Jenny sat up straight and squared her shoulders. "All right. If I don't hear from Clay by noon tomorrow, I'll call him and see if he'd like to go out on a date."
Kelly raised her glass of tea in the air in a salute. "That's my girl. Now, start eating those quesadillas before I steal them from your plate."
Jenny laughed and took a bite of her meal. Now that she'd made up her mind, her stomach flip-flopped with nervous excitement. She glanced at her watch and grinned. The countdown was on.
Later that night, while Jenny was busy getting ready for bed, she stopped in the middle of washing her face and turned off the bathroom faucet to listen. She could've sworn she heard something, but there was nothing but silence. She turned the faucet back on and finished washing the makeup off her face, and she heard it again. Her heart leaped into her throat once she realized it was her cell phone beeping, signaling a text message, and she ran to her adjoining bedroom, wet face and all, and grabbed her cell phone from her nightstand.
Her pulse quickened when she saw the text was from Clay. It read, “Hey, Jenny. I hope you had a good day at work. I’m on the night shift tonight, and I made up an excuse to stop by the hospital to see if you were still there. I’m sorry I missed you.”
Jenny felt like hopping on the bed and jumping for joy. She wiped her face with the sleeve on her robe before texting him back, but her fingers trembled so badly, she could barely type the words. “Hello, Clay. I hate I missed you too. I hope you have a good night at work, and I hope to see you again soon.”
She lay on her stomach on the bed and waited anxiously to see if he would text back. Her heart soared when her cell phone beeped again.
“I’ll be off tomorrow, and I’ll work day shifts the rest of the week. If we don’t have any patients, I’ll make up another excuse to stop by the hospital.”
There was a winking emoji at the end of his text that made her smile. “I’ll be on the fourth floor all week. If you get a break, maybe we can meet in the hospital cafeteria for lunch sometime,” she texted.
Jenny held her breath, waiting for his reply. It wasn’t really what you could call a date, but she had to start somewhere, and she was grasping at straws. Her cell phone beeped again.
“I’d like that. I’ll call you if I’m able to take a lunch break,” he answered. “I know it’s late, so I’ll let you get some sleep. Good night Jenny. Sweet dreams.”
Jenny rolled onto her back and held the phone to her heart. She could almost hear him saying the words in his deep, masculine voice, and it gave her goosebumps.
“Good night, Clay. Be careful and stay safe,” she replied.
She could’ve texted him all night and been perfectly content, but he was working and needed to focus on that without her interrupting. She put the cell phone on her nightstand and went back to the bathroom. When she looked in the mirror above the sink, she noticed her face was flushed and she couldn’t stop smiling, no matter how much she tried. She felt like a giddy teenager again, and it was such a wonderful feeling. She didn’t want it to end.
Jenny brushed her teeth and hung her robe on a hook attached to the bathroom door. She flipped the lights off and yawned as she walked back to bed and crawled under the warm sheets. She thought she’d have a hard time falling asleep, but now that she’d heard from Clay, she felt calmer and more relaxed and was able to drift off to dreamland within a matter of minutes.
Chapter 13
Clay
From the back of the ambulance, Clay peeked between the driver and passenger seats so he could look out the front windshield, but Lake Arrowhead General Hospital still wasn’t in sight.
“Stop looking,” Ken remarked from the driver’s seat. “We’ll get there before she leaves work.”
He followed his comment with a laugh, and Clay felt the heat crawl up the back of his neck. He didn’t realize his anxiousness showed, but apparently, it did. He’d waited all day for a reason to go to the hospital and visit Jenny, but their boss had them doing odds and ends jobs at the station house when they weren’t out on a call. This was his only chance before she got off work.
“That Jenny has you wrapped around her finger, doesn’t she?” Ken teased.
Now it was Clay’s turn to laugh. “Yes, she does, and I can’t think of a better place to be.”
Since the Frank Hobbs incident, Ken had mellowed out a lot and was much more talkative. Clay felt it had something to do with him taking the initiative the day of Frank’s accident and, in a sense, proving himself as a top-notch paramedic for Ken to welcome him into the fold and start treating him as part of the team. He’d taken more interest in his life and joked with him constantly about his “crush” on Jenny. Clay didn’t mind though. He was just happy he didn’t have to spend his days with a stuffy old curmudgeon anymore.
“How are you doing, Miss Effie?” he asked the patient on the gurney beside him.
Effie Baxter was an elderly woman from a local nursing home who reminded him a lot of Mrs. Martin in Oregon. They received at least two calls a week from the staff at the nursing home, and each time they showed up, Miss Effie suddenly felt better and refused to go to the hospital. This time, however, she consented after a dizzy spell left her sprawled on the floor of the nursing home and may have possibly fractured her right hip.
She opened her eyes and gave him a weak nod while taking deep breaths from the oxygen mask on her mouth and nose. As soon as they put her in the ambulance, she grabbed Clay’s left hand and held on tight and hadn’t loosened her grip one bit. He felt bad for Miss Effie because, like Mrs. Martin, she was a widow with no other family members to take care of her.
