by Petrova, Em
She ignored the installer’s marriage mistake. “I take it this is all your idea?” she asked.
“It’s baseball season, baby. A television is in order,” he said with a huge grin.
“You haven’t even given me a chance to paint and wallpaper yet, not to mention the new carpet due to arrive in a few days.”
“We’ll work around the television,” he said easily. He took her hands into his. “Besides, I plan to hire people to come in and do all the work. No manual labor for these lovely hands.”
Josselyn didn’t really care about the big screen television or baseball season for that matter. She didn’t even really mind Ben hiring decorators. She was happy the two of them forged a peaceful co-existence, though things were far from settled with the house ownership. They simply avoided broaching the subject.
Going to the kitchen she made a pot of coffee and silently wondered how long their peace would last. She finally spoke with Morgan’s attorney. One of his attorneys, the one who prepared the will leaving her the house. He sounded confident she would emerge victorious. He planned to take a deposition from Morgan’s sister, Maribelle, in the next week. Maribelle liked her, she was sure, and she knew she wouldn’t lie to favor her nephew.
Sooner or later, the easy relationship she currently shared with Ben would shatter when the court intervened and made a final determination. At the present, the situation seemed destined to drag on for an indefinite period of time.
She crossed the living room with a snack to take with her back to her room. Ben, stretched out on the couch watching his new big screen television, grabbed her around the waist and pulled her onto the couch beside him.
“Hey, not so fast. We have to initiate this television with a viewing of the Mets and Nationals.”
Josselyn didn’t know a thing about baseball, but somehow, spending the afternoon in Ben’s company felt right. Maybe they were finally friends, even if only temporarily.
***
Ben decided to surprise Josselyn with a take-out pizza from the Lovin’ Oven to celebrate the completion of the redecoration of the living room. He was skeptical when she showed him the beige wallpaper interspersed with pale pink flowers, but he had to admit the living room looked fantastic. Below his feet lay the new carpet, and the delivery of the suite of furniture completed a very modern, very grown-up living room where he would be proud to entertain guests.
Grabbing the keys to his Corvette, he checked his watch and guessed Josselyn would be home any minute from the Quality-Mart. She’d only gone to buy light bulbs for the new overhead lighting.
Shoving the stubbornly sticky front door with his shoulder, he reminded himself to get an estimate on a replacement. Forcing it open, the door struck something on the outside. Horrified, he watched Josselyn tumble backward. The crumbling front steps collapsed into rubble as she fell and landed hard on her shoulder.
Frantic, Ben jumped over what remained of the steps and crouched down beside her. “Josselyn, are you okay?”
For a moment, she lay motionless on the hard pavement, and wept. “Why did you push me down the steps?” she asked through her tears.
Her accusation confused him. How could she think he would do something so vicious to her? Did their disastrous first meeting forever set the tone for the relationship? He was just getting to know her, and he liked what he was finding. To have this happen was just unreal.
He stroked her arm. “I didn’t push you, honey. I would never hurt you,” he insisted. “I was on my way out to get a pizza for us. I didn’t hear your car pull up. I’m so sorry.”
“I can’t...I can’t...” she continued to weep.
“Can you sit up? I’ll help you,” he offered.
“I can’t...”
He frowned. “What is it that you can’t do?”
“I can’t feel my leg.”
He swallowed hard. Had she fallen so hard she injured her spine? “Okay, let’s not panic.” Sweat broke on his forehead. He touched her bare thigh, followed by her calf and ankle. “Josselyn, tell me you feel something,” he implored.
“I don’t know...maybe,” she said.
“Can I do anything?”
He looked up when he heard the stranger’s voice. The freckled young woman who lived next door had come out. He didn’t know her name. “Yes, can you call for an ambulance? Tell the dispatcher there has been an accident, and a doctor on the scene who thinks there may be a potential spinal injury.”
When she darted off, he turned his attention back to Josselyn. “It’s going to be okay, Josselyn, I promise. Just don’t move at all if you can help it.”
“Ben...I...I...” she stammered.
