by Kylar Wilde
Sons of Saint Mercy
Wilson
Kylar Wilde
www.KylarWilde.com
Copyright © 2021 by Kylar Wilde
First E-book publication: November 2021
Cover Designer: Ella Strong
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.
This novella is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
The author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
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Derek Hawkins, a ladies’ man has his eyes on Elle Walkers, a new and young nurse at Tampa Medical Hospital but his intellectual and physical charm have no effect on her at all. When Elle is placed on Derek’s service for a week, she is in for a whole new ride…
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Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Thank You
Also By Kylar Wilde
About the Author
Chapter 1
The matte black Toyota SUV seemed out of place in the quiet neighborhood and frankly, so did the driver. The car pulled up to a small one-bedroom household—one of many on both sides of the same street—and there, it came to a stop.
A gorgeous brunette, with pronounced cheekbones and a strong posture, embarked in front of the vehicle and took in a deep breath. She had on a pair of sunglasses, which seemed to only be for show, because the sun was neatly tucked away behind numerous clouds.
“This will be good for me,” she said to herself and sighed in a dramatic way, as she reached into the car again to get her purse from the passenger seat. A click of a button later, and the trunk of her car was wide open. It housed three suitcases.
The woman looked at the suitcases with disdain. Her mind was not ready to be involved in any form of physical labor. She turned around and looked down the street. A man was jogging by, making her wonder why someone would be exercising in the middle of the day.
“Excuse me,” she said softly, halting the man. “I wonder, could you help me?”
The man turned to her and did a double take. The woman didn't seem fazed by this; it was clearly not the first time that she had been recognized. “Oh my . . . you're Elizabeth . . . Elizabeth Keaton. I'm a fan.”
Liz smiled a bit. She was trying to get used to this, but it still felt nice. She liked the fact that there were people out there who adored her and looked at her the way this man did. This feeling was quickly followed by a wave of sadness, as she remembered that her ex had also looked at her in this manner.
Liz had been advised, even then, that she shouldn't date her fans, but she had thought that times were different then. After all, it was merely the start of her career.
At the time that Liz met her ex, Derek, she had just bagged her first shot at a real movie. It was as a supporting actress, and it was an instant success. People had started to recognize her. She had begun to hear her name on their lips, and it gave her a feeling of warmth that she cherished. It was the beginning of her fame.
Derek had met her by chance, but it was a chance that he made the most out of. He had been charming, and he had said all the right things. Liz decided to take a chance. They started what would be a two-year relationship and, in that time, Liz's fame only grew.
The beginning of the end came when Liz had decided to start taking roles in TV shows, instead of movies. Liz had made this decision because she wanted a sense of stability. The suspense and precarious nature of auditioning for movies was starting to take its toll on her. The young actress instantly got a role in a medical drama.
Derek was not on board. He felt like it was beneath her and urged her to reconsider. She had made her decision though, and she was prepared to stand by it. That was the beginning of the end for their relationship.
It started with Derek cheating, and he wasn't even trying to hide it. He only apologized after, but it never stopped. Liz was completely entranced with him at this point, but he didn't seem to care anymore. It was only then that she realized he was only with her because of how famous she was. Now that she was on a TV show that was just starting out, Derek wasn't as starstruck as he used to be.
This would soon change. The show blew up in its first season, becoming one of the most-watched medical dramas around. Liz was nominated for the best actress in a TV show award. Derek couldn't even be bothered to show up. Liz was devastated.
When she won the award, Derek tried to come back into her life, like he had not abandoned her. She did not stand for it; Liz broke up with him. It had taken a lot, but when she did, she never wanted to go back to the relationship. She felt freer than she had in a very long time. It was the best thing for her, and she was happy for once.
“Um . . . Are you okay?”
The words pulled Liz from her thoughts. She had been so engrossed in her thoughts that she had forgotten where she was. She looked at the man, who had a worried expression on his face.
“Sorry, I'm okay. I just wanted some help with taking my bags into my apartment. They're pretty heavy.”
“Say no more!” the man said. He rushed to the trunk and lifted out the two heaviest suitcases with ease. “I'm Carlos,” he offered, as he walked to her home.
“That's a nice name. Thank you, Carlos.”
The man nodded eagerly. Liz picked up the last suitcase and followed him to the door. As she fiddled in her purse for her keys, another car pulled up in the driveway. A woman got out of the car. She had dirty blonde hair and was almost a head shorter than Liz.
