Charlie nodded, and Rhiann felt her eyes welling up in memory of the community’s kindness.
“Better than I even expected. It was enough to pay off Levi’s old medical bills and make a start on the new ones.”
“That’s wonderful news!” Marilyn clapped her hands in exclamation and then sent a worried look over to the crib, to make sure she hadn’t woken Levi. When the baby didn’t flinch she continued, her voice softer, “I’m so glad to hear it.”
“I couldn’t believe the turnout.” Rhiann sighed, still overwhelmed at the amount of people who’d come out to show their support.
“I can,” Charlie said, as he propped a shoulder against the narrow window, blocking most of the natural light. “You do so much for others that you shouldn’t really be surprised when they return the favor in your hour of need.”
Rhiann shook her head, feeling heat rising into her face as she blushed at Charlie’s praise. “I only do my job...”
Charlie snorted. “That job means the world to a lot of people, and they were more than happy to show you just how much.”
“Do you know how much I cried that night?” Rhiann tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear. “Each and every person who came up to me made me cry, I think.”
“You should be proud of the impact you’ve had in their lives. I know I’m certainly proud of you and all that you’ve accomplished.” Marilyn hugged her close. “Now, I have a meeting to get to, but I’ll see you tomorrow. Kiss Levi for me when he wakes.”
Marilyn waved as she left.
Rhiann turned to Charlie. “What brings you by today?”
“Can’t a man come see his favorite girl without his motives being suspect?”
Rhiann was shaking her head at him, smiling widely, when movement in the doorway caught her eye.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Patrick
HE’D GOTTEN INTO the habit of ending his rounds with Levi. Most days Rhiann was alone. A couple times his mom had been there. Once the babysitter had been visiting, but she’d left quickly after stuttering out a mumbled apology.
Finding another man in the room was not something he had expected. And seeing her smile at that man stabbed him right in the gut and twisted him up in knots a sailor would have been proud of.
He swallowed down the ball of envy lodged in his throat and tried to plaster a smile on his face when Rhiann looked up and they made eye contact. He wanted her to look at him with a smile on her face. He wanted to see those little dimples that only came out when she laughed showing up at his dark and sarcastic humor.
“Patrick!”
He moved quickly to Levi’s side. “How’s he been today?”
She followed him over to the crib and watched as he listened to Levi’s heart and lungs.
Patrick closed his eyes and shut out Rhiann and the emotions of the moment. Once he’d calmed himself, he listened to the satisfying sounds coming from the baby’s chest. Finally he was willing to call the surgery a success, because everything sounded perfect. Levi’s coloring looked good, and he’d lost the blue tint to his lips and hands.
“He’s been good. Still sleeping a lot, but he’s eaten better than he ever has at all his meals today. He even toddled around the edge of the crib some.”
With a gentle touch, he ran his hand over Levi’s hair. His arms ached to pick the little one up and let him snuggle into his chest again.
“Good. As long as he doesn’t have a setback tonight, I think we can get him out of here in the morning.”
Even as he said it, he wanted to take it back. As long as Levi was in the hospital he had easy access to him—and to Rhiann. Once she took Levi home, though, he wouldn’t have any reason to see them every day. But he couldn’t hold Levi’s progress back for personal reasons.
“That’s great news!” the other man in the room said, drawing Patrick and Rhiann’s attention back to him. “I know you’re ready to get home.”
Patrick’s grip tightened around his stethoscope. He didn’t like the familiarity in the other man’s tone. Or how comfortable he looked in Rhiann’s presence. He didn’t like it because he felt excluded. Rhiann clearly considered Charlie family now, and he’d once been counted in that rank. Until a few days ago he had thought he might be again...
Rhiann smiled at Charlie like he’d just said the most brilliant thing in the world. “I still won’t be back to work for a while, though, if I can swing the finances.”
“Right. But a man can hope. I’d just about kill to get a steady partner again. I’m getting too old for this new-partner-each-day nonsense, you know.”
“I’ll be back when I’m back, Charlie,” she said with a smirk.
And Patrick saw her eyes light with mischief. The type of mischief that she’d used to aim at him.
“Besides, getting me back isn’t going to change the fact that you’re getting old,” she teased.
“Ain’t that the truth?” The older man snorted. “Well, I’m going to take my old self home for the night. Four a.m. will be here all too soon.”
“Thank you for coming by,” Rhiann told him softly. Then she stepped into his arms and allowed him to pull her close for a goodbye hug.
Patrick tried not to watch. He didn’t need to torture himself with seeing Rhiann in the other man’s arms. But he couldn’t tear his eyes away. There was nothing sexual about it—nothing that even hinted at anything beyond a close friendship—but it still hurt that he’d lost that closeness with her.
Charlie stepped over and stuck his hand out to shake Patrick’s. “I want to thank you for taking care of Rhiann and her little man. It means a lot to me.”
Patrick shook his hand. “They mean a lot to me too.”
Charlie smiled widely at him, understanding the meaning behind Patrick’s declaration. He nodded at him. “Good. Y’all have a good night.”
