by Heather Gray
His tanned skin hid it well, as did that scruff of a beard, but the rosy hint of color on his neck gave away Caleb’s blush.
“What can I say? I’m a simple country boy at heart.”
If that was what boys were like where he came from, she’d be afraid to meet a man.
“Your mom told me a little about your background, but she didn’t mention where you’re from. I hear the South when you talk, but I can’t pinpoint a location.”
Caleb stretched his legs and crossed them at the ankles. “I grew up in Tennessee, but I’ve lived in Texas the last decade or so. Until recently.”
Lily kept her words soft as she got out the glucose meter. “What brought you all the way from Texas to our metropolis?”
His shoulders dropped the tiniest bit, and he began adjusting the watchband on his wrist.
Did people still wear watches? Obviously, but everybody in her circle checked the time on their phones.
“My dad died, and Ma was all alone. Dad would have wanted me to look after her. He wasn’t old. I thought I’d be dealing with nursing homes before I ever faced a funeral. They married young, though, and she’d spent every day since fussing over him and making sure he was taken care of. She was lost without him, and… I guess I was worried about her.”
Lily heard what he didn’t say. He’d been lost, too.
“I’m sorry for your loss. The death of a parent is hard.”
His head dipped in agreement. “I’ve been told losing someone suddenly is harder than a long illness where you get a chance to say goodbye and make your peace.”
Lily frowned. “Those long illnesses take their toll on people, too. I think if you talked to some of the people who’ve lost loved ones that way, they might tell you sudden is better.”
He clasped his hands in his lap. “The grass is always greener on the other side…?”
“I was at a tent revival once when I was a kid. The preacher said that when the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, check the neighbor’s sewer for a leak.”
Laughter burst to life in Caleb’s eyes, though he kept his voice soft in deference to his mom’s slumber. “Sounds like a wise man.”
Lily had never seen anyone so still. Most men stuck in these hospital rooms with a loved one fidgeted, played on their phones, or made constant trips to the coffee machine. Caleb, in contrast, seemed content to simply be there for his mom.
Pulling her eyes away from him, she returned to the task at hand and used a soothing voice. “Mrs. Graham, I need to check your blood sugar. Feel free to sleep through this if you’d like. You’re going to experience a little poke right about now.”
The patient stirred and opened her eyes.
“Sorry about that. I’d hoped it wouldn’t wake you. How are you doing?” Lily collected the sample and blotted the site with some sterile gauze before putting the test strip into the meter.
“I’m fine. Is it a little warm in here?”
“I’m not a very good judge of temperature bundled up in these scrubs the way I am. I feel like I’m ready for a snowstorm in the middle of summer.” Lily walked over to the thermostat and nudged it down a couple degrees. The afternoon sun hitting the curtainless windows could make the best air conditioner struggle to keep up.
Mrs. Graham shrugged. “People in the hall were talking… That man lost his arm, didn’t he?”
Patients heard things in ICU. It was inevitable. Lily wished that one had been avoided, though. Mr. Miller shouldn’t have woken up the way he did. Not that waking up was the actual problem. The manner in which he’d done so was what troubled her. She sidestepped a direct answer to Mrs. Graham’s question. “It was a work accident.”
“It’s going to cost him his livelihood, isn’t it?” The older woman sounded worried.
“I don’t know about that, but if it does, Worker’s Comp is a good stop-gap. We can help him recuperate physically, and as soon as he’s able, counselors will talk to him and aid with the emotional recovery, too. Our team will do everything it can to make sure he’s okay.”
Caleb’s inquiry came from behind her. “Doesn’t he have anybody? I mean, I only passed a couple rooms on my way to the coffee, but I was surprised at how few of them had visitors.”
Lily was used to the question and the answer rolled off her tongue without thought. “Not everybody can be here during the day. We get more people coming and going in the evening as people leave work, and the waiting room is packed all weekend long as people wait their turn to visit their loved ones. Most patients in ICU aren’t allowed constant visitors, either. Your uniform won you some points at the front desk, or you’d be cooling your heels in the waiting room, too.”
