Chapter Sixteen
On Friday morning, before Kade left for work, he devoured me in a long, delicious kiss. That night, and the two after that, I’d be the one absent from bed. My overnight shift rotation was up, and our conflicting schedules meant we wouldn’t see much of each other until after the weekend.
Kade was not a huge fan of this, but I told him he’d get used to it.
For my part, I didn’t think too hard about all the ways I’d rather spend my weekend, but relished in the fact that my man would, indeed, get used to my rotating schedule, because that’s what happened when couples did life together.
And that’s who we were now—a couple who did life together.
The day of my first night shift was usually the hardest to navigate. Having slept normally into the morning, there was no chance I’d sleep during the day; but I usually tried to squeeze in a decent nap before arriving at the hospital at two in the afternoon. I swapped out coffee for tea first thing, and I tried not to do anything incredibly taxing as I adjusted my routine.
Soon after Kade left, a freshly brewed cup of tea nearby and my laptop across my folded legs, I sat on the couch and continued the investigation on Logan Grant I’d started the previous day.
I knew Heather was going the route of contacting hospital staff at the previous places Logan had worked over the last five years in a very professional manner. Doctor to doctor, she was using her reputation and her connections in an effort to uncover the truth. I thought it might be smart if I tried a different tactic.
I wasn’t the most experienced internet sleuth, but it wasn’t hard to conduct a few simple searches. Between hospital websites and social media, I’d found a half-dozen nurses I could tie to Logan at the last two emergency rooms in which he’d been an attending. I’d sent a couple of nondescript messages indicating my interest in connecting to discuss a professional mutual acquaintance, and I’d left my phone number if they felt comfortable calling.
When I went back to check previous messages sent, I saw I’d gotten two responses. Both of them wished to know to whom I was referring. I debated telling them I’d only reveal his name over the phone, but I didn’t want to make it weird, so I shared his name and confirmed the hospital where I was working. Neither of the nurses appeared to be online at the moment, so I continued my hunt for more contacts.
An hour later, I’d sent messages to three new nurses. When my phone began to ring, I jumped, anxious at the prospect of it being one of them. I reached for the device and was instantly disappointed to see it wasn’t an unknown number trying to connect with me, it was only my mom.
Acknowledging it had been a few weeks since we’d last spoke, I chided myself for my disappointment and swiped my thumb across the screen in order to answer.
“Hey, mom,” I greeted.
“Hi, sweetheart. Did I catch you at an okay time? I can never quite keep track of your schedule. I’m guessing you aren’t at work, or you wouldn’t have answered. You aren’t at work, are you?”
Barely containing my amusement, I assured her, “No, mom. I’m not at work. Now’s a great time. How are you?”
“Oh, your father and I are just fine. I hadn’t talked to you in a while, and I thought it would be nice to hear my daughter’s voice.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t called. It’s been a crazy few weeks.”
That was putting it mildly, but I had no intention of providing all the gritty details.
“You don’t have to apologize. I know how time can slip away. We’ve been busy on our end, too. I was telling your father this morning how I couldn’t believe we’re almost at the end of the summer season. September seemed to sneak up on us.”
Now that she’d mentioned it, I was inclined to agree. The days were getting shorter, the heat was starting to taper, and life all around was looking different than it had back in June.
“It’ll be time to harvest soon.”
“That’s actually the other reason why I called. I was hoping you might not mind hosting your folks for a couple days before the harvest. We haven’t gotten away for months, and I’d love the chance to visit. I think I managed to talk your father into it last night. We’ve got the help and can spare a couple of days. Of course, we don’t want to be an inconvenience. If you’re too busy, we can try for another time.”
I swept a bit of hair behind my ear, willing myself not to get worked up over the timid way she always asked when she wanted to come for a visit. She knew she was welcome at my house any time, but my brother and his wife had conditioned her to believe she had to beg and plead for their time and attention.
What I wanted to say was, I’m not Seth, mom. I’m not the one with a snooty spouse. You don’t have to grovel.
Instead, I said, “My spare room is always available, mom. I’d love for you and dad to visit. I’m working this weekend, but I won’t be next weekend. You could drive over first thing Saturday and stay the night if you’d like. I’ll have to be to work Monday morning, but that gives us a good day and a half.”
“That sounds perfect!”
“Great. I’ll plan on it.”
I hesitated, wondering how Kade would feel about meeting my parents.
This lasted for all of a second, and then I remembered we’d been official for twelve hours before I was sitting at his Gran’s kitchen table.
“Um, mom?”
“Hmm?” she prompted.
“Well, you should know I’m—I’m seeing someone.”
