Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Paige
Ididn’t mean to spend the entire afternoon in bed, but I did. Aaron and I got up for a little while to order pizza before we returned to bed with the greasy box. He kept one arm wrapped around me the entire time—a claim.
I wake up in the morning rested. The sunlight filters through the thin white curtains, casting shadows on Aaron’s strong jaw. I lightly run a finger along the sharp line, just enough to make him shiver in his sleep.
Then, both of us jolt thoroughly awake at the incessant ringing of my phone. I dive toward the nightstand, heart racing. What if something happened to Noah?
My pulse slows when I recognize the hospital’s number.
“Mr. Oakley fell and banged himself up pretty good,” Kathy says without preamble. “He’s not in danger or anything, but I thought you would want to know.”
“I do.” I’m already climbing out of bed and grabbing the nearest pair of dark blue scrubs. I would never let Mr. Oakley sit in the hospital alone when I have nothing going on.
“Everything okay?” Aaron asks. He sits up, blankets pooling around his bare waist.
“Mr. Oakley fell. I’m going to the hospital to check on him.”
“Is he going to be okay?” He climbs out of bed to put on his own clothes, just as hurried as I am.
A smile tugs at my lips. We have just been unceremoniously pulled out of bed, but his concern is for someone else.
“He’ll be fine, but I’m going to keep him company,” I explain.
“I’ll take care of the puppies today,” he volunteers. “I can take them home with me when you leave.”
We talk about the logistics of him taking the puppies while I pour two thermoses of coffee to go—one with cream and sugar for me and one black for Mr. Oakley. Hospital coffee isn’t very good.
Aaron refuses his mug.
“I’ll check in with you later,” he says at the door.
We both try to balance our things as I lock the door behind us. He tries to lean in and kiss me lightly on the lips, but the wriggling puppies in his arms make it hard.
“I’ll take a rain check on the kiss,” I laugh.
Aaron turns left toward his house, refusing the ride I offered him. I reverse and navigate to the hospital, leisurely walking through locked doors to room six.
“I brought coffee for you,” I announce.
Mr. Oakley looks smaller than usual in his hospital bed. The nurses have fluffed a few extra pillows behind his left shoulder. Another one peeks out from beneath his hip. He must have fallen on his side.
“You didn’t have to come in,” he says, accepting the thermos. “An old man falls all the time. Nothing broken, or so they tell me.”
“I just came to check on my favorite man before work.”
I had no intentions of working today, but I told Kathy I would work the shift, if only to keep an eye on Mr. Oakley as much as possible.
“Where is Noah this morning?” He looks disappointed that I showed up alone.
“With Levi,” I reply. “I’ll bring him by to see you soon. I know you miss him. We’ve been… busy.”
“Busy,” Mr. Oakley echoes, a mischievous smile on his face. “Would that have anything to do with the man you brought here a few days ago?”
“I don’t know what you mean.” I blush and set to work in his room, looking at the chart and taking his vitals.
“I remember when Mrs. Oakley and I met.” His eyes turn a misty shade of blue with memory. “I knew she was different. Special. I had never felt like that before. Like the world revolved around her.”
I don’t say anything. He so rarely talks about his late wife.
“You’ll know when you find the right person,” he says, suddenly taking my hand in his own.
The other nurses think Mr. Oakley is a grumpy old man, but I know how sweet he is beneath it all.
“I’ll take your word for it.” I squeeze his hand and release it. “I have to go get the update from the other nurses. I’ll be back to check on you very soon, okay?”
Mr. Oakley complains a little, but lets me go. After the day I had yesterday, the only thing I want to do is immerse myself in work. Every day that I get to come to the hospital, I feel lucky to help people. To do work that I love.
The emergency room is busy today. We stitch up wounds and X-ray broken bones. I bandage and wrap sore muscles.
I almost forgot that I have other responsibilities until my cell phone rings and Levi’s number flashes.
“I got called into work,” he says. “I can’t collect Noah from the daycare today.”
“I got called into work, too.” I squeeze my eyes shut in sheer frustration and pinch the bridge of my nose to help me think. “Who’s taking care of your kids?”
“My in-laws,” he says. I barely know Levi’s in-laws. He knows I would never ask them to help me with Noah. “I’m sorry, Paige.”
“It’s okay. I appreciate that you watched him yesterday. We’ll find a solution. Go take care of the station.”
I flip through the Rolodex of names in my mind. Levi has to head into the station. My mother is out of town today, visiting a childhood friend a few towns over. Summer and Zachary left for their honeymoon this morning.