With practiced ease, Lily ejected the test strip from the glucose meter and recorded the number.
“How’s her blood sugar doing?” Caleb moved fluidly to the next subject.
“Her numbers are leveling off when we need them to keep coming down.” Turning back to the patient, she inquired, “What do you say to some fresh water? This one’s been sitting here a while.”
Mrs. Graham nodded.
Lily smiled at her and rested her hand on her patient’s. “You’re going to be fine. We’ll get your blood sugar whipped into shape in no time. Rest easy. I’ll be right back with that water.”
“What about his family? Will they be here soon?” Mrs. Graham’s eyes drifted to the wall between her and Mr. Miller, sadness swirling in their grey depths. “People from my church could come sit with him so he’s not alone.”
Halfway to the door, Lily pivoted back to face the bed. “That’s kind of you to offer, but policy is family only. The ICU social worker is tracking down his wife so she can be notified. There are some hoops to jump through before her employer will let us speak with her, but our social worker is an experienced hoop-jumper. She’ll find a way to let his wife know what’s happened. Then I’m sure she’ll get here as soon as she can.”
Mrs. Graham accepted her answer but didn’t seem all that satisfied with it.
Intent on getting that water, Lily pivoted again toward the door.
“Don’t mind Ma. She needed a whole houseful of kids to mother, but she ended up with only me. So she vents her frustration by trying to mother the rest of the world.”
Lily snorted. “I’m pretty sure you were more than enough to keep her busy from sunup till sundown.”
That hadn’t been out loud, had it?
“She’s got you there, son.” Mrs. Graham’s voice chased Lily down the hall.
Yep. Of course she’d uttered the thought out loud. Oy. So much for professional detachment.
Caleb couldn’t tear his eyes away as Lily speed-walked down the hallway.
When he swung back toward the bed, he caught the light in his mom’s eyes.
She tried to feign innocence but fell short by a mile. “You like her, don’t you?”
“Ma, I hardly know her.”
This time his mom snorted. “It’s a miracle you know her at all, given how you started the relationship off. Sirens? What were you thinking, terrorizing a young girl like that?”
This probably wasn’t the best time to tell Ma that Lily was no girl. “It’s not like her car displayed a bumper sticker that said, ‘I’m a nice person. Oh, and by the way, I’m going to be your mom’s nurse.’ For all I knew, the driver was some big burly linebacker. I didn’t exactly plan it this way.”
His mom clucked her tongue. “You should go home. They’re going to keep me overnight.”
“You can’t be sure.”
“Caleb, dear, listen to me. My blood sugar is too high, and it’s not coming down the way they want, and my blood is still too acidic. I’ll be here for one night at a minimum. Go ahead. Ask Lily when she gets back. Then promise me you’ll go home and sleep. You need to be back at work in, what, six hours? Rest, or I’ll be up all night worrying about you instead of getting better.”
“Ma…”
“Don’t argue with me, young man. I�
�m right, and denying it is a waste of the breath God gave you.”
“Uh-hem, pardon me. I brought your water, Mrs. Graham. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Caleb stared. Lily had managed to witness every single embarrassing moment of his day.
Yep. His life was now complete.
His mom winked at him, and he swore she delighted in laying conversational land mines. Did Ma think that was the way to get grandchildren?
“You’re fine, dear. I told Caleb you won’t let me go home today. Can you make him leave? He needs to sleep. His job is dangerous, and he should be well-rested for it.”
Lily set the oversized water cup on the table within reach of the bed before she circled to face him. “Your mom’s right. A 24-hour hold is normal for ketoacidosis. The resident’s not satisfied with the last few blood sugar readings, either, so we’re going to make some adjustments to the IV. Mrs. Graham will be staying at least overnight with us. If you’re going to be out on the road again tonight, chasing down hapless drivers, you ought to go home and sleep. I’ll take good care of her while you’re gone.”
