by Fiona Lowe
Because he was crazy, that was why! Crazy, and borrowing trouble he didn’t need.
But the image of her clinging to a tree limb, him shinnying up to rescue her … Shaking his head to rid himself of that rather nice daydream, he cleared his throat and headed back to Exam 3, chiding himself that this flirtation, even though most of it was in his mind, had to stop. Edie was Lilly Lake, he was not. The twain that would never meet.
“So, by—” The words were barely out when Bobby’s body nearly shook off the table in a huge convulsion. The first thing that came to Rafe’s mind was a bone fragment broken lose and moving, or a blood clot. Instantly, Rafe pushed the emergency button on the wall near the door, then flew to the child’s bed and wedged himself between Bobby and his mother, who was practically in the bed with the boy, trying to shake him into a response.
“Doctor!” she cried helplessly. “Bobby … what’s wrong with him?”
“Please,” Rafe said, trying to move the mother aside. But she wouldn’t be moved, and when Rafe looked at Bobby’s father, he seemed to be in some kind of a trance. “I need room …”
“Mrs. Morrow!” Edie called from the doorway. “Please step back from the bed.”
“But my son—”
“Dr. Corbett will take care of your son, but you need to give him room.”
Rafe, who was struggling to take a pulse, managed to diagnose tachycardia, meaning the boy’s heart was beating too fast. “Did you give him any medication, or is there a possibility he got into something prescribed to you?” he asked the woman.
“No!” she screamed. “Nothing!”
“Nothing at all?” Rafe persisted.
“He fell out of a tree, now this …”
But what he was seeing didn’t seem connected to the broken bones, and Bobby’s symptoms didn’t appear to be a bone fragment or blood clot broken loose. “If he took something, I have to know what it was,” he said, his patience wearing away as quickly as Bobby’s life seemed to be ebbing. “Tell me, Mrs. Morrow, Mr. Morrow!” he shouted, as his patience finally snapped.
“Nothing,” the woman cried. “Nothing!”
Rafe sucked in a sharp breath, then turned his back to the couple and spoke to the nurse in charge. “I need this boy treated with activated charcoal, stat. And get a crash cart in here. We also need oxygen, and get an IV in him.”
Mrs. Morrow grabbed hold of Rafe’s arm. “Please, you’ve got to help him,” she begged, but he removed her hand so he could focus on the child.
“Could somebody please see that Bobby’s parents are made comfortable while we take care of their son?” he barked at the crowd of people now amassed in the room—nurses, interns, lab techs, respiratory therapists … the full emergency team at the ready.
“No,” Mrs. Morrow cried, as a nurse stepped forward. “I won’t leave here. This is my son, you can’t make me—”
“Mrs. Morrow, you must leave so Dr. Corbett can help your son!” Edie’s voice was gentle but firm. Taking the woman’s arm, Edie physically pulled her all the way to the hall outside the exam room, then came back and did the same with Mr. Morrow, as one of the nurses rolled the red crash cart into the area and immediately began the efforts to save Bobby’s life. Oxygen, IV, heart monitor, intubation tube just in case. Rafe led the way, calling the shots, the other medical personnel responding.
About two minutes into the procedure, Rick Navarro appeared, but rather than throwing himself into the mix he took his place alongside Edie. “What happened?” he whispered.
“When I got here, Bobby was having a convulsion. Rafe was handling it, but the Morrows were getting pretty … let’s just say in the way. So I got them out of the room, which is a good thing because Rafe also diagnosed tachycardia, and, well …” She glanced out into the hall at the Morrows, who were huddled together, and her heart went out to them. Too often, she’d been the one looking in the tiny window, watching the doctors frantically trying to save her mother’s life. She knew what it felt like to be left out at the moment the person she loved most in the world needed her. “Look, they shouldn’t be watching this, so I want to get them out of the area, unless you need me …”
“Go,” Rick said. “Take them to the doctors’ lounge, do what you have to.”
