Читать книгу Mendoza's Miracle - Judy Duarte - Страница 9

As Leah slipped into the hall, a whisper of uneasiness breezed through her. She could have sworn that Javier had been about to ask whether she was single and maybe even… Available?

Okay. So maybe she’d only imagined that’s what he’d been getting at.

When it came right down to it, she wasn’t sure why he’d asked those questions or what he’d meant by them. The minute Savannah what’s-her-name had entered the room, their conversation had ended before it even had a chance to take off, so all bets were off.

And really, wasn’t she better off not knowing what Javier had planned to say next? The last thing she needed to do was to create any unnecessary workday drama.

Still, the line of questioning had taken her aback and made her face the fact that, in spite of her efforts to remain completely professional, she was growing a little too fond of one of her patients.

Of course, she would never act on her attraction. She was too committed to her job to let anything like that get out of hand.

As she made her way to the nurses’ station, glad to be back on the job and out of Javier’s room, she held her head high, her shoulders straight. Yet disappointment threatened to drag her down for the count. She was sorry about the way things had played out.

And why was that? she wondered.

Probably because she cared more for her patient than she should. So for that reason alone she really ought to be glad that Savannah’s arrival had interrupted their conversation.

And she was.

Yet she’d flinched when the beautiful blonde had entered Javier’s room, and she’d found her emotional reaction to the visit more than a little bothersome. After all, Javier was a handsome bachelor. He probably had a slew of women in his pre-hospital life. How could he not?

So why would one woman’s visit surprise her? And why would it leave her so unsettled, so uneasy?

She supposed that was because, at least up until now, only his family had come to see him. And she hadn’t given his love life much thought.

Well, now… that wasn’t entirely true. She’d thought about the women he might have dated in the past, but in all of her musings they’d been faceless beauties.

Of course, that was no longer the case. Now one of them had a face—a pretty one that suggested Javier liked tall, sophisticated blondes who dressed to the nines and were skilled at applying makeup and styling their own hair.

Leah clicked her tongue, scolding herself for making that kind of assumption. Maybe she was connecting all the wrong dots. How did she know that Savannah and Javier had actually dated? Hadn’t he downplayed that possibility?

If he had no idea whether she still held the same job, how could he and Savannah be romantically involved? Clearly, he hadn’t seen her in a while.

Leah’s uneasiness began to lift at that conclusion—until she realized he’d spent more than two months in the hospital. He’d also been in a coma for nearly half that time. And he’d suffered some confusion and memory loss when he’d first come to.

Then, to make matters worse, she remembered what his brother Rafe had suggested to the family earlier this morning.

So it was easy to conclude that Savannah’s hospital visit hadn’t been a coincidence. In fact, Rafe had set it into motion when he’d run into her at the grocery store earlier today.

It hadn’t taken much of a leap for Leah to realize that, even if Javier had made it sound as if he and Savannah were merely friends, that hadn’t always been the case. At one time, they must have been more involved than that.

As Leah took a seat behind the desk, she had to admit that she didn’t like the idea of Javier having a girlfriend, which meant that her feelings had grown to the point that they bordered on that fine line between sympathetic and inappropriate.

Bordered? She was afraid that she might have crossed the line already, and that she was more attracted to her patient than a nurse ought to be.

So the way she saw it, she would either have to request a transfer to another floor or fight her feelings so she wouldn’t compromise her professional ethics.

With the dilemma still weighing on her mind, she reached for a chart belonging to another of her patients and tried to pretend she was busy. Yet even though she studied the paperwork in front of her, her thoughts were a million miles away.

Okay, so they weren’t all that far away. They were just down the hall, with Javier and the attractive blonde who’d come to visit him. A frown slowly stretched across her face as she realized she had no one to blame for her green-eyed uneasiness but herself.

For some reason, while he’d been on the third floor at San Antonio General, she’d come to think of him as…

Well, unattached, she supposed. And even pondering his romantic status had been the first hint that her interest in him was out of line.

So now what? Should she request a transfer to either the obstetric or pediatric ward? That might help.

Trouble was, Javier’s mood lifted whenever she was around. And Margie Graybill, who worked the night shift, had told his family that Javier never cracked a smile, no matter how hard she tried to coax one out of him.

“You must have a special touch,” Javier’s father had said to Leah the other day. “His attitude is much better whenever you’re on duty.”

