Chapter 8
Slowly, Pax let go of Steph ’s hand. “I’m driving straight to your house.”
“Okay.” She looked small on the gurney . Lines of pain around her eyes told him she was still hurting despite the analgesic. He’d asked to go in the ambo with her, but the guys said no.
Once the driver closed the door, Pax jumped in his car and took off. When he arrived, he didn’t see the ambulance. He went to the door and opened it with his key.
Two people popped up from the kitchen table.
Pax strode to the couple. “Mr. and Mrs. Giordano . I’m Pax Barry, the doctor from the clinic. I called you.”
“Hello, Pax . I’m Fiona and this is Tony.”
Her parents were in their sixties. Steph did indeed resemble her mother who had red hair streaked with gray . And she’d inherited the woman’s hazel eyes. Tony was true Italian with dark eyes and hair which was graying , too. “Where is my daughter?”
A knock on the door.
Pax said, “I expect that’s her. She came in an ambulance.”
He opened the door and the EMTs rolled Steph in. They stopped in front of him. He said to her, “Well, hello.”
Steph had come fully awake. “ Pax .” She transferred her gaze to her parents. “ Mom and Dad. Thanks for coming.”
Fiona went to her child. “Hi, honey. Of course we came.”
“Hi, baby.” Her dad looked worried.
Pax said to the ambo crew, “Thanks, you two.”
“No problem. Do you want her to go to the bedroom?”
“I want to sit on the couch in the living room with my parents.”
The EMTs rolled the gurney further inside and lowered it halfway down. With their help, Steph was transferred to the couch. “Thanks, guys.”
Her mother put pillows behind her head. “I’m so sorry you got hurt, honey.”
“The drunk surprised me.”
“Your nice doctor told us about it on the phone.”
Pax was standing back a bit. “Feeling any better, Steph ?”
“Actually, my head’s starting to hurt again.”
Wishing he could take care of her, he fished in his pocket. “I brought some Tramadol . I didn’t give it to you at the clinic because I had to make sure you didn’t have a concussion.”
“I don’t think I do.”
Her father frowned.
“Daddy, did you meet Pax ?”
“Yeah.”
“I-”
“ Stephie , you gotta get out of this protection business.”
“Come on, Dad, not that again.”
“Your father’s right, honey.” Fiona ’s face turned sad. “It’s too dangerous.”
“A.J.’s a cop. Did you suggest he quit?”
Her mother squirmed. “No, he’s a man.”
“ Mom —”
“He’s bigger than you,” her dad added.
“I beat him in arm wrestling last time I was home.”
While they sparred, Pax poured a glass of water. “You can stay here but you’ll fall asleep on the couch.” He glanced at her parents. “And she should stay calm.”
“Then I want to go the bedroom. Mom , will you help me get changed into pajamas ?”
Disappointed that she didn’t ask him to help her, he nonetheless gave Fiona the bottle of pills, then they got her up and her mom led her away. Pax sighed.
Tony asked, “Are you staying?”
“No. I have to get back to the clinic. Sick people are waiting there.”
“Do you have instructions for her? Like waking her up every hour to see if she has a concussion?”
“No, that old tale has been disproven . Just check on her frequently and see that she’s okay. The directions for the medicine are on the bottle. Follow it.” He started away, then turned back. “And make sure she stays calm.”
“I will. Thank you, Dr. Barry.”
“It’s Pax .”
“Call me Tony.”
Huh, Pax thought. At least that was something.
* * *
Nick Redmond walked into the clinic. The waiting room was empty, as it was closing time. A woman came in behind him. He turned to hold open the door. Wow. She was dressed in an expensive suit and shoes. Her wavy auburn hair framed a near-perfect face. “Hello.”
“Hello.” She looked him up and down. “You’re not here for medical help.”
He gave her a once over. “You either.”
“I work here parttime . I came to pick up a book that I left here yesterday.”
He held out his hand. “Nick Redmond.”
They shook. “Noreen Shannon.”
“Here to see Pax ?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll tell him you’re here when I go out back.”
“I’m his lawyer.”
“Ah.”
Soon Pax stepped out from the offices. The guy looked spent. He needed sleep. Lines of worry etched out around his eyes and forehead. “Hi, Nick.”
“Are you all right?”
“No. Someone got hurt at the clinic today.”
Boy, trouble followed this guy. “Anything I should know about?”
“She’s an employee. She’s okay, but she’s home for a while. Let’s sit.”
They took chairs near the desk. “I came to tell you the judge wouldn’t dismiss the lawsuit.” He held up his tablet. “He said he’d rather see the discovery and depositions first.”
Pax nodded.
“I have a handle on this. I’ve asked for the files from the DA . I should get them this week. But I wanted you to know we’re following up.”
“Okay. What’s next?”
“Sit tight. I’m hoping we don’t have a pretrial after that.”
Pax nodded.
“Sorry to lay this on you now. I’ll let you go.”
They stood, just as Noreen came out of the back. “I’m leaving, Pax . Mr. Redmond.”
“It’s Nick.”
“Noreen. Goodbye.”
When the door closed, Pax sensed something. “Interested?”
“I could be. She’s gorgeous.”
“She’s the one I told you about. The head cardiac surgeon at Upstate Medical University.”
“That’s where I heard her name.”
“She’s wasn’t a witness to anything, though.”
“No. But like I said, she could be a character witness.”
“Maybe.”
He held up the tablet. “I’m going to get right on this, Pax .”
“I trust you.”
“You’ll hear from me soon.”
