by Leger, Lori
Lexie hugged her mom then approached the bed, cautiously. She puffed out her breath and pointed her finger at him. “Jackson, you sure do know how to scare a girl. Next time you ride a motorcycle, you need to watch for cows on the road.”
Mac stepped forward. “No! No more motorcycles. They’re too dangerous.”
Red lifted one, then the other so both girls could kiss Jackson.
Lexie crossed her arms. “Hey Jackson, I heard a rooma.”
“It’s a rumor, Lex, not a rooma,” Mac corrected. “You’re such a baby sometimes.”
“I am not a baby. I’m five years old!”
“You are too. You can’t say the simplest words.”
“Mama, make her stop!” Lexie wailed.
Jackson smothered his laughter as Giselle held firm. “Girls, stop that.” She sent him a glance. “There’s still time to bail, babe. It only gets worse.”
He sent her a wink before turning his attention to the younger child. “Lex, what is this rumor you heard?”
I heard a rumor that you’re going to be our second daddy. Is that true?” Giselle thwarted her attempt to climb on his bed by lifting her to stand on a chair.
“It is, if it’s okay with you and Mac,” he said.
Lexie clapped her hands gleefully. “That’s the best news I’ve heard since we got a Paw Paw Bill! You know, Jackson, my daddy was the best daddy in the world and I love him a whole lot. But, I don’t like not having a daddy around. I think you’re gonna be our next best daddy.”
“Thank you Lex.” He gave her a huge smile. “That means a lot to me, and I promise I won’t let you down.” He turned to the older child. “Mac, are you okay with this?”
“Actually,” Mac said, in a very grown up voice, “I’m relieved. It was so hard explaining to my friends why Bill was my Paw Paw, but Jackson wasn’t my daddy.” She gave her eyes a dramatic roll. “This will be much better.”
“Well, I’m glad, Mac. That’s why I’m here, to make your life better.” He caught Giselle’s gaze. “I want to make all your lives better.” The look she gave him could have melted butter. “And I can’t wait to start.”
After a twenty minute visit, the girls prepared to leave with Carrie. Giselle kissed them, saying she’d be home when visiting hours ended.
Mac looked at Jackson. “I’ll go now, but when you get out of this place you’re coming home with us. Nobody can take care of you as good as we can.”
Giselle smiled at her daughter. “Don’t worry, Mac. I’ll make sure he comes home with us when he leaves here.”
Once Carrie and the girls had gone, Red approached the bed. “Hey, I met Lauren’s little Ava Grace when I picked up the girls. Take a look at this.” He pulled up the photos and video as proof.
“She’s a doll, isn’t she?” Jackson gave Giselle his best hang dog expression. “Baby, can we have one? Please?”
Giselle laughed. “I’ll see what I can do. You do realize we’ll have to start from scratch, don’t you? That means several months of midnight and 3 a.m. feedings, colic, teething pains, thousands of dirty diapers, and tons of other problems before they become that cute and that low maintenance.”
“So, how long after we’re married do we have to wait before trying for one?”
“I’m not getting any younger, so I’m ready when you are.”
Jackson turned to Red and grinned. “That was easy.”
“Too easy. She didn’t even make you sweat for it.” Red grinned at Giselle. “Watch out, hon. My sister’s say if you start out spoiling them, they just get to expecting it.”
Giselle leaned in to kiss him. “That’s okay. We’ll spoil each other, won’t we Jackson?”
He beamed up at the woman he couldn’t wait to start his life with. “Speaking of which, we need to get married before I leave here. I’m not staying in that house with you and the girls without making it legal first.”
Her face fell. “Jackson, I want everyone to be there. My first wedding was Toby and I standing before the chaplain at LSU with a couple of friends to take some snapshots of us. I’d like to have friends and family around for this one.”
He raised one hand to stop her. “Just hear me out, okay? How about if we get married at the courthouse as soon as I leave the hospital? Later, when I’m better, and can dance with my bride, we’ll have a big wedding and reception out at the ranch and have it blessed. We could have everyone there, even Red’s family. I really want you to meet them.”
