Page 8 of Holiday Love
“I don’t know what I’d do without him,” Gwen had said. Even with all her stress, I could hear the smile in her voice. “He’s such a wonderful father.”
Anxiety had stirred in my stomach. I hated to add to her troubles. “I’m glad you have Caleb. Is he there now?” I asked cautiously. I didn’t want Gwen to be alone with the bombshell I was about to drop.
A less-astute person would have missed the warning in my question, but not Gwen. She’s used to bad news more than most people, having lost her father to colon cancer when he was only forty-five.
“Caleb’s in the next room trying to get Carter to eat his breakfast. Why?”
“I don’t want to freak you out, but I’m not just calling to say hi,” I’d said, wanting to ease into this conversation.
“Okay?” She dragged out the word.
“Teddy’s here at my hospital.”
“Like…he’s visiting you?”
Gwen’s question made my cheeks warm. I’m not sure if she knows about what happened between Teddy and me on her wedding night. I’ve almost confessed multiple times but never found the right way to say,“I had a one-night stand with your baby brother and then he never talked to me again.”Partly I don’t want to tattle-tell on Teddy. Partly, I don’t want to admit to Gwen how I still think about that nightwaytoo often. It’s too awkward, too embarrassing, to discuss.
Even if she did know, what would she think? I’m thirty-two. Teddy’s twenty-six. Would she assume I took advantage of him? The idea is laughable since Teddy’s far more experienced than I am. A fact he proved—repeatedly—that night.
“No.” I’d swallowed down my nerves. As an ER doctor, I’m used to having difficult conversations with patients and their families, but this time was different, more personal. “He was brought in by ambulance. He’d been surfing at night and almost drowned.”
The words came out fast, but Gwen was faster.
“Is he alive? Because if so, I’m going to kill him!” For a moment, I almost felt sorry for Teddy. He’s earned the tongue lashing his sister will give him, but still, I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of it.
“Why would he do something so stupid? Was he drunk?” In a more strained whisper, Gwen had asked, “Was he high? Is he using drugs, Helen?” Her voice had strangled on those last words.
“We got the tox screen back. He’d been drinking, and there was THC in his system, but that was it. No opioids. Nothing harder.”
“So he drank and smoked pot.” I could practically hear her shaking her head through the phone line. “Yep. He’s officially a dead man. What’s his condition now?”
“In the ICU, but it’s just a precaution since he was hypothermic. He should get moved to the regular medical floor tomorrow. He’s got a bunch of fractured ribs. I’m with him now.”
“Did his lung collapse? Pneumothorax, from the ribs?”
“No.” I moved my eyes over Teddy’s still form on the bed. IVs connected to saline and narcotic painkillers ran into his tattooed arms. “He’s breathing fine. Totally stable.” I bite the inside of my lip, worried about the next. “His biggest injury is his leg. He totally blew out his knee.”
“How bad?” asked Gwen, her voice tight.
“Pretty bad,” I’d answered, “Proximal tibia fracture, ligament tears. He shattered his patella. Ortho doesn’t think it’ll need surgery but he’s going to be in one of those long leg casts. You know, the kind that go from thigh to foot. He’ll be in it until at least Christmas.”
“No,” Gwen had breathed. “We’re all supposed to go to Mom’s in Japan.”
I looked at him again. His lashes didn’t even flutter. “I’m sorry, Gwen. I don’t think Teddy’s going to make it this year.”
There was a beat of silence, then I could practically hear her rallying. “Okay. I’ll get on the next flight—”
“You can’t,” I’d said gently. “Carter’s ear tubes. Tomorrow morning, remember?”
“Shoot! I forgot. I’ll come the day after then. My partners will have to figure out how to cover me. They owe me. I’ve taken more shifts than anyone else in the past month.”
“Even if they take your shifts, I don’t see how you can make it. You can’t take Carter on an airplane. The pressure change would wreak havoc on his ears.”
“Then I’ll drive.”
I’d almost smiled. That’s Gwen, pure stubbornness wrapped in scrubs. I understood. Every instinct was telling her she needed to get to Teddy. To help him like she did when her dad died and her mom worked all the time to keep food on the table.
I softened my voice. “You know you can’t get away from work or fromCarter for that long. It would take days to drive out here and back.”
