Kyle took a deep breath. “So he’s going to live in an institution until you find someone.”
“Exactly.” Mr. Simpson put a hand on the papers in his lap. “As soon as I have a discharge date for Cody, I’ll set the wheels in motion. Of course, I hope we’ll be lucky and find foster parents for the boy. I’m sure that would be best for him.”
The thought of sending the little guy with the enormous will to live into a dismal orphanage made Kyle feel sick to his stomach. Maybe he was prejudiced against children’s homes, and of course he didn’t know what really went down there, but he could easily imagine Cody being desperately unhappy. He’d already had to deal and contend with so much in the past weeks, but being forced to move into an orphanage …
“We want to discharge Cody only when he is well enough to be able to deal with such a change,” Dr. Kleypas told the DCF agent. “I consulted with his psychologist prior to our meeting today, and he thinks Cody should be prepared for his discharge slowly and cautiously. Since the boy has built a bond of trust with Dr. Fitzpatrick, it would be best if he was the one to talk to Cody about what is going to happen to him in the coming weeks. Would that be okay with you, Mr. Simpson?”
Aggrieved, Kyle stared at his superior, unable to believe what he was hearing. He was supposed to prepare Cody for the fact that he would be sent to an orphanage after they discharged him from the hospital? He knew the homesickness the boy was already feeling, and just how much he was missing his familiar surroundings. It would break his heart to be confronted with his new reality. And Kyle would feel like a traitor …
“If Dr. Fitzpatrick could talk to Cody, that would be very helpful indeed.” The DCF agent gave Kyle a grateful look. “It’s important that the children come into our institutions as unprejudiced and untroubled as possible. That helps so much with getting settled. If they are scared even before they arrive—”
“Mr. Simpson,” Kyle interrupted. “Cody has gone through several painful surgeries, and he knows he’s not going to see his family or his home ever again. Of course the boy’s scared. I’m going to talk to him, but that’s not going to change the fact that he will most likely be very unhappy and terrified when he arrives at the orphanage.”
Just when he finished that sentence, his beeper emitted a piercing sound. Sometimes he was actually grateful for the annoying interruption.
He rose from his seat. “Please excuse me. I’m needed in the ER.”
He couldn’t say exactly why he was suddenly so angry that he wanted to punch the wall.
***
When Kyle looked up and saw his sister pushing her twin stroller into the doctors’ rec room with some difficulty, he closed the door of his locker and offered her a wide grin.
“What are you doing here?” He made a silly face at his niece and nephew, which made them both squeal with excitement. “I thought you had taken a whole week off.”
“I did,” his sister replied in a harried voice and gave him a peck on the cheek. “I only came by to check something with admin. But I’m also concerned Ellie might have yet another ear infection. Could you maybe take a look at her?”
Kyle concluded two things from the fact that his sister, who was a physician herself, after all, was asking him to look at her two-year-old, who was sitting happily in the stroller: First, Kayleigh seemed to think he was a good pediatrician, and second, she was as worried about her offspring as any other mother, even though she usually liked to play the tough cookie.
“Sure,” he replied cheerfully, hiding his amusement as he bent to free Ellie from her seat. “Let’s take a closer look at you, honey.”
You could easily see that Ellie was the apple of her parents’ eye, just like her brother, Charlie. Kayleigh wrung her hands nervously and tucked back a strand of her daughter’s hair, while Kyle picked up his niece and pressed a kiss to the top of the little one’s head.
“All right, sweetie. Are you giving your mom trouble?” He let Ellie grab for the stethoscope he wore around his neck, smiling indulgently and putting his palm gently against her forehead. “She doesn’t feel hot at all, Kayleigh.”
His sister was obviously all nerves. She lifted Charlie from the stroller and rested him against her hip. Considering the dark circles under her eyes, it should have been Kayleigh seeing a doctor. Her twins were a picture of health, but she seemed to see it differently.