She looked at Rafe, who caught her eye at the same time then smiled at her. He was so … in charge. Larger than life. Confident. Maybe, just maybe, she would like to go and climb that tree with him some time after all.
“It may have been an aspirin overdose,” Edie whispered to Rafe, who was looking at the test results of blood drawn from Bobby.
They’d stabilized him for the moment. Treated the tachycardia and convulsions, splinted the broken ribs, and Rafe was in the process of getting ready to set the broken arm and leg. Overall, the kid was in bad shape, part of it caused by the fall, part of it because of what had happened afterward. “Aspirin?” he said, going straight to the result for the serum salicylate levels. Sure enough, the indication was there. “Then it’s a good thing I got the charcoal into him. It was a shot in the dark, but it seemed.” He shrugged. “Logical?” she asked.
“Kid gets hurt, he’s in pain … in Bobby’s case, excruciating pain due to so many injuries. And the parents’ first reaction is to help ease that pain. I’ve seen it before. Give the child aspirin, maybe in a panic give them too much. A lot of people think that baby aspirin isn’t strong enough so they load the child up and, essentially, overdose them.”
“And you spotted that?”
“I suspected it. But you’ve got to look at a whole list of other complications, too. Especially with children. There are so many childhood conditions that mimic something else, so you’ve got to be careful.”
“Careful, as in suspecting it could be poisoning of some sort and treating for it before you have the lab results back?”
“Time is critical. You don’t want that aspirin, or other painkiller, being absorbed into the system, because then you could be looking at a whole boatload of other complications—metabolic acidosis, renal shutdown, respiratory problems.” He shrugged. “How did you find out it was aspirin? When I asked, they wouldn’t say a word.”
“I told them that having the best doctor in the hospital wouldn’t do Bobby a darned bit of good if that doctor didn’t know what he was working with. Then Mrs. Morrow admitted giving him a couple of baby aspirin, and Mr. Morrow said it was more than a couple.”
“Well, now we know what we’re dealing with, so it’ll be easier for us to treat Bobby. Thanks for getting it out of them because I sure as hell didn’t have the silver tongue to do it.”
“Maybe because you were too busy saving Bobby’s life.”
“Or maybe I lack the people skills.” “Aren’t you being a little too hard on yourself?” Edie asked.
“What I’m being is honest. Nothing else intended. I treat conditions of the bone, it’s what I do, it’s who I am. The rest of it doesn’t matter.” With that, Rafe spun away and returned to the treatment room, ready to finish the process with Bobby Morrow and his parents. It wasn’t his intention to be rude to Edie, or to even shut her off, but he didn’t like compliments, didn’t like anyone glowing over his work. He did what he did, and that was all there was to it. Oh, he liked being an orthopedic surgeon. Actually, he loved it. But he didn’t want, didn’t need accolades, and as sure as a new day rolled around every twenty-four hours, Edie had been on the verge of accolades. So it had been easier to leave. But he felt a little rotten about it. She’d done a masterful job of getting the information out of Bobby’s parents. It probably wouldn’t have hurt him to lay a few accolades on her. Hindsight, he thought, as he walked through the door to Bobby Morrow’s treatment room. It was a kick in the rear end. Too bad he hadn’t used a little foresight.
“I come bearing a peace offering,” Rafe said, setting the cup of hot tea down on Edie’s desk.
She looked up at him. “For what?”
“I was pretty rude to you earlier. Didn’t mean to b
e, but that’s how it happens with me sometimes. It just slips out.”
She hadn’t taken it personally, though. He’d been a little abrupt, but not so much that she’d been offended. “A real apology would have included a vanilla bean scone with the tea,” she said, pulling the cardboard cup over to her, “but I appreciate the thought.”
Rafe laughed. “You’re a tough one, Edie Parker.”
“No one’s ever accused me of being tough before. I think I like it.”
“Look, sometimes I get … preoccupied with my work, and …”
“And you don’t take compliments very well.”
“That, too.”
“Well, how about a hand signal? Maybe a subtle salute, or a half-wave? That way, it’s not a real compliment, but you’ll know one was intended.”