“The staff at Lake Arrowhead General are fantastic, so I don’t want you to worry, okay? You’ll be in the best hands, and I’ll come back and check on you later this evening,” he assured her.
She smiled and closed her eyes again, and Clay looked out the window one more time. In the distance, he saw the familiar beige hospital sign with bright red letters, and he grinned from ear to ear. Finally! He checked his watch, and his heart beat a little faster when he saw it was nearing five o’clock and the end of Jenny’s shift.
“Hold your horses. I’m getting there as fast as I can,” Ken said.
He turned into the emergency entrance a few seconds later and brought the ambulance to a stop in front of the double sliding doors. “We’re here, Miss Effie. There are a few doctors and nurses waiting to wheel you inside, and I know it might seem kind of scary, but you’re going to be just fine. I’m right here with you.”
She squeezed his hand as Ken opened the back doors. He counted one doctor and three nurses, and when they gently pulled the gurney from the ambulance, Miss Effie tightened her hold on his hand and made him wince. The six of them wheeled her inside the hospital while Clay relayed her stats and vitals to the team. He expected her to release him once they got her inside one of the observation units, but she didn’t, and he hated to pry himself loose.
“We’re going to take some X-rays of your hip, Mrs. Baxter,” one of the nurses explained.
Her gaze darted back and forth between him and Miss Effie, and she furrowed a brow when she looked at their joined hands. “This is her first time in the emergency room, and she’s scared,” he said. “Just do what you can with me standing here until she feels more comfortable.”
The nurse seemed annoyed, but he let her attitude roll right off his back because he wasn’t going to leave Miss Effie in such a state, no matter what needed doing. Ken took his clipboard and walked over to the nurse’s station, and Clay’s heart started pounding when the emergency entrance doors swung open and Jenny walked in. She looked his way and gave him a big smile and seeing her again was definitely the highlight of his whole day.
Miss Effie’s grip loosened, and when he turned his attention back to her, a young nurse stood at the head of the gurney, explaining what they were doing, and her soothing voice and warm smile helped immensely. Clay was able to slide his hand out of her grasp and carefull
y lay her arm by her side. “See, Miss Effie,” he said. “I told you there were some good people here. Are you feeling okay?”
She looked at him and smiled. “Yes,” she murmured. “Thank you so much.”
It was moments like this that made him feel most proud and people like Miss Effie who reminded him that he’d made the right choice to follow his dream. He put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring pat. “I’ll come back later and see how you’re doing.”
He winked at her before leaving her side, and as he walked over to join Jenny by the nurse’s station, he shook his left arm and flexed his hand several times to try and get the blood circulating again. Miss Effie might be an old woman, but her grip could put any young quarterback to shame.
"Hey, you," he said. "I was hoping to catch you before your shift ended."
Jenny tugged on his arm to lead him away from the others who were standing close enough to overhear, and as they walked together along the corridor inside the ER, he caught her blushing.
"I would be lying if I said I hadn't looked for you all day," she admitted. "Kelly says I can be too straightforward sometimes, and I know it's only been a couple of days, but I've missed you."
Her honesty and shy smile tugged at his heart. "I've missed you too. I'll be off work Sunday. Would you like to do something together?"
They stopped walking and turned to face each other, and just being near her made him feel all mushy inside. It was silly, really. He was a grown man, for heaven's sake, but he couldn’t help it.
"I would love that," she replied. "What do you have in mind?"
Two nurses turned a corner of the hallway and sped past them with a patient on a gurney, and Clay put his hands around Jenny's waist and guided her out of the way so she wouldn't get hit. She was caught between him and the wall when they zoomed past, and his hands remained where they were, even after the nurses turned another corner and disappeared from sight.
He stood so close, he could see the tiny vein throbbing on the side of her neck, which made his heart race. Her body felt soft and warm in his hands, and he had to will his muscles to move and release her. When he took a step back, she remained where she was with a bewildered look on her face.
"I'm sorry," he said. "Hazards of the job. Are you okay? Did I push you too hard?"
She moved away from the wall and smoothed her scrubs with her palms. "N-no. I'm fine. Thank you for reacting so quickly."
They stared at each other for a few awkward seconds before resuming their walk.
"What was I saying? Oh, did you have something in mind for Sunday?" she asked.
Clay smiled. "I'll leave that up to you since you're the adventurous one. All I ask is no bungee-jumping or skydiving."
Jenny laughed. "But it's so much fun!" Her cell phone beeped, and when she checked the text message, her smile turned upside down. "It's Kelly. I need to check on one of my patients before I clock out, so I should go. Call me when you get off work, and we'll make plans, okay?"
He nodded and she was off and sprinting for the double doors. Even when she was gone, he stayed in his place, lost in his own thoughts. He was excited at the prospect of being with her again, and Sunday couldn't get here soon enough.
"Clay… Earth to Clay."
He jumped when he heard Ken's familiar voice, and as he came down from the cloud he was on, he caught his partner standing beside him, chuckling.
"She really does have you wrapped around her finger, doesn't she?" he asked.
Clay felt embarrassed. "It looks that way."
Ken nudged him. "We need to go. Dispatch just radioed for help with a transport from the dialysis center."
