“They were just leaving,” I grunted.
“So,” Jay drawled. “Are you the only nurse working tonight?” he asked.
I cut through him with a glare and shook my head once.
“I’ve got this side of the hall. Mickey has the other side.” The nurse marked a couple of things on the chart then hit the button on the machine next to me. The blood pressure cuff tightened slowly.
“And how is Mickey tonight?”
Brooks elbowed Jay in the gut, and Jay doubled over clutching it. “Shut the hell up, dude.”
“She’s seven and a half months pregnant with some wicked acid reflux tonight. That is how Mickey is tonight,” the nurse laughed.
“Poor Mickey,” Jay cringed.
“Would you two get the hell out of here,” I growled. I would much rather sit alone in the dark than listen to Jay babble on.
“We’ll let you rest, Roc. Frankie and I will come in before we leave for the race.”
“Good, good,” I muttered. “There are a few things we need to go over.”
Brooks chuckled and clapped me on the shoulder. “I’m sure Frankie will love to hear whatever you have to say.”
“Maybe we should check on Mickey to make sure she is okay,” Jay mumbled as Brooks pushed him out the door.
“Later, Roc,” Brooks called.
“If that boy is looking to hook up with Mickey, he’s barking up the wrong tree.” The nurse shook her head and wrote something down on my chart.
That was the one thing I knew Jay wasn’t up to. “His girlfriend lost their baby a bit ago. Still pretty raw for him.”
The nurse looked up from the clipboard and frowned. “Oh my, now I feel stupid for even thinking he was going to hit on her.”
I waved my hand. “Two months ago, you would have been completely right.” The one-eighty Jay had done as soon as he found out Delaney was having his baby shocked all of us. It was a damn shame the little guy didn’t make it. “He’s got a girlfriend now but that doesn’t keep him from trying to set me up with any and every one.”
The nurse laughed. “Well, you might have a better chance with Mickey only because her baby daddy is in his forties.”
I waved my hand. “Not looking.”
The nurse tsked and finished looking everything over. “You’re one of my easy ones for the night. If you need anything, just hit the button; otherwise, I’ll be in a bit later.”
She flitted out of the room and turned the lights off completely.
The TV shone brightly, and I turned up the volume. I knew I wasn’t going to sleep anytime soon so I might as well watch reruns of Gas Monkey Garage.
I wasn’t going to get a good night's sleep until I was out of this place, and that all depended on Dr. Clark now.
*
Mave
“Are you going to do it?”
I stabbed my spoon into the ice cream and cradled the phone between my ear and shoulder. “I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?” Delaney sputtered in my ear.
I scooped a mound of mint chip ice cream onto my spoon. “I mean, I don’t know what I’m going to do. On one hand, it’s ridiculous of me to even consider because I know nothing about Roc, but on the other, can I really turn my nose up at an easy two thousand dollars a week? I could take that money and use it for a getaway to Maui or something.”
Work had been exhausting and seeing my ex all of the time was taking a toll on me. A vacation sounded pretty good right about now.
“You can go to Maui without having to babysit a couple of weeks, Mave. You’re a doctor.”
I had been reminded of that many times tonight. “I know, Del. I just…I mean…is helping Roc for a couple of weeks for some easy cash that bad of an idea?”
After all, the guy had two broken legs. If he drove me crazy, all I had to do was walk away.
“I don’t know if you’re crazy for doing this or brilliant,” Delaney muttered.
“You and me both, girl.” I shoveled the scoop of ice cream into my mouth and mulled over being Roc’s personal nurse. It was crazy. Then why hadn’t I just said no? Because I knew I couldn’t turn down that much money so easily.
“He is good-looking.”
My breath caught, and I stopped chewing.
“You know, for an older guy,” Delaney continued. “If I was in his age range, he would definitely be on my radar.”
“Sounds like I might need to give Jay a heads up that his boss might be in the running to steal his girl.”
Delaney laughed. “Only if I age a good ten years in my sleep tonight.”
Roc was good-looking. For a cranky man with only racing and cars on the brain. “I’m not going to help him out because he’s hot.”
Delaney crowed into the phone. “So you think he’s hot!”
“So do you, Del. You just said it.”
“Nah, girl. I said he was good-looking, not that he was hot. Hot is in a whole different ball park from good-looking. I can say the bag boy at the grocery store is good--looking and no one would bat an eye at it. But as soon as I would say he was hot, you better believe people are going to think I’m crushing on the seventeen-year-old and ready to have his babies as soon as he turns eighteen.”
“What in the hell are you talking about?” Jay shouted in the background. “I go to visit Roc at the hospital and you leave me for the bag boy at the store?”
“Whoops,” I gasped. Of course Jay would walk in at the worst time. “I’ll let you explain to Jay what you mean.”
“I’ll ask him what he thinks about you going over to—”
“No,” I shouted. I did not need anyone else's opinion on me and Roc. All it was going to do was confuse me even more. “You will not ask him anything about it.”
“But how are you going to decide what to do?”
“By myself.”
I had already decided what I was going to do. I was a doctor and made extremely good money, but I could help Roc and have a nice chunk of change to blow on a vacation.
“So this means I’ll see you at the hospital tomorrow?”
“Have a good night, Del.” I hung up without actually answering her and tossed my phone on the couch next to me.
I was going to be Roc’s personal nurse for couple weeks or so.
This was going to be interesting, but at least I knew it would all be worth it when I was lying on the beach surrounded by cabana boys and tall margaritas.
*
Chapter Three
Roc
“Looks like you’re busting out of here today.”
Fuck yeah. I knew Dr. Clark would come through for me. I knew it was a fucking crazy idea, but I needed to get the hell out of here. “Where are my clothes?”
The nurse laughed. “Your daughter said she would bring you something to wear home. She’ll be here in an hour.”
“Harlyn?” What happened to Dr. Clark?
“If that’s your daughter’s name. I just talked to her on the phone. She said she’s getting your home nurse all set up and then will be over.”