He bent down lower to get closer to her face. “What is it, honey?”
“Years ago, I broke my neck. I have all kinds of metal caging and plating.”
The sweat ran down his forehead and into his eyes. He wiped it away with the back of his hand. The situation was worse with each passing moment. He searched his memory in vain for his medical school training in neurology and orthopedics. He only had a cursory knowledge of those specialties. If he inadvertently paralyzed this woman, he wasn’t sure how he would live with himself.
“I’ll let the paramedics know.”
In the distance was the siren wail of the ambulance. A few neighbors stepped outside of the houses and looked on. A police car pulled up to the curb in front of the ambulance. To Ben’s dismay, Caleb Smith got out of the car. Of all the police officers in Unity, why was it always this red haired nuisance, with a face he wanted to slap, who showed up?
“What happened this time?” Caleb bellowed.
He was immediately defensive. “Josselyn fell down the steps.”
“We’ll see about that,” Caleb snapped.
Ben ignored him and turned his attention to the two paramedics who emerged from the ambulance. “She’s had a broken neck in the past, and she can’t feel her left leg.”
He stepped back and watched as they secured her neck with a foam collar and immobilized her on a backboard. As they did so, Ben winced when he saw the enormous bruise covering Josselyn’s shoulder all the way down to her elbow.
He knew full well the door opening outward was an accident waiting to happen. He became complacent. Why hadn’t he been more careful?
Ben watched as the ambulance crew loaded the backboard onto the gurney, and then Caleb Smith stepped alongside the gurney.
“What happened to you, Josselyn?” he asked.
“The front steps crumbled under my feet. I lost my footing, fell, and hit my shoulder on the pavement. I really should have had those steps repaired by now. The mail carrier could have had an accident,” she sniffed.
She didn’t mention anything about him flinging open the door. He couldn’t blame her if she told Caleb the truth, but it really was an accident.
“Did Ben push you? Don’t be afraid to tell me the truth, Josselyn,” Caleb pressed.
Ben was incensed and crossed his arms over his chest. Caleb wanted her to tell him she’d been pushed so he could slap the handcuffs on him and haul him into lock up.
“No, of course Ben didn’t push me. I fell. It was an accident.”
Caleb pushed a business card into the front pocket of her denim shorts. “You call me if you want to talk.”
Ben crawled up into the ambulance and squatted down beside the gurney. “Josselyn, I’m going to follow the ambulance to the hospital. I’ll see you at the emergency room, okay?”
“Can’t you just examine me? I don’t want to go to the hospital. I absolutely hate hospitals.”
“As much as I wish, I don’t have x-ray vision. I can’t see inside you.”
Although she managed a small smile, he could see the terror in her eyes. What had happened to her in the past? He suddenly remembered the afternoon in the bathroom when she told him she had been physically and mentally tortured by bullies. He hadn’t believed it then, but now it was starting to make sense.
***
Ben arrived at
the emergency entrance of Citizen’s General Hospital. The new state-of-the-art hospital outside of Unity and only recently opened its doors. He walked through the main entrance to the emergency room and to the reception area where a woman wearing a blue smock sat behind a computer.
“My name is Ben Parnell. Can I see Josselyn Adler? She was just brought in by the ambulance.
“Take a seat and I’ll check with the doctor,” she instructed.
I am a doctor, is what he wanted to shout. Instead, he took a seat near the double doors leading to the treatment area.
Across from him, a young woman held ice to a toddler’s head. A few seats away a man in a suit and tie dripped blood from a cut hand onto the tiled floor. Ben closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. He looked up when he heard the loud swish of the double doors open.
A thin, thirty-something man in a blue scrub suit emerged. “Mr. Parnell?”
Immediately he rose from the hard plastic chair. “Yes?”
He motioned for Ben to follow. “I’m Dr. Finnegan. I’m looking after Ms. Adler this evening.
Ben quickly caught up with the man and fell in step beside him. “How is Josselyn?”