“She keeps touching her ear, and she screams when I try to put her to sleep. And she screams when I wake her, too. Last night she kept waking up and felt very warm …”
“Last night the temperatures were tropical,” Kyle pointed out good-naturedly. “I bet every inhabitant of Boston was ‘very warm.’”
“I’m serious, Kyle.” His sister chewed on her lower lip and stared at the sweet girl playing with his stethoscope. Kayleigh was a total mother hen. “I’d like to have a hemogram done. I read about a case of a three-year-old in Milwaukee with protracted otitis media, and—”
“You read too many medical journals,” Kyle tried to soothe his sister, who was tall for a woman but barely reached his chin. “But if it gives you any comfort, I’ll examine Ellie in detail so we don’t overlook anything.”
“Could you please do the blood test? The new nurses just out of school are so clumsy.”
He hugged his niece tightly. “I’d wait on that. I’m more concerned about you, dear sister. Doesn’t your man take good care of you? Why else could you be looking like Christ on the cross?”
His sister flashed him a grumpy look. “Aidan has a big project going on, the twins get sick all the time, and our neighbors have added wood-chopping to their long list of noisy hobbies. Try getting enough sleep with that!”
“Hey.” He raised his free hand in defense. “Remember I’m holding your daughter before you start attacking me.”
Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “Nor is it charming or advisable to ever tell a woman she looks like crap!”
“Sisters are an exception,” Kyle said with a chuckle, pulling one end of the stethoscope from Ellie’s mouth. “If it helps any, I could babysit these two some evening, so you and Aidan can have some time to yourselves.”
“Pshh!” Kayleigh waved a dismissive hand. “If you think I’d waste my free evening seducing my own husband, you can think again. I would order a family-size pizza, take a long bath with lots of bubbles, and watch a gory movie.” She shivered with anticipatory pleasure. “Delightful!”
Kyle rolled his eyes. “I know why I was frightened of you as a kid.”
Kayleigh stuck out her tongue. “By the way … two nights ago, I could have used a babysitter, but Pam told me you were not at home.”
Telling his nosy sister anything was always a risk, but Kyle decided to casually let it out. “I went on a date.”
Of course Kayleigh was intrigued. “What? Not with that one in nursing school who keeps swooning when she sees you? Isn’t she a little too young for you?”
He snorted and threw her a dismissive glance. “Do I look dumb enough to go out with a twenty-year-old who cries every time a patient complains he had to wait too long for something or another? No offense, Kayleigh, but I like to actually have a conversation with my dates.”
She grinned. “A conversation, that’s all?” she teased. “How utterly boring!”
If he hadn’t had Ellie on his arm and if Charlie hadn’t been snuggled up against his mother, it was entirely possible Kyle would have socked his sister.
Instead, he hissed, “And here I thought women would like a man not just after the obvious. But I know you aren’t the right person to ask. You’re not really the epitome of feminine behavior.”
She ignored his insult. “So you like her?”
“Who?” He pretended to be slow on the uptake and was rewarded with an impatient cluck.
“Your date!” Kayleigh cocked her head to one side. “If you’re not trying to get into her pants, and if you’re interested in genuine conversation, that can only mean you like her.”
“Do I detect a romantic strain in your reasoning?” He shifted Ellie in his arms. “Who are you, and what did you do to my dragon sister?”
“That isn’t funny, Kyle.” She lifted a scolding finger. “What’s her name?”
He buried his nose in his niece’s hair. “Say, Ellie, would you agree that this is like the Spanish Inquisition? Your mom would make a fantastic torturer.”
“Don’t give my daughter any stupid ideas,” she ordered, but he could hear the suppressed laugh in her voice. “And stop goofing around for a minute, Kyle.”
His shoulders sagged. “Jesus, Kayleigh … Her name’s Morgan, she’s twenty-nine, works as a caseworker with the city, and her hair’s red. She’s also genuine, smart and funny. That’s all I can tell you, because we’ve only been on one date. Happy now?”
He was ready for anything—expect his sister bursting out laughing.
He gave her a look of consternation. “What?”
“Morgan?”
