Chapter 3
Chapter Three
DEREK
“ I t’s okay, bud. It’s okay.”
It does nothing to settle the wailing preschooler in my arms.
“It hurts, Daddy.”
“I know.”
Tears soak my shirt. We’ve been waiting at the ER for over an hour, and while they did get an X-ray pretty quickly, we haven’t seen the doctor yet. It’s packed to the brim with people with various ailments.
All I need is for a doctor to help me with my four-year-old. Nothing like a broken arm on the playground during school to end the week.
“Hi Mr. Hollins, and…Troy. I’m so sorry to keep you waiting.” A nurse rushes into the tiny curtained-off area.
“Is it going to be much longer to see the doctor?” It’s hard to hide the impatience in my voice.
She brushes the blonde hair out of her face. She is stunning. A small dimple pops out when she smiles back at me.
This clearly isn’t the first time she’s had to deal with a worried parent.
“They’ll be in shortly. Sorry for your wait. ”
“Is there anything you can give him for the pain?”
“Can I see your arm?” She bends down to get on Troy’s level.
“It hurts.” His voice is small, now down to a quiet whimper in the face of this stranger.
“I promise I’ll be gentle.” The nurse gives him a soft smile.
Troy shakes his head, his brown hair flopping into his eyes.
“Buddy, if you show the nice nurse your arm, I’ll get you some ice cream tonight.”
“And a new toy?” Troy sniffs, his brown eyes wet as he looks up at me.
“Whatever toy you want.”
“Okay.”
She has a tender touch as she examines his arm. “Do you know what happened?”
“He fell off the playground equipment at school today.”
It was probably the most heart-stopping phone call I’ve ever gotten. Having played pro football during my twenties, I’ve had my fair share of hits and bad calls. I brushed them off. It’s what you do.
But getting the call that your child is hurt?
Nothing can compare to your son getting injured.
“It doesn’t look to be too serious. The doctor will be in soon to read the X-ray, but I’ll get him something in the meantime.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
She squeezes my shoulder. “I have a six-year-old at home, so I know what it’s like to see them in pain.”
I know I shouldn’t be looking at her, but the woman is sexy as hell. The blue scrubs she’s wearing do little to hide that fact. “Has she broken her arm before?” My laugh is awkward around this woman who is now pinning me with hazel-green eyes.
“She broke her leg last year. She told me she wanted to be a ballerina like she saw on TV. Turns out her version of a ballerina involved a lot of jumping off ledges.”
I press a kiss into Troy’s soft brown hair. “Sounds like this one. He wants to be a superhero when he grows up.”
“I was trying to fly today,” he tells us.
“Maybe we save that for the superheroes, hmm?” she tells him. The nurse gives Troy another smile that has him agreeing.
“You must have the magical touch. I think he would’ve fought me a lot harder on that.”
“Listen…”
“Derek.” I hold my hand out to her.
“Derek, hi. I’m Sutton. I’ll make sure your son is in good hands. I know how hard it is to see them in pain.”
“Fucking sucks.”
“Bad word, Daddy.”
Crap.
“Can Daddy get a pass since we’re at the hospital?” I ask my son.
“Can I get an extra toy?”
Sutton laughs at the exchange.
“If I say yes, does that count?”
“Yes.” His smile is big, a big gap between his two front teeth. If he takes after me, I have no doubt he’ll need braces when he’s older.
“You know what my daughter really likes?” Sutton asks Troy. I love that she’s talking to him. It’s putting him at ease in this loud and scary hospital.
“What?”
“She likes magnetic building blocks. Last week she built a school bus.”
“Can I build one too? Or maybe a rocket ship?”
“Who’s building a rocket ship?” A new voice enters the room. An older man with slick, brown hair and a white coat drops down onto the stool by the bed .
“I want to!” Troy tries to move, but I hold him close. The school did their best to try and immobilize his arm, but I don’t want him doing anything else to it.
The doctor taps away on his computer, examining whatever is on his screen. “Well, good news, he won’t need surgery.”
“Thank God.”
I drop another kiss onto Troy’s head. I don’t think I could handle sitting through any kind of surgery with him.
“Well, let’s get your arm all bandaged up and you can be on your way to building rocket ships in no time.”
“Will it hurt?”
“Not at all.”
The doctor’s smile is a cocky one—probably because he has the skill to back it up. He’s someone I would’ve liked to have met on the football field back in the day. Wipe him out with one hit.
Except that’s not who I am anymore.