She gasped, and I didn’t try to contain my smile. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had a man worth mentioning in my life, so her excitement wasn’t altogether unwarranted.
“Jenna, that’s wonderful news. Will we get to meet him?”
“I’m sure that can be arranged.”
“Tell me about him. How did you meet? How long have you two been dating?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out as I realized I wasn’t actually sure how to describe him. Did I introduce him as Maverick or as Kade? I supposed I could be honest about the fact that we’d met at a biker bar, but how we’d gotten to where we were was complicated, to say the least.
“Um…” I thought about it a moment longer, then decided I’d simply be honest. “He’s tall and handsome with the most charming smile I’ve ever seen. He’s sweet, when he wants to be, and quite protective of me, which feels better than I thought it would. He’s very close with his family—” I smiled at that part. It was true, though family in Kade’s world was a little unorthodox. “—and Tess was actually the one to introduce us. I wasn’t sure about him at first, but I think he knew right away we’d be good together. Turns out, he was right. He’s right a lot. Not that I would ever admit that to his face.”
“You sound happy, Jenna,” my mom responded softly.
I nodded, even though she couldn’t see me do it.
There was no sense in denying it. I was falling in love.
And for the first time in years , I was letting myself do it.
Somehow, with Kade, I wasn’t afraid of the fall.
“I am,” I murmured.
“What’s his name?”
Sealing my eyes closed, I went with my gut and replied, “Kade. Kade Daughtry.”
“Well, I very much look forward to meeting him.”
Mom and I talked for another thirty minutes before we said our goodbyes. After we disconnected, I went back to my internet investigation until my stomach alerted me it was time to take a break. I made myself lunch, packed some leftovers to take with me to work for dinner, then laid down for a nap.
I woke up with enough time to finish getting ready and then check my social media accounts for any new messages. I found none, which was disappointing but not surprising. Given I’d only been at it for a couple of days, I still harbored a bit of optimism that Heather and I would turn up something. Hopefully soon.
The emergency room was busy upon my arrival, and I jumped right in where I could help. It appeared the doctors on staff that afternoon were Clark and Grant. Dr. Howard Clark preferred working nights, so I assumed he’d be around until morning. I wasn’t sure about Logan, but I knew Abbie would be in later, which meant I would be on double duty so long as they were in the same room as each other.
The last thing I expected was to have my own confrontation with the doctor.
I was a couple of hours into my shift when Logan called me over to help him with a patient. He handed me her chart, instructed me to administer a dose of medication, and then left me to it. I glanced at her paperwork, double checking the prescription before injecting what the doctor had ordered.
What I didn’t do was verbally verify any medication allergies with the patient, mistakenly assuming the conversation had already happened. Her chart was otherwise completed.
Or so I thought.
Ten minutes later, Logan was yelling my name, calling me over. Alarmed, I returned to the patient to find she was having an allergic reaction to the medication I’d recently given her. Except, Logan wasn’t surprised by the allergy. Worse, he accused me of administering the wrong drug.
I felt the blood drain from my face as I thought back ten minutes. I’d double checked her chart. I’d given her what he’d ordered. I hadn’t asked the patient about her medication allergies, but I was sure I hadn’t given her something other than what Logan instructed.
I didn’t have time to argue with him about it.
We needed to counterbalance the effects of the medication, then treat the issue we’d been attempting to address in the first place. It wasn’t until after Logan was so quick to rattle off the medicines he needed, after the patient was recovering and calm, after I’d managed to take a few deep breaths myself, that it occurred to me I had been set up.
“A word, Nurse Hayes?”
Logan didn’t bother to wait for me to acknowledge him before he headed toward the hallway, away from the patient bays. Still trying to process the last fifteen minutes, I followed after him mutely. When the double doors separating the hallway from the emergency room closed behind me, he got close—too close. I bumped into the wall, scowling in confusion as I tried to back away from him.
“I know what you’re doing,” he told me, his voice low but clearly laced with anger.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, attempting not to sound panicked.
“Reaching out to the nurses who’ve worked with me in the past.”
I tried, and obviously failed, to show no reaction.
“Whatever you think you know, you don’t . Whatever you’re looking for, stop . You’re a good nurse, Jenna. Would be a shame if another mistake like the one I just fixed cost you your job. Now, I’ll be sure to smooth things over with my patient so the hospital doesn’t get hit with a lawsuit, but you really should be more careful. Have I made myself clear?”
I could feel my hands shaking, so I curled my fingers into fists as I stared at him, refusing to speak a word. My heart was racing, my mind swirling, and I wanted so badly to do or say something that would take away his upper hand, but I had nothing.
