Chapter 4
CHAPTER 4
E rica wasn’t needy. It was perhaps Aiden’s favorite thing about her. There was a certain type of woman who had a Pavlovian response to learning he was a doctor, a thing he hadn’t realized until it happened to him.
What he told June was true, he hadn’t been bullied as a kid. But neither had he been at the top of the heap, an alpha dog who ruled the school with good looks and sports heroics. Instead he had been a nice, normal kid, solidly in the middle, the type of guy who was nice to his mom, got along with everyone, and always tried hard to get good grades.
Those good grades had gotten him into a good college and decent med school. And that was when he learned the truth, that doctors weren’t smarter than other people. What made them special, in their own eyes and in the eyes of the world, was their dogged determination. Aiden had needed every drop of discipline and perseverance he could muster to get through the difficult years of med school and residency. It was as difficult and exhausting as everyone had warned him it would be.
And somewhere in there he had discovered the strange reaction to the word “doctor.” Some women, certainly not all women, but a certain subset had a primal reaction to the title, as if it represented everything they wanted and needed in a husband and future. It was all that seemed to matter, not Aiden’s looks or status or competence as said doctor, not his specialty or employability, not his family or bad habits. At first it had been fun, a good way to pick up girls who otherwise might not have given him a second glance. But the shine wore quickly off of that penny, leaving him with a bad taste in his mouth at the shallowness of the female species. For a while he swore off women entirely.
Then he met Erica. She hadn’t cared at all about his job, one way or another, hadn’t gotten upset when he missed Christmas or her birthday because of work. She’d had her own career goals, becoming a CPA, advancing in her firm. She’d had her own friends, her own life, her own dreams of the future. To Aiden she’d been a breath of fresh air.
But now. His phone buzzed with yet another text. He pulled it out and saw another link to another article about home ownership, this one specifying all the ways he needed to work on cleaning up his credit report. It was her third text since he started his shift, and they’d all been the same, ways to get ready for their new house.
Shouldn’t all this freaking out be spent on the wedding? His buddies who had married had told him horror stories of their fiancées, of all the ways they melted down before the wedding. One poor guy had found his fiancée in the bathtub, fully clothed, weeping while she clutched a bag of birdseed and mumbled about reception favors. Erica, stable as she was, was still human. He’d been expecting some pre-nuptial anxiety. But this…this was something different.
“Doctor Lawrence, you’re going to want to poke your head in seven.” The anesthesiologist on call stood in front of Aiden, a wry smile on his face. Aiden stuffed his phone away and faced him with a smile of anticipation.
“Oh, yeah? That good?”
“I’ve never seen the like,” Brian said, eyes sparkling.
“Wow,” Aiden said, duly impressed. The other doctor was a good twenty years older; he’d seen everything. “I’ll head there now.”
“You’re welcome,” Brian said, nodding as he continued on his way.
Like first responders, emergency room doctors had a macabre sense of humor. They saw a lot of bad, more than their share. The best way they’d found to cope with it was to take amusement where they could, often at the expense of their patients. Most things weren’t funny. There was nothing humorous about a child who’d been hit by a car or a life-ending heart attack. So they tended to highlight things that were funny and pass them around like tasty treasures. Aiden stepped to cubicle seven, put his hand on the curtain, and smoothed out his expression. No matter what he was about to find, he couldn’t show his amusement in front of a patient.
But when he pulled back the curtain, he couldn’t help himself. A laugh burst out, unprofessional but completely heartfelt. “Oh, June, no. What happened?”
Her eyes brimmed with amusement, too, but that was the only recognizable part of her. Splotches covered all of her exposed skin, and her lips were swollen to ten times their normal size, so much that they curled over her nose and chin.
“Hi, Bocker Bawrend,” she tried, and he tamped down another laugh. He perched on the edge of her bed and, to give himself something to do, picked up her arm and began an inspection. Hives. He reached for her chart and gave it a look.
“Allergic reaction to mangos?” he asked.
She nodded.
“Has this happened before?”
She shook her head. “It badn’t by bango.”
He stared at her, trying and failing to interpret her words. June reached for a pad of paper and pen She wrote and handed it to him. It wasn’t my mango. I had another date. It was going well. So well I kissed him, and HE had eaten a mango.
