by Janice Lynn
Jared thought back, pulling forward a few faces, although none in recent months. But Jared didn’t keep tabs on Will’s social life. Besides, Will never seemed to stick with the same woman long. Jared understood that.
“He dated.”
Chelsea didn’t look impressed. “Uh-uh. When?”
Jared scowled. “What do I look like? His social secretary?”
Chelsea’s eyes pinned him where he stood. “So you don’t really know if he was dating or not? Is that what you’re saying?”
“No, I don’t.” But he did know he didn’t like the current conversation.
A worried look played on her face. “I don’t think he was. I think he’s either ready to fall in love or already has.”
Maybe he should be grateful he’d been an only child.
“You’re insane.”
“You’re just now figuring that out?” Her plump lips twitched. “Most people notice that about me right away.”
He shook his head at how easily she joked about herself. But something in her voice told a bigger story, hinting at hurt beneath the flippant façade. Hinting that perhaps she believed things she shouldn’t.
“Look.” He started over, wondering why he wanted to peel away the layers and see the real Chelsea. Why he cared if her pretty smile hid a great deal of pain. Why she made him so nervous. “Your brother is a grown man and more than capable of knowing what he wants and doesn’t want. If he’s met someone, that’s his business. You should stay out of his affairs.”
Her smile fading, Chelsea crossed her arms and glared at him. “My brother is my business.”
“Like warning me off from you was his business?”
Her gaze narrowed, and he could tell he’d caught her off guard, that he’d made her stop and think about what she’d said. Will should appreciate his efforts.
“He shouldn’t have done that because there’s nothing between us.” She was lying and they both knew it. Whether either of them welcomed the heat, sparks exploded whenever they were near. “Besides,” she continued, “that’s different.”
“Different?” He almost laughed at the stubborn expression on her face. Maybe he would have had it been anyone but Chelsea. “Why?”
“Because…” She paused, the skin around her clenched knuckles whitened. She didn’t finish but not because she didn’t know how to answer.
“Look.” She straightened her fingers and smoothed her slacks. “I don’t want to argue. I just wondered if you thought there was something between Will and Leslie.”
“Hold up.” Jared put his hands in the air to halt her. “You think Will and Leslie…no way. They work together and know better than to do something so stupid.” Sure, he suspected something had happened between his two friends, but they’d obviously seen reason and called whatever it had been to an end.
Was she wanting Will to have an office romance so she could prove some point about an office romance working?
Sure, he’d admit it might for a short time, but an office romance was nothing more than a recipe for disaster. Even if all the other barriers between him and Chelsea didn’t exist, he still wouldn’t touch her. Not with them working in the same office.
“Have you thought about going to work somewhere else?”
Where the hell had that come from? Surely not his mouth.
But the crazy question had.
Chelsea’s eyes widened with surprise, then she narrowed her eyes at him, but he refused to squirm.
“If I didn’t know better,” she said, “I’d think you didn’t like me, Jared.”
“I don’t.”
For a moment her golden eyes darkened and he regretted his quick denial. After all, as much as he wanted to not like her, he couldn’t help but do so. Even with avoiding her as much as possible, he wasn’t blind. The clinic was a brighter place since she’d arrived. Like the idiot he was, he wanted a closer inspection of the light shining within her, even if that closer inspection zapped the life out of him.
“Yes, you’ve made your feelings about me abundantly clear,” she ground out, failing to hide her hurt.
Why had he asked such a stupid question? Because it irked that she’d acted as if she no longer wanted him? Idiot. Wasn’t that what he wanted? Will was a safe topic. One that constantly reminded him he’d been threatened if he so much as looked twice at Chelsea. Admittedly, had his own reasons, his own guilt, not checked his desire, nothing would have kept him from pursuing her.
“Chelsea, I…” He stopped, unsure how to go on. To say anything more would be wrong. The past wasn’t going to go away. He wasn’t going to change his mind and she wasn’t going to change jobs. Even if she did by some miracle go to work elsewhere, he still wouldn’t become involved with her.