Carlos’s eyes went even wider as the woman came closer.
“You've done enough, Carlos,” Liz said, as she opened the door. “I think Erica can help me from here.”
Erica was Liz's co-star. They had met on the set of the TV show, and they had instantly become very close friends. Erica had come over to help her unpack, even though she had come a little later than planned.
“Sorry,” the blonde apologized. “I just had to take care of a few things. Thank you um . . .”
“Carlos,” the man offered.
“Right, Carlos. I'll take over now.”
Carlos nodded and said goodbye to both women.
“He seems nice,” Erica said teasingly. “I guess you work fast.”
“St
op it,” Liz laughed. “I'm still trying to recover from my last relationship.”
“Yes, and a new relationship is the way to do it. Not moving to the other side of the city to get away from one person. Come on, does this neighborhood even suit you?”
“Yes, it does! I want something quiet, really.”
“Sure, if you say so,” Erica replied. Her voice was laced with a tone of sarcasm.
“Maybe you're right though. I wouldn't mind dating again; I guess I just need someone nice.”
“Good,” Erica corrected. “You need someone good. Nice people could be faking, but you'll know if you have a good guy. Now tell me, was Derek a good guy?”
Liz cringed a bit at the mention of her ex-boyfriend. “I guess he wasn't. He was really nice, but now that I think about it, he wasn't good to me.”
“Go on,” Erica urged, leaving the luggage at the front door. She strode through the living room and sat on one of the couches.
“You're supposed to help me unpack.”
“You already have so much stuff in here. The clothes can wait a bit.”
Liz looked at the living room. The household came with a lot of furniture, and even though some of it was quite nice, she had decided that she was going to change most of it. She wanted the house to completely be hers.
“You were saying?” Erica urged.
“Wow, you really didn't like Derek, huh?”
“I never have. I didn't even try to hide it. The moment he started to hit on me, I avoided him like a plague. I told you about that, but you said he was probably just being nice. You made a lot of excuses for that jerk.”
“I know,” Liz agreed. “I messed up.”
“That's alright. Fresh start. Maybe you'll meet a new guy. I mean, you've already met Carlos—he seems alright.”
“Yeah, but I don't know; I didn't feel anything there. I don't think he's my type.”
“Since when do you have a type?”
“Hey!” the actress protested. “That isn't my issue right now though; we need to finish unpacking.”
Liz left through the front door and moved to where her car was parked. She checked to make sure that there was nothing left. When she was sure, she headed back to her house, but something caught her eye.
She turned to the house on the left side of hers and saw a man walking out of it. He seemed like he was in a hurry, judging from the way he made a beeline to his car.
Liz's jaw dropped when she saw how gorgeous he was. He had gray eyes that shone in contrast to his dark hair. A line of similarly dark stubble covered his chin. He was tall too—Liz could see that from where she stood. She felt drawn to him somehow, and her open mouth moved like she was about to form words. Before that could happen though, he had driven off without even seeing her.
“Who was that?”
Liz turned to her front door and saw Erica standing by it, looking in the direction of the man that had just left.
“I don't know,” Liz answered, “But I'm going to find out.”
Chapter 2
“Did you fly here?” the nurse at the desk asked as Doctor Wilson Kane walked through the doors and into the lobby of Saint Mercy General Hospital. “I told you we'd monitor her condition. I really just wanted to let you know.”
“That's alright—I don't mind working today,” Wilson replied. He moved past her and headed for the stairs. Everyone who saw him, decked out in his clean white ward coat, swiftly moved out of his way. They all assumed that the doctor was headed to tend to an emergency. To an extent, they were right.
The doctor moved through the narrow halls like clockwork, and once he got to a big blue door, he stopped. The door had a large window, and Wilson looked through it at the woman in the room. She had been in a coma for almost three weeks. Now she was awake, and another doctor was in the room with her.
Wilson moved through the door and the other doctor turned to face him. He laughed when he saw the man.
“I knew it!” the other doctor said. “I knew you'd come, Wil. Alice owes me twenty bucks.”
“I doubt you have any use for twenty dollars, Hanson.”
“Sure I don't, but it's fun to have,” Hanson replied. He was a doctor at the hospital—one of Wilson's closest friends. “I guess I'll leave you to it then. Are we still on for drinks tonight?”
