From Brooding Boss to Adoring Dad

by Dianne Drake

  “Pabla’s his guardian,” he explained to Erin. Then, to Tadeo, “Well, we’re about to fix that. This is called a stethoscope, and when I put it on your chest, I’ll be able to hear your heart beating.” He smiled up at Erin. “Unless ma’am Doc would rather I examine her first.”

  “Ma’am Doc is just fine without an examination,” Erin said, as little skittery goosebumps trotted their way up her arms. Something about seeing Coulson with pants cut well above his knees and an unbuttoned cotton shirt revealing a rather nicely bronzed, hairless chest was attracting attention from her she hadn’t known she had for him. He was all lean, in amazing proportions, and thinking about all that virility laying a hand to her chest, albeit a hand holding a stethoscope, shook her all the way down to her toes. “But thank you for asking,” she said, hoping her voice didn’t sound as unsteady as she suddenly felt.

  “And thank you for the stethoscope,” he replied, holding up the bell in salute. “I do appreciate this, Red, and just for you being so kind, I promise not to bother you about the hospital for the next twenty-four hours.”

  “A promise made before that you haven’t kept yet.”

  “Well, this time I’ll keep it.”

  She smiled. “I’ll believe that when I don’t hear it.”

  “You wound me, Red. When I make a promise, I always intend to keep it.” He arched playful eyebrows at her. “You’ll just have to keep reminding me.”

  Which would put them in closer proximity than she wanted. “Like I said before, Coulson. I’ll believe it when I don’t hear it.” She rubbed her arms, trying to fight back the multiplying goosebumps, cursing inwardly that he always did that to her.

  He winked at Tadeo, who smiled back at him. “One of the lessons you’re going to have to learn about women, Tadeo, is that no matter how hard you try to convince them, it’s never hard enough. They make you work for it.”

  “Why?” he asked, innocently.

  “Yes, Coulson. I’d like to hear why.”

  “That’s the nature of a woman,” he said, trying to keep a straight face.

  “Or is it the nature of a woman who’s trying to stand her ground against the nature of a man?”

  Tadeo, clearly bored with the repartee between the two, picked up the bell of the stethoscope and laid it to his belly. Adam quickly adjusted it, smiling at Erin. “I think he’s trying to tell us something.”

  “Out of the mouths of babes.” The air between them was practically sparking and it totally confounded her how an innocent conversation over nothing could turn into something else. But it had. One wink, one arch of the eyebrow and she had been seduced.

  “Babes who have other things on their minds,” he said, inserting the earpieces. “Now, Tadeo, this isn’t going to hurt at all. All I’m going to do is listen. Nothing’s going to poke you.” Bell to the chest, he started to listen. Looked up at Erin. “Nice,” he murmured. “Excellent resonance.” He moved the bell a couple of times, nodding, listening.

  Amazing, Erin thought, how something taken so for granted in the medical world was so important. She’d never thought about a stethoscope. There’d always been one around. Her father’s. Then hers. And Adam was acting like a child on Christmas morning over a simple thing.

  “Can I hear?” Tadeo asked, shyly.

  “Just a minute,” he said absently. Then moved the bell to another location. “I think ma’am Doc should get to listen next, since she’s the one who gave me the stethoscope.”

  Normally, she didn’t share earpieces. Always used her own stethoscope or swabbed the one she was going to use if it wasn’t hers, but something odd in Adam’s expression caused her to break her own rule. So, without a word, she bent down, took the stethoscope from him and had a listen. “When you were born,” she asked casually, “was it at home, or in a hospital?”

  Tadeo shrugged.

  Erin glanced up at Adam, whose face had drained of most of its color. Then she mouthed the word “murmur.”

  He nodded. “Tadeo, how about I let you listen to your heart a little later? I need to go over to the clinic for a while, see if I have any patients, check some supplies …”

  “OK,” Tadeo agreed. “But can I stay here on the boat?”

