“A slight departure?” Josh’s jaw and neck muscles were flexing. “What part of your story was truth?”
“Uhmm... the part where I told you Grace wanted to leave New York City.”
He muttered a few unintelligible words. “Why did she want to leave New York City?”
“Yes. That’s the million-dollar question only Grace has the right to answer.” Ben pulled Josh to a stop before they entered the next hallway. “Look. I know you may not believe this, but I love my brother. I was only trying to prevent a huge tragedy. I’ve never seen him like this about a girl before, and I think Grace is really good for him. So I took a few liberties with the truth. As long as they end up together, that’s all that matters. Right?”
Josh grunted. “That remains to be seen—they’re not back together yet.” He shook off Ben’s arm and marched onward. “They were together again... in a way. But I doubt either of them will remember.”
*****
Brad’s head was pounding, but the pain didn’t bother him as much as his muddled brain. He was really upset about Grace. But why? Something was wrong. If only he could remember. He had to find Grace, and he was wasting time sitting in this room. He’d already heard his CT scan was clear. So why were they making him stay? If he could hide his confusion, he could stop wasting time and find Grace.
He was pulling on his shirt when a female doctor opened the curtain. “Hi, Dr. Gates. How are you feeling?”
He frowned at her. She seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t quite place her. He read her ID tag. “Hello, Dr. Dickson. I’m fine, thanks. CT scan showed no intracranial bleeding. In fact, I’m ready to go.”
“That’s great. Hey, I just got off my shift. Can I walk out with you?”
He shrugged his shoulders as he buttoned his shirt. “Sure. Let’s go.”
“Do you have your release papers signed?”
“I don’t know if he remembered to sign them,” Brad lied. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Are you kidding? Dr. Branson is a stickler for the rules.” She chuckled. “Usually, you’re pretty uptight about the rules, too. I guess that concussion made you a little more relaxed. I’ll do the release for you.” She brought up his information on the computer while he paced.
“I think I’ll go on outside.”
“What’s your rush? Hang on just a minute—I’m almost done. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about my application to Physicians Across Borders. Do you think it’s a good idea?”
The topic didn’t ring a bell, but he could cover his lapse. “I think it’s a great idea. You’ll be wonderful, Dr. Dickson.”
“Aren’t you surprised at all? I mean, would you have pictured me doing something like that?”
“Absolutely. You’ve always been self-sacrificing and giving with all the patients.” Were his words true? For all he knew this woman was a selfish shrew. Oh well—it couldn’t hurt to say something nice. Her beaming smile indicated he’d spoken the right words.
“There. It’s done.” She signed off the computer. “Now we can leave without ticking Josh off. I’m so glad you’re excited about the Physicians Across Borders application. Maybe we could go to dinner and talk about it. I want to get your advice about asking for recommendations.”
He was already out the door and hurrying toward the exit. “Uhmm... I think I should go home and rest.”
“But you have a bad concussion. You’re not supposed to be alone tonight.”
“Oh, right. Well, I’m not going straight home.” They’d almost made it to the exit when he spotted Josh making a beeline for his vacated room. He ducked his head and slipped outside.
She followed him through the door. “Wait up! What’s your hurry?”
“I need to get somewhere.” He was almost running down the sidewalk, but she kept pace with him.
“Where are you headed?”
He slowed as the pain in his head swelled to a crescendo.
“I’m going...” Where was he going? He needed to find Grace but he couldn’t quite remember where she lived. “I’m not really sure.”
“Let me help you. I’ll go with you—just tell me where you want to go.”
“I need to find Grace. Something’s wrong, but I can’t remember. Do you know her?”