Kyle frowned. “Yeah … what’s so funny about that?”
Kayleigh giggled like there was no tomorrow. “Hasn’t it occurred to you that your twin brother’s girlfriend’s name is Jordan? Morgan and Jordan!”
“Extremely funny,” he said tiredly.
“Wait ’til Mom hears—”
“Oh no,” he cut her off, but she went on laughing like a madwoman. “Kayleigh, you are not going to tell Mom about Morgan.”
“Why?” Satan’s offspring uttered another diabolical giggle. “Are you embarrassed that Mom might conclude that you’re having sex? Don’t fret, she had five children. She’s going to be okay with the fact that her little boy drops his pants once in a while.”
He wrinkled his nose at his sister and wondered for the umpteenth time how his brother-in-law could get along with this banshee. “I should cover your children’s ears.”
“Too late. There’s no use in doing it now.” She was still grinning at him. “So why don’t you want Mom to hear about your date then?”
He tilted back his head helplessly as his little niece stabbed him in the cheek with her chubby little fingers. “Kayleigh … you know what Mom’s like. She’d probably want to make a big fuss, and I don’t even really know Morgan yet. Who knows if anything will come of it?”
“It’s been a long time since you went on a date.” Kayleigh clucked her tongue skeptically. “And I’m not talking about your booty calls.”
He raised his eyebrows in bewilderment, while holding off Ellie’s hands, which were trying to get into his left eye. “Who told you about any booty calls?”
“Nothing stays secret in this family.” Kayleigh shook her head. “Why don’t you bring Morgan to dinner next time?”
“Oh, sure!” Kyle scoffed. “If I want to chase a woman away for good, I’ll bring her home to you all.”
“Hey! That wasn’t very nice.”
Sobering, Kyle continued, “Right now I don’t know how to handle all the stuff that’s going on at work, Kayleigh. The job demands my undivided attention. How am I supposed to have a relationship?”
She shrugged an impatient shoulder. “Start with those booty calls, if they’re your cup of tea. One of them will probably develop into a relationship.”
He cleared his throat and nodded at her. “You mean the way you and Aidan went about it?”
His sister stuck out her chin and promptly changed the subject. “Examine my daughter and stop babbling so much, Dr. Fitzpatrick.”
“Aye, Dr. Fitzpatrick-O’Shea.” He saluted and then whispered to the little girl on his arm, “Your mom is a holy terror, love. I suggest you try to become more like your dad.”
“I heard that, Kyle,” Kayleigh grumbled promptly.
“You were meant to hear it, too,” he replied sweetly, putting Ellie back into her stroller. “Get those two into room number four. I’ll be there in a sec.”
And after that, he needed to figure out how to talk to Cody. He was about ready to pee his pants at the thought of that conversation.
Chapter 5
“Did I hear that correctly? He didn’t want to kiss you? Is the man gay or what?”
Morgan pushed the shopping cart and made a face at the baby, who was enthroned in her seat on top of the loaded cart, playing with her own foot. Morgan would have preferred to ignore the baby’s mother, but, unfortunately, Gayle possessed a much too loud, penetrating voice, so she had to do something to stop her.
Leaning forward to tickle Casey’s round little belly, Morgan asked Gayle, “Could you maybe speak up a little more? I’m afraid the cashier didn’t hear you.”
“Pshh!” Gayle waved her shopping list with an air of impatience. “Just tell my why he didn’t kiss you!”
“Do I look like a mind-reader? How would I know why he didn’t kiss me?”
“But you have another date tomorrow?” Gayle sounded stumped. “If he didn’t kiss you, why would he want a second date? Does he need a Green Card or something?”
Morgan rolled her eyes and stopped in the aisle with the “feminine products.” She grabbed a large box of pads that said “extra absorbent” and held it under her friend’s nose.
“Buy these. They might help with your incontinence.”
Her friend ignored the hot-pink box and its pastel butterflies. “What man goes on a date and doesn’t kiss the woman good night?”
