by Leigh, Jo
“Not a mistake, and yes, it’s late. I have a patient here at the clinic who needs a lot more help than I can give him.”
Warren stayed quiet during the entire presentation. And for a long time after. Daniel prepared himself for the worst. Then, “Fine. We can find an available bed. But you’ll be responsible for his care. Including finding a surgeon and anesthesiologist who are willing to do this pro bono. I’ll cover the admin costs. You’re also responsible for the ambulance. I’ll let the night team know you’re coming. They’ll meet you in the bay. Document everything. We haven’t had a skull-base tumor in a while. Everyone can use a brush-up.”
The relief rolling through Daniel almost made him high, although that was probably just the lack of sleep. He and Lisa had been up until 1:30 in the morning. “Thank you, Warren.”
“You’re welcome,” he said and paused. “Oh, hell, if you have trouble finding a surgeon, I’ll look at rearranging my schedule.”
Daniel knew his brother had disconnected but he couldn’t seem to move. He was too stunned to do anything but give Eve the nod. Raw with the unexpected swell of emotion, he lowered his phone. Clearly he’d underestimated his brother.
Eve hadn’t—she’d already called the private ambulance company they used. “They’ll be here in twenty. Now we have to get Javier to agree to go.”
“He will.” Daniel finally started to gather his wits. He didn’t have to tell her about Warren’s offer—he had a feeling it wouldn’t be a surprise. It seemed she knew his brother better than he did. “Javier will do whatever it takes to make sure he’s here for his family,” Daniel said as they started down the hall.
She slowed a little. “Let me tell him the news. You go find Lisa, explain what’s going on.”
“Yeah, I should send her on home.”
“I didn’t say that, Daniel. In fact, I think you should take her along. Let her see the Center. I think she’d learn a lot about you and what you’re going through if she saw the other side of the equation.”
Daniel let Eve walk ahead as he thought about what she’d said, but just before she reached exam room 2, he called out, “You go home right after we get Javier squared away.”
Eve, who never listened to anybody, nodded.
* * *
SINCE ARRIVING NINETY minutes ago, Lisa had been entertaining herself in the very upscale visitors’ lounge while Daniel was busy with Mr. Moreno. The couch was the most comfortable thing she’d ever sat on. The free beverage station had better coffee, Earl Grey tea and hot chocolate than any coffeehouse she’d been to. Even the magazines were way out of her price range. Not only had she never heard of these mags, Dolce Vita cost almost thirty-eight bucks an issue, Upscale Living went for fifty dollars, and the crème-de-la-crème magazine for the rich was The Robb Report at $108.88. It was mind-boggling. And also, why the $8.88? Was that a supersecret sign that only billionaires recognized?
She’d been around the block a couple of times, considering she’d been a cop in Manhattan, but this place was making her feel like a hick from Hicksville. It must cost a fortune to come to the Center.
A tall man who looked a lot like Daniel, only with less hair and glasses, walked into the lounge. “Hello. I’m Warren Cassidy. You’re a friend of Daniel’s, Lisa...?”
She rose to her feet, tried to say Pine, but she couldn’t. Physically couldn’t. Finally extending her hand, she said, “That’s right. I met him where I volunteer.”
“Please, don’t get up on my account. You must like it then, to keep volunteering.”
“I do,” she said, taking a seat again. “Very much. The staff is wonderful and friendly, and more often than not, the patients are fascinating. Although I don’t see too many. Usually I’m away filing or working on data entry.” God, the way she was chattering. They had to quit sticking her alone in the back.
There was nothing about his demeanor or his expression that made her think he knew about her personal relationship with Daniel, yet somehow...
“Daniel seems to like it there, as well.”
“He does a lot of good. And he’s nice. He makes people feel comfortable.”
“I see. He hasn’t told me much about his work, but I assume he’s helped a great many people, given his gift for medicine.”
“Neurology, in particular, from what I hear.”
Warren smiled, and that was where the similarity ended. Daniel’s smile was warm and genuine. Warren needed to keep working on it. Or maybe she wasn’t seeing him at his best. “He’s mentioned the Center?”
“Many times. So has Eve.”
“Then you know that Daniel is an exceptional physician. We’re hoping he can stand to tear himself away to come back to his roots. But now I realize there are many reasons for him to stay where he is.”
Lisa stiffened her spine and held his gaze. “What are you implying?”
“That there seems to be a lot to recommend working to help those who are less fortunate or disenfranchised.”
“It’s fulfilling,” she said. He was Daniel’s brother, so she’d be nice and not assume he was being a jerk. “Everyone deserves some help now and then. And when they’re not made to feel like failures or lesser beings, they tend to give back to their community. A win-win situation. But I’m sure Eve has told you that already.”
His smile seemed a little warmer. “Please avail yourself of all the amenities. In that cabinet—” he nodded toward a stunning piece of furniture she’d seen but hadn’t investigated “—there are blankets and pillows. It was very nice to meet you.”
She stood up and held her hand out to him again. “You as well, Dr. Cassidy.”
He disappeared down a hall, and she had to wonder what Daniel had said about her.