With Charlie gone, the silence stretched between him and Rhiann, hanging awkwardly while he tried to find words that might ease the awkwardness.
“Do you really think he can go home tomorrow?” she asked.
“That’s my hope.” He tapped his fingers against his thigh. “And pretty soon you won’t have to see me again. You won’t have to pretend to forgive me, or act as though you like me, when inside you’re cringing at my touch.”
She stared at him, an incredulous look on her face. “Is that what you think I want?”
“I have no idea what you really want. Every time I think things are on track between us suddenly—bam!—we’re hemorrhaging emotions and I can’t find the bleeder.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I know what I want, but I’m not sure it’s compatible with this new-found desperation of yours to be on your own.”
He swallowed hard.
“Somehow you and Levi broke through my defenses, and despite my vow never to let anyone close enough to hurt me again, here I stand, my heart racing like a teenage boy’s, telling the girl he’s crushing on that he likes her and praying she doesn’t laugh in his face.”
Arms wrapped around herself, she said, “Do I look like I’m laughing? Does the idea of being with me sound like a joke to you?”
The tiniest tendril of hope wrapped around his heart.
He stepped forward and laid a hand on her shoulder, but she pulled away.
Rhiann
Going to stand by the window, Rhiann stared out over the small section of roof, wishing there was a better view. Wishing there was somewhere she could go in this tiny room that would allow her to put a little distance between them at that moment.
When Patrick touched her she had problems thinking clearly. And she needed to think clearly if they were to move forward with any sort of relationship.
“Rhiann, no.” He moved up behind her, his hands skimming up her arms from wrist to bicep. “Look at it from my perspective. I thought we were moving forward. We were gettin
g along again. The chemistry between us could start fires. And yet... And yet there’s a gap between us that you won’t let me breach.”
“I don’t want to get hurt again.”
Patrick kissed the side of her throat. “I know that.”
His lips hovered over her pulse and she arched her neck to allow him better access.
“Please,” she begged him, not even certain herself if she was asking him for more or to stop.
When his mouth suckled gently at the pulse-point in her throat all her thoughts were scrambled into a nonsensical mess. His touch turned her from a level-headed paramedic, a strong single mother, into a fangirl who had just met her favorite celebrity.
But all too soon he pulled away.
“This isn’t the place or the time,” he said, by way of apology for ending something that had such exquisite potential.
He was right, of course. And they had a lot to talk about before they took things further.
But before she could bring that up Levi started to stir.
“Levi’s waking up,” she said, pushing away from the window and moving to her son’s side, switching her focus from Patrick to Levi. “Hello, sleepyhead, did you have a good nap?”
She brushed his shaggy hair out of his eyes. Once he was feeling a little better she’d have to take him in for his first haircut—a milestone she hadn’t been sure he’d reach. But every day his color improved, and all hint of blue was gone from his lips and fingertips now. Levi was growing stronger by the minute, and the new potential for him filled her with such hope.
He raised his little arms to her, wanting a cuddle.
She lowered the rail on the crib and picked him up carefully, so as not to irritate his incision. He snuggled into her chest and went to pop a thumb into his mouth, frowning when his eyes landed on the IV in his hand. He reached for it with his other hand.
“Not quite yet, little guy,” Patrick said, with a hint of amusement in his voice as he blocked Levi’s access to the IV. “I’ll get a nurse to go ahead and take that out for you, though, since it’s bothering you so much.
“You can’t do it?” Rhiann asked.
He tickled Levi’s side gently. “I don’t want him to connect me with anything painful, so I’d rather not.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “You did his surgery.”
“Yeah, and he was sound asleep, with no idea that I was the one holding the scalpel that sliced through his precious skin. He’s awake now. Completely different situation.”
“You big softie.”
She squeezed Patrick’s hand. His gentleness with Levi made her fall for him a little more each time she saw the two of them together. Each smile he bestowed upon her son found one more chink in the armor around her heart.
“Only when it comes to you two.” He winked at her. “I’ll be back.”
She watched Patrick leave before turning her attention back to Levi. “You need to leave that IV alone, baby. You wanna play? Look at this bear!” She grabbed the little brown teddy that Patrick’s mom had brought by earlier. “Look at this guy. He’s convinced someone that he needs to come live with you—can you believe that?”
She paused, and Levi babbled a bit.
“Of course you can believe that. Why wouldn’t he want to come live with you? I know. Mommy’s silly for even thinking that was unbelievable.”
She made the bear dance in front of Levi. He kept his eyes on the bear with a smile on his face, and the occasional laugh snuck out. It kept him distracted from the IV for the moment too.
Rhiann couldn’t have kept the smile off her face if she’d tried. Love for Levi filled her to overflowing, and his happiness made her so joyous it could hardly be contained.
When Patrick came back in with a nurse, Levi beamed a radiant smile at him. He reached out for Patrick to pick him up, and Patrick did so without hesitation.
“Someone woke up in a good mood,” Patrick said, hugging Levi close.