She liked to think that she had managed to reach him when other nurses hadn’t. So if she was one of a few who had the ability to draw him out of his somber mood, how could she ask for a transfer?

What kind of nurse would she be if she gave up on her patient when he needed her most?

Leah had lucked out. She’d finished the rest of her shift without having to go back into Javier’s room. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t aware of who went in or came out.

Savannah had left the hospital shortly after she’d arrived, which had pleased Leah more than it should have, especially since she’d made up her mind to maintain a professional attitude when it came to Javier. But there wasn’t anything remotely professional about the rush of relief she’d felt when the blonde had left his room after only a few minutes—five or six at the most.

Leah glanced at her wristwatch, realizing it was about time for the shift change. Thank goodness she didn’t have to work tomorrow. Taking a break from her handsome patient would help tremendously. She’d shake those inappropriate thoughts and feelings that surfaced whenever she was near him.

As she opened the last patient’s chart and prepared to make a note before leaving the hospital for the next couple of days, Leanne Beattie, the nurse’s aide who delivered meals to the third floor, said, “The guy in three-fourteen doesn’t seem to like anything we serve him.”

The guy in 314 was Javier.

Leah glanced up from the note she was writing, “What do you mean?”

“Well, he hasn’t eaten much of anything today. He didn’t touch his breakfast and only picked at his lunch. As far as I can tell, he left everything except the chocolate ice cream on his dinner tray. So I thought I should mention it.”

“Thanks, Leanne. Loss of appetite is a side effect of one of the new medications he’s on, so I’ll be sure to tell his doctor.”

Of course, the depression his family had been concerned about might also contribute to him not eating, although Leah wasn’t convinced that they were right. Whatever was bothering him only seemed to flare up when he had visitors.

But either way, she’d like to see him start eating better. He was going to need his strength when he moved to the rehab unit and his physical therapy became more vigorous than it was now.

On her drive home that night, she thought about her own dinner and what she’d like to eat. For the most part, she avoided red meat, fats and processed foods. But she’d had the munchies ever since she’d left Savannah and Javier alone in his room, so she decided to give in to temptation and pick up a cheeseburger and fries.

She didn’t allow herself those kinds of indulgences very often, but she figured the fast food would be filling—and it was better than fixing herself a salad with low-fat dressing, then popping open the freezer and wolfing down the rest of a carton of rocky road ice cream, which was what she’d probably end up doing when the veggies didn’t hit the spot.

And on a night like this, she didn’t think a salad was going to be enough to hold back temptation.

As she pulled into the drive-through of her favorite fast-food restaurant, she realized that people sometimes craved foods that they’d grown up eating. There were days when nothing else would do the trick.

At that thought, a game plan began to unfold.

She didn’t have to work tomorrow. Why not take lunch to Javier? She could pick up something tasty that was a change from the usual hospital fare he’d been served. Maybe that would spark his appetite and entice him to eat a full meal.

So the next morning, after cleaning her small apartment, she took a shower and slipped into her favorite jeans and the new black sweater Aunt Connie had given her for her birthday. Then, after applying a little makeup, brushing out her hair and pulling it back in a ponytail, she drove to the most popular Mexican restaurant in Red Rock, which Jose and Maria Mendoza owned.

Jose was related to Javier’s father, Luis, although Leah wasn’t entirely sure of the exact connection. They might be cousins, she supposed. Either way, it was probably safe to assume the entire Mendoza clan spent a good deal of time eating at Red.

Actually, she was surprised that none of Javier’s relatives had come up with the idea before. But she wouldn’t think about that now. Instead, she would surprise him by taking him lunch.

At a few minutes after eleven, Leah arrived at Red and parked her car out front. So far, not many people had gathered, but she knew it was only a matter of time before the lunch crowd would begin to roll in.

She’d only eaten at the restaurant once before, and that was several years ago. But she’d been impressed by the historic building, which had once been a hacienda.

The Mendozas had done a great job decorating with nineteenth-century photographs, antiques and Southwestern artwork that lined the walls.

In fact, while waiting for her order to be prepared, she might even sit in the courtyard, with its rustic old fountain, lush plants and the colorful umbrellas that shaded pine tables and chairs. There she’d listen to the soft sounds of mariachi music coming from the lounge, as well as the relaxing gurgle of the water in the fountain while sitting amidst the bougainvillea that bloomed in shades of fuchsia, purple and gold.

