Page 62 of Stolen Kisses
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Krista spilled out of the elevator five minutes late for work.Crap.And Karen was waiting at the nurse’s station for her, eyebrows raised.Double crap.“Good morning, Karen. Got stuck in traffic,” Krista said, laughing nervously under her breath. She put her things down and sat in front of a computer to check her patients’ statuses.
Karen didn’t budge.
“Everything okay?” Krista asked, glancing over.
“We have a few new intakes. Your friend Adam is back.”
Krista froze. “Adam? Why, what happened?”
Karen gave her a knowing look. She pointed a finger. “That right there is the reason I told you not to get too close. You’ll burn out if you offer pieces of your heart to every patient who enters this floor.”
Krista resisted rolling her eyes. She was growing so tired of this conversation. “I’m just concerned about a patient of mine.” She logged into the computer and scrolled through the alphabetized list of patients until she found Adam’s name. Her breath slowly expelled as she read through his most recent data. “It’s just a small respiratory infection. He’s fine.”
Karen placed a hand on Krista’s back. “Are you?”
“Of course. I care about him just like I do all my patients.” And how could any nurse not care with the same vigor? She’d burn out faster if she walked this floor and operated with a cold, guarded heart. Maybe that was the reason Karen was so eager to be done with this place.
Karen frowned. “Okay. Well, I’m off, too. And I’m actually taking some of my vacation time before I retire. I thought I’d put you in the role of head nurse for the next few days while I’m gone. Are you up for it?”
Krista sat up straighter. She nodded without hesitation. “Of course. I’d love to.”
“Good.”
Karen started walking away and Krista plowed a small elbow down by her side. She’d save the victory dance for later, and maybe she’d celebrate this small step forward with Noah on their date tonight.
