Page 1 of Secret Guardian

ONE

“She camein through the emergency room last night. She was a goner. I honestly don’t know how they got her back.”

The words from the doctor break my heart. Dr. King is the best of the best, but she tells it like it is. I continue administering the patient’s morning medications as the doctor finishes her evaluation, making voice notes in a tiny recorder. She nods to me.

“I’ll be back to speak to the family after rounds. Please page me immediately if there are any…changes.” She looks over at the hospital bed with sympathy before stepping out into the hall of the ICU.

“I’m just going to flush your IV before giving you your medications, Mrs. Miller,” I explain cheerfully as I rip open a new syringe. I always talk to my patients as if they’re listening, even if they’re asleep or medicated. I believe they can hear me and treating them as such can only have a positive impact.

I’ve always had the urge to take care of others, and the aunt who raised me often joked that it was in my blood. My mom was a nurse as well, so Aunt Renee might have had a point.

I finish up the IV meds and gather my trash before tossing it into the can next to the monitor. I squeeze my patient’s hand fora moment. “I’m going to step outside and sit at my desk to finish up some charting, but if you need me, I’ll be right in.”

She continues sleeping, the monitors beeping normally around her, and I step outside, my heart aching. Because while I love taking care of people, it’s devastating that not everyone can be saved.

By the end of my twelve-hour shift, my feet are practically numb. It’s all I can do to make my way to the elevator and down to the lobby. As I step out into the evening air, the sun halfway setting over the horizon, I appreciate the beauty of the Appalachian Mountains all around us. Something about the ridges displayed against the sky always pulls at my heart. There’s a thumping in my veins.Home. Home. Home.

Before my parents passed away when I was thirteen, we spent every weekend hiking trails and searching for waterfalls. It’s just not the same without them, though. And Aunt Renee’s still a city girl at heart.

“Darian!” a voice calls out, interrupting my reverie, and I open my eyes, turning to see my favorite coffee cart set up to my left. My spirits are instantly lifted, both by the sight of the coffee cart and of my aunt.

“I didn’t know you’d be set up today.” I flash Renee a smile as she whips out her prepped iced coffee to prepare my favorite drink.

“I wasn’t supposed to be, but the chief of staff seemed to think everyone could use a pick-me-up. Worked out for me. I’d rather be doing this than anything else.” She tops my drink with whipped cream.

Her remark tugs at my heart. The woman uprooted her whole life in New York to come back to Northeast Tennessee and take care of me, rather than make me move across the country at thirteen. And she won’t take a dime of money from me. She’snot poor by any means, but my parents didn’t leave us with anything, so she’s always had to work hard to support us.

I knew from the beginning that I had to do well in school and get a scholarship, so I did. Now I do pretty well on my own, but she won’t accept any help from me. Either way, it’s really cool to see her living her dream of being a badass business owner.

“Oh my god, this is heaven.” I close my eyes at the first sip of sweet, rich coffee touching my tongue. “Absolutely perfect.”

“How was your day?” She rips off a paper towel to dry her hands with before leaning on the counter, giving me her full attention.

“It wasn’t bad. Just so busy.” The image of my patient, still unconscious, flashes in my mind, but I push it away. “Yours?”

“I did some laundry. That’s about as exciting as it gets for me and Tiger.”

The mention of her kitten makes me smile. “So, he’s adjusting okay?”

“Pretty much. Although, now that he’s around, there are more strays everywhere. I’m not sure what’s happened.”

“They probably smell him.” I slurp down the last of my drink before tossing the cup into the trash can. “We always had a few strays that would come and go. You know, the one I call Old Man has been hanging out on my porch.”

“You were always his favorite.” Her lips turn down in a frown. “Oh, shit. I forgot to fill up Tiger’s food. Would you mind going by there to do that? I’m still not accustomed to having a roommate again.” She chuckles.

“Yeah, no problem. Even though it’s so far away,” I tease. “See you tonight. Love you.”

“Love you too. Be careful.”

“I will.” I wave over my shoulder at her as I head to my car.

It’s an ongoing joke that we live so far away from each other because we live in the same apartment complex. I moved outhalfway through nursing school, but it was more for her than me. She would never have asked me to leave, but I thought she deserved her space, and honestly, we had both been in the dating pool awhile. I didn’t want to see my aunt doing the walk of shame, and I’m sure she felt the same.

I drive home in a fog, my mind still reeling from the day’s work, second-guessing every choice I made. What if I could have done something differently to help my patient? Thankfully, it’s only a fifteen-minute drive, and as I pull into a parking spot, I turn my mind off. I imagine there’s a little switch and flick it off, ready to give my mind and body a much-needed rest.

I fumble for my keys at Renee’s door, cursing her for not leaving her porch light on. When I’m finally inside, Tiger greets me with a feisty hiss until I switch on the light. Then he’s a blur of orange, racing around my feet.

“Hey, little guy.” I reach down to scratch his ears. “I know. Can you believe she left you to starve? C’mon, I’ll take care of it.”

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