Nurse to Forever Mom

by Susan Carlisle

  He twisted the corner of his mouth and shrugged.

  Her attention went to Jean. “I heard you’re a dancer.”

  “I take dancing. I’m not very good, though.” Jean stared at the tabletop.

  “I take it too,” Lizzy proudly announced.

  Stacey acknowledged her with a look of wide-eyed wonderment and asked, “You’re a dancer too? Awesome!”

  Stacey’s focus was completely on his girls and it was genuine. They needed that in their lives. Their mother had never been there for them. The few women he’d had anything to do with in the years since his divorce had been more one-night stands than anything. He certainly had not brought them home to meet his daughters.

  “That’s great. I never had a chance to learn.” Stacey leaned toward them as if enthralled with what Jean and Lizzy were telling her.

  “Why not?” Lizzy asked, but Jean appeared uninterested.

  “I moved around a lot and my mother didn’t put me in any classes.”

  “You could come to ours,” Lizzy offered so emphatically that Cody couldn’t help but chuckle. The action felt good. He could only imagine Stacey in an eight and under class of girls in tutus.

  “I think that would be fun but I don’t think I’ll be on Maple Island long enough to take lessons now either.” Stacey hadn’t taken her eyes off the girls, especially Jean.

  “Where’re you going?” Jean asked, frowning at the tabletop.

  “In a few weeks I’ll be going to Ethiopia after a quick stop to visit my mother for a couple of days.”

  Jean sat straighter in her chair. “Ethiopia. We’ve been studying about that country in geography. It’s in Africa, isn’t it? That’s a long way away.”

  For once his oldest was engaged in the conversation. Stacey had a carefree manner about her. That unique congeniality came from living life on the move with the ease of the wind. Her life was a complete contrast to his. Still, he liked her ability to interact with people as if she’d known them forever. He’d seen her use that skill with his patients and now with his girls. She never treated people as though they were strangers. That was a talent to admire.

  “It is, but I’m looking forward to going,” Stacey said.

  “Why?” Lizzy asked.

  “Because I’ll get to help lots of boys and girls.”

  “How?” Jean wanted to know, finally turning to study Stacey’s face.

  “I’m a nurse. So I’ll help them feel better.”

  Jean lowered her gaze again but stopped short of the table surface. With a tentative touch, she fingered the wooden bead bracelet on Stacey’s wrist.

  “You like it? It’s from Bolivia.”

  “Boo-liver-a,” Lizzy said.

  He and Stacey tried not to laugh.

  “Bo-li-via,” Stacey said slowly. “It’s in South America.” She turned back to Jean. “A girl about your age made it for me.” She took it off and handed it to Jean. “You can have it. I bet she’d like to know that a girl in America is wearing it.”

  Jean looked at her father in silent question. He nodded. “If Stacey says it’s okay.”

  “It is. I don’t get to wear it enough. If you have it, Jean, I’ll know it’ll be cared for.”

  “Thank you.” Jean’s words were almost inaudible as she placed the bracelet on her slim wrist.

  Stacey continued patiently engaging his girls in conversation until the drinks and pizza arrived.

  “I hope you didn’t feel forced into eating this just because it was what we were having.” Cody put a slice on each of the girl’s plates.

  “Not at all. I don’t always get pizza in the places I go.” Stacey gave Jean and Lizzy a conspiratorial look. “I have to fill up when I have a chance.” They nodded in simultaneous agreement.

  Cody asked the girls what they’d done today, particularly how school had gone.

  “I thought you stayed in the day care,” Stacey said.

  “We do,” both replied at the same time.

  “They go there before school opens, and then are transported to school and back again when school finishes.” Cody took a bite of his pizza.

  “Nice and convenient.” Stacey pulled a second slice from the pizza sheet. Cheese strung out, breaking as she turned its triangle edge into her mouth.

  Cody held his breath as the cheese landed on her chin. “That was the plan when Alex and I came up with the idea. So far it has worked out great.”

