Chapter 57
Garrett
I had made it to the end of my shift and was making a beeline for the door when I heard the ambulance sirens’ wails. One was bad. Multiple ambulances meant something really bad had happened. Not my problem, I told myself, my feet moving faster.
“Garrett!” Helen jogged over with a smile on her face, ready to give me another pep talk. We’d prepared for the meet-the-parents situation when we had a break at the same time, but when she saw the ambulances, her face fell.
Then the patients started rolling in on gurneys.
I hated car crashes. Far too often I’d seen exactly what a tonne of metal could do to a person when it crumpled like a soft drink can around them, but the worst was this. That ragged, desperate cry of a hurting child, it stopped me in my tracks.
“Garrett…”
Helen said my name in a completely different tone now, and I knew what it meant. Patients, so many patients, were being rushed into the emergency department. Contusions, whiplash, braces to support broken limbs, it was like a grim pageant of pain.
Fuck…
I felt my pocket vibrate and knew it was the guys checking in, making sure I was on my way, but I couldn’t even stop to answer it. A completely different part of me took over.
“What’ve we got?”
One of the doctors had come running out to meet the train of patients, the paramedic giving him the rundown. Major car collision at high speed. Broken limbs, concussion, some possible brain injuries.
I couldn’t leave.
My bag was swung across my body and Helen and I moved as one to the closest gurney.
“Hi there.” A little girl with the most beautiful brown eyes looked up at me, the fear plain. Tears had made tracks in the blood smeared on her cheeks. “I’m Garrett and this is Helen.”
“Hi,” Helen said in a falsely upbeat tone. “We’re going to help you feel all better.”
We both grabbed the sides of the gurney and then pushed it through the swinging doors and into the ED ward.
One of the things I always loved about my job was the way adrenaline seemed to calm my brain down. I couldn’t think, worry, plan, or ruminate on anything. There was only moving, doing, fixing, cleaning, and helping. Nurses and doctors swarmed as the patients were triaged, each case assessed and then dealt with in order of urgency. My world narrowed down to observations taken, to finding veins and putting a line in, of making sure blood pressures remained stable, then bringing beds up to surgery when a surgeon became available to see the next patient. I was moving to the next when Helen stepped in my way.
“Garrett—”
“We need to get a hold of the extended family of the little girl in room number five,” I told her. “I’ve tried all the next of kin on record, but no one’s picking up.” The ragged wail of a child felt like a knife, stabbing right into my heart. “Mum’s in surgery. Dad’s still in a coma, and?—”
“Garrett.” She put a hand on my arm. “I’ll deal with that. You need to go.”
“What?” I blinked and looked around me, the bright artificial lights, the white walls and floor stabbing me in the eyes. It was like I was seeing the familiar sights of the ED for the first time. “Yeah, after?—”
“No, now.” She squeezed my forearm. “You’ve got that dinner, remember? You’re meeting Katie’s parents.” It felt like I was hearing her talk through a speaker of an elevator that was plunging in freefall down its shaft. “You were supposed to be there hours ago.”
Fuck.
Fuck, fuck, fuck…
I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly bone dry, as it all came back. Our plans. The way each one of us guys worked out a way to ensure we all arrived at Katie’s parents’ place on time. We’d worked out schedules, gifts, conversation starters…
And I hadn’t even made it to my car on time.
“Thanks.”
That’s all I could say as I turned and bolted for my locker. I stripped out of my scrubs and into my street clothes (not what I had planned to wear) and then made a beeline for my car. Other staff waved or called out goodbye as I left, but I couldn’t spare the time to reply. Not when I pulled out my phone to see a million missed calls, increasingly hysterical texts from Rhys, and…
Not one from Katie.
Fuck.
It was only the knowledge of what could happen that stopped me from putting my foot to the floor. Instead, I obeyed every road rule carefully, trekking across town to Katie’s parents’ place.
Which brought me to here.
“Hey.” I stood there like an idiot, staring at each one of them as they enjoyed their meal. Right now I felt like some kind of Dickens orphan, lurking around only to beg for more. “Just wanted to say how very, very sorry I am that I’ve gotten here so late.” That wasn’t going to cut it. I watched Katie turn around in slow motion, all those observational skills that helped me at work helping me to see her face fall in real time. That forced smile, coupled with very real disappointment that just seemed to deepen by the second. It was killing me. I raised a hand lamely and tried to smile. “I’m Garrett.”
“I’m Janey, love.” Katie’s mum was a spit of her daughter, and her warm smile had me wanting to rush forward and wrap her in a hug. “You look done in. Let me get you a drink.”
Bronson barked and then ran over, his feet slamming into my legs, forcing me to stagger back.
“Hey, boy!” Dogs were so damn pure. I couldn’t disappoint him because he lived in the moment. I was here now and that was all that mattered, but I knew that wouldn’t cut it with everyone else. “Have you been a good dog? Have you?”
“He likes you,” Janey said, returning with a glass of wine, handing it to me.
