Chapter Three
Four O Six
“Hello, Mr. Robertson,” I said cheerfully as I entered the room. “What can I do for you?”
“I need more water.” His voice was raspy, and listening to him made my own throat hurt.
“Okay, coming right up.” I took the pitcher and filled it with cold water. He’d drunk the last pitcher so fast the ice hadn’t had time to melt. I brought it back into his room and poured him a cup, holding it out for him. He took it and drank it down in one gulp. Then he held it out for more.
I poured him another cup, only half full this time, and handed it back. “Go easy, Mr. Robertson. You don’t want to strain your throat after your surgery.”
“Thank you,” he rasped, and then winced. “Could I get another blanket? It’s quite chilly in here.”
Smiling, I nodded. Mr. Robertson was probably as old as this town, but he just kept on racking up the years. He’d just celebrated his ninety-fifth birthday last month. Of course, you wouldn’t know it if you saw him. He was very active for his age. I grabbed a blanket from the supply closet and return to put it over him. I was embarrassed to admit I was anxious to get back to Lucas’s room.
“Is there anything else you need?” I asked as I adjusted the call button and positioned it around the bed railing so he had easier access to it.
“Nope. I think I’m good.”
I nodded. “Well then, get some rest.” I said with a smile before leaving his room.
My heart raced as I walked down the hall toward Lucas’s room. I couldn’t help but feel as if I’d made an instant connection with him. And he had definitely been flirting with me earlier. Besides, sitting with him beat sitting alone at the nurses’ station all night.
“How are you doing in here?” I asked Lucas once I got to his room.
Lucas gave me a smile and said, “much better now.”
I felt the heat of embarrassment creep up my neck. He clicked off the television and nodded at the chair I’d sat in earlier. I sat, feeling a lot more relaxed now than I had earlier. “Watching anything good?” I said as I motioned toward the television.
“I was watching a recap of the sports news to see if there was any mention of the rodeo. I’m curious to know how the guys did.”
“I’m surprised your room isn’t overflowing with all your bull rider friends.” I told him.
In a small town like this, when someone landed in the hospital, everyone always came to visit or at the very least to get the latest gossip.
“Oh, I’m sure they’ll swarm the place tomorrow. The show can’t stop simply because I was hurt.” He told me with a sly smile.
I wondered if the show would stop if someone died, but I didn’t ask that. It seemed insensitive and quite frankly, morbid. “So you said you’d be around here for a few weeks. Where is your next stop?”
“We’re heading back to Texas.”
“I’ve always wanted to go to Texas.” I smiled. There were a lot of places I wanted to go, but for some reason, Texas had always been at the top of my list.
“It’s a beautiful state.” Lucas said as he adjusted in the bed to face me. “Enough about me, tell me about yourself. How long have you been a nurse?”
“Almost five years now.”
“Did you always want to be a nurse?”
I was asked that question a lot, but there was something truly sincere about the way Lucas asked. It was like he was genuinely interested in my answer. “No.” I shook my head. “I’ve always wanted to work with animals. Not a veterinarian or anything, but to do something that involved helping them, like an animal rescue.”
Lucas chuckled and asked, “How on earth did you become a nurse then?”
I shrugged and averted my gaze. “This town isn’t exactly thriving, but leaving isn’t exactly an option. I was born and raised in this town. My parents and my siblings are here, and I’ve never really been anywhere else. Nursing was a stable career choice.”
“Yeah, but life is much too short to spend it doing something you don’t love.”
I looked up at him, amazed at how profound that statement was. Michelle was constantly telling me I should do something different, something I wanted to do and not cater to my parents’ wishes, but hearing it put that way… It was like a light bulb going off in my head.
“What do you do when you’re not here taking care of people like me?” Lucas continued to say.
“I like to read quite a bit, and I enjoy baking. Actually, I like to create my own recipes by just throwing things together and seeing how it comes out. More often than not they come out inedible.” I said laughing. “And I spend a lot of time with my sister, Michelle. She’s going through a bit of a rough time right now.”
“I read a lot, too. There’s not really much else to do when you spend so much time on the road, you know. What’s your favorite book?” He asked curiously.
I was shocked to find out he liked to read. Not many of the men in this town did. At least, not any I’d met that I’d been interested in.