“I'll try. Now that she's awake, someone has to monitor her, and I'll be more comfortable—”
“If you were the one,” Hanson finished. “Yeah, I get it. I really thought the Sons of Saint Mercy would go out today.”
Wilson cringed at the nickname. “I thought that was just something the nurses called us. I didn't know you were an accomplice as well.”
The nickname had been given to the group of five friends. The reason for it was the fact that all their names ended in son. It wasn't something that Wilson thought about a lot, but Hanson seemed to really like it.
“I don’t know, it kinda has a nice ring to it.” With that, Hanson left the ward. Wilson turned back to the patient who was giving him a small smile.
“I'm glad to see you're awake, Alice.”
“I don't even know what happened,” the woman replied. “But judging from the way both of you talked, like I wasn't even in the room, I'm guessing I was out for quite some time.”
Alice was well into her sixties. She had graying hair that fell across her pillow in strands. Her wrinkled face looked like it was too tired for the smile that was on it.
“Almost three weeks,” he replied. “I know I probably shouldn't say this as your doctor, but you kinda had me worried there for a minute.”
“What can I say? Always keep 'em guessing.”
The two shared a laugh before Wilson walked away from her side. The ward was large enough for at least three beds, but Alice was the only occupant. He had pulled a few strings so that it would be more comfortable for her. It had a large television on one end, close to the bed.
Alice had been a patient of his a few years ago. She had suffered from a stroke, and because of it, she had been paralyzed for a little while. It was during this time that Wilson found out that the old lady didn't have any family to take care of her. All her children lived very far away, and none of them were willing to make the trip or take time out in their lives to take care of their mother.
She reminded him of his own mother, who had died just before he became a doctor. Wilson's mother had suffered from numerous health complications that only seemed to get progressively worse. When he had taken up Alice's case, he had decided to help her as much as he would be allowed to.
Wilson had gone to see her on occasions after she had been discharged. He helped her around the house when he could, and he would shop for her once in a while as well, even though she continued to insist that she could handle these things herself. He did not mind, and soon they had developed a form of friendship.
When she was hit with another stroke again, Wilson had been devastated. He had watched over her almost day and night when he didn't have any other patients to attend to. Wilson had made sure that she was well taken care of, and he had wanted to be alerted the exact moment she woke up. That was exactly what had happened.
The nurse at the desk had called him to let him know, and Wilson rushed over. He came back to the hospital almost immediately, despite the fact that he had left just a few hours ago, after staying overnight to watch over her.
“You fuss over me too much,” Alice said. “If you had a nice girl on your arm, I'm sure things would change.”
“Well, you don't have to worry about that,” Wilson assured. “I'm not really into relationships right now.”
“You say that like it's a good thing. I want you to stop watching over me so much. You're such a handsome young man. I'm sure there are so many people here that would love to go out with you.”
Wilson could actually think of a few. “I guess I'm the problem then. I'm just not ready.”
He knew the conversation would go on with Alice still trying to convince h
im to get a girlfriend, so he cut it short.
“I'm glad to see you're awake. I have a couple of other things to do, but I'll stay with you tonight. Maybe order some food.”
“You don't have to—”
“I want to.”
Alice stayed quiet for a minute, thinking about a way to convince him otherwise. It was clear that nothing came to mind though, so she had to accept defeat.
“Fine then. Surprise me.”
Wilson nodded with a smile and headed out of the ward. He instructed one of the nurses to do a check-in every thirty minutes, then he headed to his office on the top floor.
There wasn't much to do that day since Wilson had initially been cleared to have a free day from work. In the end, he decided to just look through the paperwork he had done on previous days to make sure it was up to par.
A head peered through the door of his office. “Can I come in?”
“Sure, come on in, Emily,” Wilson answered, inviting the paramedic in.
“I didn't expect to see you today,” she commented, and she took the free seat.
“Alice woke up.”
“Ah, Alice. How is she?”
“She's stable. I'll spend the night here though, to just keep an eye on her.”
This statement seemed to make Emily's smile disappear. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I am,” Emily replied. “I guess you just sort of gave me my answer. I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me.”
Wilson gave a sad smile. This was the first time that Emily had asked him out. It wasn't even the first time he had been asked out at the hospital. It seemed like his day consisted of him constantly rejecting invitations to go out.
“It's fine,” Emily continued. “I guess I'll just try again some other time.”