“Oh, my,” Aiden said, his heart burbling with sympathy. June sighed and sat back. “I’m sorry, June. And then what happened?”
She retrieved the pad and continued to write. I had a bad reaction. Thankfully the guy carries an epi pen for bee stings. He stabbed me in the thigh and called a squad. The swelling in my throat eased, but then the swelling in my lips started.
“I think you’re having a secondary reaction to the Epi. I’m going to order a steroid for you, another shot.”
She nodded. He gave her bicep a squeeze. “I’ll order it and be back to administer. Try to rest, okay? Do you need anything?”
She shook her head. He squeezed her bicep again and went to put in the order, putting out the word that, once again, he wanted to be there when it arrived. If the nurses thought that was odd, which they undoubtedly did, they did a good job of hiding it. Maybe they realized what Aiden was only now willing to admit: he’d developed a soft spot for June Kellogg. It wasn’t unheard of for doctors to do so, but it was the first time it had ever happened to Aiden, the first time a case had ever become personal. But he couldn’t seem to help it. June was obviously a sweetheart who was having the world’s worst bad luck dating streak.
“Doctor L, patient seven’s shot is ready.” Patricia, his favorite nurse, handed him the preparation. He knew her well enough by now to understand there was something else she wanted to say.
“What?” he prompted.
“I thought you’d like to know she’s earned a nickname,” Patricia said.
“What is it?”
She looked around and leaned in close to whisper. “Calamity June.”
“That’s not so bad,” Aiden said, relieved. “She’s said worse about herself.”
Patricia gave her head a little shake. “There’s a vast difference between saying something about yourself and hearing other people say it for you. Poor kid.”
“Do you really think she’s cursed?” Aiden asked. Patricia was his favorite because she was a self-proclaimed “no drama llama.” In an atmosphere where intrigue and gossip ran rampant, he had come to depend upon her no-nonsense method of delivery.
“I think it all comes down to what she believes,” Patricia said.
“I think she believes it,” Aiden said.
“Then I’d say she’s doomed,” Patricia said, turning away to head toward the next unending task.
Aiden returned to June feeling more somber. June’s eyes, however, sparkled with their usual mischief and good cheer. She showed him a picture of herself on her screen, her face tipped up in a would-be sexy pose, if not for her horrendously misshapen mouth. Duck lips for the win, she scratched onto the pad of paper before handing it to Aiden.
He laughed in spite of himself. “Hopefully this will help in short order,” he said, pulling on a pair of gloves and reaching for the alcohol swipes.
June nodded and rolled up her sleeve.
Aiden eyed her. “Sorry, June. That’s not the portion of you that needs to be exposed.”
She scrunched her nose and pointed to her posterior.
Aiden nodded. “Afraid so.”
Sighing, she rolled over and pulled aside the ugly hospital gown. She pressed her hand to her eyes, probably more from embarrassment than in preparation for the coming pain. Aiden tried hard to summon a clinical demeanor as he tore open the alcohol wipe and prepped her for the shot.
Just a patient, he reminded himself, trying hard not to note that her bottom was as cute as the rest of her. His training had helped in that capacity, at least enough so that he was able to rally a professional mask. For the moment she wasn’t sweet June with the hilariously swollen lips and adorable tushy. She was a patient who’d had an alarming anaphylactic reaction and still might not be out of the woods.
He taped a bandage over the hole he’d poked in her, taking care to only smooth it once and with minimal enjoyment. She was still lying on her stomach. He covered her exposed area and moved to her head, leaning over so they were eye to eye.
“Feeling sleepy?” he guessed.
She nodded.
“That’s normal. You’re body has burned through a tremendous amount of adrenaline today. I don’t feel comfortable releasing you yet. Can you hang tight for a while longer?”
She nodded. “Banks, Aibeb,” she murmured, her oversized rubber lips flapping dramatically. A sliver of hair slid over her face. June was either too numb or too sleepy to notice it. Aiden pushed it away for her, smoothing it a couple of times as he bestowed a smile on her. She was like Starla, he realized, all cuteness and sunshine. With the realization came relief. He wasn’t attracted to her, not really, not in the way a man is attracted to a woman. Rather he was attracted to her goodness. June was sparkle and warmth, the same way Starla was. Both maintained a guileless love for the world that was as worrisome as it was endearing. She needed a protector, as much or more than Starla. At least with a preschooler people expected her to be unequipped to deal with the world. With June it came as a shock that someone who looked like her could still require so much tending.
