The Doctor She Always Dreamed Of (5 page)

Kira shook her head. “Never had the time...or the opportunity.”

“Well today you do.”

Kira didn't respond. He had no intention of forcing her. “Hang out down here, if you like. Dad has basic cable on the TV. Remote's on the arm of his recliner.” Derrick pointed. “Shower if you want.”

She gave him a look that had him holding up both hands and saying, “Not that you smell or anything.” Jeez. “But later on this afternoon I'd like to take you to a nice lunch.” Well, as nice as they could get in these parts. “To show my appreciation for all you've done and as an apology. I misjudged you.”

“There's no need to take me out to eat as a thank you for doing my job. Your mom was eligible for everything I authorized. I apologize for the fact it was not offered or recommended by the first home health care nurse to visit.” Her eyes met his. “And why is it all you want to do when you're with me is eat and drink coffee?” She looked down her body. “Am I too skinny?”

Slender, yes, appealingly so. But Kira had curves in all the places he liked them. “For your information,” he stared down into her eyes. “I can recall, in vivid, most enjoyable detail, the feel of your stunning body pressed up against mine last night.” He lowered his voice and leaned in close to her when he added, “And straddling my lap in the car.”

Kira's cheeks went pink but she maintained eye contact. Good for her.

“Trust me when I tell you,” he went on. “Eating and drinking coffee are not the
only
things I want to do with you.” He gave her a look to let her know exactly what he was thinking.

“Yes, well.” Rather than meet his eyes she looked down, wiping some dust from her left thigh. “Now that I know who you really are,
that's
not going to happen.”

“Why not?” he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

She looked straight at him. “Because you're the family member of a patient receiving case management services from a member of my staff. It's a conflict of interest and would be highly unprofessional.”

Yes to both. Yet he couldn't let it drop. “But you want to,” he said, watching her, needing to know for certain that her attraction to him last night was not solely the result of alcohol lowering her inhibitions.

She glanced away...hesitated...a surefire affirmative response as far as he was concerned. Yes! But before he could do anything about it, Dad called down, “Don't keep your mother waiting. She wants to see you.”

“We're coming,” Kira called back, hurrying toward the stairs.

Derrick watched the sway of her hips and the movement of her tight, round, sexy ass.

“Those pants, on a woman with your figure, should be illegal.”

She glanced back at him with a sexy grin then took the stairs two at a time.

CHAPTER FIVE

K
IRA
FOLLOWED
THE
sound of Mr. Limone's voice to a bedroom at the end of the hallway, stopping in the doorway at the sight of him sitting on his wife's side of their full-sized bed, leaning down to kiss her on the forehead, carefully, lovingly. Kira's heart squeezed as she remembered her dad kissing her mom like that, years ago, after making her breakfast in bed for her birthday, a few months before he'd issued his ultimatum and then walked out when he didn't like Mom's choice. Back when Kira used to dream about someday finding a man who loved her as much as Dad loved Mom. Back when she'd believed in happily-ever-after and until-death-do-us-part.

“Still in love after fifty-four years of marriage,” Derrick said quietly from behind her.

It was truly a beautiful scene.

Mr. Limone noticed them. “Come in.” He stood. “Meet Daisy.” He motioned to his wife.

Derrick skirted around her and entered the room.

Upon seeing him Daisy gave a lopsided smile due to a right-sided facial droop from her stroke, most likely. Then she started to cry.

“Don't cry, Mom,” Derrick said, hurrying to the bed.

Daisy reached up to hug him with her left arm. Kira noticed she tried to lift her right arm too, but that was the side affected by the stroke so the arm barely made if off the bed and it swayed awkwardly.

Derrick dropped to his knees by the side of the bed and Daisy hugged her son tightly with her good arm. “L-l-love,” she said. “Love. Love.”

“I love you, too, Mom.”

Kira could hear the love in both of their voices. While she told her mother she loved her often, Kira couldn't remember the last time she'd said it back. They both had lost so much as a result of the attack.

“There's someone I want you to meet,” Derrick said, bringing Kira's attention back to her present location.

She approached the bed. “Good morning, Mrs. Limone,” she said formally, reaching down to squeeze her left hand. “So nice to meet you.”

Daisy's eyes shifted from Kira to Derrick then back to Kira. “Day,” she said, looking frustrated. “Dayyyy.”

“She wants you to call her Daisy,” Mr. Limone said, as if Kira couldn't figure that out. But she liked that he jumped in to help his wife communicate, although he'd have to stop doing that and let Daisy struggle to get the words out if he wanted her speech to improve. The therapist would go over that with him.

“Nice to meet you, Daisy.” Kira tried to pull her hand back but Daisy held on tightly, her eyes once again moving from Kira to Derrick, back to Kira then back to Derrick, as if wondering what was going on between the two of them. “I'm a friend,” Kira said, using the loosest definition of the word. “Just a friend.”