* * *
Pax went back to his office and smiled at Mutt. “How you doing, buddy? Want to go see Steph ?”
Mutt roused and barked his agreement.
Before he could leave, Alice and Jon appeared in the doorway. Jackson’s words came back to him. You called her sweetheart .
He said to them, “I suppose you want an explanation.”
Alice said, “Just a clarification.”
“Stephanie and I are romantically involved. Since before the clinic opened.”
“Ah. Well, that’s okay,” Alice said.
“Are you going to go see her now?” Jon asked.
“Yes.”
“Give her our best.”
Pax stopped at a soup place, then drove to her apartment and parked behind what he assumed was her parents’ Hyundai. Soon, Tony opened the door. “Hey, you’re back.”
“I am. How is she?”
“Okay. Come on in.” He sniffed. “What smells so good?”
“I brought hot soup and bread.”
“I was gonna rustle something up, but this is better.”
He set the package on the table. “I’d like to go in and see her.”
“Sure. She and Fiona are watching a show.”
They both looked up when the door opened. Fiona smoothed down her dress. “We didn’t expect you back.”
“I wanted to check on you, Steph .”
“I’m glad to see you.”
“Are you?”
Fiona stood. “I’ll leave you two alone. Don’t upset her.”
“I won’t. I brought soup.”
“I’m hungry. Shall I bring you some, honey?”
“Not yet. I want to talk to Pax .”
When Fiona left, Pax sat in her chair and Steph turned off the TV. “How do you feel now?” he asked.
“Better. The tramadol worked wonders. I’m a little out of it, though.”
“That’s how that drug works. I won’t stay long.”
“How are you ?”
“I think my heart is returning to a regular rhythm. Are you reliving what happened?”
“Only to figure out what I did wrong.”
“Nothing. Nobody could have withstood that blow without being knocked out.”
“Yeah, I talked to Will. He said the same thing.”
“You have to rest now.”
She reached for his hand. “You took care of me.”
“I tried. And, by the way, when things were tense, I called you sweetheart in front of everybody. I had to explain our relationship after I got back to clinic.”
“I don’t care.”
“Don’t you?”
“No.” She grabbed his hand. “I’m going to forget about Noreen too.”
“I’m glad.”
Later he’d fill her in about Nick Redmond.
She tugged on his hand. “Come here.”
He stood and sat on the side of the bed. He pressed his lips to hers, tasted her. The kiss was gentle, and meaningful. “That’s enough for now. Later we’ll be together.”
Her eyes were sleepy. “Uh-huh.”
“Rest now. I’ll wake you in an hour to eat something.”
“Okay.” Her lids closed.
He turned off the lights and left the room.
Fiona and Tony were at the table eating. Still, her mother asked, “Can I get you some?”
“No, I can get it.” He spooned out some of the minestrone and cut some bread for himself. Then he sat between her parents.
“After we finish,” Fiona said. “Tony and I want to talk to you.”
“You heard her Fiona ,” Pax explained. “She won’t quit.”
“I know. It’s not about that.”
“What is it about?”
Tony put in, “Take a wild guess.”
He got it now. “You want to know my intentions toward you’re daughter.”
“No, we want to decide if you’re good enough for her. And if you’ll be able to handle her.”
He wished he could promise them that both were true.
One week later
“No, we won’t run. We’ll walk brusquely.”
“No fair.”
Mutt barked his agreement. The dog had gotten way too attached to her.
“I let you out of the house, didn’t I?”
She leaned over and kissed his mouth. “You’ve been great these last few days, Pax . Though I don’t know why we haven’t made love. At least for me to get some exercise.”
“How about this? We’ll walk fast then maybe jog for a bit on the way back. If you promise not to go fast.”
Again Mutt barked and pulled on his leash.
“I promise.”
With the wind blowing their hair back, they walked quickly down the street. Mutt trotted beside him. They sped up by degrees then he said, “Time to turn around.”
“Can we jog back? I feel invigorated.”
“In a bit.”
Eventually, they jogged. Nearer to his house, he slowed down and took her hand. The morning was beautiful and it was warm for November. When they got to his porch, he said, “Sit, I’ll get us water.”
He came back with glasses and a bowl for Mutt. And something else. “Oh, my, gosh. Pax , what did you do?”
Sunshine, her favorite dog at the Forever Friends, sat at her feet. She bent over and nuzzled her.
“Matt dropped her off while we were walking. I thought you deserved a Mutt of your own.”
She sat back grinning. He handed her a glass of water. They both took sips, but he didn’t sit right away. Instead he knelt down on one knee. She smiled at him, still not catching on. Pax pulled a small box out his pocket. Her eyes rounded like the full moon. “Dear Lord in heaven.”
He opened the box. Inside was a platinum band encrusted with jade and diamonds. “I didn’t think you’d want a regular diamond. This suits you.”
Tears came to her eyes. She grabbed his neck and kissed him hard. “It’s perfect.” She gestured to the dog and then to the outdoors. “Everything is.”
“So,” he asked smiling broadly. “Do you want to spend the rest of your life with me? I promise to do my best to make you happy.”
“I do. I want to spend eternity with you. And I’ll do my best to make you happy, too.” He slipped the band on her finger. It fit. “I love you, Stephanie Giordano .”
“I love you too, Pax Barry.”
His mouth came down on hers. Free from worry, at least for now, they both fell into the kiss.
The two dogs barked at their union.
* * * * *
If you liked this book, you might want to post a review of it at lok&epub.