Healing Hearts

April groaned. “A blind date? Really?”

“Not so blind. You know Dr. Ross in Pediatrics?”

April glared and mentally scanned the staff at the hospital. “The name is familiar. Maybe I know him.”

“Well, don’t be surprised when he calls you. He definitely remembered who you were and seemed interested.” Page gave her a bright smile. “And I know that going to a wine tasting is on your list.”

It wouldn’t hurt to give Dr. Ross a shot. But then why wouldn’t she do the same for Zach? asked a little voice. She shook her head. Because that was a completely different situation. She’d seen Zach in action and hadn’t cared for him. But Dr. Ross was a mystery. One she’d be interested in unraveling given the chance.

* * *

THE KNOCKING ON his bedroom door wouldn’t stop. Zach checked the clock. A little after three in the morning. Rubbing his eyes, he walked to the door and opened it. “What’s wrong, Mom?”

“You’re going to be late for school.” She peered behind him into the darkened room. “Why aren’t you dressed?”

“It’s not morning yet, Mom. And I haven’t been in school for more than a dozen years.” He put his arm around her shoulders. “Why don’t you go on back to bed and I’ll read you a chapter from your book?”

She smiled. “The romance one? Love stories are my favorite.”

He nodded and led her down the hall toward her bedroom. “I know.” He squinted from the bright light in the room, but helped his mom into bed. He sat in the recliner and pulled the book they’d been reading the past week from the bookshelf and flipped to where they’d left off earlier that evening.

As he read aloud to her about the Duke of Montmorency and the governess who taught his young ward, the words lulled his mother to sleep. After three pages, her eyes closed and soft snores accompanied his reading. He put the bookmark in place and watched her for a moment. When she slept like this, he remembered how she used to be—so vibrant, full of laughter and funny stories. Her eyes were clear and bright, not clouded with confusion. He missed his mother, grieved for her even though she was still alive. He wished he could do more for her, that he could find a doctor who’d be able to bring her back to him, restore the person she’d once been. Unfortunately, the doctors had told him her disease wouldn’t get better. She had moments of lucidity, but they came less often. And she stubbornly held on to the past as her present.

He replaced the book on the shelf, then stood and covered his mother with the blanket. She stirred, and he held his breath to see if she’d stay asleep. Her eyes remained closed, so he leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Good night, Mom.”

He tiptoed out of the room and turned off the light before slowly shutting the door. The snores on the other side meant that he could return to his own bed. But when he lay down under the sheets, he stared at the ceiling, unable to stop the tumble of thoughts in his brain. His mother’s condition seemed to be getting worse. She’d soon need more care than what he could provide. And that meant finding a facility for her. He shut his eyes tight. He couldn’t think about that now. Wouldn’t try to imagine what it would be like to give up on his mother when she needed him the most.

April’s face popped into his mind. The thought of her made him smile despite the fact that she’d rejected him. That was okay. He could ask her out again. There was something about her that intrigued him. That called out to him in a moment like this when he needed to be calm, when sleep wasn’t coming.

* * *

APRIL FELT ALONG the sides of the teen boy’s throat before she turned to the mother, who clearly fretted as she watched. “His glands are swollen, so it’s probably strep throat.” She took a tongue depressor and cotton swab from her coat pocket as well as the small flashlight. “Wade, I need you to open your mouth as wide as you can. I have to run a test to make sure what we’re dealing with.”

The boy opened his mouth, and she used the tongue depressor to stabilize his tongue while she ran the cotton swab along the red, inflamed tissues near the back of his throat. When she finished, she put the swab in a plastic tube and marked the sticker on the outside with Wade’s name and hers. “I’ll have the lab check this ASAP. When is the last time you visited your regular doctor?”

The mother gave a shrug. Based on the shabbiness of her winter coat and the scant information on the intake forms, April could guess that it had been a long time. The only reason that they’d shown up in her ER that morning was because Wade had stopped breathing in class when his throat had swollen to the point of closing. A quick-thinking school nurse had gotten him breathing again before the ambulance arrived. “If it’s strep, I’ll give you some antibiotics and you’ll be off school for a few days until you’re better.” She turned to the mother. “Any questions for me?”

“How much will all this cost? I’m already missing work to be here.”

“I’ll get our information on payment plans, and the hospital can make arrangements with you. I’ll be right back.” She stepped out of the curtained area and almost ran into a tall man in a white lab coat with green eyes and graying temples. “Sorry, Doctor.”

“Dr. Sprader? April, right?”

She nodded and tried to recall if she knew him. His name didn’t register. “Did I call you for a consult?” It had been one of those days and she might have forgotten about it.

“I’ve been meaning to call you all week, but things kept coming up.”

A lightbulb flashed on in her mind. “Dr. Ross and the wine tasting.”

“Page told you about me? Good.” He glanced around the crowded emergency room. “Do you have a few minutes for us to talk?”

She held up the tube with Wade’s throat culture. “Gotta get this to the lab. We can talk while we walk.”

She started to zip around patients and medical staff. The sooner she got the swab to the lab, the sooner she’d have answers for Wade and his mother. And she didn’t want to wait too long and have other lab tests get in the queue ahead of her.

She glanced back once to make sure that Dr. Ross had kept pace with her. He was faring not too badly, only one or two people behind her. She paused as she got to the laboratory. He came up beside her. “You move fast for such a tiny thing.”

She ignored the way the comment made her bristle. “You’d be surprised how often that skill comes in handy.” And she strode faster through the laboratory’s glass door.

“Dr. Sprader. April. Are you free tomorrow evening about seven?” he called after her.

She smiled at Javier, the intake manager, who accepted the swab and input the patient’s name and date of birth in the computer. He smiled back. “We’re about thirty minutes behind today.”

April put her hand on his arm. “But you’ll put mine at the top of the list, right?”

He winked at her and passed the throat culture to one of the lab techs. April turned to Dr. Ross. “You were asking me about tomorrow night?”

He frowned sharply. “Do you always flirt with the staff to get your tests moved up in the queue?”

“No. Sometimes I bribe them with cookies.” She laughed at his dour expression. “That’s a joke. Javier and his team follow protocol, so you can erase those frown lines on your forehead. I’ll have my results in due course.”

“Oh.” He took a deep breath, then squared his shoulders. “Would you like to accompany me to a wine tasting tomorrow night? I’ve got tickets to an exclusive party, and your friend Page thought you might be interested.”

She eyed him up and down. He wasn’t bad-looking in an older, distinguished-man kind of way. He might lack a sense of humor, but then, she couldn’t have everything, right? Learning about different wines was on her second-chance list, so she agreed. “Okay. It’s a date.”

He gave a brief smile and walked away. April discovered Javier watching Dr. Ross’s departure. “You’re sure about going out with that guy?” he asked.

She shrugged. “You’re married. What other choice do I have?”

They shared a grin, and she pushed off the wall and zigzagged back to the emergency room.

* * *

ZACH FOUND AN empty parking spot behind Marissa’s wine shop and checked his appearance in the rearview mirror before getting out of the car. Not that he needed to look good for her anymore. She’d made it clear when they got divorced that she had no plans for reconciliation. In fact, she remarried within a year and seemed happier with Jeff than she had with him. He tried to be happy for her.