As he stepped through the curtain, he received another text from Erica. This one without an accompanying link, and he picked up his phone and read it.
Kind of freaking out here. So many options, so much to do. I have no idea where to start. Talk me down.
Finally, Aiden thought. What’s wrong? Do you need me to handle something? He imagined strolling the endless invitation possibilities, trying to decide on colors, caterers, venues, a dress, shoes. No wonder she was freaking out.
Yes! Find a qualified builder. I’m starting to have anxiety that we’re going to get fleeced, which is apparently a thing that happens with some of these guys.
Guys, what guys? Fleeced? What was she talking about? Are you talking about the wedding?
What? No, wedding stuff is fine. I’m talking about the house.
What do you mean wedding stuff is fine?
It’s all planned. I ordered the invitations online. They’ll be here next week. Bridesmaids lined up, church and rehearsal booked.
Aiden stopped short and looked around as if someone in the hospital might provide some clue as to what was happening. When did we decide on a date?
She sent him an eye roll emoji. Do you or do you not know when my vacation is? It’s set in stone and been that way for the last three years I’ve worked here. Wedding date is June 1 st .
Aiden felt a shiver of…what? Shock? Annoyance? Apprehension? June first was five months away. Somehow he had pictured their engagement lasting a year or more. Why hadn’t they discussed it? Had they discussed it and he’d forgotten? Erica was rational and efficient, which was great until it wasn’t. Sometimes she had a way of circumventing him, of ordering everything in his life so seamlessly it almost made it seem like his doing.
Hello?? She texted when he took too long to respond.
I’m here. Let’s talk face to face. I’m certain we can figure out a house plan together.
She sent him the eye roll emoji again. I have been looking into it. You have no idea what you’re getting into here.
Aiden stuffed the phone back in his pocket. He refused to see the text as ominous.
An hour later when he checked on June, she was sleeping. He eased closer, thinking as he did so that she even managed to sleep cute, like Starla. Her face was peaceful in slumber and, to his satisfaction, the swelling had gone down significantly. Gently, he picked up one of her arms and studied it. The hives had almost completely faded. When he checked her heart rate, she roused and blinked at him, reorienting herself with effort.
“How do you feel?” he asked.
“Groggy, but good.”
“The good news is I think you can bust out of here. The bad news is that your date had no staying power and disappeared. Is there someone we can call for you?”
“A taxi.”
“A taxi? What about…”
“My dad?” she filled in the blank for him. “No, that’s not a possibility. If my dad and brother found out my date dumped me at the hospital and disappeared, they would probably challenge him to a duel or something equally preposterous. And if I called anyone besides my dad, they would inevitably tell my dad and then he and my brother would fashion some kind of tracking device or ankle monitor to tag me whenever I leave the house. Believe me, a taxi is better.”
Aiden glanced at the clock. “I’m off in thirty. If you want, I’ll give you a ride.”
She grinned at him. “You would do that? That’s so sweet, thank you.”
“No problem,” he said, feeling slightly embarrassed. “Be back soon.” He eased out of the room and went to finish his shift, June hovering uncomfortably in the background of his mind. Of course there was nothing wrong with offering her a ride. It was neither unheard of nor unethical for a physician to do so. But Erica might not see it that way.
Before he could lose his nerve, he pulled out his phone and texted her. Hey, just a heads up I’m giving a patient a ride home.
Sounds good. Maybe after we can make some headway with a builder.
Erica was doubtless picturing someone old or infirm. Aiden knew he needed to tell her it was June, but he didn’t know how. Clarifying might make him look guilty, and he wasn’t guilty. He merely felt guilty. And he was definitely feeling regret over his hasty ride offer. What if June misinterpreted things?
But when he went to retrieve June, she was perched on the edge of her bed, legs swinging, normal sized lips smiling gently. “Hey.”
“Hey. Ready?”
She hopped off the bed and reached for her purse.