“Tough, and relentless. Not a bad combination, actually.”
“No one’s ever called me relentless either. Normally I was the gushy one, the one given to the biggest emotions, the one who sort of got shoved to the wall when the room filled up and I didn’t know how to fight my way to another spot. But I appreciate the description. I aspire to being tough and relentless.”
“Would you aspire to grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup from a can tonight? I promised Molly her favorite meal, figuring I’d be ordering take-out pizza or something, and that’s what she wanted. So I’m going to be donning my chef’s apron and whipping up a culinary masterpiece later on, if you’d care to join us.”
She laughed. “A man who cooks? How could I refuse?”
“Actually, I have ulterior motives. I’m pretty sure I can handle opening the soup cans, but grilling the actual sandwiches may be well beyond my culinary capabilities.”
“What do you do back in Boston?”
“Eat at the hospital cafeteria, or order in.”
Edie shook her head. “Bet you don’t do your own laundry either.”
“As a matter of fact … no.” The way her eyes twinkled when she laughed caught him off guard. He really didn’t intend to stare, but he couldn’t help himself. She had such depth. More than that, she had a spirit like he’d never seen in anyone before, and he was pulled in by it. Edie was a woman who generally cared about everybody. She couldn’t help herself. It’s what she was about. And, honestly, other than his aunt, he’d never known people like that existed. “But I do bundle it up and haul it down to the laundry myself. Even sort it.”
“A man who sorts laundry and opens cans of soup …”
She gave him a salute, and a half-wave. But the thing that caught his heart most was her smile. He was already addicted to it, and even though that should have worried him in a big way, it didn’t. The fact that he wasn’t worried didn’t worry him either. Actually, he spent the rest of the day enjoying the lingering results of something as simple as Edie’s smile.
“And for dessert, I have a surprise,” Rafe said, setting the silver-domed platter on the picnic table on the patio. Soup and sandwiches had gone down well and Edie and Molly had done all the preparations while he’d stood back and watched them interact. It had occurred to him, more than once, that Edie would be the perfect parent for Molly. Their genuine affection for each other showed, and they had a natural rhythm together, one that would cause anyone looking on to see them as mother and daughter. That, plus the fact that they simply looked the part.
Could it work out? It was a thought, maybe even a good one. And somewhere, in the back of his mind, he’d even considered that if he did manage to make it happen, he might be able to keep himself on the fringes of the relationship. Seeing Edie again … he wouldn’t mind that. Wouldn’t mind having some insignificant part in Molly’s life either. “And I’ll have you know that I spent all afternoon in the kitchen.” He whisked the lid off the dome. “Arranging these vanilla bean scones on the platter.”
“What are they?” Molly questioned.
“The perfect accompaniment to hot tea,” Rafe answered.
Molly wrinkled her nose. “But we’re not having hot tea.”
“No, but Edie did earlier today, and the person serving her the tea neglected to get her the scones so he’s trying to do a make-good.”
“And succeeding very admirably,” Edie commented. She turned to Molly. “When I was a little girl, there was a tea room a few blocks from my house.”
“What’s a tea room?” Molly asked.
“It’s like a restaurant, only every afternoon they serve tea and little sandwiches or scones. You get all dressed up to go there because it’s a very special place, and once a month my mother and I would put on our best clothes, catch the bus, and go to the tea room.
She liked the little sandwiches with her tea … they had fillings of cream cheese and cucumber.” “Yuck,” Molly said.
Edie laughed. “My opinion, too. I loved the scones. Sometimes they were lemon, sometimes butter toffee. Always delicious. So, now, when I have tea, I like to have a scone with it.”
“Do you and your mother still get dressed up and go to the tea room?” Molly asked.
“No. My mother went … well, she went to the place Aunt Grace is now.”
“So you have to have your tea and scones all alone?” Molly’s face was deadly serious when she asked the question. “Because I’ll come with you, Edie, so you don’t have to go by yourself. But I don’t want those yucky sandwiches. I think I’ll have the scones, too.”