  “'Fraid not, sport. You know what I’ve told you about not getting up on the boat when I’m not here with you. That’s the rule you can’t break. But here’s what we’re going to do. Come to the clinic later on, and I’ll let you listen to your heart, and to mine. OK?” He nodded sideways at Erin. “And maybe she can show you some other medical tests she likes to do. Sound good to you?”

  Obviously not as good as working on the boat, but Tadeo agreed, then scampered down over the side and ran off through a thicket of palms toward his house. Adam watched him for a minute then finally turned to face Erin. “I’d say it’s at least a three, maybe a four. And he was resting.” Heart murmurs were graded on a system of one through six, with one being the weakest, six being the strongest. “Damn it to hell, I work with the kid almost every day. Have meals with him, play with him. How could I have not known?”

  “Because he’s your friend, not your patient. And his guardian hasn’t taken him to see a doctor. He probably wasn’t born in a hospital, so he didn’t get diagnosed then. So don’t beat yourself up about this, Coulson. It’s not like you can even hear a heart murmur when you’re not listening to his chest.”

  He slammed his fist on the deck rail. “Son of a … I haven’t seen symptoms, Red. Not a damn one.”

  “And he may not have symptoms. You know as well as I do that most childhood heart murmurs are innocent. They don’t cause problems, and kids outgrow them. I’ve treated dozens of kids with innocent heart murmurs, none of them ever had any consequences and, as a matter of fact, none of them have ever shown any outward symptoms.”

  “But what if it’s not innocent?”

  “That’s a huge leap at this point. Right now I’d suggest we get him diagnosed properly. Take him into the hospital at Port Wallace, get a chest X-ray, some blood work done, an EKG, maybe an echocardiogram, depending on the results of everything else.” She knew Adam felt horrible but a heart murmur often signified nothing. It was a noise that the blood made as it flowed through the heart. When she described the condition to parents, she likened it to the noise water made when it flowed through a hose, telling them that these noises were easily heard in children because their hearts were very close to their chest walls. Then she’d reassure them that heart murmurs were common and that, in fact, age and physical growth usually took care of them. Especially when it was what was commonly called an innocent or functional heart murmur.

  Naturally, some murmurs indicated more serious problems, but she never made that leap without tests. Adam, however, was already making that leap. She could see it in his face. “Why don’t you go talk to his guardian, get her permission for more testing, make sure she knows she’s welcome to come along with us, then we’ll both take Tadeo to the public hospital? ”

  “What if it’s not innocent?” he asked, turning his back to her and standing, wide-stanced, where he could look out over the ocean. His hand visored his eyes from the sun, his normally-squared shoulders slumped. “What if he’s got a stenosis, a leak, or, God forbid, a hole? What then?”

  “We’ll fix it.”

  “It’s not that easy out here, Red. I know you’ve got all kinds of good, probably impossible, intentions with your children’s hospital, but those rose-colored glasses don’t work out here in the middle of nowhere.”

  “I know Jamaica, Coulson.”

  He spun to face her. “Because you were a tourist here a few times, and you fell in love with the conch fritters and the gauze skirts they sell in the tourist shops? Is that how you know Jamaica? ”

  “I know it through my father.”

  “That’s right. He was the one who brought you on vacation here, wasn’t he? Probably to see your affluent godfather?”

  She knew he was angry. And she wasn’t going to provo
ke him because he felt bad enough as it was. But his characterization of her wasn’t fair. Not at all. “My father was born in Jamaica, in a small town called Alligator Pond. Ever hear of it?”

  She could tell by his face that he had. “My grandmother owned a fishing business there. She and my grandfather started with nothing and made a success of it. And that’s what my father comes from, not the tourist side of the island. So when you say I don’t know the island, you’re right in some ways. I’ve never lived here. But I know it through my father, and I know the difficulties ahead for Tadeo if his heart murmur turns out to be serious. I also know there’s hope here for him.”

  “Who are you, Red? Who are you, really?”

  “By parentage, I am Jamaican. The daughter of a Jamaican. The daughter of Algernon Glover.”

  That one caught him by surprise. “Dr Algernon Glover?”

  Erin nodded. “Dr Algernon Glover.”