Since Laura, he didn’t do involvement. Ever. Short, physically driven relationships, yes. Involvement, never. No matter where Chelsea worked, she was Will’s baby sister and Will was his business partner and best friend. A lethal combination.
Her gaze searched his, hopeful, and despite her earlier words, he knew interest still flared. She hadn’t gotten over him, not by a long shot.
And although a selfish, very male part of him felt joyous that her interest hadn’t waned, another part felt like a heel. Chelsea was a beautiful, intelligent woman who deserved better. He understood why Will wanted him to bring a date.
Will wanted his sister to move on, to find someone who would never treat her the way he’d treated Laura.
Although Chelsea’s interest flattered the hell out of him and made keeping things strictly business all the more difficult, Jared understood his partner’s feelings.
For his and Chelsea’s sakes, he’d do his part to oblige.
CHAPTER SIX
LATER that week, Betty stopped Chelsea just before she saw her next patient. “Will’s been called to the emergency room,” the nurse said.
“He’s asked for his patients to be split between you, Dr Jared, and Leslie so one of you won’t get stuck working late, trying to see them all. Only Leslie isn’t feeling well, and I hate to add to her load.” Betty gave a concerned tongue click. “Is it OK if Kayla and I divvy up his patients between you and Dr Jared instead?”
“I don’t think that’ll be a problem. At least, not on my part.” She actually looked forward to being busy as the extra patients would help keep her mind off Jared. More and more he haunted her dreams, day and night. “You might ask Jared just to make sure he doesn’t mind, though.”
“Will do.”
She stopped the nurse from leaving. “Is Leslie OK?”
“Just a stomach bug,” Betty assured her. “Goodness knows, we’ve seen enough of them lately it’s a wonder we all aren’t heaving.”
“Leslie’s throwing up?”
The petite redhead and Chelsea had gone to lunch together a few times. The more Chelsea got to know the nurse practitioner, the more she liked her and the more she knew Leslie was the perfect woman for her brother. She hated the thought of her not feeling well.
“Poor thing,” she commiserated. “Maybe she should go home.”
Chelsea would call Will and have him stop by to check on Leslie before coming home. Maybe the two could work through whatever was keeping them apart. Although her brother refused to talk about Leslie, Chelsea knew something was between them. And that something had driven them apart. She just hoped that something wasn’t her arrival.
“She won’t go.” Betty shook her head in a motherly fashion, despite the fact she had to be close to Chelsea’s and Leslie’s age. “She says the clinic is too busy for her to go lie around when she feels fine except for the nausea.”
Chelsea admired Leslie’s dedication and recalled many a time as a resident of working through whatever illness she’d happened to pick up from constant exposure.
“If she needs help with her afternoon patient load, be sure to let me know. I’ll help any way I can and don’t mind staying late if needed.”
Betty nodded. “Just taking some of Dr
Will’s patients will be enough, but I’ll tell her if she needs help to give you a holler.”
Chelsea entered the patient room and was surprised to see Hannah Belew sitting on the exam table. Betty must have been distracted by Leslie’s illness and Will being called to the emergency room or else she’d have forewarned her that the runaway patient had returned.
“I’m back,” the teenager announced, giving her a sheepish look. Hannah wore her hair pulled away from her face, revealing a tiny silver hoop through her left eyebrow that Chelsea didn’t think had been there during her last visit.
“I see that.” She acknowledged the girl’s presence, washed her hands, and sat on the stool. She didn’t want to blow this second chance to reach Hannah, not when she might possibly make a difference in her life. “What can I do for you today?”
“Not a pelvic,” the girl said quickly.
“That’s always your choice.”
“But…” her mouth twisted in thought “…I read the brochure you gave me, and I think I should get the vaccine.”
“The vaccine for HPV?”
“That’s the one. Can I take it in my arm or do I have to take it in my butt?”
“Hip,” Chelsea replied automatically.
“Hip, butt, same difference.”
