton was everything Jeremy had said—warm and welcoming, and also wrapped up in a big ball of guilt. Thomas was also welcoming, yet reserved. The only member of the family who seemed to be completely at ease in the situation was Greg.
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