“She’s bruised, and she’s scared. The feeling to her left leg is slowly returning. I’ve ordered x-rays. Barring any damage, she should be fit for discharge.”
He sounded so impersonal and indifferent. “I’m concerned about the broken neck she’s had in the past. Isn’t it wise to have a CT scan?” he suggested, holding onto his temper.
The doctor let out an exasperated sigh and came to an abrupt halt outside a treatment cubicle marked with the number six. “Just what medical school did you graduate from, Mr. Parnell?” Finnegan asked in a snide tone.
“Mount Pleasant University, and it’s Dr. Parnell,” Ben answered smugly.
Finnegan’s lips twitched, and he noisily cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound sarcastic. It’s been a busy day. Um, in regard to a cat scan it would have to wait until morning, which would necessitate admitting her. I’d prefer to x-ray her, eliminate any immediate threats, and send her home where she will be more comfortable. If needed, she can return for a scan.”
Arguing was useless. The doctor simply followed a generic script of how to handle patients who had sustained injuries from a fall. Like himself, he wasn’t a neurosurgeon or an orthopedic specialist.
Inside the cubicle, Josselyn lie prone on an examination table, her eyes focused on the stark white ceiling above her. They had taken her clothing, and she wore a yellow gown with the word ‘hospital’ printed all over the fabric in orange lettering.
A lump formed in his throat. As much as he tried to deny it, he was really coming to care for her—a lot. Josselyn exuded an aura of love and goodness that couldn’t be faked. Shrugging his shoulders, he forced an air of confidence into his stride he didn’t feel. He captured her hand into his. “Hello, Joss.”
“Hi, Ben.”
Her voice was groggy and thick. Dr. Finnegan obviously gave her some sort of pain relief.
“How are you?”
“I’m okay. I can feel my leg again.”
“That’s great. Are you in pain?”
After a long pause, she answered. “No.”
“Josselyn, I’m so sorry about what happened. You have to know I would never push you or deliberately try to hurt you. I...” his voice trailed off. He wanted to tell her he cared about her. Given their odd relationship, maybe it was best to say nothing.
She blinked heavily. “I know, Ben. I didn’t mean to accuse you. It’s just...just...”
He pushed her raven hair back from her face. “Shhh, don’t try to talk, Joss.”
“I have to. Will you take me home?”
“As soon as you’re discharged.”
“I hate hospitals, Ben. I spent so much time in one when I was seventeen.”
That piqued his interest. “I’d like you to tell me about that soon.”
“It was a long time ago. I...I would rather forget it. But...” She paused and licked her dry lips. “You never forget something so...horrible.”
Before he could reply, two men wearing identical blue dress shirts and navy trousers appeared to take Josselyn to the x-ray department. The answers would have to wait.
***
Ben sat on a metal chair next to the hospital bed where Josselyn was fast asleep and counted the patterned rows of holes in the ceiling tiles. When he reached five-hundred and eighty-six, Dr. Finnegan appeared with a clipboard in his hand, and he lost count. Ben gently nudged Josselyn awake.
“Good news, Ms. Adler,” Finnegan said briskly. “There doesn’t seem to be any new damage to your spine. I’m going to discharge you with some pain relief.”
Josselyn scribbled her signature on a few forms, and he handed her a prescription.
Ben took the prescription from her hand. It was a mild pain reliever, not much stronger than you could buy off the shelf at any good pharmacy.
“This isn’t strong enough for someone who has had spinal surgery in the past.”
“It’s adequate until she can see her family physician.”
Anger surged through him. “She’s new in town. She doesn’t have a family physician.”
She tugged on the hem of his t-shirt. “Ben, it’s okay.”
“You’re right, Joss. I can prescribe you something better. Let’s get you home.”
Ben waited outside the cubicle while a nurse helped Josselyn dress. Afterward, he helped her to her feet, careful not to jostle her. As they stepped through the glass doors separating the emergency department from the parking lot, a stifling blast of summer heat greeted them. The sky was dark, and his stomach rumbled in a reminder that he hadn’t eaten since breakfast.