  “You have cheese on your chin,” Jean pointed out.

  “I do?” Stacey wiped her napkin across her cheek.

  Lizzy yelped. “It’s still there.”

  Stacey dabbed the napkin over her face again.

  “You didn’t get it.” Lizzy giggled.

  “Here, let me help.” Cody reached across the table with his napkin in hand. As he removed the cheese, his gaze rose to find Stacey watching him. Her eyes were a forest green, and there was a twinkle in them. They looked like an inviting place where he could go and forget his cares.

  “Hey, Daddy. Can we go get an ice cream?” Jean asked, dropping a crust on her plate.

  Jerked back to reality, Cody quickly returned his hand to his side of the table. “Yeah, sure,” he said before he’d thought about it.

  “Yay,” both girls yelled.

  He put a finger to his mouth. “Shush. Not so loud. We’re inside.”

  “You want to go with us?” Jean asked as she and Lizzy turned to Stacey.

  She looked at him briefly. He did his best not to react one way or another but he didn’t think that was a good idea. For him or the girls.

  Finally, Stacey said, “I don’t believe so this time. I’ve had too much pizza. Maybe next time.”

  To his amazement, Jean looked as disappointed as he felt. Why? he questioned himself on both accounts. Stacey had managed to forge some kind of relationship with his elder daughter who normally didn’t warm up to strangers, especially female ones. So, what was it about Stacey that had him and Jean doing and saying things they didn’t ordinarily do?

  He paid for their meal despite Stacey arguing that she needed to cover her share. “Because of you we didn’t have to wait to eat. The least I can do is get your meal.”

  “Thank you, then.”

  They were exiting the bistro when Jean pointed out the poster about the island’s Founder’s Day Weekend taped to the glass window. “Daddy, Fleur has been teaching us dances at day care. She wants us to do them on Saturday of Founder’s Day Weekend. We have to have costumes.”

  “Costumes. That sounds like fun. I love to dress up,” Stacey commented as she held the door open for the girls to exit.

  Cody almost groaned out loud. Putting together costumes was his least favorite thing to do. Imagination wasn’t his strong suit. They’d had to have outfits for the library’s Fright Night a couple of months back. They had gone as trolls only because those had been the only costumes he could find in the store. He believed he should at least be allowed a full year before he had to come up with more. The side of his brain he used most held facts and numbers. He had to stretch to the other to be creative and inventive. Hopefully, Fleur, a recent patient and now the soon-to-be wife of Rick Fleming, a doctor at the clinic, would provide some guidelines or ideas.

  They were out on the sidewalk when Stacey asked, “Founder’s Day Weekend. What’s that?”

  “It’s so much fun,” Lizzy said, hopping with anticipation. “I like the pony rides.”

  Cody rubbed the top of his younger daughter’s head and chuckled. “You like anything that has to do with a pony.” He regarded Stacey. “We celebrate the settling of the island. The story goes that after a long and very hard winter a few early settlers traveled from the mainland over to the island, seeking food. They found the maple trees and tapped them. The maple syrup helped restore the strength of the people. No one reall
y knows whether it is true or not, but we remember those early settlers and focus on maple syrup by having a Founder’s Day Weekend. With all the trimmings—food, entertainment and fireworks. Everyone turns out for the event.”

  “I’ve never been to a Founder’s Day anywhere,” Stacey said.

  “You’ll come see us dance?” Lizzy stopped twisting to and fro long enough to ask.

  “Of course I will.” Stacey assured her. “If I am still here.”

  Jean and Lizzy grinned from ear to ear.

  “Well, we’d better be going. Thanks again for sharing your table with us.” He was uneasy on some level with what was happening between Stacey and his girls, as well as his reaction to her. The whole meal had seemed far too family-like for his comfort.

  “No problem. I’ll see you in the morning. Bye, Jean and Lizzy.” Stacey glanced back at him as she turned. “Thanks again for the pizza.”