Her tension seemed to ease as, one by one, her excuses dissipated. She leaned over his bed until they were face to face. “You’ve got yourself a deal, big boy, but don’t think I’ll let you get lazy with your therapy. I expect to dance with my husband at our reception.”
Red stepped out of the room to give the couple some privacy. Holding up the wall, he followed Dr. Tiffany LeBlanc’s movements as she walked briskly towards him, her blonde ponytail swinging from side to side. He cleared his throat. “Hey Doc.”
Tiffany glanced up from the clipboard, her steps faltering. “Are they changing linens?”
Red straightened to his full height. “No, she’s just agreed to marry him as soon as he leaves the hospital.”
“It’s generous of her to give up the ceremony, the white dress, and everything,” she said.
Red shrugged, before explaining about the legal ceremony followed by the later celebration. “This is the second marriage for both of them. Their spouses died in a pile-up on I-10 about eight months ago.”
“I remember that. I didn’t sleep for nearly forty-eight hours. It was one surgery after another.” She frowned as she wrote something on a chart. “I knew someone who was killed in that wreck.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Was it a friend, or relative?”
“Neither, actually. More like a thorn in my side,” she murmured. “She wasn’t very nice, and didn’t care whose husband, or fiancé, she slept with.”
“Was her name Chloe Broussard, by any chance?”
Her head popped up. “You knew Chloe?”
“Not in the biblical sense,” he snorted. “Although I hear plenty of other men did.” He jerked his head toward the door. “That tramp was Jackson’s wife. You only thought you had problems.”
Her hand flew to her mouth. “I didn’t know. I knew she was married, but I never met the husband.” She pointed to the door. “Did I hear you say they both lost their spouses in the wreck?”
Red nodded. “Giselle’s husband was killed instantly. They had a wonderful marriage, and two beautiful daughters. It was rough on her for the first few months, losing her husband so suddenly. Jackson, on the other hand …Well, let’s just say it set him free.” He shrugged. “I guess you can tell I didn’t think highly of her.”
Her shoulders dropped. “I thought when she passed away that my life would get easier.”
The disturbed look on her face told him it hadn’t put a dent in her situation. Not surprising with the slimy son of a bitch she was engaged to.
She cleared her throat delicately. “How long have they been in there?”
“Long enough, but I’d knock if I were you, just in case.”
She tapped on the door, waited a few moments, and entered the room. “Hey, I can see both of those big, blue eyes now. That swelling has really gone down since this morning. Let’s hope the rest of your injuries heal that quickly.”
“Did you hear the news, Doc? I’m getting married as soon as you spring me.”
“Yeah, your friend just told me. Congratulations, although I don’t know what kind of a honeymoon you’ll have.” She made a face then smiled at Giselle. “I need to change his dressing. You can stay or leave, whatever you prefer.”
Giselle stepped forward. “I’d like to stay, if you don’t mind. That way I’ll know what to do.”
“That’s fine. How about you?” She looked at Red.
“I’ll stay.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you. It’s not pretty.” She washed her hands before removing t
he old dressing, and then donned sterile gloves and began examining the wounds carefully. She poked and prodded, checking the wound.
“How’s it look, Doc?” Red asked, peering over her shoulder to watch her work.
“It looks good, no oozing around the area or on the bandage. It smells okay, color’s good, warm to the touch, but not hot. So far, so good.” She applied more topical antibiotic to the affected area with a sterile applicator.
Red was studying the strange looking pieces of metal protruding from Jackson’s leg. “What’s this called?”
“It’s an external fixation system.”
“So, how’s it attached to the bone?”
“I had to drill into the bone to insert pins at different angles. The brace uses forced compression and distraction at the fracture sites to fuse them together.”
Red nodded, fascinated at the mechanics of it. “That’s impressive. Do you do many of these?”
“I perform the bulk of them in this area. Especially injuries this serious. Most wouldn’t have attempted to save the leg.”
“I’m glad you were around to do it, then.”
“Oh, it was nothing. Just doing the job I’m paid to do.”