Ever since Troy came into my life, he’s been at the center. With a jersey chaser for a mother, I didn’t want my son growing up with someone who would be in and out of his life. Someone that is always looking for the next payday.
It was easy to give up that life the day they put Troy in my arms. Nothing else but him matters. Even if it’s been a lonely few years on my own.
Another nurse comes into the room with a tray of supplies.
“Why don’t we let them wrap his arm and I’ll walk you through aftercare?” Sutton pulls my attention away from the doctor.
“Will he be okay?” I ask.
“Of course. We’ll even let him pick the color of his cast.”
“Blue!” he shouts.
“Whatever you want,” the new nurse says .
I follow our original nurse out of the room, trying to keep my eyes averted from her sweet ass. But what an ass it is.
“He’s going to be fine,” Sutton reassures me.
“I hate that it happened.”
“It will probably happen again.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” I run a hand through my hair.
“He’s a kid. My daughter loves pushing boundaries.”
“So does Troy. He’s a good kid but sometimes I wonder if I’m giving him everything he needs.” I don’t know why I voice my biggest concern to this stranger I met not more than twenty minutes ago.
“Believe me, I know.”
“You do?”
Sutton nods. “I’m a single parent. I’m always worrying if I’m working too much and if I’m giving my daughter everything she needs.”
“Shit. It sucks, right?”
She smiles. A big, toothy smile that hits me right in the gut. “That’s how you know you’re doing it right. If you didn’t care, it’d be a lot easier.”
“It’d be easier if I had someone to do this with.”
My eyes drift back to the doctor and nurse who are wrapping up Troy’s arm. He looks up at me with those big brown eyes.
“I think you’re doing okay, Derek. He looks at you like you’re his world.”
It has my heart stopping and starting in my chest. It’s why when Troy was born, I retired. I knew his mother wasn’t going to stick around. One poopy diaper and she was out the door. I couldn’t travel and have a son. There’s no way I was going to split my attention like that.
Troy deserved my everything, so I gave it to him.
And I haven’t regretted that decision for a moment .
“All done.” The doctor snaps off his glove. He gives me an assessing look. “Why do you look familiar?”
Great. The last thing I want is to deal with this man recognizing me. With Troy bandaged up, all I want to do is take him home so he can rest.
“My daddy played football!” Troy chirps.
“That’s right!” the doctor snaps at me. “You play for the Vegas Storm.”
“Played,” I correct.
“You were a monster on the field, man. You leveled the best of them.” He shakes his head. “Man, I loved watching you play. Why’d you quit?”
“I had more important things.”
Like the little boy sitting on the stretcher behind him.
“That rivalry you had going with the Mountain Lions? I miss it. I loved watching you destroy them.”
I wince. Those were some of my worst games. Vegas wanted anger. They wanted us to be bulldozers on the field. They didn’t care who we took out, as long as it was someone.
Now?
Now, I hate it. I think about Troy and what kind of example that would set for him. I hate that I fed into it. I said and did some terrible things. Things I don’t think I’ll ever be able to take back.
But hopefully I’ll be able to teach my son better. Maybe correct it with the next generation of football players where I coach.
“Am I able to take him home?”
“Yes. Nurse Sutton will get you his discharge paperwork, and you can see your regular doctor to remove the cast in a few weeks.”
“Thank you.”
“Time to go home?” Troy asks.
“You still want that ice cream? ”
“Yes!” He pumps his tiny arm, now casted in blue plaster. “Can I have sprinkles too?”
“Sprinkles too.”
“Do you want a sticker before you go?” Sutton asks him.
“Please?” He eyes me, as if asking if he can have one.
“Of course.”
Sutton pulls a sticker out of her scrubs pocket—a rainbow—and passes it over to Troy.
“I appreciate everything you’ve done for Troy. And me.”
She waves me off. “I know it’s hard when you’re in the hospital.”
“Too much to wrap him in bubble wrap?”
Troy reaches up and grabs my hand.
Sutton laughs, handing over a stack of paperwork. It might be the sweetest sound in the world. “I have a feeling he’d pop his way out.”
“I think he would.”
“I’ll let you get going. No one wants to be here any longer than they have to be.”
I take her dismissal for what it is.
“Thanks again.”
“Hopefully I won’t see you two here again.”
Her words hit me harder than I want them to.
And then she’s gone.
I’m ready to get Troy home, but I wouldn’t mind spending more time with Sutton. If only I had the time.
I guess that’s the life of a single father.