"You sure you don't want me to come to the airport with you?" Owen asked as he lounged on my bed. He had his head in his hand, elbow bent as he watched me finish packing my bags. I thought about jumping him again right there. We had just come from his beach house so I could pack after a fantastic night together. I was going to be sore for days as it was, so I decided against it.
"No, I'd rather go by myself." No need for him to see me freak out getting on the plane. I would rather he not remember me as a terrified mess. "Thank you though."
He gave me a radiant smile. "You sure you have to leave? I can have my private jet fly you home."
I thought about it for a long moment. It was such a tempting offer. "I can't. I have to work tomorrow."
He made a face that told me he clearly wasn't impressed by my excuse. I laughed and crawled up on the bed next to him. "I had to fight to get this much time off. Besides, I like my job."
"I thought you said you wanted to open a B&B?"
I gave him an impressed look. He had been paying attention.
"I do, but there's no way I can afford to right now. I've got student loans out the wazoo, and I don't feel right having Emma pay them off."
Owen nodded. I knew we were both avoiding the subject we really wanted to talk about. What would happen after this vacation? There was no fake marriage ceremony tying us together, no paparazzi that would be hounding me everywhere I went. He had no reason to visit me, and despite his heartfelt words, I just couldn't see us continuing a real relationship.
A knock on the door announced my driver to the airport. I looked at Owen and slowly stood up from the bed to answer the door. The driver took my bags, wheeling them to the waiting car while giving me some privacy to say goodbye.
"Owen," I started, but I couldn't find the words to make this hurt less. Goodbyes were always hard for me.
Owen didn't say a word, he just wrapped me up in his arms and kissed me.
I've never wanted a kiss to last forever as much as I did then.
When we finally broke apart, I turned and ran, unable to look him in the eye. I wanted that moment to be perfect in my mind forever. If I didn't actually say goodbye, then maybe it wouldn't actually happen.
Owen stood out on the porch of my room, his blonde hair blowing softly in the wind as the car rolled away. He held up one hand in a wave, growing smaller until I could no longer see him. I cried all the way to the airport.
Chapter 8
"Kaylee, you have a new patient in Room Four and the man in Room Five is puking again." Allie, one of the ER unit assistants, sidled up to me, handing me the freshly made chart for the patient in Room 4. "I have Mr. Smith in Room Three ready for his EKG, and we are just waiting on Dr. Gregory to come consult. By the way, how was your sister's wedding?"
"It was great. I think Iowa needs an ocean," I said with a grin. Allie giggled in agreement as I flipped open the battered blue plastic binder and started scanning through the patient's history. Thomas Birch. Male, age sixteen, fell skateboarding. Complains of 8/10 pain in wrist. No known allergies or other pertinent medical history. It was looking like a fairly routine-but-busy day.
At least the busy day would keep my mind off a certain someone. "We'll probably need X-rays," I said after reading the file. "Will you find out what the wait time is down in Radiology? And go ahead and let Marta know that Mr. Birch can have the standard pain med protocol. For the man in Room Five, make sure he has a bucket. I'll check on him next and see if we can't up the medication in his IV."
Allie nodded and hurried off to find the nurse. I tucked the chart under my arm and headed to the room. A young man stared up at me with big eyes, trying to be brave as his eyes betrayed the fear crawling up inside of him. I knew he was taking in my white lab coat, the chart under my arm, and the dark blue scrubs, hoping that I would be able to make things better.
"Are you the doctor?" he asked. His mom looked up, her face anxious.
"I'm Kaylee, and I'm a physician's assistant. I'd like to take a look at your arm, if that's okay with you."
He nodded slowly as I washed my hands and sat down on a wheelie chair by his gurney. He started to tell me how the accident happened, and I listened as I looked him over, asking questions and jotting notes. The poor kid's arm had an extra bend in it and was swollen. It looked really painful. Quickly I scribbled down my observations onto the chart. Probable closed distal radius fracture: no open wound. X-ray, consult with ortho, cast vs surgery, my mind ran through the diagnosis, thinking of the next steps.
"You're going to have to lay off the ollies for a little while with this. It looks like you have a distal radius fracture, or a broken wrist. We'll need an X-ray to know for sure exactly what's broken." I gently placed his damaged wrist back in his lap. He looked at me with big eyes. "As long as it is just a simple break, it shouldn't be a problem. In a little bit, someone will be in to take you to Radiology to get your X-rays. Once we get them back, we'll have a better idea of what to do next."
"Is he going to need surgery?" The boy's mother's face was pale and drawn.
"We won't know until after the X-rays. Hopefully not, though," I answered honestly. The mother nodded and pressed her lips into a thin line. "I'll make sure to let you know as soon as we get the films. Can I get you anything?"
The boy and his mother shook their heads, and I thanked both of them, washed my hands and left the room. I could hear a trauma alert going off for Section Three. I was Section Two, but I still mentally prepared myself. If it was a rough one, I would have to hop over and help.
"Kaylee, you have a phone call, line two," Allie called out to me from the desk. I went into the nurse's station and found a chair, opening the chart to write my notes and orders before picking up the phone.
"ER, this is Kaylee, how may I help you?"
"If I wanted to see you again, would I have to be a patient?" The voice caught me off guard for a moment. No way it was Owen. As much as I wanted it to be him, there was no way a suave, handsome billionaire was going to call me at the ER.