He nodded, and they made their way outside to the waiting ambulance. Clay returned the gurney to the back and hopped inside so he could clean up his mess from Miss Effie's ride and get ready for the next one. He threw away empty wrappers and stored the supplies he hadn’t used into their designated compartments.
"I hope you know I'm just joking with you about Jenny," Ken remarked as he steered away from the emergency room entrance and onto the main road. "I'm glad you found someone."
Clay glanced at Ken and shook his head. "I appreciate that, but we're just friends."
Ken shrugged. "My wife and I were friends before we started dating, and we were married almost forty years when she passed away. I believe one of the main reasons we were together for so long is because we started out as friends, and if you're lucky enough to find something like that, you should hold on to it. Take it from someone who knows."
Clay didn't reply, but Ken's words did strike a chord, and as he finished cleaning out the back of the ambulance, his mind raced in a thousand different directions. He couldn't remember the last woman he felt close enough to open up to...besides Aubrey, that is. He rarely had time to date while living in Oregon, and even then, he'd never met someone he felt comfortable with. Talking to Jenny felt as natural as breathing.
His cell phone chimed, signaling an incoming text, and he smiled when he pulled it from his shirt pocket and saw her number on his caller ID. Her text read, "I'm sorry I had to leave so soon. I look forward to spending time with you Sunday. I'll try not to come up with anything too dangerous."
The winking emoji at the end of her text made him laugh. When Ken turned into the parking lot of the dialysis center, Clay didn't have time to type a long text, so he simply replied with, "I look forward to seeing you too," hoping it would suffice until he got off work and he could type more.
He hit the send button and returned the phone to his shirt pocket as Ken parked the ambulance near the front door entrance. His steps felt lighter when he hopped from the back and pulled out the gurney. Seeing Jenny was the bright spot in a very long day, and despite the limited time they were able to talk to each other at the hospital, it was enough to get him through the rest of his shift with a smile on his face and a spring in his step.
Chapter 14
Jenny
Jenny anxiously tapped the steering wheel as she turned into Clay's driveway bright and early Sunday morning and parked her car. They'd texted each other numerous times since Friday afternoon, and he’d decided to leave the planning up to her. He said he was game for whatever she wanted to do, so she'd contemplated activities all weekend that wouldn't border on the extreme. In the end, she discovered that list was really short—or maybe she was just too daring for her own good—so she decided mountain biking would be the safest way to go.
She noticed a light on inside the home when she stepped out of her SUV and walked to the front door. Through a window, she could see Clay and Aubrey in the kitchen, and her heart melted when she saw them talking and laughing while eating breakfast together. She almost hesitated to ring the doorbell because she didn't want to interrupt.
Jenny stood on the welcome mat and ran her fingers through her hair one last time to tame any wild strays before pressing the button beside the door. It felt odd being the one doing the picking up instead of having her date show up at her door, and she didn't know how to act. The door swung open, and when she saw Clay in his jeans, long-sleeved shirt, and boots, only one thing came to mind—well, other than the fact he looked incredibly gorgeous.
"You need to change into some comfortable shoes. Do you have a pair of sneakers?"
She blurted it out before she could stop herself, and when he blushed and looked down at his boots, she felt like a total heel. "I'm so sorry. I'm nervous, and I didn't mean for that to come out sounding rude. I'm just worried your feet will hurt when we start… never mind, it's a surprise."
Clay gestured for her to enter, and when she walked past him into what looked like a den, she saw his hair was damp, and the faint scent of his shampoo invaded her senses and made her knees wobbly.
"Why are you nervous?" he asked.
The heat rose to Jenny's cheeks as he shut the door. How in the world could she answer such a question without sounding like some lovestruck teenager?
"Hey, Jenny!"
&nb
sp; Thankfully, Aubrey entered the room at that time and saved her from having to explain herself. She breathed a sigh of relief as she left Clay's side and went to give Aubrey a hug. She noticed she was using a cane, and she looked smaller than the last time she'd seen her in the hospital. "Aubrey! It's so good seeing you again. How have you been?"
She followed Aubrey back to the kitchen, with Clay trailing closely behind, and as Aubrey climbed onto one of the barstools at the kitchen counter, she caught the grimace on her face.
"I've been better, but I can't complain too much because I know it could always be worse. I have more trouble keeping this one in line."
She pointed to Clay, and Jenny laughed. "I bet he is a hard one to tame."
Clay picked up his and Aubrey's empty breakfast plates and carried them to the kitchen sink. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I had a patient tell me just yesterday what a saint I am."
Aubrey winked at Jenny. "Yeah, your horns do a great job supporting your halo."
She sat on the empty barstool beside Aubrey while Clay was busy washing their plates. “Are you still on the same medication Emily prescribed while you were in the hospital?"
Aubrey propped her cane against her thigh and sipped from her glass of orange juice. "She changed it a week after I was discharged because it didn't seem to be helping. The medicine I'm on now is working better, but it makes me so sleepy."
Her condition made Jenny sad, and her chest burned when she considered how unfair it was for someone as young as Aubrey to be dealt such a terrible blow. She wished there was something she could do to help.
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