“No.” I decided I had to be truthful here. “The thing is . . . there was a really bad, really tragic car accident, I guess. The emergency room is flooded with victims right now, which is why you haven’t seen a doctor or nurse in a little while. And your doctor is stuck on the road they had to close to clean up the accident.”
“Fuck.” He spit out the single syllable. “Fuck my luck, right? Not only do I take a rotten hit on the third fucking game of the season, but I end up laying around waiting for a doctor stuck in traffic. Just dandy.” He slid a glance my way that had a little bit of remorse in it. “I’m sorry people were hurt. That’s terrible. I just—I’m hurting.”
“I know.” Dragging over the visitor chair, I sat down and slipped my hand into his. “I’m sure the nurse will be here any minute, but let’s . . . let’s try to do whatever we can to take your mind off the pain, okay?” I searched for some topic that might keep him mildly distracted. “We haven’t seen each other in a long time. Why don’t you tell me what’s been going on in your life lately?”
His lips twisted. “Football. That’s just about it. Training and conditioning and charity work in the off-season. Games and practice during the season.”
“Well, that sounds like fun.” I tried to inject enthusiasm into my voice. “So today was the third game of the season, you said? You only play on weekends, right? Except sometimes on Mondays. I think.”
Noah turned his head to focus his incredulous gaze on me. “I take it you’re not a football fan.”
“Not really, no.” I shrugged. “I know just enough to not sound stupid when people are talking about games. Like, I can nod and smile and follow the conversation.”
He grunted. “We play on Sundays. A couple of Mondays each season, and more recently, some Thursday nights, too.” He exhaled long, trying to control his breathing. “College football is on Saturdays. Most high schools play Friday nights and Saturday afternoons.”
“Oh, good to know. See, I’m getting educated here.” I tried a lighthearted laugh, but to my ears, it sounded strangled.
“Yeah.” Noah shifted a little in the bed and winced. “God, it feels like someone’s ripping off my knee cap.” His face contorted again, and his throat worked as he swallowed hard. “Okay, so we’ve established that I’m a boring son-of-a-bitch. Tell me what you’ve been up to lately. It’s gotta be more exciting than my life.”
“Not hardly.” I paused, thinking. “After I left St. Agnes, I moved to a small town not far from here—”
“Yeah, I remember that,” Noah interrupted. “You took over a family practice, right?”
“I did,” I answered, pleased that he remembered that. “Actually, the plan was that I’d buy into the practice as a partner and then eventually take it over after the other doctor retired, but about three months in, Dr. Johanson had a serious heart attack. He decided to retire earlier than planned, so I ended up owning the practice sooner than I’d expected.”
“Huh. Is that a good thing?”
I tilted my head and wrinkled my nose. “It wasn’t either good or bad. Or maybe it was both. I enjoyed working with Dr. Johanson and learning from him, so I was sorry that he left when he did, but it’s been liberating to make the practice my own. So . . .I guess you could say it all worked out fine.”
“All right. Good.” He licked his lips, and his chest rose as he worked to control his breath. “So why were you here today? In the hospital, I mean?”
“Oh.” I had nearly forgotten poor Mr. Rooney in all the worry over Noah. “One of my patients needed an emergency appendectomy.”
Noah’s forehead wrinkled. “Then shouldn’t you be, you know, like in the operating room?”
I shook my head, laughing. “No, I’m not a surgeon. I just diagnosed the inflamed appendix. Trust me, no one wants me in the OR. That was never my specialty.”
“Ahh.” A faint smile hovered around Noah’s lips. “See? I know as much about medicine as you do about football.”
“True.” I smiled, too, searching for our next topic. “Um, are you going to Emma and Deacon’s wedding next month?”
Now the smile on his face turned rueful. “Oh, yeah. Unless I’m still here waiting for a doc and some pain meds, I’ll be there with bells on.”
“Same here. I’m happy for them.” I waited a beat before asking, “I’m sorry. Am I being insensitive? I mean, because of you and Emma . . .”
“Nah.” His eyes closed again as he moved his head from side to side on the pillow. “Emma and me . . . we’re five by five. We never stopped being each other’s best friend, not during that little while when we were more and not after, either. And I’ve known and liked Deacon for even longer than I’ve known Emma. So I’m happy for both of them, too. Can’t wait for their big day.”
“Great.” That was a relief. I hadn’t wanted to accidentally inflict unnecessary pain, especially not right now. “Are you taking anyone? As a date, I mean?”
This time, Noah’s head shake was more definitive. “Nope. I’m flying solo.”
“Me, too. Emma very intentionally wroteplus oneon my invitation, but I’m choosing to ignore that.”
“I hear you. She did the same to me.” Noah blinked his eyes open. “She means well.”
“I know. Doesn’t mean I have to let her force me into something I don’t want to do.”
“Preach.” He glanced over my shoulder. “That nurse you mentioned . . . was she coming with the pain meds in this decade?”
