by Linda Turner
“He’s fine,” Reilly said gruffly, smiling as he took her hand and patted it reassuringly. “He came through the surgery with flying colors.”
He’d only meant to reassure her. But instead of throwing herself into his arms in relief, as he half expected, she burst into tears.
“Mom? My God, what is it?”
“Didn’t you hear Dr. Jones? Dan made it through the surgery.”
“He’s going to be okay.”
As shocked as her children by her sudden meltdown, Sara nodded, wiping ineffectually at her damp cheeks. “I’m sorry,” she sniffed. “I didn’t mean to fall apart on you. I was just so afraid. If something had happened—”
Swallowing the sudden lump in her throat, her throat squeezed tight just at the thought of losing Dan, and she found it impossible to finish her sentence. Reilly, however, seemed to understand. Giving her hand a gentle squeeze, he smiled into her swimming eyes and said gruffly, “It’s okay. I was worried, too. If he’d been anywhere else but right here in town when the attack hit him, he might not have made it.”
“But he’s going to be fine?” she asked worriedly. “You’re sure?”
“I’d stake my career on it,” he said simply.
Her eyes searching his, Sara couldn’t doubt his sincerity. He meant every word. Relieved, she sighed, releasing the fear that had held her in its tight-fisted grip for the past five hours. “Thank you,” she said thickly, and had to laugh when tears once again flooded her eyes. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be such a crybaby. I’m just so glad he’s okay. Can I see him?”
“Tomorrow,” he promised. “He’s still in recovery.”
“Oh, but I wanted to stay the night!”
She had, in fact, planned to be right there by Dan’s side every time he opened his eyes, but his doctor had other ideas. “He made it through the surgery, Sara, but he’s got a long way to go before he’s back on his feet again. He’s going to need you in the days and weeks to come, so you need your rest, too.”
Put that way, there was little she could say in the way of an argument. He was right and they both knew it. Still, she asked, “Can I at least let him know I’ll be back in the morning? It won’t take a second. I don’t want to leave without telling him good-night.”
For a minute she thought he was going to tell her no, and she had to respect him for that. His number-one priority was Dan, and he was looking out for his welfare above all others—which was, no doubt, why he was such a good doctor. He put his patients first.
She wasn’t asking for much, however, just a chance to see him and reassure herself that he really was all right.
And Reilly, thankfully, realized that. “Thirty seconds,” he said. “Then you need to go home and go to bed.”
Grinning, she impulsively hugged him. “I’m glad he has you on his side,” she whispered. “Thank you.”
“Me, too,” he whispered back, touched. “Now get out of here before I change my mind.”
He didn’t have to tell her twice. With her sons at her side, she hurried out of the waiting room. Janey, staying behind for a moment, said quietly, “Thank you for that. This has really thrown her. If anything happened to Dan, I don’t think she’d be able to stand it.”
“She loves him.”
Not sure if he was asking her or telling her, Janey smiled. “She’s always thought of him as just a friend. The day she wakes up and realizes how she really feels about him should be quite interesting.”
Amused, he said, “If I was a betting man, I’d say that day’s not far off, if her reaction today was anything to go by. I guess I don’t have to tell you Dan’s crazy about her, too.”
“I know,” Janey replied. “That’s what makes it so perfect.” Reilly’s smile died at that, and Janey didn’t have to read his mind to know that he had to be thinking about his wife. Don’t! she wanted to cry. Don’t get that sad look in your eyes. But it was too late. She’d already lost him to the past.
Regret squeezing her heart, she forced a smile. “Well, I guess I should catch up with the rest of the family—they’ll be wondering where I am. I just wanted to thank you for being so understanding with Mom. And for taking care of Dan.”
Quietly wishing him good-night, she hurried out and couldn’t for the life of her understand why she was suddenly so sad.
Over the course of the next few days, word of Dan’s surgery spread throughout the county, and the phone at the office never seemed to stop ringing. Worried about Dan themselves, Krista and the rest of the office staff juggled the phones and tried to reassure worried patients who were no longer sure who their doctor was.