“Wow, that’s a tough question.” I laughed. “Hmm, if I had to only pick one, it would have to be The Great Gatsby.”
Lucas sat up and swung his legs over to hang off the side of the bed. “Did one of my rodeo buddies show up and tell you to say that?” He said as he jokingly pretended to look out of the room and into the hallway.
I turned to see what he was looking at, but the hallway, as I expected, was empty. Turning back to him, I shook my head. “No. It’s just my favorite book.”
His posture softened, and he smiled again. “It’s mine, too.”
My eyes widened, and I sat forward in the chair a little. No wonder he reacted the way he did. Granted, that book was a classic, and lots of people had read it, but it wasn’t necessarily something people owned up to.
“It is?” I asked.
“Yeah.” He nodded. “One of the guys caught me reading it one night and hasn’t let me live it down. He calls it a “girly” book, and he teases me about it every chance he gets. I wouldn’t put it past him to have told you about it.”
I smiled. “Rest assured, I have not met your friend, and he hasn’t told me anything about you or your reading habits.”
“It’s a very tragic love story, don’t you think?”
Once again, Lucas managed to shock me. I kind of expected him to say he loved Gatsby and how he was wealthy and smart and threw such extravagant parties.
“Yes.” I sighed. “The ending always moves me to tears.”
“I’m tired of being in this bed. Can I get up and walk around?” he asked suddenly.
It wasn’t unheard of for patients to get out of bed and walk the floor, but it also wasn’t something we generally encouraged, especially at this late hour because it could disrupt other patients. But I didn’t want to tell him no.
“Uh, yeah, I guess that would be okay.”
“Would you care to join me?” He was already out of bed, standing in front of me, hand extended.
I swallowed hard and took his proffered hand, which was so warm and large compared to mine. Doing this would probably get me in some sort of trouble, but I supposed I could just tell anyone who asked that I was helping him around. At least that would explain our hand holding, which was both awkward and wonderful at the same time. Once in the hallway, Lucas released my hand, but he stayed close enough to me our shoulders touched as we walked.
“You mentioned your sister Michelle. Is she your only sibling?” He asked, as we continued to walk.
“No. I have another sister, Christina, but she’s living in New York now with her husband. He’s an attorney, and she just got a job in a fashion house.”
“That’s impressive.”
“Yeah, I’m really proud of her. What about you? Any siblings?” I countered.
“No, I’m an only child. My parents are alive and still living in Covanta. My grandfather is still there, too. He owns a huge horse farm.” He smiled. “At his age,
he has trouble with the upkeep, but refuses to sell. It was my grandmother’s dream to live on a horse ranch, and he can’t bear to part with it since she passed.”
“I’m sorry.” I responded with a slight frown. “Both of my grandparents were very important to me, too. They taught me and my sisters so much. They died when I was young. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t miss them.”
Lucas gently nudged me with this shoulder, an obvious gesture of compassion and empathy. I smiled at him, realizing again just how handsome he was.
“I hated being an only child.” He laughed. “It was awful always being alone like that.”
“I can’t even imagine.” I told him. My sisters were my best friends, my childhood playmates. Not having them in my life was unfathomable.
“Eventually, when I’m ready to start a family, I want to have a lot of kids. I think to compensate for my lonely childhood.” He said with a wink, causing my heart to flutter. “I had to go through a CAT scan after my last accident. The rodeo manager wanted to make sure I hadn’t done any serious damage to my brain.”
“I’ve noticed you don’t have a wedding band on your finger,” he said as we reached the end of the hall and away from all the occupied rooms. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
Wow. I hadn’t expected our conversation to take a turn in this direction. I mean, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t flattered or intrigued. But I think he was trying to change the subject because of the look of concern I had on my face after he mentioned possible brain damage.
“No, no boyfriend.” I politely responded.
He grinned. “I’m honestly surprised. A beautiful woman like you…single?”
“Well believe it.” I said with a sly grin. We then turned and headed back the way we came.
“Could I take you out sometime?”
My steps faltered when his question registered in my brain. Lucas wanted to take me out? I wanted to say yes so badly, but… I couldn’t get any more involved with this man, not when he was only passing through and would be leaving in a few weeks. I was at that point in my life when I was ready to settle down; I wasn’t looking for a fling.
“No, I’m sorry. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”