His Private Nurse

“I’m going out,” she announced as she moved back through the kitchen. Jody shouted at her that it was too late to be going out, though in truth it was only a little past eight. Ignoring him, she grabbed her handbag from her room and, mindless of the sandals, shorts and simple tank top that she wore, darted out through the garage door.

Her small, two-door car sat curbside in front of the house. Lane, who was in construction, always got the garage because the tools piled in the back of his pickup were liable to be stolen if he left the truck out, or so he claimed. Merrily couldn’t help recalling that when their parents had been at home and their mother had parked her car in the garage, Lane’s truck had sat beside their father’s in the drive and nothing had ever disappeared from the back of his truck then. Now Jody parked in the drive, leaving one side free for Lane to come and go, and she and Kyle jockeyed for position curbside in front of the house.

For once, Merrily was glad that she didn’t have to back out of the garage past Jody’s SUV and ease between Kyle’s sedan and the neighbor’s minivan into the street. It was much easier just to jump behind the wheel and take off. By the time Jody figured out she wasn’t paying him any mind, heaved himself up out of the recliner and made it to the front door to yell at her again, she was already pulling away from the curb.

The hospital was less than ten minutes away from the house, which was one reason her parents had agreed three years earlier that she should take the job there. She had never regretted the decision. She loved nursing. She was good at it, and the money was generous enough to allow her to pay off her school loans in record time, make a substantial down payment on the sporty little economy car she was driving and stash a sizable amount in savings every month.

As she parked in the employee’s lot and hurried into the hospital, she thought again that she really ought to move out on her own. She could afford it. Why she should consider doing so now, however, was something she did not want to address. Instead, she concentrated on getting where she wanted to. The moment she entered his room, however, she realized that she could have chosen a more opportune moment to visit, since the room was already crowded with medical staff, all of whom clustered around the side and foot of his bed.

The traction rod had been removed, and they were in the process of replacing the heavy bandages on his right leg with a stabilizer, which was really just a heavy elastic bandage with steel rods attached and Velcro closures. It would serve in place of the old-fashioned plaster cast, such as the one on his right arm and shoulder, and allow the doctors to periodically check the surgery incisions required to properly set his leg bones. After counting four practitioners, including the doctor, his assistant and two nurses, Merrily knew that she didn’t need to be in that room at that moment.

All thought of beating a hasty retreat evaporated when Royce spotted her and exclaimed, “Merrily! Hey. Come on in.”

Carlos Espinoza glanced over one shoulder, grinned and said, “That was fast.”

So it was Carlos who had left that message.

Royce waved her over, exclaiming, “Free at last! Man, that traction stuff is for the birds.”

“If you don’t stay off this leg,” the doctor warned from the stool rolled close to the bed, “you’ll be right back in it.”

“Don’t worry,” Royce replied meaningfully. “I’m not going to do anything stupid.”

The doctor looked up at Merrily, who had moved to stand next to the head of the bed, and said, “See to it that he doesn’t.”

She thought it odd that he should direct his orders specifically at her, but she just nodded. The orderly at the doctor’s elbow slid the spread stabilizer beneath Royce’s leg, which the two nurses held suspended slightly above the bed. Bright red with white trim, the contraption would be hard to miss in the weeks it would have to be worn. The nurses gently lowered Royce’s leg, and though he winced when it met the padded lining of the stabilizer, he winked at Merrily and said softly, “Thanks for coming.”

She just smiled and shifted her weight self-consciously. At the exact same moment, Carlos started to turn away from the bed. The two bumped, and Carlos apologized cheerily, though Merrily felt her face glow red with the knowledge that it was her fault. What was it about Royce Lawler that turned all her fingers to thumbs and her feet to blocks of clay?

As Carlos left the room, Merrily grasped at something to say to deflect attention from her clumsiness. “I see the IV and morphine pump are gone.”

“He’ll be getting a shot of painkiller when we’re done here,” the doctor said, threading a strap through the metal loop opposite and carefully tightening it. “And he’ll have to continue taking those injections for a while. The anti-inflammatory and antibiotics can be taken by mouth. I’ll leave prescriptions at the nurses’ station. The leg should be kept dry and elevated as much as possible. I’ll see him again in about a week. You’ll have to call my office for an appointment.”

Again, it seemed as if the doctor was speaking directly to her, but Merrily dismissed that and said to Royce, “Did you get all that?”

