The last thingI want to do this morning is leave Lucy, but Rover is expecting me to relieve him at the hospital. His last message said Joseph finally woke up an hour ago. I need to question that man.
Walking down the hospital hall, I’m assaulted with the smell of antiseptic and the sound of machines. A memory of my mom in the ICU flashes in my mind, and I stop moving. It’s a memory I pushed out of my mind a long time ago.
When I first arrived at the hospital after her accident, I had no idea how serious it was. Then I saw her bruised body hooked up to all sorts of monitors. I nearly lost it.
Mom is fine. There’s no need to dwell on any of that now.
As I approach Joseph’s room, I spot Rover sitting in a chair.
“Good morning,” he says as he stands to stretch.
The bed is empty. He must see me check it. “Shortly after he woke up, they took him to get some kind of scan. The nurse was chatty and I found out Joseph has four broken ribs. I asked why they’ve kept him sedated and she said it was due to the location of the fractures. Then another nurse came in and she stopped talking. They told me to wait here.”
I know the hospital needs to do its job, but I don’t like Joseph being without protection.
“Let’s go find him,” I say.
Rover falls in line beside me as we approach the nurse’s station.
A woman who appears to be in her twenties glances up, her lips turned up in a smile. Her eyes scan Rover from head to toe. The man is dressed in a black leather jacket and dark jeans. Some of his ink shows above the collar of his T-shirt. Her eyes seem to stall there.
“What can I do for you two?”
Her words might be aimed at both of us, but her gaze is trained right on Rover.
Rover takes over. I can tell he’s used to the attention, so I move to the edge of the counter to watch.
“Hi, I’m Rover and I’m here with Joseph Taylor. They took him for a scan. Can you tell me where I might find him, Kaitlyn?” He winks at her.
Her fingers go to her badge as her cheeks flush.
I have to hand it to him; he’s laying it on a bit thick, but it seems to be working.
“He’ll be in the radiology department,” she stammers. “They probably won’t let you in, but it’s on the third floor. Take those elevators, then take a right, and go to the end of the hall.”
“Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
He raps his knuckles on the counter and pushes off of it, and I slowly follow. By the way Kaitlyn is staring at him, it looks like she expected his phone number.
“Not your type?” I ask as we get on the elevator.
He shakes his head. “I’m tired of the women who fall for my every word. It gets old, you know?”
I laugh. It sounds arrogant, but I get it. “I do.”
“I meant to ask you, how’s it going with your ex?”
Rover and I have had the chance to talk here and there, and I needed advice, so I told him all about Luce.
“It’s going well. Really well, actually.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah, if it keeps going this well, I might be talking to your boss to see if he has any openings.”
Rover chuckles. “No shit? You’d give up sunny California to move here?”
“I’m from here. I know what I’m getting into.”