Caleb let his eyes travel from one woman to the other before capitulating. “All right, all right. I’m leaving.” He picked up the dry erase marker and wrote his cell number on the board by the door. “Call if anything comes up.”
“I need to go check on my other patient, but I’ll be back over here in a few minutes, Mrs. Graham. In the meantime, relax and drink some water. We want your pH levels to normalize so you can enjoy some meatloaf.”
Lily was gone before he could do anything about it, so Caleb bent over and kissed his mom on the forehead. “You take care and do what they say, okay? And don’t hesitate to call me if you need something, or even if you don’t like the night nurse.”
Ma reached out and took one of his hands in both of hers. “You’re a good, strong, solid man, son. Just because God hasn’t shown her to you yet doesn’t mean He doesn’t have someone wonderful in store for you.”
He bit back a smile. His mom had been saying things like that to him since his twentieth birthday. “I love you, too, Ma. I’ll come by in the morning when my shift is over.”
As he sauntered down the hall, Caleb caught sight of a flaxen pony-tail-bun.
Who said God hadn’t shown her to him yet?
Caleb set his alarm and lay down to get some sleep before heading back in to work. His mom’s words wouldn’t leave him alone, though.
You’re a good, strong, solid man.
Ma always told him he was too much like a country song to fit into the real world. All those lyrics about holding on, being by her side, and loving for eternity.
Maybe she was right. Either he belonged in a song, or in another era. Definitely in another state. He was never going to assimilate into the hustle, bustle, and congestion of northern Virginia. In fact, he didn’t even want to.
What he’d seen of northern Virginia so far didn’t impress him. Sure, there were sights to visit, museums to take in, and more culture than any person could absorb during a single lifetime. Everybody was in such a hurry, though, always rushing from one place to another. It got exhausting. Caleb figured that about eighty percent of the people he pulled over ended up blaming him for pulling them over and interrupting their schedule rather than admitting they’d done something wrong.
He folded his hands behind his head, closed his eyes, and waited for the whitewashed regret to come.
Instead of the usual stress he experienced whenever he thought about life since he’d moved to the area, though, something entirely different swirled through his midsection. On a scale of one to ten, it was somewhere between a toe tickle and a shoulder rub.
Was it… anticipation?
Sparkling blue eyes danced along the edge of his conscious thought, pushing aside his maudlin introspection about living so near the nation’s capital. Only one thought remained as Caleb drifted off to sleep…
He had to find a way to run into her again.
Caleb sighed as he pulled over yet another speeder along his stretch of Lee Highway. Some nights, his job got monotonous. Those were the times his mind wandered. When he wasn’t busy wishing for something more exciting to do, he longed for the wide open spaces of Texas. Other than caring for his mom, he hadn’t much bothered to make a place for himself in this area he now called home. He hadn’t joined a church, made friends, or met any of his new neighbors yet. For someone who was used to the friendly camaraderie of small-town Texas, the big city had not brought out the best in him.
“Unit 56483 here.”
“Unit 56483, go ahead.”
“I need a check on Virginia license Charlie Tango Alpha Zero Zero Niner.”
“Ten-four, 56483. Give me a second.”
Linda was on tonight. That was good. She was efficient and good at catching things other dispatchers sometimes missed.
“Unit 56483, give me a vehicle description.”
Caleb frowned. That wasn’t normal. “Four-door sedan, maroon, late model Benz.”
“Backup en route, 56483. Plate Charlie Tango Alpha Zero Zero Niner reported stolen earlier this evening. Vehicle description is not a match. You are advised to remain in your cruiser until backup arrives.”
There was no telling how the people in that car were equipped. He counted five heads, but that didn’t tell him enough. Drunk college kids or arms dealers with armor-piercing bullets and heavy artillery — either was possible.