As Leah entered the door, a dark-haired hostess greeted her. “One for lunch? Or are you meeting someone?”

“Actually, I’d like to place an order to go.”

The woman reached for a menu. “Do you already know what you’d like? Or would you like to see what we have to offer?”

Leah took the menu. “I’ll need a moment or two to decide. But can you tell me if Marcos Mendoza is here today?”

Javier’s brother managed the restaurant. And if anyone knew what Leah should order, it would be him.

“Yes, Marcos is here. I think he’s in the kitchen. I’ll get him for you.”

From what Leah had heard, Marcos used to spend a great deal of time at Red, making sure that everything ran smoothly. But he actually kept a regular schedule now that he and Wendy had a new baby. Their little girl, who had been born a month early but was doing well now, was expected to be released from the neonatal intensive care unit soon.

Leah knew all this because she’d taken to stopping by the NICU to see Mary Anne Mendoza and the other preemies… and wondering what it would be like to have a baby of her own.

Sure, the neonatal unit housed the most seriously ill newborns, but while some didn’t make it, many of them did. And as a nurse she was proud of the success rate.

In fact, each year, the NICU staff put on a reunion party for the children who’d once been patients and who’d gone home healthy. The oldest were about ten years old now, and some of the parents had created play groups that were still going strong.

While waiting for Javier’s brother, Leah opened the menu and studied her options. Marcos might know what Javier would like to eat, but she planned to choose something for herself.

Who knew what might happen when she surprised him with his favorite Mexican meal. He might even ask her to join him for lunch. And if he did? She’d agree. Otherwise, she’d take her food home and eat it there.

“Can I help you?” Marcos asked upon his approach.

When she looked up from the menu and smiled, recognition dawned on his face. “What a surprise, Leah. I didn’t realize who you were in street clothes.”

“That’s not surprising. I practically live in scrubs.”

“How are things going?” Marcos asked. “I didn’t get a chance to stop by and see my brother last night. Wendy and I wanted to talk to the neonatologist when he made his morning rounds, so I had to work late to make up for being gone.”

Wendy, who’d once worked at Red, too, had been expecting a baby this month, but she’d gone into premature labor back in January. The doctors had managed to stave off her contractions, then they’d put her on bed rest. She’d eventually given birth at home in early February, which had to be a real worry for them. But the baby girl was small but healthy and now thriving.

At least, that’s the last Leah had heard. “Mary Anne’s still doing okay, isn’t she?”

“Yes, everything is great. She’s been gaining weight, and the doctor is pleased with her progress.” A broad smile told Leah that the new father couldn’t be happier.

“I’m glad to hear that,” she said.

“It was a little scary for a while,” Marcos admitted, “but we’re all doing great. In fact, now that Mary Anne is out of the woods, Wendy and I are settling into parenthood. We’ve even been thinking about having a party soon to celebrate our daughter’s birth.”

With the size of the Fortune and Mendoza families, that would probably be some party. And Leah couldn’t help but smile.

The two families had been through a lot lately, first with the tornado and Javier’s injury, then with Wendy’s baby. So now that everyone was on the road to health and wellness, they had a lot to celebrate.

“The hostess said you wanted to talk to me,” Marcos said. “Is everything all right?”

He was worried about Javier, Leah realized, so she shot him a smile to put his mind at ease. “Your brother is coming along just fine, but I have a feeling that he’s getting tired of the hospital food. So I thought I’d surprise him with something different for a change. Do you have any suggestions? What does he usually order when he comes here?”

Marcos chuckled. “I don’t suppose they’d let you sneak him an ice-cold beer and lime.”

“I’m afraid not,” Leah said, enjoying the brotherly humor.

“Well, he’ll be happy with the carne asada, which is what he usually orders.”

“Then I’ll take a plate to go.”

“How about you?” Marcos asked. “Aren’t you going to have lunch with him?”

The thought had certainly crossed Leah’s mind, but she wasn’t so sure it was a good idea any longer.

Marcos must have read her indecision, because he added, “My brother seems to really like you, and I’m sure he’ll be more likely to enjoy his meal if you share it with him.”

He had a point, she supposed. “All right. I’ll take the small chicken taco salad.”

She reached into her purse.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Marcos said, placing a hand on her arm. “Put your money away. After all you’ve done for Javier, this order is on the house.”

She wanted to object, to tell him she’d just been doing her job, that she’d fully intended to pay for lunch, that she hadn’t chosen the family’s restaurant hoping to get a freebie. But both appreciation and sincerity lit up his smile, so she released her wallet and thanked him instead.

