by Annie Rains
Her gaze flicked up to meet his. “Yes, but I don’t believe I’ve ever gotten the full tour.”
He reached back and turned the oven off. The steaks could wait. The vegetables could wait. He, on the other hand, couldn’t wait another second to get Krista naked and under him.
—
Krista snuggled into the warm body next to her. Even in her half-sleep state she heard herself sigh. If this was a dream, it was a good one and she didn’t want to wake up.
She and Noah had skipped dinner and gone straight to bed, and hadn’t left since. Judging by the bright stream of light on her face, it was morning now.
“Oh, crap!” Krista sat straight up in bed.
“What’s wrong?” Noah’s hand reached for her, rubbing the length of her arm.
She glanced around, searching the room. “What time is it?” There wasn’t a clock anywhere in sight.
“I’m not sure. Hold on.” Noah reached for his watch on the bedside table. “Dammit,” he muttered. “It’s after seven. Joey’s probably waiting for me on the Summerly. Probably sharpening his knife.”
“I thought you were a fisherman. You wake before the sun rises.”
“I always have. Until you.” He winked as he sat up and started reaching for his clothing.
Krista did the same. “I’m going to be late for work, which is not good. Karen just asked me to stand in as head nurse this week. I can’t walk in late on my first day.” She pulled her pants on and searched the floor for her bra.
“Looking for this?” Noah reached for her garment draped across the lamp shade. When they’d peeled each other’s clothing off last night, they hadn’t cared where they’d tossed it.
She tried to snatch it, but Noah swiped it back. “It’ll cost you a kiss.”
She huffed, but complied, melting as soon as their lips touched.
“That’s more like it. I enjoyed last night,” he said, running his hands through her hair.
“Me, too.” She pulled her bra from his hand and started hooking it behind her.
“Even though your brother will definitely make me shark food today. If you don’t hear from me by sunset, you’ll know what happened.”
Krista laughed, her nerves dissolving. She slid her feet into her sneakers. “Joey will have to wait because you still have to take me home. Now. I need to shower and get dressed ASAP.”
Noah grabbed his keys. “You could call in. Pretend like you’re sick.”
“I can’t. Adam was admitted again over the weekend.”
Noah’s face went serious. “Is he okay?”
“Just another respiratory infection. Because of his diagnosis, they’re a lot more serious for him, though. I promised him we’d play Legos together at lunch.” Playing with Adam was the reason she’d missed lunch yesterday, too. She’d be sure to at least grab something from the vending machines today.
“I hate to hear that. Tell him I’ll take him fishing again once he’s out.”
“Really?” She narrowed her eyes to look at him.
“Yeah, sure. I enjoyed having him on the boat the other day. It was kind of nice passing on my favorite pastime to someone else. And the kid is great.”
“I thought you didn’t like kids.”
Noah shook his head. “I never said that. I said kids didn’t like me.”
“And that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Adam asked about you yesterday.”
Noah glanced back as he led her off the boat toward the marina’s parking lot. “Yeah?”
“Um-hmm. He’ll be thrilled that you offered to take him on the boat again.” And she was thrilled, too. Noah had a much bigger domestic side than he realized, which fed into her hope. Maybe he wasn’t such a lost cause.
—
An hour later, Krista spilled off the elevator and onto the pediatric floor at 8:01 a.m. One minute late, but that wasn’t the end of the world. She’d traded fixing her hair and putting on makeup for punctuality. She walked straight to the coffeepot that was always brewing in the nurse’s lounge and poured herself a cup before heading back to the computer to check her caseload and patients’ statuses. The coffee here wasn’t anywhere near as good as that at the BB Café’s—and oy! She’d stood Grace up this morning. Grace would understand once she knew the reason was that Krista had spent the night with Noah.
A warm, gooey feeling flowed through her body at the memory. Whatever she and Noah had started at the Sawyer cabin had followed them back to Blushing Bay. And the sparks were even greater here than they’d been there.