“Thank you.” I took a sip and then felt something uncoil inside me at the first fruity notes. “Damn, that’s good.” She smiled at that. “Did you get a glass? Katie said you like white wine, and I thought?—”
“I did.” When she gave my arm a squeeze, it was a perfect echo of Helen’s motherly gesture. “Have a seat. Katie made you up a plate in case you were able to make it. The others said there was a car accident.”
A car accident. A guy that came in because he was short of breath and turned out to be having a heart attack. A kid with a broken arm. That clinical cool that protected me was fading fast and just leaving me behind. Everything I’d seen, done, today was flickering before my eyes.
“Right as I was walking out the door.” I smiled at the table because right now I had everyone’s attention. “That wasn’t how things were supposed to go. We had things planned down to the last second to ensure we’d be here on time, but apparently those patients didn’t get the memo. Again, I’m sorry.”
“We’re all here now.” That had to be Katie’s father, Bill. He nodded at my plate. “Steak tastes best when it's still hot.”
“You let it rest for twenty minutes.” I felt the meat dimple under my fork, its firmness telling me so many things. “And you marinated the steak first?”
Bill snorted. It felt like I’d passed some test I wasn’t aware I was sitting.
“My own recipe. Katie says you’re a helluva cook? Be interested in what you think.”
My girl looked at me for what felt like the first time, her hand snaking out under the table to grab mine. Just a tiny secret smile, and then she let go and turned back to her plate. Maybe, just maybe, I’d get through this in one piece.
“Oh god…” I moaned the moment the meat hit my tongue. That came out more of a muffled sound and I closed my mouth and chewed. “Tender… spices…”
“Garrett’s having a foodgasm,” Rhys said with a grin. “Happens all the damn time.”
“Can’t ask for better than that. Dig in everyone.”
At Bill’s command, a comfortable quiet settled over the table as we all dug into our meals.
There was nothing like a big meal to settle me back down again. When I couldn’t fit in another bite, I pushed my plate away, leaning back, suddenly glad I’d put on a stretchy pair of track pants after work.
“That was incredible.”
I looked at the plate mournfully, wanting to squeeze in a couple of more bites, but my stomach made clear what a mistake that would be. Janey got to her feet, taking my plate and hers.
“Wait until you’ve tasted my apple pie.”
I knew enough about human physiology to know we had only the one stomach, but damn, when she said that, suddenly I had room for more food.
“Let us.” I pushed myself to my feet, feeling the wave of exhaustion hitting me hard. I’d have to get Rhys to drive us home. Exhaustion was as bad as alcohol for impairing reflexes on the road. “You’ve done all the cooking.”
I shot the other guys a meaningful look, ready to take the rest of the plates.
“It’s alright, us girls have got it,” Janey replied, giving the same kind of look to her daughters. They got up and removed the rest of the plates, but all I could focus on was Katie.
Were we OK? She’d been disappointed by her ex so damn much. Was she feeling like this was just a repeat times three? I had so many plans. As my eyes followed her as she walked back into the house, I remembered each one of them. That we’d be the right guys for her, that we’d never pull the bullshit that Dave did, but today brought an uncomfortable truth to the fore.
We’d opted to create a polycule because each one of us wanted something serious and yet none of us were really able to devote the time required to a serious relationship. By the look on Bill’s face, he was pretty leery of the whole polyam relationship dynamic, but if he could see what I did, maybe he’d relent?
“So…” Bill sat back in his chair, his hand wrapped around his beer. “The three of you think you’re good enough for my daughter?”
“Not really.” Rhett and Rhys shot me incredulous looks. I was going off the very script I’d created with them in preparation for tonight. “I was late tonight, and with my job, there’s every chance I will be again. Your daughter can’t rely on me to turn up when I say I will.” The muscle in Bill’s jaw flexed but he nodded, giving me permission to continue. “It’s why we set up the whole polycule in the first place. My job, Rhett’s, even Rhys’ at times, it means we can’t always be where we need to be, but…” Bronson put his paws on my lap, demanding a pat and I was glad for the warm presence by my side. Maybe he’d get me through this. “Together the three of us will work to ensure Katie has whatever she needs. If I’m not available?—”
“I’ll be there,” Rhett said with complete certainty, “and if I’m not?—”
“It’s a lot easier for me to get away from the gym than a fire or a medical emergency,” Rhys added. He leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table. “Don’t blame you for being wary. This is a weird situation.”
“But it works.” Rhett stared the man down. “We’ll make sure it works, because nothing, and I mean nothing, will have us hurting your daughter willingly.”
I sucked in a breath, ready to say more. Debate Bill, make him see the possibility that beat hard and fast in my chest, but the man cut me off with a shake of his head.
“I can’t say I understand what’s going on here, but…” A small nod to each one of us in turn. “Three blokes that want to do right by my daughter? Can’t say no to that, can I?”
I sank back into my chair, feeling my heart beat furiously. Adrenaline and oxytocin coursing through my veins made for an intoxicating mixture that rushed straight to my head faster than the wine.
“I’ll drink to that,” Rhys said, holding his beer up high.