Even without full movement of her facial musculature, Kira could read the disappointment on Daisy's face.

Derrick stood up. “Since I'm here, I'll be the one helping you get washed and dressed this morning.”

Daisy released Kira, moved her hand with amazing speed, and jerked the bed covers up to her neck. “Noooo,” she said loudly and succinctly.

Expressive aphasia aside, Daisy Limone made her opinions known.

“Please, Mom,” Derrick tried to argue. “I want to help.”

But Daisy wouldn't budge. “No.” She made an angry face. “Nooooooooo.”

Mr. Limone let out a weary, exhausted breath. “It's okay. I'll do it.”

He looked drained. So Kira decided to offer up her services. Dropping to her knees beside the bed she said, “In addition to being a friend of your son's, I'm also a nurse.” Daisy watched her quietly. “I have lots of experience helping women get washed up and dressed. If it's okay with you, I'm happy to help you today.”

“That's not necessary,” Derrick said. “I
want
to do it.”

As a nurse, Kira understood both sides. She stood and turned to Derrick, speaking quietly. “I know you do. But there are some things a mother doesn't want her son to see.”

Derrick nodded in understanding.

Kira turned back to the bed. “Your husband has been working hard since you came home.”

Daisy's eye filled with tears as she nodded.

“He deserves a day off, don't you think?”

Daisy glanced at her husband with love, then turned back to Kira and nodded.

“I'm happy to help if you'll let me.”

Daisy reached for Kira's hand and squeezed. “Love,” she said.

Kira understood that was her way of expressing appreciation. “You're welcome.”

The next hour spent with Daisy, helping her to wash up at the sink, washing her hair, then putting on some lipstick after she'd helped her dress, reminded Kira of why she'd become a nurse. To help people and to make a difference in their lives. As much as it pained her to admit it, after years of doing it day in and day out, caring for Mom felt like a chore. She didn't appreciate all that Kira did, her condition would never improve unless by some miracle of medicine the effects of a severe brain injury could be reversed.

“What do you think?” Kira stood behind Daisy, supporting her with the gait belt around her waist, as she looked in the full length mirror behind the door.

“Love,” Daisy said, looking at herself with joy. Then her gaze shifted to Kira's and her expression changed. “Love,” Daisy said, starting to tear up.

“You're very welcome. Now let's get you—”

Someone knocked on the door.

Kira helped Daisy move back. “Come in.”

Derrick started to walk in then stopped in his tracks the look on his face making her wet clothing and sore back totally worth it. “What do you think?”

“I think...” He swallowed. “I think you look beautiful, Mom. Like the stroke never happened.”

But the stroke had happened.

Daisy reached up to cup his cheek with her left hand.

“She's tired,” Kira said to Derrick. “Daisy, do you want Derrick to carry you downstairs now or would you rather nap up here?”

Daisy took an eager step toward Derrick. He reached out to steady her.

Kira smiled. “Well, all righty then.”

“Hold on. I need to talk to Kira for a minute. Grab that chair,” he pointed to a wooden armchair in the corner of the room that had a bunch of male clothing draped over it. “Just throw those on the bed.”

Kira did just that.

With Daisy seated, and propped with a pillow to keep her in place, Kira joined Derrick in the hallway.

“The sheriff's at the door asking to see you.”

“Me?” Kira pushed some loose hairs off of her face and behind her ear. “Why?”

“He wouldn't say.” Derrick looked at her accusingly.

“Well I didn't call him.”

Why would the sheriff come here looking for her? Kira wondered as she hurried down the hallway and down the stairs. No one knew where she was. Seeing no one in the living room or kitchen, Kira hurried outside, where Derrick's dad stood, talking with the sheriff—a very large, very serious, very imposing man in full uniform—at the base of the porch steps. When he spotted her he asked, “Are you Kira Peniglatt?”

“Yes, officer,” she answered as Mr. Limone shook his head unhappily, turned, and walked back into the house without sparing her a glance. Well she couldn't worry about him right now. “Is there a problem?”

“You tell me,” he answered, studying her. “My office received a panicked phone call from a woman named,” he pulled a pad out of his breast pocket and flipped to a page, “Connie, who's worried you were kidnapped and you're being held here against your will.”

Kira smiled. Gotta love Connie. “I'm fine, Officer.”

He looked over Kira's shoulder. She turned to see Derrick standing on the porch.

“So you weren't kidnapped?” the sheriff asked.

“No. I wasn't kidnapped.” Not technically. “If Connie was worried, why didn't she just call my cell?” Kira pulled it out of the waistband of her leggings to check the screen. Almost fully charged. No messages.

“That's not going to do you any good around here,” the sheriff said.

What? “Why not?”