“Feeling okay? No dizziness?” he said.
“Ease up, Doctor Lawrence, you’re off the clock. And I’m fine, thank you.” She trailed behind him to his car. He opened the door for her, waiting until she was inside to close it.
“Wait until I tell Starla you rode in my car. This is going to make me a rock star,” he said as soon as he was behind the wheel.
June smiled. “You’ve got it backwards. I can’t believe I get to ride with Starla’s uncle. She’s so completely adorable.”
“That she is,” Aiden agreed. “My sister’s pregnant again, but I can’t imagine anyone ever taking Starla’s place in my affections.”
“I bet you a million dollars you’ll be shocked by how much your heart grows, allowing room for both,” she said.
“You speak from experience?” he asked.
“No, just intuition. My brother doesn’t have kids. I’d love it if he did, though. I would rock being an aunt so hard.”
“I bet you would,” Aiden agreed. “Where did you meet tonight’s date?”
“I’m embarrassed to tell you,” she said.
“June, I cut a pipe off your head and gave you a shot in the butt. I think embarrassment is off the table for us.”
“You have a point there, Aiden. Fine, I met him online. I joined a dating site, because that’s how low I’ve sunk.” She sighed. “I think I’m ready to give up entirely, to admit defeat. The curse has beaten me.”
“There is no curse,” he said. “Rather I believe it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. Something in your mind is making you act this way whenever you get close to a man in a romantic setting.”
“Wow, your psych rotation made an impression on you,” she said, and he laughed.
“Not true. I just see things clearly from an outsider’s perspective.” He might have said more, but they pulled up to a massive farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, leaving him momentarily speechless. No wonder the hospital bills didn’t seem to be a problem; June was loaded.
“Thanks, Aiden. I really appreciate it,” June said. He noted, as her hand reached for the door, that it shook slightly.
“June, are you feeling dizzy?” he questioned.
“No, just tired, very, very tired, like I’m walking through water.” She opened the door, took a bracing breath, and heaved herself out.
Aiden was there before she got herself upright, offering her assistance. It was a measure of how bad she was feeling that she took it without protest, leaning heavily on him as he led her inside. She steered him down the hall to her bedroom. He pulled the covers back and helped her to bed, perching on the edge of it like he had when they were at the hospital.
“I don’t like leaving you here alone and unsupervised,” he said, reaching out to brush her flyaway hairs again. The stragglers didn’t seem to bother her. Aiden couldn’t see how. They made his nose itch just looking at them.
“They’ll be home soon,” she said sleepily, though her glance was sharp and assessing as she studied him. “There’s something different about you today, but I can’t figure out what it is.”
“I got engaged,” he confessed, feeling shy for some reason he couldn’t fathom.
June gasped and laid her hand on his, giving it a squeeze. “Congratulations, that’s amazing. When’s the big day?”
“June first,” he said.
She smiled. “My birthday. Now we’ll both have something to celebrate. How’s the wedding planning? I heard it can be brutal.”
“So far so good. It’s house buying that seems to be the stumbling block.”
“How many houses have you looked at?” she asked.
“None so far. My fiancée, Erica, wants to build. But apparently finding a good builder is like finding leprechaun’s gold.”
June was practically beaming by the time he finished speaking. “Aiden, I don’t usually get a chance to say this to many men, but today is your lucky day.”
He smiled in response to her smile. “How so?”
Clumsily, she reached for something on her nightstand and handed it to him. It was a business card with her name on it and “Building Design Consultant” underneath. “I don’t understand,” he said.
“I consult on building homes for a living.”
“I thought you taught ballet,” he said.
“No, that’s my hobby, for fun. This,” she tapped the card, “is what I do. For my dad’s company. Kellogg Builders.”
He blinked at her. He’d heard of Kellogg Builders, of course, but never connected the name to her. Mostly because, until this moment, builders hadn’t entered into his realm. “Can you get us in?”
“Absolutely. Bring your fiancée to the office Monday and we’ll get started.”
“Erica is going to flip. Seriously, you have no idea, June. She’s been totally stressed, and she wanted me to take over this part of things. To be honest, I had no idea where to even start.”
“Text her now, I want to hear her response,” June prompted, the smile turning mischievous and expectant.