Chelsea smiled. The fact Hannah had come back meant the first visit hadn’t been a total loss. Which meant she might have done something right.
“I want the shot.” Hannah pushed an escaped strand of dark hair away from her face. “My mom checked with our insurance and our plan covers immunizations.”
“You talked with your mom about this?” Chelsea was impressed.
“Well, it’s not like getting the shot means I’m sexually active since it’s recommended to have it before you have sex.” Hannah pointed out, clueing Chelsea in on what had been discussed and what hadn’t.
“Yes,” she agreed. “The idea behind the vaccine is to provide immunity prior to exposure.”
“I told my mom about the vaccine, and she agrees I should get it. She may bring my little sister in soon to discuss the vaccine, too.”
Chelsea entered the order for the immunization into the electronic chart, then gave a friendly smile. “Hannah, are you still with your boyfriend?”
“Yes.”
Which meant she was still sexually active.
“But you’re not interested in a pelvic exam?” she asked, just to make sure, to give Hannah the opportunity to change her mind or to ask questions.
“No.” The girl hesitated then continued. “But I am making Brett use condoms. I figure there isn’t a reason for me to go on the Pill, which means I don’t need a Pap smear or whatever it is you said I’d get.”
“A thin prep. It’s a liquid-based test for cervical abnormalities, including HPV,” Chelsea reminded her, pleased with Hannah’s choice to protect herself. “Condoms aren’t foolproof, but you’re wise to make him wear one because it does cut down on your risk of possible exposure.”
“He was a virgin, too, you know.” Hannah’s voice took on a defensive edge. “It’s not like he can give me anything.”
“Not as long as you remain his only partner.”
Hannah’s gaze narrowed, and she stared at Chelsea with distrust. “You sound like you think he’ll cheat and give me some disease.”
“I hope he doesn’t, but if he did it wouldn’t be the first time something like that’s happened to a young girl. Actually, that scenario happens to women of all ages.”
Hannah considered her for a long time, then asked, “Did it happen to you?”
“No.” Chelsea shook her head. Kevin hadn’t cheated on her—that she knew of anyway. Perhaps it would have been easier if he had. Instead he’d drifted out of her life following the revelation of her back. She should have known better than to let him see the real her. Her own parents hadn’t been able to love her—why had she thought Kevin could? “But a woman is better to be safe than sorry. Taking responsibility for your health isn’t always easy or pleasant. But if you aren’t willing to take on that responsibility, who is, right?”
“True,” the girl conceded. She fidgeted on the table, hinting she wanted to say more. “Brett doesn’t like condoms, but he wears one. At first he thought I didn’t trust him. But other than to tell me the barrier cuts down on what he feels, he hasn’t complained since I explained I had to get a pelvic exam to go on the Pill. He doesn’t want me to have to do anything that would hurt me.” She shot Chelsea a look. “Even if it means he enjoys sex less.”
Chelsea heard the unspoken implication “because he loves me”. Perhaps Brett did.
“They make special types of condom that won’t desensitize him so much.” Chelsea suggested a few brands. “They can be a little more expensive, but it’ll feel more natural.”
Hannah nodded.
“The important thing is that you always use a condom if you’re going to remain sexually active.”
“Yeah, that’s what I told Brett. He says he’ll protect me however he can.” The young girl’s dreamy-eyed smile both touched Chelsea and worried her. She only hoped the boy deserved Hannah’s adoration and never hurt her.
She spent a few more minutes talking with Hannah, answering questions about the vaccine and when she’d need to return for the second shot in the series of three.
Chelsea’s next patient presented with vague symptoms. Fatigue. Generalized muscle aches. Just not feeling quite like herself. Tammy Jones denied any other symptoms and Chelsea ordered tests. When she’d finished, she stepped out and bumped into Betty.
“Oh, I was just coming to find you. Lacey Donaldson is in room four. Her family made her come. She’s seen Dr Jared or Will in the past, but Dr Jared is tied up suturing a fifty-six-year old woman who fell at the grocery store and gashed her arm. Lacey’s mother is afraid Lacey will leave if she has to wait.”
