Page 7 of Wildflower Hearts
Elias playfully rolled his eyes. “Noah’s fantasies come true. This gets back to him, and I don’t know a damn fucking thing about it.”
“Man, my kids.” Billy hit him on the back of the head. “Watch your language.”
Lyla chuckled as Elias hit him back without force, and the two little girls giggled. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to check on some other patients.”
Elias took a seat beside Noah after she left the room. With a smirk, he grabbed his brother’s hand with his. “Looks like you got yourself an admirer, Noah. Good thing for you, she’s pretty.”
Chapter Four
“Your gomer is in Room Three.”
“Thanks, Diane.”
Gomers were patients who came into the hospital at the first sign of a sniffle.
Lyla entered the room and smiled at the elderly man dressed in a hospital gown. He was perched on the examining table, a deep frown on his face. “Good evening, Mr. Drowser. It’s a bit late for you to make a hospital call.”
“You’re open twenty-four hours a day, ain’t cha?”
She chuckled and placed her clipboard on the counter, nodding as she slid the stool over to the table. “For you, Mr. Drowser, always.” She put her hands on her knees. “What seems to be the problem?”
“Same as the last! I got these dang hives, and they’re not going away!”
“I understand, but like I told you the last time, it’s due to eating peanut butter. You’re suffering from a mild allergic reaction to the nuts.”
“But I always eat peanut butter when I watch Wheel of Fortune.”
“Perhaps you should try turkey or only jelly?”
“If you say so,” he grumbled. “Are you sure it’s peanuts? It’s not a reaction to some deadly disease or… kidneys? Is it a kidney problem?”
She shook her head, covering her laugh with a cough. Leaning over for her pad, she slipped a pen from her coat pocket. “Let me write down the name of a doctor. She’ll write you a prescription for some ointment. She can try to give you some more enjoyable substitutions to regular peanut butter.” She slipped from the room to give him a moment to dress and rolled her eyes at Diane laughing by the nurse’s station. With a smile, she made her way down the hallway.
She checked in on the Kingsley family an hour later, smiling at Elias asleep beside Noah, his brother’s hand still in his. On theopposite side of the bed, Mark was sprawled out snoring in a lounge chair, head back with his mouth open wide. There was no sight of the rest of the family, and she returned to the hall.
She bumped into someone and turned, recognizing Mark’s wife. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s okay. You look exhausted. Shouldn’t you be resting?” Debra gave her a look of concern, her hands full with two cups of coffee.
“I would, but tick-tock goes the clock.” Lyla gestured at the cups. “That’s sweet of you to bring them coffee.”
“Not Elias, unless you serve rat poison at this hospital.” She smiled at Lyla’s surprised expression. “I’m kidding. Yes, they’re for my man and the brute.”
“I heard that.”
They glanced at the doorway to see Elias stretching and rubbing his eyes. “Talking to Debra will rot your brain. She’s like smelling Sharpies for too long. I keep telling Mark that, but he won’t listen.”
Debra scowled, thrusting the cup at him before slipping inside the room. He looked thankful it had a lid. He took a sip and eyed Lyla from his slouched position against the door frame. “Do you ever go home?”
She clutched her folders against her chest. “I’m working a double.”
“I don’t see how you do it, being on your feet for hours rushing around helping all these people.”
“When they start to look like family, you think differently about them.” She blushed, brushing away a lock of stray hair from her eyes at seeing his amused expression. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to get some coffee.”
“Wait, I’ll come with you.”
She slowed but kept her eyes forward while he walked beside her to the elevators. Stepping inside the metal car, she punchedthe number for the cafeteria floor. She glanced out of the corner of her eyes to see him sipping his coffee and leaning against the elevator wall, his gaze on her. “Something on your mind, Mr. Kingsley?”