Happy to comply, he reached for his phone and sent Erica a text. What about Kellogg Builders?
Her reply was immediate. Be serious, Aiden. Don’t you think they were the first ones I tried? They’re totally booked for the next eighteen months.
Aiden looked up at June. Her smile slipped slightly. “She’s not happy?” she guessed.
“I haven’t told her yet. She says you’re impossible to get.”
June’s grin widened. “We are, but we keep an eye on our friends and family. Patching me up three times buys you entrée into that select society.”
Now he grinned. “Lucky me.”
“Literally the first man who has ever said those words to me,” June said while Aiden laughed and texted Erica.
The patient I gave a ride to? June Kellogg. She says she can get us in and wants to meet with us on Monday to get the ball rolling.
He hit send and June clapped her hands together, eagerly waiting a reply. It came in the form of a phone call.
“Are you even serious right now?” Erica asked, breathless with excitement.
“Yes.”
“No way. Seriously, Aiden, are you joking? Don’t joke with me on this. Kellogg Builders was my first choice, and if we can’t get them, I’m going to…” she trailed off, searching for a threat dire enough.
“Hold on,” Aiden said. He held the phone out to June who took it without hesitation.
“Hi, this is June Kellogg.”
Erica squeed, actually squeed, and she was a complete non-squeer. “Oh, my goodness, I feel like I’m talking to a celebrity. Your family’s work is amazing. I love the designs and everything, it’s just so…” she stopped the mad rush of words and took a breath, “can you really get us in?”
“Yes, I promise. That is, if you’re interested after we go over everything. Obviously there’s no commitment on your part until you sign on the dotted line, but I’d be happy to help you get started,” June said, smiling at Aiden as he smiled at her, giving her a thumb’s up.
“This is so great, so, so great. Oh, my goodness, I’m not going to sleep a wink until Monday. Bah! Okay, I’m going to stop fangirling now. Thank you, June, thank you, thank you.”
“No problem. Let me give you back to Aiden.” She handed him the phone and sat back, smiling in satisfaction, while he said goodbye to Erica.
“She says I’m supposed to give you a hug,” Aiden said, looking as uncomfortable as he felt.
“Lucky for you I’m a natural born hugger,” June said, opening her arms to him as they eased together. It should have been a quick and tentative thing, but somehow it wasn’t. Aiden found himself lingering, breathing in the tempting smell of grapefruit that wafted from her hair. June rested her head on his shoulder.
“Aiden, thanks for, well, all kinds of things. You’ve been really great at the hospital. I know it’s your job, but you could have made me feel small or embarrassed or ashamed, and you didn’t.” She withdrew and smiled up at him. “You’re a pal.”
“You’re about to save my life and make me a hero to my fiancée. Pretty sure you’re the pal, June,” he said.
“Well, well, well. I see the elusive date has made it into your bedroom.” June’s hyper-sized brother stood in the doorway, regarding Aiden with a look that, were he actually her date, would have made him toss himself out the window and run away screaming. June merely huffed.
“He’s not my date, you dunce cap. The date was a bust, and Aiden gave me a ride home.”
“Straight to your bedroom,” the brother said.
June rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t feeling well. Aiden is engaged. We were talking shop, they’re thinking of building with us.”
The brother’s demeanor changed instantly to friendliness and good cheer. He entered the room and plopped beside June on her bed, stretching out so he took up the majority of space. “Well, all right, Aiden. Any friend of Junie’s is a friend of ours.” He held out his massive paw for a shake. “I’m Denver.”
“Nice to meet you,” Aiden said, feeling uncharacteristically tiny by comparison. “I should go. Take care, June. You know who to call if you start feeling worse.” He gave her a sharp eyed glance, code for call the hospital. As her doctor, he wasn’t allowed to disclose her hospital visit to the brother. He wished he could, feeling instinctively her family should know about her close call.
“I’ll be fine, Aiden. Thank you. See you Monday.”
“Absolutely,” Aiden said. He drifted to the doorway and paused, looking back. Denver had swallowed June in an oversized hug. He might not know exactly what was wrong with her, but it was clear she’d be well cared for. Coddled and babied, perhaps, but definitely taken care of in all the ways that mattered.