I’d been the one to administer the drugs.
I’d neglected to double check allergies.
I couldn’t blame the chart—I could only blame myself.
Still, I refused to bow to him.
He found this to be amusing, as evidenced by the smug smile that spread across his face as he said, “I think we understand each other,” before leaving me alone in the hallway.
When the door closed behind him, it took everything I had in me not to sink to the floor. I shook out my hands and concentrated on my breathing, waiting for my heart rate to come down.
I didn’t know for sure what happened between him and Abbie, but I couldn’t imagine being so early on in my career and faced with threats as significant as the one he’d just issued me. No wonder she wanted me to leave it alone. Even now, a part of me wanted to kowtow to Logan’s seemingly insurmountable power. Two years on the job or twenty, it didn’t matter. A nurse—no matter how tenured or talented—wasn’t a doctor.
It would have been a lie to say he hadn’t scared me, but it was that same fear which fueled my resolve to not surrender. Obviously, I was going to have to be much more careful. He was more dangerous than I imagined. He’d put a patient’s life in jeopardy to make a point. That went against everything healthcare providers stood for. It was disgusting. If I thought I could report him and be believed, I would have already been on my way to the Chief of Staff. But I was in the same place I’d started. I didn’t think I’d win in a he-said/she-said battle.
I wasn’t arrogant enough to believe I could bring him down on my own. I was only one voice, but I had to do more than look the other way. It’s why I’d gone to Heather in the first place. It’s why I’d spent hours looking up nurses on the internet. Now, I knew we were definitely on to something.
Going forward, I wouldn’t use Logan’s name at all unless I was speaking with one of the nurses over the phone. I’d also have to conceal which hospital I was associated with when trying to get in contact with women who might come forward. I couldn’t quit. It wasn’t just. Men like him needed to be stopped.
“Shit,” I whispered under my breath, covering my face with my hands.
It would have been so much easier if I could simply let it go, but I knew I’d never be able to live with myself if I did.
It took me a couple minutes to gather myself. After I’d managed to get a grip, I strode back toward the nurses’ station with my head held high. It was all I could think to do. Fortunately, we were still busy, and there was no shortage of work to be done.
Around eight o’clock, I was able to slip away to take my meal break. Still thinking about what happened earlier, I didn’t have an appetite, but I made myself eat anyway. I wasn’t even halfway through my shift, and I would need the energy. I forced down the food, hardly tasting it, and then realized what I really wanted.
Phone in hand, I walked outside in order to make a call.
“Hey,” he answered after a single ring.
Hearing Kade’s voice was like an instant remedy. There was something about knowing he’d be there for me when I needed him that made me feel safe. Like, there was no corner I could back myself into he couldn’t get me out of if I asked.
“Hi,” I breathed.
“Babe, you okay?”
It took me a half a second to decide I wasn’t going to tell him what happened. Not yet. He was too protective. He’d act before I got to the root of the issue, and I didn’t want that.
“Yeah. I’m fine. On a break. Uh, just wanted to call and say—oh, my parents are going to be in town next weekend. They’re for sure going to want to meet you, so I thought we’d do dinner at my place Saturday night.”
There was a beat of silence before he asked, “You calllin’ to warn me because you expect me to show up in a collared shirt or some shit?”
I scrunched my face, trying to imagine him in a shirt with buttons.
“Do you even own one?”
“No.”
I hummed a quiet laugh, aiming my smile at my feet as I replied, “That’s what I thought.” Sobering a little, I told him, “I want you to be yourself. I want them to meet the real you. Though, now that I’m thinking about it, it might be kind of great if you brought Barb with you.”
“So, now you wanna use my Gran to make me look good? That’s low, foxy.”
I could hear the smile in his voice, and I found myself laughing again.
My god, I liked him.
“I’m sure she’d appreciate the invite,” he assured me. “She likes you, you know?”
“The feeling’s mutual.” I looked up at the sound of distant sirens and knew my break would be over soon. “I have to go. Talk to you tomorrow?”
I knew the answer, but I wanted to hear him say it anyway.
“Yeah, foxy,” he replied.
As the sirens drew closer, I thought about tomorrow. I hadn’t planned on sleeping at his place after my shift, but it suddenly sounded like a great idea.
“Hey—maybe leave your door open for me?”
“Done.”
Still smiling, I murmured, “Okay. Bye, honey.”
“Later.”
I ended the call, slipping my phone into my back pocket as I headed inside.
Ten hours. On the other side of ten hours was Kade.
That was all the motivation I needed.