Chapter Four
Brian
After the second group of visitors left, the pain started to creep in. I did as instructed and told Nurse Doris about it, and thankfully, she was quick to shoot some drugs into my IV.
I didn’t get any more visitors after that, and I was too tired to ask why.
I remembered noticing a different nurse when I woke up briefly in the middle of the night, but the drugs did their job, and when I woke up again, the morning light was peeking through the window blinds.
Dr. Weaver arrived not long after the dietary aide came to take my breakfast order.
He offered a friendly smile as he scrolled through his tablet.
“How are you feeling, Brian?”
“Like I’ve been shot.”
My attempt at humor was lost on him because he stopped scrolling and looked over at me alarmed—his eyebrows in his hairline.
“Are you in pain?”
“No, no. The nurses have been great about managing that. I was just attempting a little humor.”
“Oh.” He looked back at the tablet like he was embarrassed not to get my joke. “Sorry. I haven’t treated a gunshot in a few years. I was worried I’d be rusty.”
“It’s been a helluva fifteen hours, huh, Doc?”
Justin Weaver served in the Navy as a Marine field doctor before coming back home to Haven Springs. He was also supposed to go on a date with Lainey last night before she’d been kidnapped by her nutjob of a landlord and his nephew.
Judging by how Adam had kept Lainey in arm’s reach the whole time they were visiting me, I’d say the date wasn’t going to be rescheduled.
Justin was a good dude. If Adam hadn’t decided to take his shot with Lainey, I would’ve been okay if she’d decided to date him.
“That’s putting it mildly. I was relieved to hear you’d found Lainey, although I’m sorry you ended up here in the process.”
“It could’ve been worse.”
I could be in the morgue next to Earl.
He nodded, then shifted his weight like he was uncomfortable with the conversation and gestured toward my thigh.
“I need to check your incision and make sure everything looks okay.”
I threw the covers off my leg, and he held up his hand.
“Hang on. Let me get the nurse, so she can bandage you back up once I’m done.”
Dr. Weaver stepped out to grab the nurse, and I pulled the sheet over my leg. Not even thirty seconds later, the door opened again.
“Knock knock,” came a cheerful voice.
I turned my head just as a pretty brunette walked in. She was probably in her late forties, wearing dark purple scrubs and a badge that read Emily, RN.
I’d seen her a few times, but I was under the impression she was either a traveling nurse or worked part-time because I didn’t see her regularly.
She gave me a friendly smile as she grabbed gloves and gauze from the supply cart. “I hear we’re doing a dressing change.”
“That’s what they tell me.”
Dr. Weaver came in behind her, already gloved up. “You ready?”
“Sure.”
He peeled the bloodied bandage back, checked the site, and asked me to flex my foot and wiggle my toes while he talked through what he saw.
I kept my answers short, mostly because the incision felt weirdly tight, and partly because the nurse was now crouched at the foot of my bed, head tilted, watching.
When Dr. Weaver finished, he nodded at her. “All yours, Emily.”
She reached for the fresh bandage, and I adjusted my hips, just enough to let her get a better angle, and the gown shifted.
And that’s when it happened.
A draft hit me first.
Then I caught her pause, and I realized my floppy dick and balls were hanging out.
Shit.
“Sorry about that,” I said while I quickly repositioned my gown.
Emily didn’t blink. “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before. Relax. Just try not to move while I tape this down.”
Thank God it isn’t Jade working on me.
The first time she saw my dick, it needed to be at full-mast, not stuck to the side of my leg.
Dr. Weaver, to his credit, kept his eyes on the wall while he stripped off his gloves. “I’ll note everything looks good and we’re changing the dressing daily unless there’s drainage.”
“Cool,” I muttered.
Emily was professional, fast, and had no problem pretending like I hadn’t just flashed my junk at her in the middle of morning rounds.
By the time she stood up and peeled her gloves off, I was wishing someone would just shoot me again.
“There you go.” She gave my shoulder a pat. “If you need anything, press the call button.”
“Thanks.”
As she left, I stared up at the ceiling, exhaled hard, and made a mental note to request pajama pants.
Immediately.
****
Jade
Before I went home, I asked Allie McDowell, the charge nurse, if I could be assigned as Brian’s nurse when I came back for my next shift.
When she raised her eyebrows at me, knowing that I’d just reneged on working with him, I offered, “My sister asked me to, as a favor to her.”
I mean, it wasn’t a lie.
And since it was a small town, and everyone already knew what had happened to Lainey, Allie wasn’t going to deny my sister’s request.
When I got home, I had a cup of chamomile tea to try and relax before heading to bed. Tonight would be the third in my three-on, three-off rotation, although it usually ended up only being two days off. Something my bank account appreciated, but my personal life paid the price for.
I snorted out loud at the thought.
What personal life?
My best friend, Sophie, lived in Charleston, so we texted more than we actually saw each other.
I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d gone on a date, let alone had sex—at least with another person. I was pretty good at scratching my own itch, so to speak, with the help of a few battery-operated boyfriends. It was a good stress reliever.
I hugged my body pillow and conceded, I missed being with a man.
And wouldn’t you know it, I dreamt of that very thing.