That leaves one person who can pick Noah up from daycare.
* * *
Aaron
“No, I didn’t get called into the station.”
Paige sounds desperate for me not to be at work right now. I had been planning on surprising her after work with a bouquet of flowers or something small. Noah would be home, so I wasn’t going to stay long.
Just enough to see her one more time.
“Good,” she says, resignation in her voice. “Because I need a favor.”
She explains the situation, how everyone she knows and trusts is too busy to help with Noah today. I let her ramble on until she apologizes for being inconvenient.
“You and Noah aren’t an inconvenience,” I cut her off. “I would be happy to pick him up. Just tell me what time to be there.”
A deep breath rattles on the other end of the line. I can’t tell if it’s a relieved sigh or a nervous tic.
“Four o’clock sharp,” she says. “He’ll be hungry when you pick him up, so bring a snack. He likes graham crackers and bananas. I have plenty in the cabinet at the house, if you don’t have any.”
“I’ll make sure he has something to eat, I promise.”
“Levi has the spare key to the house,” she says. “I’ll meet you there when I get off at six, okay? Dinner is on me tonight.”
The hospital loudspeaker sounds, muffled through the line. Paige lets out a soft curse under her breath and rushes off the line to go do her job. I picture her rushing to an ailing patient, fussing over them the way I’ve been fussed over by nurses in the past.
But I don’t have long to think about it.
With my nap cut short, I decide to get ready to run errands. I have two hours to make it to the grocery store, pick up the spare key, and go collect Noah from daycare.
At the grocery store, I load a basket with everything I think a toddler might like: Goldfish crackers, graham crackers, bananas, soft oatmeal cookies, and strawberry yogurt bites. The cashier doesn’t bat an eye, allowing me to pretend for a little while longer that I could really be a dad.
Levi meets me at the bay door of the station, key in hand.
“She’s trusting you with Noah,” he says, toying with the key before handing it to me. “I hope you know it’s a big deal.”
“Paige and Noah are a package deal,” I remind him. “I knew that when I got involved with her.”
We talk for a few more minutes before I leave. I pull up to the daycare with fifteen minutes to spare. Unable to wait another moment to prove myself to Paige, I step into the air-conditioned nursery.
A harried teacher approaches the door, seemingly relieved to have one fewer charge in a minute.
“I’m here to pick up Noah Reed,” I say confidently. Years of working in high-pressure situations have done little to prepare me for this.
The brunette teacher perks up at Noah’s name and smiles at me, joy breaking through her exhaustion. “We haven’t met yet,” she says and extends a hand for me to shake. “I’m Ms. Clarissa.”
I shake her hand and introduce myself. She never asks how I know Paige and Noah. In a town as small as Crown Hill, she must assume I have permission to pick him up. That I have some authority here.
Clarissa brings Noah to me, and the toothy smile on his face melts my heart. He will get whatever he wants for the next two hours while we wait for his mom to get off her shift at the hospital; that much is given.
“I hope we’ll see you next week,” Clarissa says as we leave.
“Next week?”
“The Father’s Day celebration,” she clarifies. “I sent home a flyer about it a few days ago. I noticed that it was still in his take-home folder. We’re putting on a special program for dads to get involved.”
“Oh, I’m not—”
“It’s called ‘Fathers Nurture Too.’ We’re asking all the dads to dress up as vegetables and sing some of our prepared songs to the kids.” She rolls her eyes at the last part. “Not my idea, but it’s supposed to help encourage them to have healthy eating habits.”
“And you want me to sing to Noah,” I conclude, letting the words sink in.
“He deserves to have his dad here,” she says.
I must not be the only one who’s new to Crown Hill. Clarissa clearly has no idea that Noah’s father is out of the picture. Still, I can’t picture letting Noah be the only kid here without a dad.
I know firsthand what that feels like.
Noah might only be two, but I would do whatever I could to keep any child from feeling the sting of loss. One day, he might remember. Might wonder why no one stepped up to fill that role for him.
“I’ll be there,” I promise.
* * *
Paige
The house is suspiciously quiet when I walk through the front door after my shift. I push the oak door shut behind me softly, not sure what I might interrupt. The muffled click doesn’t travel past the foyer.
After slipping off my shoes, I pad into the living room, where I assume I’ll find Aaron and Noah.
And I do. Lying on the couch, asleep with the puppies at their feet.
Aaron stretches out over the couch, larger than life, as usual. His arm wraps around the back cushions, and his legs extend halfway across the tiny room.