“No, Dr. Michaels hasn’t retired,” Krista said patiently into the phone as Reilly quickly pulled on his lab coat the third morning after the surgery. “He should be back in the office in about six weeks. Yes, Dr. Jones is here. He’ll be seeing all of Dr. Michaels’s patients while he’s recovering from his surgery. We’re still running a little behind schedule, but we’re asking all patients to come in at their appointed times. That’s right, dear. We’ll see you at eleven.”
Hanging up, she rolled her eyes at Reilly. “I hope you had your Wheaties this morning, Doctor. It’s going to be a zoo again today.”
That proved to be an understatement of gargantuan proportions. Not wasting any time, Reilly saw his first patient ten minutes before her appointed time and was off schedule the rest of the day. Everyone wanted to know about Dan, of course, and his prognosis, and although that was something Reilly would have never discussed with anyone in L.A., he could hardly refuse to do that in Liberty Hill. Dan was like family to every one of his patients, and they were truly worried about him. Some of them even came in in tears, concerned that he was dying, and it was all Reilly could do to convince them that Dan really was going to be fine.
That took time, of course, and with twice as many patients to see as he normally did, he didn’t have a prayer of getting back on schedule. He didn’t even try. As Krista had predicted, the place was a zoo, and all he could do was take the influx of patients one by one and give them the time they needed to get to know him and talk about Dan.
It was going on noon when he grabbed the chart for the patient in examining room three and stepped inside to find himself face-to-face with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life. Tall and decidedly pregnant, she had the striking features of a model and a face that looked more than a little familiar, though Reilly would have sworn he’d never met her before in his life.
Frowning, he studied her delicate features, the sweep of her brow and her deep-blue eyes, and suddenly he realized he’d seen an older version of that face just last night. “You’re Sara McBride’s daughter! And Nick’s wife.”
Smiling, she didn’t deny it. “Everyone says I look just like Mom, but I think Janey’s the one who got her pretty smile.” Holding out her hand, her blue eyes twinkled up into his. “I’m Merry Kincaid. You must be Dr. Jones. I’m sorry I didn’t get to meet you when you moved into Nick’s cabin, but Dan has me on bed rest, so I’ve been sticking close to home. I’ve heard a lot about you, though.”
“I won’t put you on the spot by asking if it was all good,” he said dryly. “I guess you know, though, that I acted like a jerk to your sister when she tried to welcome me to town.”
“So I heard,” she retorted. “Did you apologize?”
He had to give her credit—she didn’t beat around the bush. But then again, neither did Janey. It had to be a family trait. “Yes, I did,” he replied. “She didn’t make it easy for me, but I can’t blame her for that. I acted like a jackass. It won’t happen again.”
Her eyes searching his, she couldn’t miss his sincerity. “Good,” she said, satisfied. “See that it doesn’t. So how’s Dan doing? I talked to Janey last night, and she said he’s progressing nicely, thanks to you.”
“He was lucky,” he said modestly. “If his recovery goes as expected, he should be back to work in six weeks.” Glancing through her chart, he looked
up and smiled. “Just about your due date, right?”
“So you think he’ll be back in time to deliver the baby?” she asked eagerly. “Not that I don’t want you to do it,” she quickly amended, “but Dan’s always been my doctor and this is my first baby and I’m a little bit nervous—”
That was more than a little obvious. Amusement glinting in his eyes, Reilly said gently, “I understand, Merry. You don’t have to apologize. Dan is your doctor, and it’s only natural that you want him to deliver your baby. If it’s possible I know he’ll be there for you. If he can’t, though, I’ll be happy to step in for him.
“And you don’t have to worry that I’m an amateur just because I’m a heart surgeon,” he assured her. “At one time I considered specializing in obstetrics, so I have plenty of experience delivering babies. I won’t let you down if the baby decides to check in early.”
Relieved, Merry felt tears well in her eyes and could do nothing but wipe them away as they spilled over her lashes and trailed down her cheeks. “I’m sorry,” she choked out, flashing him a watery smile that unknowingly reminded him of Janey. “I’m okay. Really. I’m just so weepy. The least little thing seems to set me off these days. It’s driving poor Nick crazy. Every time he so much as looks at me crooked, I blubber like a baby.”