“Is there anything else you need? Dessert maybe? Javier likes the flan. I can also pack up napkins, silverware—whatever else you might need.”

She was going to say that the takeout order was enough, then another idea struck. A good one.

“You know,” she said, “I just might need a little more help from you after all.”

When she told Marcos what she had in mind, he grinned and nodded his head in agreement. Then he turned to the hostess. “Give her whatever she wants.”

Five minutes later, as Leah waited for her order, she went into the courtyard to cut a few sprigs of the fuchsia-colored bougainvillea with the scissors the hostess had given her.

As she took the last cutting, she wondered how Javier would react to her surprise.

The man was a little moody at times and hard to read, so it was anyone’s guess. But the idea had certainly put a bounce in her step and a smile on her face. She just hoped it did the same for him.

Javier had just talked to Jeremy Fortune, who’d told him he’d be sending him to the rehab unit tomorrow or the next day, depending upon when they had a bed available.

“You won’t have to stay very long,” Jeremy added. “After you’re discharged, you can do the rest of your rehab as an outpatient.”

“That’s the best news I’ve had in months.” Javier blew out a weary sigh, glad to see some light at the end of the tunnel, even if he still had a long road to full recovery and a life he’d have to recreate in many ways. “You have no idea how badly I want to get out of here.”

“I can imagine.” Jeremy placed a hand on Javier’s shoulder. “You’ve been through a lot these past two months. In fact, if you ever feel the need to talk to a professional, I can refer you to someone.”

Javier stiffened and clucked his tongue. “Did my family put you up to that?”

“No, they didn’t. Do they think you need counseling?”

“It was suggested,” Javier admitted, before making his own opinion clear. “But I don’t need it.”

“I’m not saying that you do. Just know that it’s available should you change your mind. And that if you do decide to talk to someone, it wouldn’t be a sign of weakness.”

Maybe not, but Javier already felt like a ninety-pound weakling going up against a UFC fighter in a championship bout, and that’s what frustrated the hell out of him.

Still, Jeremy had a point—and Javier knew that his family had reason to be concerned, too.

“Well, I’ve still got several patients yet to see,” Jeremy said, “so I’d better finish my rounds.”

“I… uh…” Javier heaved another sigh. “I’m sorry, Doc.”

“What for?” Jeremy asked.

“For snapping at you.” Javier ran his hand through his hair, which was shorter than he was used to, thanks to the neurosurgery he’d had two months back. “I’ve been pretty quick-tempered lately, and you don’t deserve to be the target of my frustration.”

Of course, neither did his family. Maybe he really should talk to a counselor, someone he could unload on instead of the people who loved him the most.

“Don’t worry about it,” Jeremy said. “You’ve got every reason to be irritable. You nearly died, spent a month of your life in a coma, woke up in pain and confusion. And now that you’re facing some intensive physical therapy… It’s enough to make anyone touchy.”

Yeah, well maybe Javier had better figure out a way to shake that dark cloud that hovered over him. His future might be messed up, but he didn’t need to make everyone else’s life miserable, too.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Jeremy said as he turned to go. Then he stopped in his tracks, allowing someone to enter the room.

But not just any someone. It was Leah.

What was she doing here? She was supposed to be off today.

She was definitely not on the clock since she was wearing regular clothes—a black sweater and jeans. Her glossy auburn hair had been pulled back in a soft, loose ponytail.

She’d draped a striped, brightly colored serape over her shoulder. What was she doing with a Mexican blanket that looked a lot like one his sister Isabella might have woven?

Leah greeted Jeremy first. “Hello, Dr. Fortune.”

“Do you need any help?” he asked. “It looks like you’ve got a full load.”

That was for sure. In one hand, she held a heat-insulated bag with the familiar Red logo, and in the other, she held a couple of sprigs of bougainvillea.

“Thanks for the offer, Doctor. But I’ve got everything balanced just right.”

As she placed the insulated bag on the chair near Javier’s bed, Jeremy stepped out of the hospital room and into the hall, leaving the two of them alone.

“What’s all this?” Javier asked.

“I decided to surprise you with a picnic.”

In the hospital? Was she kidding?

“I would have taken you out into the rose garden in a wheelchair,” she added, “but I figured this was better for now.”

“What’s in the bag?”