Krista sat in front of her computer and reviewed Adam’s file first. She skimmed over the nursing notes from the night shift. Adam had slept well. No complications. Stable stats. Phew. She read the notes from her other patients after that. Overall, it sounded like a pretty calm night. Hopefully that calm would continue through the day because she’d lost several hours of sleep last night—all for a good cause.
Twenty minutes later, Krista peeked her head into Adam’s room. “Hey there, buddy. How’re you feeling?”
He shrugged, but his face said it all. No seven-year-old kid wanted to be caged up in a room, lying in bed and watching TV all day. She’d only had to stay in the hospital for a couple of weeks as a kid and remembered feeling like it was a year.
“Where’s your mom?”
He hung his head to his chest, puckering his bottom lip. “I don’t know. I think she went downstairs to eat.”
Krista forced a smile, hoping it reassured Adam. “Good. She needs to eat. How’s she supposed to take care of you if she’s starving to death?” She plopped down on the edge of the bedside chair.
“I’m tired of being taken care of. I wish I was an adult so I could take care of myself.”
Krista frowned. “Hate to break it to you, buddy, but that’s not always as fun as it sounds. Enjoy being a kid while you can. Speaking of enjoying yourself…” She sat up straighter in her seat. She’d nearly forgotten Noah’s offer. “When you get out of here, Mr. Noah said he’d take you back out on the boat.”
Adam’s whole face brightened. “Really?”
“Yep. He said so last night. Fishing sounds like a good reason to get better, doesn’t it?”
“Oh, yeah. I loved being out on the boat. It’s the best! Do you think I’ll catch the ‘big one’ this time?” Adam asked.
For a second, Adam reminded Krista of the boy that Noah had been, always so excited about going fishing and bringing home the next big tuna or mackerel or whatever he was searching for out there. Whatever he’d caught, it was never enough. Noah was always looking for something more. “You just might,” she said.
“Will you come along, too?”
Krista nodded. “I wouldn’t miss it.” She stood. “Now, if you excuse me, I have to go see my other patients. Just because you’re my favorite doesn’t mean I can hang out with you all day.”
“Ahhhh,” Adam whined, but he looked much happier. And mood affected health, no matter what some of the doctors believed. A sad kid took twice as long to get well in her experience.
“See you later, alligator.”
“After a while, crocodile,” he called back as she turned out of his room and headed down the hall. Adam’s mom was walking in her direction.
Krista waved. “Hey, I just left him. He seems to be doing much better.”
Mandy nodded. “Thank you for always taking such great care of him.”
Krista cocked her head. “You look like you’re doing pretty well yourself. That break must’ve done you good.”
Mandy blushed. She leaned in and whispered quietly to Krista. “I just got asked out for the first time in forever. I don’t even think of myself as an available woman anymore most of the time. I have too much responsibility.”
“Mandy, that’s great.” Krista hugged her clipboard to her. Something was in the air in Blushing Bay because everyone seemed to be finding love. Usually Krista would be a little jealous, but not this time.
Mandy shook her head sligh
tly. “He gave me his phone number, but I turned him down. I don’t have time right now with Adam and—”
“I told you I’d babysit a night or two for you. Of course you have time. And Noah and I want to take Adam back on the boat once he’s discharged, so there’s another chance for you to go out and see if there are sparks.”
Mandy’s eyes shined. “You really are a super nurse. You deserve a medal or something.”
Or the promotion to head nurse when Karen leaves, Krista thought.
“Just being a friend. Think about it. I can take him anytime.” And maybe Noah could even help her care for Adam. They got along fine and proving to Noah that he was good with children might kick his paternal instincts into gear.
Slow down, Krista. You just started dating…Even if she felt like they’d been together for years. She couldn’t help being all kinds of optimistic. It was finally happening for them, just when she’d given up. Everything was falling into place.
Chapter 15
After being late to the fishing boat yesterday, Noah had set an alarm clock to make sure that he and Krista got out of bed and to work on time this morning. She stirred under his covers as he hopped up.