Red winced at the sound of his own words being thrown back in his face. He cleared his throat, backed slowly away from the bed, as she finished tending to her patient.
She straightened and addressed Jackson. “I’ll see you in the morning to check it again. It’s looking good, though. Is the pain medication sufficient?”
“It’s fine, doc. Thanks again.”
“Are you finished for the day?” Giselle asked.
“I sure am. It’ll be nice to make it home before dark. I’ve almost forgotten what my back yard looks like.” She pulled her disposable gloves off with a snap, and threw them in the proper receptacle.
Red walked out first, holding the door open for her. She stopped to make a few notes on a clipboard, glanced up when Red cleared his throat.
He stood tall, fully prepared to take one in the nuts for the sake of making amends to Jackson’s doctor. He certainly owed her that. “Look, Dr. Leblanc, I want to apologize for assuming you were a nurse a few days ago. I swear, I meant you no insult. I just thought you looked too young to have gone through twelve years of schooling already, along with internship and practicing.”
“It’s fine. You’d think I’d be used to it by now.”
“No, it’s not fine. All five of my sisters are in the medical profession, and my calling you a nurse wasn’t meant as an insult, I assure you. I’m very proud of my sisters’ accomplishments.”
“Five?” she asked, finally looking up at him. “I thought you said two?”
“I only mentioned two. We also have a Registered Nurse, Respiratory Therapist, and Physical Therapist,” he boasted.
She nodded. “Did I hear someone say your last name is McAllister? Did any of your sisters go to LSU?”
His chest puffed with pride. “We all went to LSU. It’s kind of a family tradition.”
“I had some classes with two McAllister sisters back when I was in the nursing program, Melissa and Bailey McAllister.”
He nodded. “They’re my sisters.”
“Ah, small world, isn’t it?” She gave him a tight smile. “They were so funny and sweet, it’s hard to believe they’re your sisters.”
Red released his breath with a hiss. “I guess I deserve that.”
“You certainly do,” she said. “Melissa, Bailey and I hung out a lot my freshman year. Then I switched from nursing to pre-med and got too busy to do anything but study and work.” She frowned in concentration. “I know they weren’t twins, but I can’t remember which one was older.”
“Melissa is thirty-seven and Bailey is thirty-six.”
“They got their degrees, then?”
Red nodded, thrilled with the chance to have a pleasant conversation with the good doctor for a change. “Melissa is the physician’s assistant, and Bailey is the nurse practitioner.”
Red wasn’t at all prepared for the brilliant smile Dr. LeBlanc flashed him.
“That’s wonderful, but I’m not surprised. Neither of them looked the type to quit something before they were done,” she said.
Unfortunately, Red heard little of her comment. He’d been too busy staring at the way her beautiful brown doe eyes crinkled when she smiled. He spent the next few seconds wondering if he’d look like a dumbass for not answering some question she may have asked him.
“Tell them Tiffany said hello, would you? It’d be really nice to see them again.” She tucked her clipboard away.
Red nodded, trying to get his cool back by taking charge of the conversation. “Do you have any siblings, Tiffany, or are you an only child, like Jackson?”
“One brother, two years younger—Mr. McAllister.”
“Is he also a doctor?” Red totally recognized that she’d set a boundary he wasn’t to cross..
“No, he’s a lawyer.”
“A doctor and a lawyer—your parents must be pumped.”
“You’d think that, wouldn’t you?” she murmured. “Give your sisters my message, would you?”
“I certainly will, Dr. LeBlanc.” He couldn’t help but wonder, as she made her way down the hall, if she’d show some interest by turning back. Unfortunately, another woman in scrubs stopped her to talk. He jumped when Giselle opened the door.
“Red, I need to run an errand. Will you stay with Jackson while I’m gone? I won’t be long.”
“Sure.” He glanced back in time to see Dr. LeBlanc’s ponytail disappear around the corner. He rejoined Jackson in his room after Giselle left in a flurry of excitement.
Jackson’s voice boomed from the bed. “She’s going to marry me, Red. How did I get so damn lucky?”
