Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 69303 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69303 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
The woman must’ve realized just how upset Finnian was, because she finally said, “I think I’ll go.”
“You do that,” he growled.
When Finnian’s ex-wife disappeared around the corner, I said, “Do you want me to go check on the dad for you?”
He waited a long second to compose himself before he said, “No. I don’t have anything to do with them anymore, and he knows it.”
I had a feeling that wasn’t the case at all.
Spotting a rolling COW—computer on wheels—outside of a patient room two doors down, I walked toward it and pulled up the information while I walked back to him.
He stayed where he was, but didn’t lift his eyes.
“The surgery was performed around three this morning,” I said as I read the patient notes. “Patient is doing really good. Awake. Room 5533.”
Finnian didn’t move.
“Do you want me to go in there with you?”
Finnian said nothing.
I closed out, then caught Finnian’s hand. “Come on.”
He walked with me to the patient’s room—Bryson Castor—and I stopped with him right outside the room where I handed him my coffee.
I left him there as I went into the patient’s room and said, “Hi, Mr. Castor. How are you feeling?”
The man, older in his early seventies, looked up and smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Could be better.”
“That’s pretty normal for recent heart surgery,” I admitted. “I’m the charge nurse here. You’ll meet your new nurse here shortly. They’re doing shift exchange and patient hand-offs. I just wanted to stop in and check on you.”
He seemed to be battling with something for a long moment before he said, “Is it possible to block a visitor?”
I inwardly smiled. “Of course. Who is it you want blocked from visiting?”
He cleared his throat and said, “My daughter.”
I nodded, not asking any questions. “What’s her name and description? I’ll get right on adding her to the no-contact list.”
He gave me her name and then said, “I…”
I patted his hand. “You don’t have to explain. I don’t need your life story unless you want to give it to me.”
He blew out a relieved breath. “Thanks. It’s a tough one and I’d rather not think about it.”
I smiled. “Is there anything else you need?”
“No, that’s it,” he replied. “Thank you.”
After hitting the hand sanitizer on my way out, I rubbed it all over my hands and found Finnian exactly where I left him.
I gently pried my coffee from his hands as I said, “Come on.”
I took another hefty tug of my drink, sighing as I swallowed, and said, “This is seriously the best coffee ever.”
“I thought it was full of so much sugar that you might go into a coma, but who am I to deny you a good drink after the day we had yesterday?”
I snickered as I looked at him over my shoulder just before winding my way through the nurses’ station and coming to a stop next to my “spot.”
I set the drink down, then turned to Finnian and said, “I have to get to work. But thank you for the coffee. And everything.”
His eyes warmed. “You did just as much for me, Silla.”
I smiled. “I haven’t been called ‘Silla’ since my grandmother died.”
His eyes softened. “Dru’s cute. But Silla’s better.”
With that, he shoved his hands into his pockets and came out with a phone and… “Is that my wallet?”
“Sure is,” he said as he handed everything over. “New phone, though. Courtesy of your AppleCare plan for loss. Everything there is exactly how it was on your old phone.”
With that, he left, and I stared in awe at my belongings.
But there was something about the wallet that made me pause.
It didn’t have that little mark at the corner from where I liked to pick at it when I held it in my hands.
This one was newer.
Way newer.
As in brand new, because when I opened the wallet up, my cards didn’t start sliding free.
How in the hell…
Ten
I’m a sucker for deep conversations. I wanna know why you’re missing a tooth.
—Apollo’s secret thoughts
APOLLO
When I started to miss her, I would pick up my cell and tap into the cameras at her apartment or work, and stare at her for a half hour.
This time, she wasn’t at any of her usual places, though.
I ended up finding her by accident while I flipped through the hospital’s cameras, hoping to catch sight of her since I knew that she was working today.
She always worked.
She worked more than I thought possible, and she looked like she was close to dragging when I happened upon her walking through the halls of the ER.
I tapped into the audio to hear as she walked and talked with some man I hadn’t seen before dressed in blue scrubs.
“…just floating today. I’m not here long term, so don’t get your hopes up,” Dru said.
The doctor with her chuckled. “We sure do miss you down here. It’s not the same without you.”