Page 5 of Rounds
“My dad is here in the E.R. I have to admit him.”
“Oh. I’m so sorry.”
I nodded at her then said, “Have a good night.”
She nodded in response, and I hurriedly made my way back to my dad. When I walked into the room, a nurse was in there, checking his blood pressure. She glanced at me and gave me a soft smile. “Hello, Doctor Israel. We are going to take excellent care of your father.”
I nodded. “I know you will. You don’t have a choice.”
She frowned slightly. I was sure she was trying to figure out if she heard me correctly. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”
“You don’t have a choice. It’s what I demand, and it’s your job to do so.”
My dad had a smirk on his lips. I could see that shit through his oxygen mask. She only nodded and cleared her throat. I could see that I’d made her nervous and uncomfortable. When the blood pressure machine stopped, she jotted down the numbers, then looked at my dad and asked, “Are you in any pain, Mister Israel? Your blood pressure is slightly elevated.”
My gaze went back to my dad as he said, “A little.”
“Okay.” Turning her gaze to me, she asked, “Did you want to give him anything for pain?”
“How long before he’s moved into a regular room?”
“Let me go check.”
I didn’t want to give him anything for pain until he was in a room unbothered. He wouldn’t be able to rest properly if they were constantly moving him, poking and prodding. When she left out, my dad turned to me and pulled his mask down. “You didn’t have to do that lil girl like that. You . . . made her nervous.”
I shrugged my shoulders. Before I could respond, I looked up to see Delaney standing on the other side of the curtain. When she walked in, I quickly stood from my seat, my eyebrows slightly lifted.What is she doing here?
“I just wanted to see if you needed anything. You pulled an all-nighter the other night, and most likely, you will be doing the same thing tonight. Did you eat?”
My eyebrows lifted more. No one, besides my parents, had ever seen after me. I cleared my throat as I glanced at my dad. He had that smirk on his face again. I turned back to Delaney. “Umm . . . Thank you, Delaney. I haven’t eaten, but I have a snack. I’m sure you need to get home. It’s getting late. Surely you have someone to see after already.”
I was fishing, trying to see if she had a man. That had to be it. I could feel her attraction to me. The only reason she wouldn’tact on it was because she had a man already. I knew I had a reputation for fucking around, but that shit never stopped a thing. If anything, it made women more curious about me. They needed to see for themselves if the rumors were true. I didn’t have a problem showing them just how true they were. I was known to stick and move. There were only a couple of others, besides Charleigh, that I had dipped back to.
“I’m not worried about him right now. What do you like? Burgers, sub sandwiches, hot dogs? The options are endless.”
I smiled slightly then turned to my dad. “You want something? Are you hungry?”
“Yes. I want a cheeseburger.”
I slowly shook my head. He knew better. Turning back to Delaney, I asked, “If I call something in, would you be willing to pick it up?”
“Yeah, sure. Where from?”
“Franks Italian Grill.”
That was only across the street. I looked up their number and ordered chicken soup for my dad and a grilled chicken fettuccini alfredo for myself. Once I ended the call, I looked at her and said, “They said it would be ready in fifteen minutes.”
“Okay. By the time I get to my car and get over there, it should be close to being ready.”
“Thank you so much, Delaney.”
“Of course.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t introduce you to my dad. This is Gideon Israel.”
“Hello, Mister Israel. I’m Delaney Boutté.”
“Boutté, huh? What part of the country are you from?”