Levi chattered at him in a string of unintelligible noises.
Patrick treated the conversation seriously. “Your bear is a crazy dancer, you say? Has your mommy been giving him lessons? She’s one of the most enthusiastically bad dancers I know. I’ll have to tell you a story about our senior prom. It involves a wardrobe malfunction, five stitches, and a set of lost car keys—but that’s a story for another time.”
The nurse snorted and then tried unsuccessfully to cover the sound. She kept her head down while she got the bandage and supplies ready to remove Levi’s IV.
“All right, Mr. Levi, you ready to get that IV out?” the nurse asked him.
Levi loved it when the nurses came in and talked to him. He couldn’t get enough attention—particularly from the younger nurses. He giggled and waved at her.
“I’m gonna take that as a yes.” She turned to Patrick. “You wanna sit down here with him, so you can hold him still?”
Patrick sank down into the avocado-colored recliner and the nurse made quick work of taking the IV out. In less than a minute it was gone, and Levi had a brightly colored Sesame Street bandage in its place. The few tears he’d thought about crying had soon dried up when he’d been handed a pink popsicle.
The nurse cleaned up and then removed her gloves with a snap. “I’ll be in later to check on him.”
Levi relaxed against Patrick, happily slurping on the popsicle in his hand, the very picture of contentment. And Rhiann had to admit Patrick looked quite content too.
“He looks happy there with you.”
Patrick grinned up at her, his eyes bright. “I’m pretty happy here with him too.”
While she meant every syllable of what she’d said, the next phrase that came out of her mouth surprised them both.
“I love you.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Rhiann
THE NIGHT PASSED fitfully for Rhiann. Levi slept through without a peep, but she tossed and turned on the lumpy reclining chair without much rest. Her mind would not shut off long enough to let her sleep. Patrick’s sudden departure the night before had her worrying she’d pushed too far, too fast, even though her rational mind knew that he’d been called to see another patient.
She’d already lost too many people in her life. With her own mom long gone, and no dad to speak of, Levi, Patrick and Charlie were all she had.
Besides Levi, Patrick was the most important person in her life. She couldn’t bear to lose him again.
Clearly Patrick had not expected her to blurt out an admission of love. She hadn’t exactly expected it herself.
Oh, she’d always loved him as her best friend. But now she loved him with the heart of a woman who had known loss. Loved him as the man she wanted to spend her life with.
When residents and doctors started coming down the hall Rhiann finally gave up on trying to sleep and got dressed for the day. Patrick had said Levi could go home this morning, and she was more than ready to get out of the hospital. Maybe in her own bed tonight she’d actually sleep.
She packed all Levi’s things while she waited for him to wake up, tucking all the stuffed animals that Patrick’s mom had brought him into the diaper bag.
When Levi woke, Rhiann changed his diaper and put a fresh shirt on him.
“Mommy will get you a proper bath once we get home,” she promised him. “Between me and you, I don’t really want to take you back to that dingy old apartment—but it’s home, I guess. Sometime soon Mommy will get you a better place to live. Somehow...”
She looked up to find Patrick leaning against the doorframe. Heat flooded her face as she wondered how much of her little confession he’d heard, but she held her head high. Not having the funds for a nicer place was something out of her control at the moment, but maybe with Levi finally healthy she could start saving toward a better apartment.
“You ready to bust out of this pris
on?”
“Beyond ready.”
He rolled his eyes and strode forward. “I was talking to Levi.”
“I think I can speak for him on this matter.”
Patrick handed her some papers. “His release paperwork. The nurse will be in in a moment to go over it with you—hospital rules.”
Rhiann flipped through the sheets. Diet, exercise, wound care... Standard stuff. Nothing concerning. She laid the paperwork on top of Levi’s bag.
Patrick stood next to the crib, tickling Levi and making faces at him. Levi laughed and didn’t even have a coughing fit. He was truly on his way to being healthy, thanks to Patrick, which was giving her one more reason to fall for the man.
If Patrick Scott looked over at her and they made eye contact there was no way he wouldn’t see the love that must surely be shining from her eyes like a lighthouse, beckoning him to her, and that might send him running again. So she busied herself double-checking that she’d packed all Levi’s things.
With focused determination she scanned every inch of the hospital room, looking for any item that might have escaped her initial perusal.
“You okay?” Patrick asked, wrapping his arms around her from behind.
“Mmm-hmm.” She tried not to melt into his arms—really, she did. But her body had other plans and she found herself leaning into the delicious warmth of his touch. “Just ready to take Levi home.”
“You wouldn’t be trying to get away from me, would you?”
She shook her head, unable to put her voice to words for fear that her true feelings would come tumbling out with no stopping them.
“Good. I have a surprise for you when we leave here.”
Curiosity got the best of her and she looked up at him and made eye contact, despite her concerns.
“I’m not telling you what. You’ll just have to wait.”
He flashed her a grin that made her heart do crazy things. But the nurse came in to go over the discharge instructions before Rhiann could question Patrick about what he had planned.
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