From what he’d seen of Nick Kincaid, Reilly doubted that he’d have any trouble consoling a tearful, very pregnant wife. “Your hormones are on a roller coaster right now, but they should even out once you have the baby. Just be patient. In another six weeks, Dan’ll be back to work, you’ll have the baby, and then the real fun begins. Life’ll never be the same.”
He’d seen first-time mothers who were scared to death at the thought that their baby was going to change their life, but not Merry McBride. Her blue eyes shining with excitement, she was practically glowing at the thought of holding her baby in her arms. “I can’t wait. I just hope Dan will be there to share it with us.”
“He’s in good shape for a man his age,” he assured her. “I’m not expecting any problems.”
After all, Dan had breezed through the surgery without a single problem. Now all Dan had to do was rest and give himself time to heal. How difficult could that be? Most patients welcomed the opportunity to lie around and recuperate, especially the hard workers like Dan. A vacation, even if it was spent mostly in bed, had to sound pretty appealing.
Or so Reilly thought until he stopped by the hospital later that evening and discovered that he wasn’t, unfortunately, like most other patients. The second Reilly stepped into his room, Dan sighed in relief. “Good. There you are. Now you can see about getting me out of here. I tried to get Janey to do something, but she’s been stubborn.”
Seated next to her mother in one of the chairs at the foot of the bed, Janey only grinned. “You know I can’t do that, Dan. Only Reilly can release you.”
When he snorted at that, clearly displeased, Reilly struggled to hide a grin. “She’s right and you know it.” Nodding a greeting at the McBride women, he said dryly, “I guess I don’t have to ask if he’s been giving you a hard time.”
“Oh, that’s putting it mildly,” Janey retorted, tattling on him without a qualm. “He actually wanted me to forge your signature. Can you believe it? I was shocked! I always thought he was one of those fine, upstanding citizens who never even so much as jaywalked. Boy, was I wrong!”
Far from embarrassed that he’d been found out, Dan grumbled, “You don’t have to act as if I’m some kind of ax murderer or something. I just want to go home.”
A smile tugging at her lips, Sara said, “Now, Janey, everyone knows what awful patients doctors are. It must be something they learn in medical school.”
“It is not!” Dan growled.
“Then you’re just naturally grumpy when you’re not feeling well,” she said soothingly, unperturbed. “It’s okay, dear. We forgive you.”
Torn between frustration and amusement, Dan had to laugh. “See what I have to put up with,” he complained to Reilly with a mock frown. “I could have died the other night, but do I get any sympathy? Nooo! No one cares about me. They just come to visit so they can torture me. They couldn’t do that if I was at home.”
“I don’t know why not,” Janey drawled. “We can visit you there just as easily as we can here.”
Fighting a smile, he struggled to hang on to his scowl. “But I could rest there. I can’t do that here.”
“You know it’s too soon for that, Dan,” Reilly said quietly, his smile fading. “You live alone. What if you needed help during the middle of the night?”
“I won’t.”
“You can’t know that.”
“Then I’d call an ambulance—”
“You might be too weak to get to the phone.”
“I’ll sleep with the damn thing. Anything to get out of here. The nurses are coming in every thirty minutes to poke me with a needle or take my blood pressure, and it’s driving me crazy! How am I supposed to rest and regain my strength when I can’t get any sleep?”
Sympathetic, Reilly could well understand his frustration, but he was caught between a rock and a hard place. “Look, I wish I could help you, but the only way I can consider it is if you hire yourself a nurse. If you get in trouble during the middle of the night, you’ve got to have someone there to help you.”
Sara exchanged a speaking glance with Janey, then said quietly, “There is another option. He could come home with me and stay in the downstairs guest room. Since I don’t work, I could watch over him during the day, and Janey would be there to handle any problems that might crop up during the night.”