Rafe shut his eyes, shut out the emotion of the moment. Dear God, his aunt had done such a good job with Molly. It touched him, the way it had just touched Edie, who was brushing tears from her eyes. He knew what he had to do. The only thing was how was he going to do it? More than that, how was he going to do it and not get involved himself?
“Not good enough,” Rafe told Henry Danforth. “The Simpsons seemed too preoccupied with image, the Walcotts weren’t concerned enough with a proper education, and I don’t know how you slipped the Bensons on the list because the only reason they wanted a child was to have an indentured servant.”
“You’ve turned down seven perfectly good families, Rafe,” Henry said, his irritation clearly showing. “I pre-interviewed each and every one of them myself, had my investigator do an exhaustive background check, and I can assure you these are all good families for Molly.”
“But not good enough!”
“So who is it you really want? Because I’m sensing an agenda.”
“My agenda is doing the best thing for Molly. And who I really want …?” He hadn’t said it aloud. Hadn’t even let himself think it in a couple of days because if he had, and Edie wasn’t agreeable, he wasn’t sure what he’d do. She was the perfect mother for Molly. In his mind, the only perfect mother. The thing was, she hadn’t said a word about wanting to adopt Molly. Sure, Edie’s agenda was to get him to keep her. Aunt Grace wouldn’t have manipulated it any other way. But Edie knew that wasn’t going to happen. He’d made himself perfectly clear. So, to be honest, he was a little disappointed that Edie wasn’t stepping up because from everything he’d seen between her and Molly, she should have been.
Of course, from his detached perch, maybe he wasn’t seeing this the right way. It was a distinct possibility, but one he didn’t want to admit. Not yet, anyway. “Who I really want is the person who wants Molly the most. But she … or he … has to also be the person Molly most wants.”
“Which wouldn’t be you,” Henry snapped.
Actually, that didn’t sound so good to him any more. It was still his reality, though. Maybe a more bitter one than he’d expected. “Which wouldn’t be me.”
“Fine. Let me go and break the hearts of all the people I’ve interviewed so far, then start over.”
“I’m not wrong here, Henry. None of these people have been right for Molly.”
“And if they’re not right for her, and you’re not right, who is?”
“Edie Parker,” Rafe finally confessed. “Edie?” That seemed to catch the old lawyer off guard. “Have you talked to her about it?”
“No, because she’s involved in this and she knows Molly is—”
“Up for grabs?” Henry interrupted.
“She’s not up for grabs!” Rafe huffed an impatient breath. “And you know that!”
“What I know is that you’re ignoring the obvious and if your aunt were here, God rest her soul, she’d be drumming, kicking or pounding some sense into you right this very minute.”
But good sense didn’t involve adopting a child who needed so much more than a man who didn’t have it in him to love that child the way she needed to be loved … the way he’d never been loved. When it got right down to the most cutting truth, he was his father’s son. He’d read to the end of the book. He knew how that story turned out. He wanted better for Molly. “If my aunt were here, she’d be the person Molly needs most. But since that’s not going to happen, we have to do our best to find the person who has all the qualities to replace my aunt. Those are some mighty big shoes to fill but, for Molly’s sake, we’ve got to fill them.” And Edie was the only one. But what would happen if he asked, and she turned him down?
“Then I’ll ask Edie.”
Rafe shook his head. “No. She needs to ask us. Edie needs to be the one who realizes she wants Molly without us asking her.” For the sake of two people who really did belong together, he firmly believed that.
“In the meantime, should I line up more interviews?”
On one hand, if Edie did say no, then they’d be back at square one, which meant he’d have to prolong his stay in Lilly Lake to reopen the search. That part didn’t matter so much, but Molly’s emotions did, and that was what had him worried. She needed to start her new life … her real life … now. Without delay. Yet he couldn’t even think in terms of someone other than Edie raising her. “No more interviews for now,” he finally said.
“Then you’ve changed your mind, and you’re going to ask Edie?”
Rafe shook his head. “Edie’s going to ask me.” “You’re that sure of it?”