Morgan held up the box with a meaningful expression. “You’d have to ask a man to get a valid answer. Also, why are you getting this upset? Not all men kiss on the first date. Kyle’s a … gentleman.”
“A gentleman?” Gayle wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “Is that the new term for ‘closeted gay man who needs a Green Card’?”
Morgan scowled at the woman she was trying to help with the weekly grocery shopping, but she was being especially feisty today. Morgan suspected Gayle might have had yet another overblown fight with her dear husband, who was still sleeping on his brother’s couch. Considering their relationship, it was difficult not to wonder whether being single wasn’t the better idea.
“First of all, Kyle is American so he does not need a Green Card. And second of all, I’m sure he’s not gay. He’s charming, but he just doesn’t seem like the type of guy ready to jump a girl’s bones the first chance he gets.”
When her friend merely snorted in replay, Morgan gave her a terse grin. “That means not all of us will get pregnant on the first date.”
“It was our second date,” Gayle corrected, throwing a large box of tampons into the cart. “Maybe you’re really better off with a gentleman, considering where my man has left me. The man I allowed to get to second base on our first date, to be precise.”
“That man helped you have four beautiful daughters, so stop whining.”
Gayle looked rather despondent all of a sudden. “But how am I supposed to raise four daughters on my own? I don’t think I can do that.”
Morgan put a hand on her hip. “You don’t have to raise them on your own. All you need to do is let Harry move back in. Everybody knows how much you guys love each other, so why are you still forcing him to sleep on his brother’s couch?”
“I just wanted to state my position very clearly.” She sniffled once. “The idiot needs to know he can’t just do whatever the hell he wants without consequences.”
“You sound like you’re trying to train a dog.”
“No offense,” Gayle said, grabbing two boxes of diapers and throwing them into the overflowing cart, “but dogs and men have more in common than you may think.”
“Do they now?” Morgan asked, amused.
Her friend nodded emphatically and pulled several boxes of wet wipes from a shelf. “Both would be lost if mommy didn’t provide them with food. Both are difficult to house-train. And both need to be ruled with an iron fist to be happy.”
Morgan snorted. “Why am I starting to pity Harry?”
“I’m serious!” Gayle snapped. “A dog is less work than a husband. But you’ll find out for yourself someday—at l
east, if your gentleman manages to kiss you on your next date.”
“Can you drop it already?” Morgan threw the large box of pads on top of the other purchases and pushed the cart down the aisle. “I have no idea why I told you about the date in the first place—considering the mood you’re in today.”
“My mood is just fine,” Gayle insisted.
“I can see that.” Morgan leaned forward and focused on entertaining the baby, who, luckily, didn’t yet know what her mother was talking about. When Morgan’s eyes lit on the selection of condoms, she grabbed a pack and threw it into the cart, next to the pads and wet wipes. “And yet, even though you consistently complain about Harry, you still let him get to whatever base he wants. The key to lasting happiness is contraception.”
“Yes, Mom,” her friend griped. “People don’t choose their libido, you know.”
Morgan didn’t reply to that and simply marched on with the cart, heading for the frozen food section, where she almost hit a man as he walked around the corner of an aisle.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I … Kyle? What are you doing here?”
His hair was mussed, but his smile was genuine, and he held a small bunch of bananas in his hand. “Morgan, hi,” he said, studying her with curiosity. “Nice to see you again.” He held up the fruit. “I just got off from work and needed some vitamins.”
Hoping he hadn’t overheard the embarrassing conversation she’d just had with Gayle, all she could muster was a timid “Ah.”
“So I take it you survived the dessert trauma?”
She registered in passing that her nerves were this bad only in his presence, but forced herself to remain calm enough to feign nonchalance. “I wouldn’t exactly call it a trauma.” But then she realized she should probably give him some sort of signal that it had actually been a very good date. “I really enjoyed the evening, Kyle,” she added softly.
His light-brown eyes lit up. “Yeah, me too. So you’re ready for tomorrow?”
A Matter of Trust (The Boston Five Series #5) Page 6