Before he could call back to dispatch and confirm he would wait for the cavalry, the car peeled out in front of him. Caleb flipped on his siren and grabbed the radio. “Unit 56483. Suspect fled traffic stop. In pursuit eastbound on Lee Highway almost to Haymarket.”
“Ten-four, 56483. Keep vehicle in sight. Backup is on its way. Additional units have been dispatched to 234 with stinger.”
Route 234 ran by Manassas Battlefield Park. What with doing their best to break the sound barrier and all, they’d be there in less than ten minutes. If the car didn’t turn off somewhere before then. Or wreck. The stinger — a spike strip spread across the road and designed to impede traffic — might be their last chance to stop the fleeing vehicle before it put civilians in real danger.
The older car sped past the last turnoff into Haymarket. The next notable intersection would be University Drive.
The speeding car zipped through that light without slowing, and Caleb released a sigh. The stinger would work. “Unit 56483. Passing University. ETA to 234 under five minutes.”
“Unit 56483, be advised, stinger is not in place. Repeat, stringer is not in place. Troopers are not at intersection yet.”
That was near the bottom of his things-you-want-to-hear-while-in-a-high-speed-car-chase list. The only thing worse at that point would be a report of shots fired and a trooper — or any officer — down. Without anyone at 234 to stop them, the perpetrators would blow through the intersection, and it wouldn’t be more than a couple minutes until they were in a densely populated area with far too many civilians at risk.
Caleb was reaching for the radio again when the fleeing car fishtailed. He braked hard and fought to maintain command of his cruiser while avoiding the now careening vehicle in front of him. The sedan lurched across the highway and came to a grinding stop in a ditch to the left of the road.
“Unit 56483 here. Suspect lost control. Vehicle is stopped on westbound side of highway on two-lane stretch between Manassas and Haymarket.”
Linda’s voice came back over the line. “Unit 56483, backup should be arriving from the west any second.”
Flashing lights finally filled Caleb’s rearview mirror right before he spun his cruiser so that his passenger side faced the sedan. He exited the driver’s side door and unsnapped the holster on his weapon, keeping low behind the protection of his cruiser. The two additional troopers, each in their own assigned vehicle, maneuvered into position, flanking the suspect car and effectively blocking any traffic from interfering with their search. Caleb nodded to the men he’d
met only in passing before. His service weapon was in hand, and the other troopers followed suit before they left the safety of cover and approached the stationary sedan as a team, each from a different angle.
Caleb’s heart raced while everything around him slowed down. The adrenaline flooding his system put every one of his senses on high alert. Approaching an unknown suspect was always dangerous. Nothing could be taken for granted.
Caleb shouted to be heard over the idling engine and anything else going on side the car. “Show your hands! Get your hands where I can see them!”
The other troopers echoed his demand as they all closed in on the car.
Five pairs of dazed eyes stared back at them from the interior, all accompanied by hands held as high as the car would allow.
Idiot teens! They could have gotten themselves killed — or taken someone else’s life — because of their recklessness.
Caleb turned in the last of the paperwork from his overnight shift. A group of teenagers high on who-knew-what had decided to steal a car and go for a joy ride. Only they’d gone and taken a car that had already been stolen and whose plates belonged to a different vehicle altogether. It took forever to book them all and notify their parents. The job was done, though, the thieves in holding until their arraignment. Meanwhile, the car was securely locked away in impound until its owner could be contacted.
The brisk morning air welcomed Caleb as he stepped out of the station. A quick glance at his watch discouraged him from calling the hospital. He’d phoned every couple hours during the night and been informed each time that his mom was doing better.
She’s my responsibility now.
That thought had felt like an anvil on his soul when he’d first realized it. The weight had lessened, though, once he’d moved in and seen the lost look of grief in his mom’s eyes across the table each day. Responsibility had always fit Caleb comfortably. Sure, he missed the freedom he’d known when it had been just him, his job, and the big open space of Texas. He was doing what was right, though, and that mattered.