The Heart Surgeon's Secret Son
Long into the night she pondered how with just a kiss he’d had her body aching for his touch. How with just seeing him so many old wounds had opened and threatened to spill all she held inside. Clearly, a good indication she needed to keep things just business between them.
Allowing Daniel to get close to her in any capacity was only begging for heartbreak, and how would she explain that to Ryan?
On Tuesday morning Kimberly arrived at the hospital bright and early to observe Evert Reed’s CRT placement. The procedure went beautifully, with Daniel allowing her to stand directly beside him during the placement.
She spent the entire day with him, shadowing his every move and becoming more and more impressed with how he handled his patients and the attentiveness he gave to every detail of their care.
Fortunately, he stuck with his truce promise while at the hospital and never made an untoward gesture. He never even acknowledged the kiss they’d shared, and other than the times she’d find herself looking at his lips, she didn’t either.
She actually enjoyed lunch, laughing as he recited some of his more humorous patient anecdotes, with Gregory occasionally throwing in a punch line or two. But her nervousness about Daniel’s plans for the night grew exponentially with each passing minute.
Would he offer to give her a ride to the hotel? Perhaps come inside for drinks? For her?
And if he did, what would she do? Because she’d be lying to herself if she thought she’d find the strength to say no.
But Tuesday night saw Daniel working late on a project that had nothing to do with CRT so she wasn’t needed, and Gregory dropped her at her hotel.
She ended up ordering room service and eating in her hotel room. Alone.
As crazy as it was, as she needed to avoid Daniel at all costs, she missed him.
Insane. She really was insane.
She slept restlessly again that night. Dreams of Daniel seeing Ryan and taking her son away from her haunted her sleep. By morning, she wanted nothing more than to pack her bags and head home before she did something really stupid.
But she couldn’t go home.
Wednesday went much as Tuesday. She spent the morning with Daniel in the cardiac lab, had lunch with him in the hospital cafeteria, and spent the afternoon observing him teaching a cardiology class on pacemakers to a group of medical students. She particularly enjoyed her visit to the university campus and found herself imagining how Daniel must have enjoyed living there during his university days.
That evening Kimberly did rounds with him to discharge a couple of the patients to whom he’d given pacemakers.
Kimberly wondered if tonight would be the night Daniel pushed to come to her hotel room.
She’d say no, of course, having decided that she couldn’t handle a physical relationship with Daniel. But if he asked, she’d suggest going to dinner. Maybe they could talk—she could learn about his life now and if he was happy.
Right or wrong, sitting alone in her hotel room just didn’t appeal when she could be with Daniel.
She glanced at him, thinking how handsome he looked in his blue scrubs, how they brought out the intensity of his eyes. How hard he worked and how admired he was within his field by the nurses, doctors, and the ancillary staff in the hospital. With good reason, his patients adored him.
“Hello, Mr. Reed. How are you feeling?” Daniel asked when they entered his hospital room.
“He’s feeling much better,” Estelle said from where she sat beside her father’s bed. “His breathing is fine, even after the respiratory therapist took off his nose thingy.”
“I can…talk for myself,” Evert corrected his daughter, giving her an annoyed look. He turned his head to Daniel and flashed a toothless smile. “Hello, Dr. Travis.”
Daniel walked over to the bed and returned his patient’s smile. “I looked over your chart and your daughter’s right—you are doing much better. Your oxygen saturations have been in the nineties this evening. I’m very pleased with how you’re doing.”
“We are, too,” Virginia spoke up, dropping her knitting into her lap. “He’s actually been laughing at things on television.”
Kimberly smiled. The simplest things often meant the most and when you didn’t have the energy to talk you sure didn’t do much laughing.
Daniel glanced at the television. “Gunsmoke. What’s Marshal Dillon up to tonight?”
A pleased smile on his face, Evert told all about the cowboy sheriff and his humorous sidekick while Daniel checked pulses in all four extremities and checked his feet and ankles for edema.
“Shh, Daddy,” Estelle said when Daniel slipped on his stethoscope and listened to the man’s chest.
When he had finished, Daniel handed Kimberly the stethoscope so she could listen. A regular heart rate and rhythm. No extra lung sounds, indicating that the fluid in Evert’s lungs was resolving.