Page 19 of Fractured

Nick Barnes

Nick: But I bet your pie tastes good too.

Holy crap. I take a large gulp of my water and realize I need to put a stop to this before I get myself in too deep.

6:15 p.m.

Kat: Dr. Barnes, I’m at work. Thank you for making me blush, but I have serious business to attend to.

Okay, it’s an earache and a rash, but he doesn’t need to know that.

Looking at my watch, I note it is 6:30 p.m. Nick hasn’t responded to my text. Now I’m worried he won’t realize I was teasing. Do I make him sweat or shoot another text so I can regain my focus?

6:32 p.m.

Kat: I’m teasing, by the way.

I head off to see my two new patients and quickly return to type their discharge papers, as both are pretty straightforward. I look over my other patients and discover one has a small bowel obstruction and will need a consult with general surgery. Consulting Dr. Weston, he advises he’ll be over to see the patient as soon as he can. Looking down at my phone, I realize there’s been no response from Nick, and I’m surprised at how let down I feel. Hunching my shoulders, I push forward with my work.

Several hours later, I’m sitting at the main physician’s work area next to Jake and decide to let him in on my news. “Hey, I thought I’d let you and Mel know I have an appointment to do the Rohypnol test,” I whisper. “They send me a kit, and I take it to the lab to process.”

“Kat, that’s great. I think you’re making a wise decision. I hope it comes back negative, but I think you owe it to yourself to check. Did you talk to Mark after that text came in?”

“I didn’t talk to him. I just texted back and was a lot more direct about it. He didn’t reply, but I can’t imagine he could say he didn’t get either text.” Suddenly, it dawns on me I’d been texting Nick around the same time I was sending that text to Mark. Breaking into a cold sweat, I worry I may have sent the wrong text to the wrong guy. Panicking, I grab my phone from my pocket, swipe to open it, and jump when I feel a hand on my left shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Kat. I didn’t mean to scare you,” sweet Georgia says as she tries to rub my shoulder in apology. Georgia is a new registration clerk in our emergency room. She’s shy but very sweet. Her beautiful alabaster skin dotted with freckles is even more striking set against her luxurious red hair. “Someone dropped this off for you,” she says quietly. I turn and notice she’s holding a plastic grocery bag. Growing a bit nervous, I peer down at it.What is this?

“Who dropped it off, Georgia?” I ask warily.

“I’m sorry, Kat. He didn’t say. I thought you were expecting it.”

“What did he look like?” I push, looking over toward Jake, who also eyes the bag with suspicion.

“Um, I don’t know. He was tall, attractive, very fit. He was wearing a baseball hat, so I couldn’t tell what color his hair was.”

I look back toward Jake. Why am I so worried? Mark wouldn’t send something inappropriate or harmful here where someone else could see, right? I slowly take the bag from her, acutely aware I have multiple sets of eyes on me. As I peer into the bag, I gasp.

“Holy shit, Kat, what is it?” Jake asks.

I break out into hysterical laughter, placing the bag onto the counter before I drop it. Wiping my eyes, I announce, “It’s pie.”

* * *

Finishing up my charting in preparation to head home, I decide to splurge on my surprise delivery and send Nick a quick thank you for one very exciting diversion. Placing my plastic fork into the silky treat, I bring the tart confection to my mouth and almost groan. This is the best pie I think I’ve ever tasted. This sets me off giggling again, thinking about his indecent texts.

9:50 p.m.

Kat: Thank you for my surprise. I can’t tell you what it did for my day!

As I take another bite, I toy with returning some of his inappropriate correspondence.

9:52 p.m.

Kat: I only hope my pie could measure up, winky face emoji.

9:55 p.m.

Nick Barnes

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