Page 15 of Finally Yours
Asher scrambles to pull his pants up and flip on the light. I run my fingers through my air and then take a deep breath, trying to compose myself. I gesture towards Asher, and he plasters himself behind the door.
I open the door slowly. “Sorry about that, Nurse Vicky. I must have locked the door behind me accidentally. Maintenance really needs to get around to fixing this thing.” I fiddle with the door handle and look at it, trying to appear perplexed.
Nurse Vicky raises her eyebrow. “And was the light off?”
I shrug and act confused. “No, of course not. I was just looking for new sheets for Sergeant Almon.” I clear my throat and look down at the sheets I hastily grabbed before I opened the door. “I’ll change them as I’m turning him.”
Nurse Vicky shakes her head. “I swear, Lyla, you’re a smart girl, but sometimes you get stuck in the most idiotic situations.”
I shrug again and give her a wry smile. “Sorry.”
We leave the supply closet behind, but not before Asher manages to reach out and touch my hand. I give him a small smile as I leave him behind.That was close, way too close.
Nurse Vicky looks behind her as the door closes. “You know, I could have sworn I saw Dr. Cannon go in there earlier too.”
My heart beats rapidly at her suspicious look. “He must have left before I went in there.” I bite my lip and cross my fingers behind my back. I’m a horrible liar, even when I’m not just coming down off a sex high.
She cocks her head to the side. “Lyla, this job is important. What we do here is important. And you’re young so I know other things may seem more dire than what we’re doing, but they’re not.” She sighs and looks away. “Doctors here have been known to flirt and do scandalous things with the nurses, but this isn’t a television show. Things don’t get wrapped up in a pretty bow when the hour is up. Workplace romances get messy fast.”
I nod vigorously. “Yes, ma’am, I can understand that.”
She walks closer to me. “You know, Lyla, I was once like you. I naively fell in love with a doctor. I wasn’t the first person here he had an affair with, but I thought I could change him. I thought I could make him mine until the very day he walked out the door and married someone else. Last I heard he cheated on her too.” She places her hands on her hips and gives me a stern look. “Men don’t change, especially not doctors. They naturally cheat and lie. We work long hours here, so yes, there’s always temptation around here, but resist it, Lyla, because at the end of the day, you’ll be just another notch on his bedpost.”
With those words, she turns and walks away. I glance down at the sheets in my hands. I know my cheeks are ruddy with embarrassment. Am I just another notch for Asher? He said he can’t do forever, and I know he doesn’t say things he doesn’t mean. I also know his reputation here. I’m far from the first woman he’s been with.Am I fooling myself? Am I special to him at all?
Chapter Fifteen
She means more to me than just sex, but I can’t be the One. I don’t know how to be that for anyone. -Asher
Asher
“So, she’s going to be right as rain in a week or two, right? Back to her old self?” Mr. Sheffield’s shaky voice asks in a panicked whisper. “She won’t always look this rough, will she?”
“Thanks darlin’. You look great too,” his wife’s dry voice speaks up from the bed.
I watch as eighty-year-old Craig Sheffield hurries over to his wife’s bedside. Up until now, the man has moved at the pace of a tortoise. Now, at the sound of her voice he moves at record speed.
“Sweetheart, you’re awake?” he asks his wife in a soft voice while stroking her hair.
I look across Mrs. Sheffield’s hospital room and catch Lyla’s gaze. She’s watching the older couple with such a tender look that it nearly breaks my heart. I know she wishes her own parents had been able to grow old together. Hell, I wish my own had been able to do that, or just been happy at all, really.
“She’ll be in better shape over the next few days. She’s just had major surgery, Mr. Sheffield, so she’s going to need help for a while. She’s going to need to take it easy.”
“We’ll do whatever needs to be done to get her better.” Mr. Sheffield continues to stroke his wife’s hair without sparing me a glance. “She’s my treasure. She gets the best treatment possible.”
I can practically hear Mrs. Sheffield roll her eyes. “Craig, honey, I’ll be fine. Don’t give the doctor a hard time. I just won’t be able to iron your pants for a while. That’s all.”
“Honey, you scared the crap out of me. You’re not leaving me yet.” Her husband blinks back tears, thinking of the shape his wife was in when she came in two days ago.
With three of her coronary arteries majorly blocked, Annette Sheffield had been running on fumes a few days ago. She underwent a triple bypass two days ago and everything as far as we know has been successful. Her husband has been constantly by her side, with her adult children and young grandchildren coming in and out.
“I’m sure she still has lots of time to spend with you yet, Mr. Sheffield,” Lyla murmurs and lays a hand on Mr. Sheffield’s shoulder.
He pats her hand. “Thanks, dear.”
He glances down at his wife again. “Did I tell you two how we met?” he asks. He looks over at me and then at Lyla. We both shake our heads no.
“Don’t…tell…that story again, Craig. You…always embellish.” Mrs. Sheffield’s voice is raspy as she admonishes her husband.