Pulling out his car key, he hit the remote to open the Corvette’s doors. As gently as he could, he helped her into the car and reached across her body to safely secure her with the belt. As he did, his arm accidentally brushed her soft, full breasts and caused a surge of arousal.
He drove towards the house, and noticing how quiet Josselyn was. Every once in a while, he would glance sideways at her, but she only stared forward. Finally, she broke the silence.
“I really like your car.”
“Thanks. Can you drive a manual?”
“No.”
“It’s not difficult. When you’re up and around, I’ll teach you.”
When she didn’t answer, he sighed deeply. He hoped to keep the conversation going, no matter how trivial it was. Finally arriving home was a relief.
“Joss, you need to tell me what will be the best way to get you from here to upstairs.”
“If I can just lean on you, I’ll be fine.”
Helping her up from the car seat, he wrapped his arm around her back for support, and used his foot to close the car door.
“Don’t look so terrified, Ben.” She patted his chest with her palm. “I’m perfectly fine. I have all that metal scaffolding in my neck, remember? I bet my neck is stronger than yours.”
He had to smile at her logic. Still, he was taking no chances. Getting Josselyn up the stairs and safely deposited on her bed felt like nothing short of a miracle.
“Do you think you could help me get undressed? I’m so uncomfortable. I just want to sleep.”
“Sure.”
He opened the tiny white buttons on the sleeveless pink shirt she wore. His long fingers fumbled and slipped it off her shoulders. A wretched eggplant colored bruise engulfed her entire shoulder and down to her elbow. “I need to be so careful with your shoulder.”
Just as carefully, he unfastened the snap of her denim shorts and slid them from her hips.
“There you go.” He pulled the sheet over her body clad only in matching pink bra and panties.
“Ben?”
“Hmmm?”
“Would you unhook my bra? It’s just so uncomfortable, and my shoulder is too sore for me to do it myself.”
“Okay.” His hands tugged at the cl
asp on the front of her bra, his eyes falling on the creamy expanse of exquisite cleavage beneath his fingers. All the while he reminded himself he was there in a position as a doctor or maybe...a friend. Not a lover. Definitely not a lover.
He held the satiny material closed with the fingers of one hand while he pulled up the sheet to her neck with the other.
Beads of sweat ran down his forehead and dripped off his face before he’d eased the bra off her under the sheet. “Good grief, it’s hot in here. I’m getting an estimate for central air conditioning. No arguments, Joss.” He flipped the switch on the box fan.
“You’re so nice,” she mumbled, closing her eyes.
Ben walked down the stairs, popped two slices of bread into the toaster, and opened a can of soda while it toasted. Afterward, as he chewed buttered slices of toast, he recalled his conversation in the park a few weeks earlier with Evan Monroe.
Evan mentioned the doctor who owned his father’s old medical practice. He was a neurosurgeon. Or was he a neurologist? Maybe he could give Patrick a call.
Luckily, Evan had Patrick’s home phone number. Ben dreaded calling the man at home to ask for medical advice. Heaven knew he had his own evenings interrupted enough over the years by phone calls and pagers. He simply did not feel comfortable with the lackluster, hurried diagnosis the disinterested Dr. Finnegan had given.
Patrick answered on the third ring.
“I’m so sorry to bother you at home. This is Ben Parnell—Dr. Ben Parnell. Evan Monroe gave me your telephone number.”
“Ben, it’s so nice to finally hear from you. I’ve been trying to get in contact with you.”
Ben wondered about that. He needed to call his secretary to find out why Patrick’s messages never reached him.
“Unfortunately, there seems to have been some sort of mix up. I never got your messages.”
“Well, no mind. I’ve got you on the phone now. I hope you’re calling to tell me you’ll at least consider coming to work with me.”
“I...ah...” Ben tried to interrupt. A new job wasn’t the reason he had called.
“I’m swamped with patients. My wife is eight months pregnant with twins. You would save my life, even if you could just help me out a few hours a day until the babies are born and Autumn recovers.”