  He nodded. She lifted a hand and strolled away, looking in shop windows as she went. Why did he feel some of the pleasure in the evening was walking away from them?

  * * *

  Two days later, Stacey fixed a cup of hot chocolate in the employees’ kitchen and pulled on her sweater. She loved the ocean and didn’t always get an assignment near one, so she planned to take her afternoon break on the sundeck.

  She eased into a chair. Being early April, the days were still cool. Raising her face to the sun, she closed her eyes. She’d been at the clinic for almost a week already. To her surprise she’d relished every minute of it. After living in little more than huts most of her professional life, she enjoyed staying in the tiny cottage called Paradise, facing the harbor. It was a slice of heaven. The village was pretty and she was slowly working her way through all the eating places. People were friendly and she was at ease here. She would miss it when she left.

  Inhaling the damp salt air deeply, she released it slowly. The seagulls squawked nearby as the waves rolled in. Oh, yes, this was a great place to recharge her batteries. She needed this downtime in her life. This would be her first weekend on the island and she planned to do more of this.

  A hand touched her arm. Her eyes jerked open. Cody’s dark coffee gaze looked down at her. Determination, along with a touch of something else, etched his features.

  “I’ve been searching everywhere for you. I need you to come with me.”

  She’d been so absorbed in her thoughts she’d not heard either him approaching or apparently her phone ringing.

  “Where’re we going?” She thought through the fog of surprise and tried not to react to his touch, which had left her forearm tingling, tiny hairs raised by goose-bumps. Her reaction to him had to stop. She was too old for a crush.

  “Boston. We have an emergency. I need you at the helipad in ten.” He was already walking away.

  Stacey rushed into the clinic behind him. She spoke to his back when she asked, “Do I need to prepare a bag, take anything?”

  “They’ll have everything we need there. I’ll see you at the pad. I have to check on the girls.”

  She was waiting at the helicopter pad when Cody arrived. His lips were moving rapidly as he spoke into his phone. A furrow creased his forehead. The blades of the machine were already humming as they climbed aboard. She was a nervous flier. She gulped and climbed aboard. A high level of trepidation zipped through her.

  She fumbled with her seatbelt. Cody reached over and clipped it into place. She gave him a weak smile. “Thanks.”

  He cupped his ear, shook his head and mouthed, “Use headphones,” then pointed to them hanging above her.

  Stacey placed them on her head.

  “This the first time you’ve ever been in a helicopter?” He spoke through the headpiece.

  She looked at him and nodded. Over the years she’d ridden in jeeps and in the back of trucks over rutted, washed-out roads, and once in a small plane, which she hadn’t liked any better than the helicopter. Apparently, her fear was showing.

  “There’s a button on your headphones just above your right ear. Push it when you talk and release it so you can hear me.”

  She found the button and did as he instructed. “You can hear me now?”

  “I can.”

  The helicopter shifted, and the wind swooshed before the machine started to lift. Her hands gripped the edge of the seat as she stared out the front windshield. Seconds later her right hand was prised off the seat. Cody took it in his, holding it. His hand was large, enveloping hers and radiating a promise that he was there for her. Unsure what was more disconcerting, Cody holding her hand or the flight, she gripped his fingers tightly like the lifeline they were.

  She dared to glance at him. His eyes were intently focused forward. Was he already envisioning the surgery ahead of him? She’d gotten to know many of his facial expressions over the last few days. More than once she had seen those worry lines on his brow, the twinkle in his eyes when he talked about his girls and the rare but always breathtaking event when he laughed. Which happened usually when he was talking to Alex.

  She relaxed somewhat and Cody released her hand. Her growing security was gone. Placing fisted hands in her lap, she looked out the side window. The view of the island was amazing. It was green, a luscious ornament in the middle of a vibrant blue dotted with tiny spots of white.