Another twenty minutes went by, and while she’d meant to get a blanket and a pillow, she hadn’t. Instead, she stared at the painting on the wall. It was very soothing, that painting. It helped her think instead of jumping to conclusions and making up stories when she didn’t know the truth. She’d been predisposed to dislike Warren. He upset Daniel and she was definitely wearing Daniel goggles most of the time.
Warren might be the worst brother in the world. Or he could be genuinely on Daniel’s side. Conclusion? She hated that she wanted to know which was true. But she’d made sure that she and Daniel didn’t have that kind of relationship.
Then he walked into the room, and everything else fell away. “Hey, you’re still awake. I don’t remember if I told you about all the stuff in here.”
“I’m good,” she said. “What about you?”
He took a long look at her while sporting a small smile. She would have thought he meant to cause some mischief if they hadn’t been on sacred ground. “You feel like going for a short walk?”
She got up, which was a yes, but she also nodded. “Where to?”
“The first floor.” He held his hand out and she accepted it without hesitation. Being close to him for a short elevator ride felt good. Then he took her to a big room that had a lot of warnings on the door. She didn’t bother to read them because Daniel would never take her anywhere unsafe. He held the door for her, and she stepped inside.
“Holy... This is like being on the starship Enterprise. Seriously,” she said. “Did you just beam me up?”
He walked in back of her and then drew her against his front. “I’ll beam you up later, promise, but now I want to show you some modern miracles.”
He steered her to a very long, uncomfortable-looking bed. It wasn’t the strangest thing in the room by far. That honor was taken by a huge machine that looked like a giant electric mouth.
“This is a state-of-the-art catheterization lab. And this beauty is the Cath Unit. It helps us see crisp, distortion-free visualizations of the tiniest details, like blood vessels in the brain.”
“It looks terrifyi
ng.”
“Yes, but it’s a miracle maker. Come on, there’s something else.” He led her to another room, which had a huge monitor. He did something and the screen showed a picture of a skull.
“This is a 3-D imaging computer simulation. It lets us see exactly where in the brain a tumor or embolism is located. When we have our plan of attack ready, we use a robotic arm to actually do the surgery.”
“You have a robot?”
“There’s a surgeon running the robot. So much about the ways we treat the brain has changed in just the last twenty years, it’s astonishing. There are hundreds of people walking around today who had no chance of survival even five years ago.”
She leaned back against the only piece of equipment in the room she knew she couldn’t break: the wall. “This is amazing. You’re amazing. Do you know that you light up when you talk about it?”
“Light up, huh? I thought that only happened when I saw you.”
She smiled, knowing that he would come back to work here full-time sooner rather than later. The clinic was nice, but it wasn’t this. And she was certain that if Heather had known what Lisa knew now, she’d have thought she’d died and gone to rich-husband heaven.
But Lisa wasn’t going to think about Heather or anyone else but Daniel. He showed her all kinds of astonishing technology, and told her a bunch of stuff she didn’t understand, but she didn’t care. He was in his element. Only someone very special could be with a man like Daniel Cassidy.
And that certainly wasn’t Lisa Pine.
14
LISA TOOK A big sip of coffee and turned back to her laptop screen. It was Saturday. The clinic was open today but they had enough volunteers on weekends and she was in serious need of catching up on her stupid divorce cases. She jumped when her cell phone rang. “What are you doing calling so early?”
“It’s 11:30.” Daniel paused. “Did I wake you?”
“No, but you should be asleep. What time did you end up leaving the Center?”
“You don’t want to know.” He sighed. “Hey, I’m sorry about last night. I should’ve known better than to drag you—”
“Stop it. You didn’t drag me anywhere.” She stifled a yawn, sneaked in another quick sip. “I’m glad I went. Your center is awesome, and I mean that in the most literal way.”
“Were you glad to sleep in your own bed for a change?” he asked, his voice dipping lower.
“Um, you haven’t seen my bed, or you wouldn’t ask.” Technically she’d spent only one night at his place, but yeah, she would’ve preferred staying there. But only with him. And he was busy with Javier. She hadn’t wanted to distract him, so she’d taken a taxi to her apartment around 1:30. “How’s Javier?”
“Things are looking good” was all he said, though she didn’t think she’d done anything wrong by asking. “Where are you?”
“Home. Guzzling caffeine. Working. I got quite a bit done this morning, considering.”
“Good. Can you get away for a little bit?”
“Daniel, I’m serious about you getting some sleep.” She knew for a fact he hadn’t had enough rest all week. But then, neither had she.
“I will. Later. Let’s go get coffee.”
She glanced at her laptop screen. Of course she should say no. She was tired and busy. He had to be exhausted. “Where?”
* * *
“HAVE YOU BEEN here before?” Daniel asked, holding her hand as they walked into the memorial park on a beautiful path that led to a row of cherry trees. Green-Wood Park was a popular place for locals and tourists alike.
“You’d think I would have, since it’s the most beautiful place in Brooklyn, but no.”
It felt weird holding hands with him, and she kept looking around for anyone who knew her real name, but when Daniel smiled at her as if she’d brought the sunshine, she relaxed.