Red shrugged, figuring it was okay to give him a hard time now that he was out of the woods. “You nearly killed yourself. She only said yes because she felt sorry for you.”
“Your ass!” Jackson launching a pillow at him with his good arm.
Red caught it and tossed it on the sofa. “Nah, this one really loves you. I’m a little jealous, but I’m happy for you.”
“You, the career bachelor, jealous?”
“Hey, if I can find someone to make me as happy as you are, I wouldn’t mind settling down and having a cute kid or two.”
Jackson slapped Red’s shoulder. “Your mom would be ecstatic.”
“It may even earn me a reprieve from all that nagging.”
“I don’t have a mom to pester me so excuse me for the lack of sympathy. So get busy and start looking. Maybe concentrate on the good doctor? You could steal her from Tanner with one hand tied behind your back.”
“Absolutely, if I was so inclined. I still can’t fathom a woman with her talent and looks putting up with a class-A jerk like Tanner.”
“I think you ought to do something about that.”
Red recognized that gleam in his friend’s eyes. He’d seen it before. The classic “I’m settled, so let’s get you settled too” gleam.
“I have rules. I don’t break up couples, and I sure as hell don’t date women on the rebound. Those relationships never work out.” He stretched out one leg on the vinyl covered couch, “I did discover she attended LSU with two of my sisters, though.”
“LSU, huh?” Jackson perked up. “That explains why she’s so good at what she does. Too bad you didn’t know that before you practically accused her of being incompetent.” He threw a second pillow at Red. “Smooth move, McAllister. Beaucoup smooth move.”
Tiffany Leblanc sat with Giselle, giving her discharge instructions on how to care for Jackson.
“I’ve instructed a home health nurse to go once a day to tend to him, but you have to make sure he doesn’t try to do too much. I can already see how he is,” she said, glaring at Jackson. “I’m sending him home with crutches and a wheelchair. Hide the crutches from him until the arm cast comes off in two weeks. It’s strictly wheels until then.”
She glanced up as Red entered the room then turned back to Giselle. “Will you have help, once you get him home? He’s kind of a big guy for you to handle all alone.”
Red stepped up. “I’ll be there with them a good portion of the time. I can handle him.”
Tiffany looked from Jackson to Red. “You’ll do.”
“Will he be good for a courthouse stop once we leave here?” Giselle asked.
“As long as you can get him into the wheelchair and keep him in it. You’re still going through with the wedding?”
Jackson laced his fingers through Giselle’s. “Absolutely. We have Red as one witness, but we were wondering, since this is your last stop of the day, if you’d be our second. I know it’s a lot to ask, but, we’d really like you to be there. We owe you so much.”
Tiffany smiled at the couple. “I’d be honored, as long as you give me enough time to change. I draw the line at attending weddings in scrubs. It should take at least another hour or so for your discharge, so can I meet you there?”
Jackson nodded his approval. “Perfect. Thanks Doc.”
Giselle held open the thick door so Red could wheel Jackson into the Lake Coburn courthouse. Her gaze landed on Tiffany LeBlanc, standing off to the side. “Hey, have you been waiting long?”
“I’ve only been here a couple of minutes.”
Giselle grinned at the woman she’d grown to like as a person outside her professional persona. She turned, wanting to witness Red’s reaction to Tiffany, sans scrubs and athletic shoes. She nearly laughed in delight as the big, brawny man practically paled at the sight of “Doc” as Jackson had dubbed her. Tiffany’s choice of a sexy, sleeveless sundress seemed to have made quite an impression on the eternal bachelor.
Giselle smiled devilishly as Red’s blue eyes savored the good doctor’s appearance, all the way down to the strappy, heeled sandals showcasing her quality pedicure. Giselle glanced at Tiffany, who straightened from checking to make sure her patient’s leg was properly supported. Was she seeing things or had Doc applied makeup since she’d seen her last? Hmmm. Interesting. She watched and listened, waiting to hear what Red had to say.
“Hello again, Dr. LeBlanc. I almost didn’t recognize you. You are truly stunning,” he murmured.