  As they sped out over the water she peeked at Cody again. He looked much as he had earlier. It was as if he were somewhere else. Her attention moved to the approaching coastline. The tall ship moored in Boston harbor was clearly visible along with a few of the historical buildings. They flew by them and over the modern structures. Suddenly the helicopter went into hover mode.

  Panic tightened her chest. As she reached for the edge of her seat Cody took hold of her hand once more. Gratefully she clung to it.

  There was a crackle in her headset before his voice fill her ears. “The take-off and landing are always the worst.”

  She gave him what she hoped was a look of gratitude, but she worried that her actual expression appeared pained. Not soon enough for her, the helicopter settled on the top of what she assumed was the hospital. Too soon Cody let go of her hand. With his simple action he had shown more awareness of her needs than her mother or fiancé ever had.

  He climbed out of the helicopter and stopped long enough to help her down. After they were out from under the blades, he was on the phone. His questions were clipped and his responses short.

  Soon they were on the elevator, going down.

  Cody leaned against the opposite wall from her as they rode. “Our case is a seventeen-year-old boy involved in a car accident. His knee has been crushed and both his tibia and fibula are broken. When the general surgeon is done with some internal injuries I’ll get to work. To add to the trickiness of the surgery, the boy is the son of a state senator. I understand the kid was running from the police when the accident happened so make sure you don’t speak out of turn to anyone. The family should be in a private waiting room. I’ll talk to them before I go into the OR.”

  “I understand.” She had no experience dealing with high-profile cases, but she had no intention of disappointing Cody.

  She hurried to keep up as he took long strides toward the surgery department. She waited to the side while he quietly conferred with another doctor. Done, Cody stepped to the hallway door. He said to her, “This way.”

  They walked down the hall side by side. Soon they came to a closed door. He opened it and she followed him through. Inside was a room with cushioned chairs that didn’t match. She was sure they had been pulled from various places. People in suits sat and stood, all talking on phones.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Clark?” Cody said, loud enough so he could be heard over the din.

  “I’m Mr. Clark.” A man with graying temples stepped toward them. “This is my wife. Senator Ann Clark.”

  A woman with a stately bearing and blood
shot eyes rose from the chair in the corner.

  Cody stepped forward and offered his hand. “Senator Clark, I’m Dr. Cody Brennan. I’ll be taking care of your son’s knee and leg.”

  She nodded. “I understand you’re the best at this type of surgery.”

  “I’ll certainly be doing my best for your son.”

  “His name is James.” The senator leaned against her husband.

  “This is Stacey Ryder, my clinical nurse. She’ll be keeping you updated on how things are going in surgery. If you have any questions or concerns you let her know.”

  Stacey nodded and gave the parents a professional smile of reassurance.

  “How long should James be in there?” The senator sniffled. “It’s already been hours.”

  Cody’s grave look didn’t waver. “My guess is it’ll be after midnight before you can see James. Now I have to go. I’ll be out to speak to you as soon as I’m done in the OR.”

  The terrified parents just stared at him hopefully.

  Cody lifted his chin toward the door. Stacey followed him out.

  “I’ll show you the OR I’m using. Sit with them for a few minutes then come check in with me. I want to give them as much reassurance as possible. Based on what I’ve been told over the phone, the surgery is going to be a tough one.”

  They entered the surgical unit. Cody was greeted by a couple of people in surgical scrubs. At the OR unit desk he introduced her to the clerk. While they were there a man hurried up to them. Again, Cody introduced her. It was nice he remembered to do so because it would have been easy for him to get caught up in the case and forget she was there. It made her feel valued. The man was the surgeon’s assistant who would be aiding Cody.

  The two men went into a deep discussion about the amount of damage to the boy’s leg.

  Cody finished with, “Then we’ll plan to stabilize everything tonight and go in again in a day or two to complete the repair. The swelling needs to go down and James needs to be stable first.”

  “The general surgeon should be through in about fifteen minutes. They’ll be ready for you then.” His surgical assistant was already headed down the hall.