“About love and marriage?”
His step faltered. It was subtle, barely there, but she saw it. More importantly, she felt it. Like the ground had shifted under his feet against his will.
Working in the ER had been her entire life for three years. And during that time she’d learned to read people. What they said and didn’t say. Their expressions. Their body language and involuntary motions. Had Maverick been married?
“Don’t.” One word. That’s all he gave her before turning to leave.
Good.
She didn’t want to know what nerve she’d struck. Or what exactly he meant by “don’t.” Don’t talk to him anymore? Don’t talk to Reed? She strode down a wide, tree-lined path and took a seat on a wooden bench, forcing her thoughts back to Reed’s confession. His asking her to stay. Thanks for sticking around. She might not be invited to the wedding, but he wanted her close by. And if he needed her reassurance that Elle was the one, or to drive the getaway car if she wasn’t, Kennedy would put the pedal to the metal.
A text sounded on her phone, interrupting visions of speeding down the highway, Reed grateful she’d helped him run away. She pulled the cell from her pocket and grinned at the names on the screen.
Hugo & Maria
Hugo had come into the ER with his mom after fainting while at a birthday party. He’d been jumping in a bounce house and collapsed—not a typical occurrence for an otherwise healthy twelve-year-old. Then while sitting on the hospital bed telling her all about the party and how Iron Man was the greatest of all superheroes, Hugo fainted again, only this time it was accompanied by a seizure.
When Hugo came to, Kennedy immediately listened to his heart. Fast, chaotic beats had told her they needed an EKG stat. If Hugo’s heart beat erratically for too long, it could cause sudden death. Memories of her own near-death experience had hit her so swiftly at that moment that there was no way she was leaving Hugo’s side until they got a diagnosis and knew how to make him better.
It turned out Hugo had long QT syndrome, or LQTS, a heart rhythm condition that occurs during physical exertion or emotional excitement. He’d been a trouper through test after test until she was satisfied with a course of action. Luckily, one of the best pediatric cardiologists in the country worked at the hospital, and she’d put the two of them together.
She and Hugo had bonded over more than superheroes and heart scares at a young age. They also shared a love for quesadillas, hip-hop music, and magic. Maria always had a deck of cards in her purse, and to kill time while they’d waited for test results and kept a close eye on Hugo, he’d dazzled them with card tricks. For the past year they’d kept in close touch, talking almost weekly.
Kennedy hoped to one day be invited to his wedding.
Hi Dr. Martin, mom got me the new Criss Angel Ultimate Magic Kit!
Hi Hugo! That is awesome.
Are u still coming to my birthday party? I’ll do some of the new tricks for u
Of course I’ll be there. I’m bringing the disappearing ice cream.
He texted back a zany face emoji. Much better than the face with rolling eyes he sent last week.
Say hi to your mom and I’ll see you soon. You’re staying out of trouble, right?
Mostly
Mostly?
I rode my bike a little too much yesterday
Because Hugo’s heart had never returned to a normal rhythm by itself, two days after his visit to the ER, he had a pacemaker put in. His heart wasn’t strong enough to withstand future physical activities without some support, and even then they had to be kept to a minimum. He’d been devastated to hear he had to give up playing soccer, but the good news was he would continue to grow and thrive with the condition. He just had to be aware of his limitations.
Happens to the best of us. And he was the best. She loved him and felt protective of him like she would a younger brother.
She placed her phone on the bench and put her hand over her heart. Back then, she hadn’t told Hugo and Maria the whole truth about her experience in the ER, only what they’d needed to hear to form a connection. What she’d needed to share to let Hugo know he wasn’t alone. Feeling the slow beat inside her chest now, she could still remember both the erratic beat of her heart and the plummeting, free-fall feeling. The “Code Blue.”
“Hey, you okay?”
She blinked and looked up in surprise at Maverick. He didn’t look like he wanted to fight anymore. Instead, he kneeled down in front of her and swiped his thumb across her cheek, wiping away a lone tear she hadn’t realized had fallen.
His touch wasn’t unwelcome. It didn’t make her flinch. Or want to push him away. This close, his blue eyes brandished a ring of light green around his pupils. And he had a tiny scar, probably from chicken pox, on his forehead.
“Yes,” she said, even though she felt certain she wasn’t. Not when Maverick’s presence put her at ease.
…
She didn’t look okay. One minute she’d been texting on her phone with a smile on her face, and the next she’d zoned out and he’d swear her breathing had stopped. It had scared him. Not that he’d ever admit it aloud.
He’d come back to apologize more directly for being rude and stared at her from afar for a few moments. He couldn’t help himself. She possessed some serious magnetic mojo, grown more powerful since college.
“You sure?” he asked.
She nodded.
Which wasn’t the reassurance he needed. He told himself she was a guest of the inn and while not technically his job, he should see to her well-being. In reality, he didn’t believe her being a guest had anything to do with it.
Damn, but his emotions were all over the place with her near again.
He slid her phone over and sat down next to her. A large oak tree supplied shade, a slight sea breeze carried the scent of gardenias. Nova loved the white flowers, so she made sure there were plenty around.
“Want to talk about it?” He had no idea where those words came from, but they were out and he had to live with them now.
“Are you the same man who practically pushed me out of his golf cart twenty minutes ago?”
“No,” he answered honestly. Because somewhere between her calling him a tree doctor and looking like she’d just lost her best friend, he’d softened. Definitely against his will, but softened, nonetheless.
“I was texting with a friend of mine, Hugo, and he reminded me of what I went through when I wasn’t much older than he is.”
Maverick settled a little deeper into the bench. If she wanted to talk, he’d listen.
Kennedy relaxed on a sigh. “I was born with my stomach twisted in a knot. I should have died, but I didn’t. Then when I was fourteen, I was rushed to the emergency room. They didn’t know what was wrong with me at first, just that I was in a lot of pain. Turned out scar tissue from the stomach surgery I had as an infant had broken off and caused a bowel obstruction. The obstruction triggered sudden heart failure.”