Derrick came to stand beside her. “No cell service,” he said matter-of-factly.

Wait. “What?” Kira's chest went tight and her heart started to pound. No, no, no. Her hand drifted up to her sternum. “No cell service?” She looked at the phone again. Closer this time. “That can't be. This is New York State. Everyone has cell service.” But it could, in fact, be. And it was.

Kira's throat felt clogged with something big and uncomfortable.

“Welcome to the north country,” Derrick said. “Hey.” He bent to catch her gaze. “No worries. Use the phone in the kitchen to call her.”

“No worries?” she asked, panic rising, pressure building in her head. “No worries?!” she yelled. “I'm on call this weekend. Being out of the city is no big deal, but I am required to be accessible by phone.”

“On call? Why didn't you tell me?” Derrick asked.

“Why should I have to tell you? I charged my phone in your bedroom while we ate breakfast. I've been carrying it around with me all morning.” She looked at the screen again. This could not be happening, not now, not after Mr. Jeffries had put her on probation yesterday afternoon.

“If you would have told me I would have told you we don't get cell service in this area.”

The sheriff offered, “Some people can get a signal over in the library parking lot.”

A lot of good that did Kira. “I need to make a call.” She turned and ran up the porch steps.

“Your friend's waiting. Said to call her first,” the sheriff called out. “Some big problem with one of your patients at work.”

Of course there was. Of course the one weekend Kira didn't have cell service there would be a problem with one of her patients. When she reached the porch she stopped long enough to glance back and say, “Thank you for coming out, Sheriff. I'm sorry to have wasted your time. As you can see, I'm fine.” Except for the fact she'd likely be unemployed come Monday. Mr. Jeffries had been looking for a reason to fire her for months. Unbeknownst to her, she'd just given him one.

Back inside the house Kira ran to the kitchen.

“Everything okay,
Miz Peniglatt
?” Derrick's dad asked.

Kira did not like his tone and she stopped long enough to tell him so. “Look, if you have a problem with my being here, take it up with your son. I assure you, while I am here of my own free will...now,” she glared at Derrick who'd followed her in, “it was not my idea to bring me up here, and had I been included in the decision making, I would not have come. Now, I need to use your phone.” She turned, added, “Please,” and hurried into the kitchen, picked up the black wall-mounted phone and dialed Connie's cell phone number from memory.

She answered on the first ring. “Did you find her? Is she okay? Did you arrest that scum-sucking sonofabitch and throw him in jail?”

“I'm fine,” Kira said, smiling. Only Connie could get her to smile at a time like this.

“Kira!” Connie screamed. “It's you! Oh, thank God, it's you! And you're fine! I have been scared out of my mind! When I couldn't find you on my Find My Friends App this morning I figured no biggie. You were probably too busy having spectacular sex to charge your phone last night, which hey, yay for you. But how would you do on call with a dead phone? So I figured maybe you'd gone home and were using your landline.”

“Please tell me you didn't call my sister.” This was getting worse by the second.

“What did you expect me to do? My best friend left the bar with a man neither of us knew, at least at the time I didn't know I knew him. Well, kind of knew him. When I couldn't reach you on your cell phone, I brought up the picture I took of Derrick's driver's license to get his address so I could look up his home phone number. That's when I recognized his full name. Do you know who he is?”

“Yes.”

“No friggin' way! Did you know who he was last night when you were hanging all over him?”

Don't remind me
. “No. He told me this morning. How did you figure out he brought me up to his parents' house?”

“Uh...”

“What?”

“I didn't know for sure so I sent police to his home address in White Plains first.”

“You didn't.”

“Sure did. His old neighbor said he didn't live there anymore but he'd talked to Derrick and he'd mentioned visiting his parents this weekend. So I logged into your work computer remotely to get Daisy Limone's address.”

“Connie! You're not supposed to have that log in!”

“Well I do.” Kira could almost see the stubborn look on her assistant's face. “A good assistant needs to be prepared for anything.”

Couldn't argue with that logic. Kira let out a breath. “Thank you for tracking me down.”

“So,” Connie said. “Did you...?”

“No. You need to call my sister and tell her you found me and I'm okay.”

“No? All this trouble and you didn't—”

“No.”

“Well, damn.”

Yeah.

“Did you hear me?” Kira asked.

“Yes I heard you. But honestly, Krissy didn't sound all that worried. Said something like, “Kira can take care of herself,” that was it.”

Sounded like Krissy. She didn't worry about much, mostly because Kira took care of herself and everything having to do with their mother which allowed Krissy to live the carefree life she'd enjoyed since they were kids, only worrying about herself. Maybe she should tell Connie not to call Krissy, leave her to wonder, give her the opportunity to picture life without Kira in it.

“What's going on at work?” Kira asked.

Talkative Connie stayed quiet.

Not good. “Tell me.”