It was a logical solution, but Reilly still wasn’t comfortable releasing Dan so soon after surgery. Hesitating when the older man looked at him expectantly, he said, “I don’t know. I still think it’s too soon. Janey works rescue—”
“I only work Tuesdays and Thursdays, and then, only until midnight,” Janey said. “If you think that’ll be a problem, I’m sure Red Hawkins would be willing to sub for me for the next couple of weeks. All I have to do is ask him.”
“If there’s going to be a problem, it’ll crop up before next week,” he retorted.
“So I’ll just take the next week off and be home every night this week. If you release him in the morning, that’ll give him another full night in the hospital. All you have to worry about then is the days, and Mom’ll watch him like a hawk. If he so much as blinks wrong, she’ll call an ambulance.”
It was a logical solution, one that would probably work. Reluctantly he gave in. “I’d feel better if he spent at least two more days in the hospital, but,” he added when Dan began to scowl, “I know he’d be more comfortable at Sara’s.”
“So?” the older man asked when he once again hesitated. “What’s it gonna be? Are you releasing me or not?”
“All right,” he sighed. “I’ll agree to an early release in the morning—”
“Thank God!”
“As long as you stay at Sara’s and I can drop by there every evening after work to check on your progress,” he continued without missing a beat. “If you have the slightest twinge—I don’t care if it’s in the middle of the night and you think you dreamed the whole damn thing—I want to hear about it. Got it?”
Satisfied, Dan grinned broadly. “Got it.”
Dan wasn’t grinning nearly so broadly the next morning, however, when Sara arrived to pick him up at the hospital. Just moving from his bed to the wheelchair an orderly brought for him to ride to the front entrance wore him out. Pale and drawn, he hardly had the strength to stand as Sara pulled up in the drive next to him.
Alarmed, she hurried around to help him as he struggled to open the door to the car. “Wait! Let me help you! Oh, Dan, are you sure you shouldn’t stay another day?” she asked worriedly as he let her assist him into the front passenger seat. “You’ve got no business being out of bed.”
“I’m fine,” he assured her faintly as he leaned his head back against th
e headrest and closed his eyes. “I just need to catch my breath.”
Frowning, Sara wasn’t buying that. “What you need is to get back in that chair and let me wheel you back into the hospital. You’re weak as a kitten.”
“I’ll be fine as soon as I get to your house.”
She wanted to argue. Damn him, what was he doing? Trying to kill himself? Last night, when she’d suggested he could recuperate at her house, it had seemed like a good idea. Now she wasn’t so sure. He wasn’t nearly as strong as she’d thought he was.
Hesitating, she studied his pale face and wasn’t at all happy with what she saw. He didn’t look like he had the energy to spit, let alone walk up the short flight of stairs to her front porch. “Maybe I should call Reilly. I’m not sure you can make it up the porch steps to the front door.”
Forcing his eyes open, he smiled tiredly and took her hand. “Don’t worry so,” he chided softly. “I’m not going to die on your front steps. I’ll just need a little help getting up them. Don’t make me go back in there, Sara. I want to go home—either to your house or mine, but not the hospital. Please?”
She was a strong woman who could stand firm when she had to, but she couldn’t resist that “please.” Not when he could barely hold his head up and she’d come so close to losing him. “All right,” she sighed, giving in with a tremulous smile. “But if you die on me, I’m never going to forgive you!”
Chuckling, he only squeezed her hand and closed his eyes with a tired sigh.
She tried to miss the worst of the bumps in the road on the drive home, but the ranch roads weren’t the smoothest in the world, and it was impossible to miss every pothole. Dan groaned more than once, but there was little she could do except ease over the worst spots and get him home as quickly as possible.
“Thank God,” she said when her house finally came into view. “Just a few more minutes and you can lie down,” she promised him. “I’ve already got the bed in the guest room ready. All we have to do is get you inside.”
She was chattering—she knew it, but there didn’t seem to be anything she could do about it. She told herself it was because she was worried about him, but when she came around the car and slipped her arm around him to help him out of the vehicle, the pounding of her heart had nothing to do with worry. Startled, she froze as her eyes flew to his.