Several minutes later, Krista reluctantly draped her legs over the bed, got up, and stumbled over his shoe on the floor. The movement sent her plowing into his chest. Beauty barked at the scene.
“Gotcha,” he said with a grin, not immediately letting her go. Maybe getting to the job on time was overrated. “Maybe you’re not quite ready to get out of bed yet,” he suggested.
“Ready or not I need to. I’m going to go home and shower, fix myself up, and make it to breakfast with Grace this morning,” Krista said, bending to give Beauty some love.
“Tell her hello for me,” Noah said.
“I will.” Krista straightened. “Oh, and Adam is being discharged today. I told him you’d take him out on the boat as soon as he flew the coop. Maybe this weekend?”
“Sure. The weather is supposed to be nice, I think.”
“Great. He’ll be so excited.” She pressed a kiss to Noah’s lips. “See you later.” Then she waved and disappeared out his front door. She’d driven herself here last night, so she had a car. Noah set to getting ready so he could catch up with Joey on the Summerly. It was still early, not even five a.m. He was now keeping lovers hours—which kept him up well into the night—and fisherman hours, which prodded him awake before sunrise. He yawned and stepped into the small shower. His houseboat had always seemed big enough, but after allowing Krista to stay over a few times, it’d starting shrinking in his mind. He bumped his elbow and cursed as he reached for the soap. His chest felt tight and he was feeling claustrophobic in his own home.
Ten minutes later, he and Beauty hopped in his Jeep and drove through darkness toward the marina where the Summerly was harbored. Sure enough, Joey was waiting for him on a bench that overlooked the water. They didn’t discuss the fact that Krista hadn’t gone home last night. They just offered each other a nod and walked aboard.
“Maybe today’s the day I’ll reel Mitsy in,” Noah said.
“A fish with a heart on its fin. I think you made that story up.” Joey pulled a Styrofoam cup of steaming coffee to his mouth and sipped.
“Yeah. I’m beginning to wonder if I did. Or if someone else caught her already.”
“That’s what happens if you leave her in the ocean.”
Noah turned the key and the boat roared to life. “I didn’t leave her there. She broke my line. Twice. Third time’s a charm, though. Next time I catch her, she’s not getting away.” Krista flitted across his mind. Even though he didn’t know what he was doing, he didn’t intend to let her get away, either.
—
“So you’re practically living at Noah’s now,” Grace said, sitting down at a table at the café with her muffin.
“I’ve stayed over twice. I wouldn’t call that living together. I’m not sure I could live in a houseboat anyway. I thought my townhome with Joey was small. Noah’s houseboat is barely the size of my living room.”
Grace took a bite of her muffin and shook her head. “Maybe, if this thing between you two continues, Noah will look into getting a real home.”
Krista rolled her eyes. “I seriously doubt that. Noah loves his houseboat. He’s always said that it’s perfect for him. No roots. He can drop his anchor anywhere he wants.”
“Well, maybe you’ll be the one to change all that.”
“Or we can have two separate places and go back and forth between them forever. Maybe I should move out of mine and Joey’s townhouse. I can’t really bring a guy back to my place with my brother sleeping across the hall. That’s weird. Especially when it’s Noah. Joey has always been so protective.”
“That’s the nature of family,” Grace said. “My mom is always complaining about my overprotectiveness with her.”
Krista bit into her own muffin. “How is she these days?”
The lines deepened on Grace’s forehead. “Good. She’s started a clinical trial for her Parkinson’s. The new medication seems to be making her feel a little better. She has more energy, which means she’s doing her best to ‘help’ with my wedding planning.” Grace framed the word help in air quotes.
Krista laughed. “Uh-oh.”
“Yeah. When my mom helps, it creates three times as much work for me. But if it makes her feel good, then so be it. I pretty much think everything is done at this point, though. I have my dress, if I still fit into it by our wedding date. We have our rings. And Abby is catering the refreshments, of course.”