“Lacey Donaldson?” The name sounded familiar.
“Her son is in Madison Memorial’s pediatric wing. Today is the first day Lacey’s left the hospital since her car wreck.”
“Oh.” The name clicked in Chelsea’s mind. “Will mentioned Caden Donaldson.”
He’d told her about the four-year-old who’d been unrestrained in a motor vehicle accident. The young boy had taken a hard blow to the head that had left him in a coma. That had been last week.
“Has Caden regained consciousness?”
“No, he’s being kept sedated to cut down on brain damage until the swelling begins to subside.”
Poor little boy. And poor mother. Chelsea could hardly imagine the emotional ordeal the woman was going through.
“Is Lacey sick, or is the stress getting to her?”
“The stress. She looks awful, bless her heart.” Betty sighed. “Georgia made her go home to shower, change clothes, and get some of her things to have at the hospital.”
“Lacey’s a single mom?” She recalled Will mentioning the girl only had her mother for support. Tragic really.
Betty nodded. “She tries real hard, works two jobs and goes to night school. This has devastated her.”
“Thanks for letting me know she’s here.” Chelsea entered the room, but wasn’t prepared for the sad barely out-of-her-teens girl sitting on the exam table. Lacey Donaldson had been a beautiful girl once upon a time, but she looked like someone had poked a straw into her and sucked out every drop of life. Dark circles rimmed her sunken eyes. Chalky white best described her skin pallor. She’d pulled her hair back in a tight ponytail. Overall, she looked gaunt and frail.
A worried-looking fifty-ish woman sat in the extra chair present in the exam room. Her hands folded in her lap, she sadly watched her daughter’s every move.
“Hi, Lacey. I’m Dr Chelsea Majors. Dr Will Majors is my brother. I’ve been at the clinic for a few weeks,” she said, hoping to make the young woman feel more at ease with her. “Dr Jared is in with an emergency, so I’ll be examining you.”
“I don’t need to be here,” Lacey informed h
er with an upset glance at her mother.
“You’ve barely eaten or slept for two weeks,” the older woman scolded. “Of course you need to be here.”
The girl’s eyes turned imploring. “How could I eat when Caden just lies there? Having to be fed through a tube? I don’t want to eat anything and when I try I want to throw up.”
Chelsea sat down on her stool and met the young woman’s hollow gaze. “Your son needs you to take care of yourself. If you let yourself get run-down, and, honestly, I think you already have, Caden isn’t going to understand why you’re sick and unable to tend to him when he wakes up.”
“You don’t understand.”
“As someone who has dealt with other patients with family members who pushed themselves too hard and got sick, I do know what you’re doing isn’t good for you or Caden,” she said gently. “He needs you healthy.”
“She’s not slept more than a few hours since the crash,” Georgia added, giving her daughter a stern but love-filled look. “She’s recovering from her own injuries. I’ve tried to get her to go home for a good night’s sleep, told her I’d stay with Caden, but she won’t leave his bedside.”
“What if he wakes up and I’m not there?” The young mother’s face pinched painfully. “What if he wakes up right now and wants his mommy, and I’m not there? I should never have left.” Tears in her eyes, she glanced accusingly at Georgia. “You shouldn’t have made me leave my baby.”
“Not eating. Not sleeping. Living on adrenaline and fear.” Georgia tsked with eyes full of compassion. “Lacey, I love my grandson, but I’m just as worried about you. No matter how old you are, you’re my baby girl, and I hate to see you doing this to yourself.”
“Don’t worry about me.” Lacey sounded angry. No doubt she was angry at the world and would inadvertently take out her frustrations on her mother. “Worry about my precious little boy lying in that hospital bed, fighting for his life,” she demanded.
“Lacey.” Chelsea brought the young woman’s attention back to her because Georgia looked on the verge of tears. Although it was natural for Lacey to lash out, that didn’t mean her words didn’t wound those she inflicted them on. “Making yourself ill isn’t helping Caden or yourself.”