“Got it,” he replied, smiling. Those heavenly blue eyes seemed to be trying to telegraph her a message, but she wasn’t receiving.

The doctor finished what he was doing and got up off the stool. “Okay, that about does it. Nurse Gage, would you lift the foot of his bed, please?” Merrily bent to activate that function of the bed. The doctor went on as the other two practitioners left the room. “I suggest you rent a wheelchair for use at home and when you have to be out in public, which you really should keep to a minimum for several more weeks. I’ll see to it that your dismissal packet has a list of equipment providers in it.” He peeled off his latex gloves and added, “I’ll see you in the morning about six, and you should be ready to go by ten. Takes a few hours to process the paperwork. Any questions?”

He looked first at Royce, then at her. Merrily just looked at Royce, who shook his head and said, “Nope. None I can think of at the moment. Thanks, Doc, for everything.”

The doctor smiled and nodded, then he pointedly addressed Merrily again, saying, “Do me a favor, will you? Keep him away from stairs. I don’t want to have to put him back together again.”

Merrily blinked and opened her mouth to reply, but she couldn’t think what to say to that, so she simply closed it again and nodded.

The doctor dropped his gloves into the appropriate waste receptacle. “I leave you in capable hands then,” he said, and with that walked out.

Merrily stared at the door as it slowly swung shut behind him. “Well. That was odd.” She turned her attention back to Royce. “He kept talking to me like I’m your personal nurse or something.”

Royce ducked his head sheepishly. “I, um, might have, like, accidentally led him to believe that.”

“What? Why would you do that?”

“Because I’m not supposed to leave here unless I have someone who can take care of me.”

“But you don’t,” she immediately deduced.

“Uh, not yet.”

Was this what he wanted to speak to me about? Disappointment skewered her. “Okay, well, I can recommend a couple of reputable agencies.”

He grimaced. “I thought of that already, but I can’t stand the idea of some stranger moving into my house with me.”

Merrily nodded sympathetically. “Maybe you should stay somewhere else for a while, with your parents, perhaps?”

His eyes grew wide with mock alarm. “I’d rather stay here, and believe me, I’d sooner jump out of that window over there than do that. Nope, I just see one option.”

“Which is?”

“You.”

She blinked at him. “Me?”

“Look, I know it’s an imposition, but I don’t trust anyone else.”

“You want me to move in with you?” she asked disbelievingly.

“I know it’s selfish,” he said, reaching across the bed with his left hand to take hers. She jumped, lightning flashing up her arm. “But I’m desperate,” he went on. “I’ll make it well worth your while. Whatever they’re paying you here, I’ll double it.”

Double? “No, that’s not right,” she said distractedly.

“Please, Merrily. I can’t get along by myself, and it’s a big house, lots of room, beautiful area. Did I say that you’re the only one I trust?”

At the moment she couldn’t do anything but gape at his handsome face. This beautiful man wanted her to move in with him, at least temporarily. He didn’t have to just disappear out of her life, after all. He trusted her.

“I know it’s asking a lot,” he said, squeezing her hand, “but Carlos says that because of the nursing shortage you can probably take a leave of absence and come right back here to your job when you’re ready.”

Her job was the least of it, actually. She could get another job. Nurses could pretty much write their own tickets these days, which was why Royce was going to have a difficult time finding someone with really good skills to take care of him. No, the job was the not the problem. The problems, plural, were her brothers. Jody would hit the roof if she told him she was moving out even temporarily, and the other two would lay on foot-deep guilt trips. They’d never taken care of themselves a day in their lives. Maybe it was about time they did.

Why shouldn’t she do this if she wanted to? They were all adults. It might do them some good to start acting like it, including her.

“Look,” Royce went on. “I wouldn’t even mind if you have company over. I mean, if you have a boyfriend or something…”

“No boyfriend,” Merrily murmured, already working out the logistics of it. She had to call her supervisor right away. No one was going to be happy about the short notice, but it couldn’t be helped. Then she had to pack, and it would be best to take everything she might need with her the first time, since any time she returned to the house she’d undoubtedly have to contend with one or all of her brothers. She’d get started tonight while Jody and Kyle slept and Lane was out with his friends.

“Maybe there’s someone else then?” she dimly heard Royce ask.

“Hmm? No, not really.”