  “Aren’t you just full of surprises? Goddaughter of Serek Harrison … daughter of the legendary Algernon Glover.”

  “And what’s that supposed to mean?” she asked. She was used to the stares, to the comments people made behind her back. Her father had gone to hell and back because it hadn’t been seemly to adopt her. Single black man adopting a sickly white girl … the odds had been stacked against them. But none of it mattered because her father hadn’t given up on her then, and because of that she was here now, fighting with Adam Coulson.

  “What it’s supposed to mean is that things are different now. Before, when I was fighting Erin Glover for that thing I said I wouldn’t talk about, I was fighting a naive doctor with an impractical dream. Then you threw Serek Harrison and his wife into the mix and I’ll admit that’s when I started to worry that my odds were insurmountable. Because, Red, I thought that, at some point, you’d give up and I’d buy that unspeakable thing back. I’ve made no secret of that. But now that I’m fighting the daughter of Algernon Glover.”

  “Why does it have to be a fight? I thought we were past that.”

  “You’re past it. I’m not.”

  “Can we get over that hump, Coulson? Or will it always pop out, always come back to jab me? Because I don’t want it to be this way. Because we’re neighbors now. I’m staying and you’re not going. And we’re going to have medical interests in common. But it’s not up to me to change anything between us because I’m not the one having the problem.”

  “Look, Red, I’m sorry. Giving it up doesn’t come easy for me, as you’re seeing. Ask my ex-wife. I was holding on tenaciously even after the ink had dried on the divorce document, still fighting to keep a little piece of that dream even when I knew it was dead.”

  “Because you loved her that much?”

  He shook his head. “Because I’m that stubborn. I don’t like to give up. It’s my nature. I hate quitting on anything.”

  She laughed. “So you would have held on to a bad marriage because you were stubborn?”

  “Actually, I would have held on to some of the marital assets. But let’s just say that split wasn’t exactly equitable.”

  “You mean she took you?”

  He cringed. “Lock, stock and barrel. But, in her defense, I suppose she was entitled. I was using marital assets to fund some of my medical ventures here. Didn’t ask her, just did it. I assumed she’d feel the same way about it as I did, but I was wrong. And she accused me of leaving her out of important decisions, which I did. Good intentions, bad outcome. But the breakdown was already in the works. She was corporate medicine and I was … all this, and pretty damned stubborn on top of it.” He gestured to the area around him. “No excuses, but this was me, heart and soul, from the first time I set foot on the island and saw that I could truly make a difference here. Anyway, I don’t think we knew that about each other when we got married, and over time, when the honeymoon was over and our real desires came out, I think I just found it easier to skip the communication since we really didn’t agree on much of anything. That’s the simplified version of a very complicated situation but, whatever the case, what had started so well ended badly and I’ll admit I get a good bit of the blame for the failure.”

  “Like you’re going to take a good bit of the blame for being so stubborn with me?”

  “You don’t give up, do you, Red?” he asked, laughing.

  “Well, I’ve been accused of being stubborn, too. I’ll admit it.” She arched playful eyebrows. “But not too emphatically. In the meantime, I’d suggest we take our stubborn selves over to Tadeo’s guardian and have a talk with her about his condition. I’ll feel better when we can have him properly diagnosed.”

  “You don’t have to be involved in this.”

  She shrugged. “I already am. Something about a child in need gets me every time.”

  But things didn’t go as well with Pabla Reyes as they’d hoped for. “No doctors,” she said, folding vehement arms across her chest. “Don’t believe in them, don’t want them, don’t have the money to pay for them. Don’t like them interfering in something that’s none of their business. Since Tadeo has done fine all this time, with this so-called murmur, I’m not changing things now.”