“Of course.” Krista nodded.
“Jack’s cousin Emily is arranging the flowers.”
“Sounds like you’re all set. All you have to do now is show up and say ‘I do.’ Then head to the Sawyer cabin for a fabulous week of honeymooning.”
Grace lifted her shoulders and sighed dreamily.
“So, uh, do you think you and Jack can attend our little Friends-and-family-giving next weekend?”
“Of course we can make it. We wouldn’t miss it. Want me to help you set the office up? I do work there after all.”
“No, no, no,” Krista said quickly. This was as much about Thanksgiving as it was about celebrating Grace and Jack’s upcoming nuptials. “Noah and I want to do it ourselves. Thanks, though. Just show up. Say around one p.m.?”
Grace nodded and stood. “Wouldn’t miss it. Gotta head to work now. Even though I’m marrying the boss, I can’t afford to slack off. It was great catching up with you. Now that you’re part of a couple, I doubt we’ll see each other as much.”
Krista stood, too. “You’re the one getting married.”
“Oh, please. That’ll be even more reason for me to make it here to vent to you. I’m under no illusions. Being married to Jack is going to try my patience.”
Krista laughed. “At least you know what you’re getting into.” She, on the other hand, really didn’t have a clue what she was getting into with Noah.
—
At midday, Krista walked into Adam’s room. “Discharge day!”
“And this weekend you and Mr. Noah are taking me fishing?” he asked excitedly.
“That’s right.”
Krista noticed that Mandy was rosy-cheeked this morning. She wondered if she’d run into her mystery man down at the hospital cafeteria again.
“And Adam is more than welcome to come visit me some other night so you can take time for yourself,” Krista added with a wink.
“That would be so cool.” Adam jumped off his bed looking very different than the sick child he’d been just a few days earlier. Hopefully he’d stay well for a while.
“We’ll see.” Mandy reached for the clipboard that Krista held out to her. “I know the drill. Sign at the X’s and then we’re free to go.”
“Exactly. You’ve been here enough that I think you could probably take over my job if you wanted.”
“I don’t think I’d have the heart for this job. It takes
a special person.” Mandy scrawled her signature in several places and handed the clipboard back to Krista. “All done. Get your bag, buddy,” she said turning to the boy who was already heading to the door.
“Tell Mr. Noah that I want to catch a shark,” Adam said.
Krista’s eyes widened. “I’ll tell him, but I’m pretty sure we’ll be staying clear of Jaws this weekend.”
“Thank goodness,” Mandy said. “I’ll see you Saturday then?”
Krista nodded. “We’ll be out on the boat all day if you want to maybe call a certain number and make arrangements to go out.”
Mandy shrugged a shoulder. “I just might do that.”
After they’d gone, Krista headed to check on her other patients. A little girl with appendicitis. A boy who’d taken a fall out of a tree and broken his hip. Another little boy who’d stumbled upon a beehive and discovered that he was allergic to the ten plus stings he’d gotten.
“Krista,” one of the nurses called as she was heading out of the last child’s room. “There’s a parent that wants to talk to the head nurse. Since Karen is on vacation and she put you in charge…”
Krista lowered her voice. “An upset parent?” she asked.
The nurse, Evelyn, raised both brows. “You could say that. The very reason I would never want to be in charge. I hate conflict.”
Krista wasn’t fond of it herself. “I’ll take care of it,” she said.
“Room 204. Good luck.” Evelyn walked off.
Taking a deep breath, Krista trudged in that direction. Even though she didn’t like conflict, in her experience people didn’t want to stay mad. They wanted their needs met, and if she could meet this parent’s needs and expectations, she would.
A thin, pale woman with dry straw-like hair turned as Krista entered room 204. Her lips were pinched tight and her eyes were large and, yeah, angry. A little tremor of anxiety quaked through Krista’s body.
“Hi, I’m Krista Nelson. I’m the head nurse on the floor this week. I was told you wanted to discuss something.”