“Come on...” She tugged on his hand. “You said you’d tell me how much sleep you got.”
He led her down another wide pathway. “Maybe three hours. There were a lot of tests to be run and decisions to be made.”
Only three? She’d make sure he did something about that. “Earlier when I asked about Javier, I wasn’t asking you to break confidentiality.”
“I know.” Daniel squeezed her hand and brought it to his lips for a quick kiss. It startled her, but she didn’t tense. Didn’t even look around. “I would’ve told you more on the phone but I was anxious to see you in person. Javier regards you as part of the team, by the way. He has no problem with anything I tell you.”
She smiled. “All I do is make coffee.”
“You also make his doctor very happy,” he said, and she swallowed at the tender way he looked into her eyes. “We’ve imaged his brain from every possible angle. Two other doctors have reviewed his case, and we’re all in agreement that we shouldn’t wait to operate. At least, that’s the latest word. We haven’t technically gotten permission from Javier yet.”
“He must be so worried.”
“It’s a scary thing, but he’s lucky. He’s got the best doctors in the country in his corner.”
“So I’ve heard.”
“I hope this isn’t screwing up your whole day,” he said.
She wondered if he was changing the topic on purpose or if his lack of sleep was to blame. “Nope. It’s all good. God, it really is beautiful.” She glanced around at the old trees and new greenery. “I’ve said that twice and we’ve barely seen anything. I feel like we’re in a different country, let alone another borough.”
“I’ve only been here once before, but I never forgot the experience.”
“You probably should have slept instead.” She moved closer to him until their shoulders touched.
“Maybe you’re right, but this is where I wanted to be, and you’re who I wanted with me. Everything about this place makes me calmer. The statues, the trees. The quiet.”
She pulled him into a full-contact hug. There were other people in the huge park, so it didn’t last as long as she wanted, but that was okay. When they moved on, neither one of them said much, soaking in the sounds of the wind ruffling the leaves and the birds chattering away.
“Are you going back tonight?” Lisa was a little sorry for breaking the silence.
He shook his head. “I’m banned until I get some solid rest. Things won’t get hopping until tomorrow afternoon. Then I’ll be busy for a couple of days. Eve’s already found someone to cover for me at Moss Street.”
They paused to look at a huge statue of an angel. They’d crossed into the cemetery, which was as beautiful and fascinating as anything the park had to offer.
Lisa really should have come before now. Everywhere she turned there was something gorgeous. The sculptures were as good as any she’d seen, the manicured lawns had breathtaking scope, and the mausoleums were works of art.
“I’m reasonably certain we’ll be able to operate the day after tomorrow. That’s when Dr. Hastings is available, and she’s had more experience removing this type of tumor than almost anyone in the States.” Daniel took yet another path, this time heading in the direction of a surprisingly large lake.
“She’ll be set up next to Javier—remember I showed you? Using the console to see and direct the robotic arm. I’ll be observing, and so will a number of other surgeons. Including Warren.” He cleared his throat, his gaze directed at something in the distance. “I don’t think I told you... Last night, when we arranged to transfer Javier to the Center, Warren offered to do the surgery pro bono if I couldn’t find another surgeon.”
“Wow.” Her esteem for the man rose several notches. “That was very generous of him.”
Daniel smiled at her. “It’s okay to be surprised. I was, too. But Dr. Hastings is a great surgeon for this procedure.”
They walked off the pat
h down a long row of gravestones and statuary, taking time so she could read the carved names. When he stopped beneath the shade of a very old, very beautiful oak, she said, “That’s...”
“My father’s grave. He bought this plot when I was just a kid.”
“It’s beautiful.”
He nodded. “I haven’t been here since the funeral. Not sure why. Although, I never saw the point in talking to a slab of granite and a box of bones.”
His hand tightened around hers. Not enough to hurt, but close.
“Actually, Dad bought two plots. The one beside him was supposed to be for my mom. Obviously that was before they divorced and she took off to Europe.” Daniel’s gaze stayed on the gravestone. “I blamed her. I was in my teens and I thought she was the most selfish woman on earth. Here was my dad, this brilliant, gifted doctor who’d devoted his life to healing people. Really important people. His waiting list wasn’t just long—it was the who’s who of Capitol Hill and dignitaries from across the globe.
“I wrote my mom this long email reminding her that she knew who he was when she married him and maybe that’s why she even married him, for the fame and money, and how could she be so self-centered. His wife and kids needed to understand that medicine came first, that it should always come first. It was our duty to put up with hardly getting to see him. I got it in my head that we weren’t so much a family as...I don’t know...support staff.”
Sighing, Daniel looked at Lisa with sad eyes. “You know that I never resented it when he missed birthdays or other holidays. I assumed that was Mom’s job. I swear, odd as it sounds, it never occurred to me that there was a choice, that family and his career could be equally important.”
“No, it doesn’t sound odd,” she said. “We believe the world we’ve been living in is the only one. It takes something major to see without the blinders of habit and years.”
“You’re right. I suspect that my obsessive learning had something to do with how long it took me to see. Thankfully, I never did send the damn email to my mother. She was right to leave. I think the only reason she hung around as long as she did was for Warren and me.