  Erin looked at Adam, not sure what to do. They’d been there ten minutes already, and Miss Reyes didn’t seem the least bit concerned about what they’d told her. Erin had stated her case, done everything short of begging on her hands and knees, and every word was falling on deaf and extremely hostile ears. Pabla Reyes reminded Erin of her own parents. They hadn’t wanted to pay for her medical care, hadn’t wanted to deal with a sick child, which had turned into refusing to get her medical help. As hard as it was to believe, it happened. The social services systems were full of sick kids who’d been abandoned by parents who couldn’t, or wouldn’t, cope. From what she’d been told about her own parents years later, they weren’t poor. More likely, they hadn’t wanted the inconvenience. So one day they’d simply dropped her off at a nursing home. Literally checked her in, said they’d be back to see her the next day, and never returned. She’d waited … days, weeks, months, and nothing.

  It hadn’t been a bad facility, all things considered. But it hadn’t been a facility meant for a child who had been so sick, so scared. She knew that anguish, still felt it. Felt a little of it now, for Tadeo, because if his condition turned out to be more than innocent … “Look, if you change your mind about this, come and tell us. OK? The only thing we want to do here is help Tadeo.”

  “But you said it might be nothing,” Pabla Reyes argued. “Which means you don’t know, and I’m not doing anything about something you don’t know.”

  “And she also said it might be something,” Adam argued back.

  “Would if make any difference to you if I offered to pay for everything?” Erin asked.

  “You think I don’t take good care of the boy?”

  Now Erin was fighting to keep her opinion to herself because she didn’t know what kind of a caregiver Pabla Reyes was, but from where she was standing at this moment Miss Reyes wasn’t looking all that good. “What I think is that the tests are a simple thing, and I’d hoped you’d be anxious to know the results.”

  “Trinique never said anything about this murmur,” the woman contended.

  “Trinique owns a bar. She’s not a nurse or a doctor.”

  Pabla pointed an accusatory finger at Adam. “And that one works at the bar, too. And calls himself a doctor but he can’t even pour a decent rum.”

  Adam took hold of Erin’s arm with the purpose of tugging her toward the door. She knew that. Which was why she shrugged away from him. Suddenly this argument with Pabla was becoming personal. It reminded her of all the fights she’d overheard her parents have. And the fights her social worker, Mrs Meecham, had had with them as well. Bad days leading up to the day they’d abandoned her. Days she didn’t want to remember, but Pabla’s refusal was dredging up the old memories, which was bringing out the fight in her. “He’s a very good doctor … a doctor who cares a great deal for Tadeo.�
��

  Pabla turned her attention to Adam. “He’s not yours to be concerned with, Doctor, and I want you to stay away from him. If you don’t, I’ll call the authorities.”

  “Call them,” Adam snapped. “And while you’re at it, tell them you’re the one who’s refusing Tadeo medical care. Tell them you’re the child’s guardian who doesn’t give a—”

  This time Erin was the one who tried getting the two of them out of there. Grabbing Adam’s arm, she tugged, met with resistance, and tugged harder. Hard enough to catch his attention and, once that was caught, she nodded toward the door. Put on the sternest face she had, and hoped it was enough. Because she was angry, Adam was angrier and who in the world knew what Pabla Reyes was other than downright wrong?

  “Think about it, Miss Reyes. Tadeo needs the tests, and we’ll see to all the arrangements.” Those were her last words, the end of her argument, and she felt totally defeated as she walked out the door. Walking slowly, hoping Pabla Reyes would have a change of heart before she and Adam were completely away from there. But that didn’t turn out to be the case. In fact, by the time she’d reached the front door, with Adam following close behind, Pabla Reyes had left the room.

  “Poor kid,” Adam muttered as they wandered along the sandy path, winding in and out of the palm trees. “I’ve always suspected it was bad for him here. Didn’t know how much. But with a guardian like that …”

  “Do you think she’ll change her mind?” Erin asked.

  “Who knows? I think it’s pretty clear she doesn’t want to be bothered, which would be fine if Tadeo didn’t have a heart murmur. But how the hell could anyone refuse him the tests when we’ve done everything but offered to have the equipment brought here?”

  “Maybe she’s scared. A lot of people avoid the inevitable by not admitting it.”

  “If it’s their own condition, I get that. I avoided the inevitable in my marriage for along time by not admitting what was going on around me. But this is an adult who has custody of a child with a medical condition, and it doesn’t matter how scared she is. It’s not about her.”