“Carne asada, rice, beans, chips, salsa, guaca-mole… And a taco salad for me.”

Javier didn’t know what to say. Nor could he get over the sight of her in a form-fitting sweater and a pair of tight jeans, rather than those blousy hospital scrubs he was used to seeing her wear. More than once he’d tried to imagine what she hid behind the loose-fitting fabric, but now…?

Dang. There wasn’t much need to guess. Denim didn’t lie. At least, hers certainly didn’t.

She draped the serape over the portable bed table. Next, she pulled out a small vase and filled it with a couple of sprigs of the bougainvillea that he suspected she’d found growing in one of the clay pots in the courtyard of his family’s restaurant. Then she placed it on top of the serape-covered table.

For a moment, he almost forgot that he was in a hospital—and that he’d been there for ages.

He nodded toward the Cinco-de-Mayo-style decorations. “That’s a nice touch.”

“I thought so.” Her smile nearly turned him inside out. He’d always considered her attractive when she’d tended him as his nurse, but now?

His head was almost spinning as he tried to take it all in, tried to take her all in. He’d never seen hair that color—a rusty shade of auburn—and wondered if she ever wore it loose and wild.

He’d only seen it pulled back and out of her face, but he could imagine it splayed across a white pillow…

Cut it out, he told himself. Thoughts like that weren’t going to do him any good in a place like this.

He was tempted to call her Florence, to try and put some lighthearted humor into the situation, but all he could think of was one of the oldies but goodies his dad used to play on the radio in the car. “Just look at her in those blue jeans, her hair in a pony tail.”

She could be Venus, as far as he was concerned.

He hadn’t even been alive when that song had first come out, but he was tempted to hum the tune or even belt out the lyrics—something he’d been known to do when the mood struck him.

And it was the first time the mood had struck him since last Christmas Eve, when he’d sung “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” just to make the kids laugh.

“I hope you don’t mind me bringing lunch,” Leah said.

“Not at all.” Heck, right now, he didn’t care if she poked him with a hypodermic needle. “It was a really nice thing for you to do. Thanks for thinking of me.”

How many nurses went above and beyond the call of duty like that?

He reached for the button that lifted the head of his bed higher, then adjusted the pillows so that he was sitting up.

As Leah removed the food from the red bag, he caught a whiff of beef and spices, of cilantro and chili, and his stomach actually growled.

“This is going to be some picnic,” he said as his eyes scanned the food she set out on the serape-covered table.

“Eating outdoors would have been nice,” she said. “But look at it this way, at least we don’t need to worry about avoiding ants or using sunblock.”

“You’ve got a point there.”

Moments later, with the table set, she pulled up a chair to sit beside his bed and they began to eat.

Javier stuck his fork into a piece of marinated beef and popped it into his mouth.

Dang. When was the last time he’d tasted meat so tender, so tasty?

After relishing another bite, he said, “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this. How’d you come up with an idea like this?”

“It just struck me on the way home last night. You’ve been eating at the hospital for weeks on end, and while I think the food is pretty good, I can see where you might get tired of it.”

He’d gotten tired of just about everything in the hospital. Everything except his nurse.

“I asked Marcos which meal was your favorite,” she said, “and he suggested the carne asada. Would you have preferred the chile rellenos? Or maybe the tamales? He said you liked them, too.”

“No, this is perfect. If I’m still in this room tomorrow, maybe I can have someone at Red deliver us another meal. I owe you one now.”

“You don’t owe me anything.”

That’s not the way he saw it. If not for Leah, he might have gone stir-crazy weeks ago.

They finished their meals in silence, but that didn’t mean Javier’s mind wasn’t going a jillion miles an hour—plotting and planning—much like it used to do before the injury.

Finally he said, “I’m going to be transferred to the rehab unit within the next couple of days.”

She paused, her fork in midmotion. Her pretty eyes, a whiskey shade of hazel, widened. Then she smiled. “That’s good news. You’re getting closer to being able to go home. I bet you can’t wait.”

He wanted to leave the hospital; that was a given. But he wasn’t keen on the idea of never seeing Leah again.

Why had she done all of this for him? And on her day off?

He could read all kinds of things into her effort to surprise him, he supposed. But he wouldn’t. Instead, he planned to enjoy the meal and the nurse who’d brought a bit of sunshine on a mundane day, the beautiful Florence Nightingale who’d provided him with a taste of the real world he was about to reenter.