Almost a Family Page 19

  Connor felt sick. He’d seen too much of that in E.R.s. In clinics. It never failed to make him wish he could find the perpetrator and throw him against a brick wall.

  “I guess this guy wheedled. Threatened. Promised all sorts of harm if Tyler didn’t cooperate. Their mother didn’t do a thing, and that’s when Drew loaded up a bag of drugs and paraphernalia, hauled it to school and gave it to the principal. After six months in foster care, the boys came to us.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  She gave a small, sad smile. “The funny thing is, I’ve tried so hard to let him know that I’m ready to listen anytime. That I want to help in any way I can. But instead, he told you.”

  She reached down and fumbled for her briefcase, and Connor reached for it, too, as it teetered on the edge of the step. Their fingers collided and sent it tumbling, its contents spilling across the grass.

  She gasped and dropped to her knees to gather up the folders. “I’ll get it—don’t bother.”

  Courtesy made him lean over and capture those that had spread beyond her reach. “No problem…”

  But then he blinked, focused on the name labels on the folders and the bright yellow stickers on the spines. He straightened slowly, his pulse pounding in his ears. “These are my patients—the ones I’ve admitted since I got here.”

  “Yes, well…”

  He stared at her, disbelief warring with anger and a sense of loss. He’d trusted Stephanie, given her his heart. In turn she’d hidden away the only child he might ever have now—and had destroyed the other on a mountain road.

  He’d fallen for Erin, more and more with each passing day, and she had so little belief in him—such a low opinion of him—that she was examining his patient records for possible malpractice?

  “I would have thought that you might have had the courtesy to talk to me. That you would have enough faith to believe in me, just a little. Obviously, I’ve read far more into this relationship than I should have.” He gripped the folders, then carefully placed them on the pile in her arms. “Be my guest.”

  Then he headed out into the darkness for his truck.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  ERIN STEPPED INTO the cabin, shut the door and leaned against it, her heart aching. My God, what have I done?

  Her job demanded that she protect the hospital and its patients. Honor demanded that she follow through, without regard for her personal feelings. But never had she wanted to harm anyone with this quiet investigation. And never had she wanted to hurt Connor.

  The look of betrayal in his eyes burned her soul. The thought of losing him was unbearable.

  “Erin, is that you?” Haley wandered to the door from the living room, a European-history book in one hand and a half-eaten peanut butter sandwich in the other. “I was just thinking about starting something for supper, in case you were late.”

  Erin struggled to find her voice. “For once, I’m early. Thanks, though.”

  “No problem. Hey—you look really pale. Are you okay?”

  “Just…tired. You said that your high school canceled classes for the next two days. If I needed you to stay later tomorrow night, could you?”

  “Sure. Late as you want.” The teenager grabbed her jacket and backpack. “Let’s see…Lily is reading in her room. Drew isn’t speaking to anyone—I saw him talking to Connor out on the porch for a while, then he stormed upstairs and slammed the door. Connor said he was upset about Scout, but I guess you two already talked about that before you came inside. And Tyler…I don’t think he feels so good. He’s just been slumped in that living room chair, staring at the TV. I took his temperature, but it was just under a hundred. I would have called you if it was any higher. Some lady called and didn’t give her name, but said she would call again.” Haley grinned. “Her number’s on the caller ID, though, if you need it.”

  Erin couldn’t help but smile at the girl’s rapid-fire report. “You’re the best, Haley. I think you need a raise.”

  After she left, Erin checked on Tyler, who did appear listless and pale. Then she threw together a quick supper, helped Tyler and Lily with their homework and tried to talk to Drew…to no avail.

  By nine o’clock Tyler’s temperature was up to 100.5. By ten, it had climbed to 101 despite a dose of children’s Tylenol, and his breathing had grown labored, his eyes glassy.

  Pneumonia…again? Her worry escalating, Erin dialed Jill’s number and left a message with the answering service, then hovered by the phone for her return call. By the time it rang, Erin had everyone back in their jeans and sweatshirts, ready for a trip to the clinic.

  “Let’s just meet at the E.R.,” Jill said. “Given his history, I’ll need some chest X-rays and labs. It’ll save time. And you might want to make overnight arrangements for the other two kids, in case we keep Tyler in and you want to stay with him.”

  Yesterday, Erin would have called Connor without hesitation. Now, remembering the hurt and anger on his face, she dialed Haley’s number instead to ask if she could drop the kids off for a while. With two of her children on sleepovers, Mrs. Adams promptly offered a couple of spare beds if need be, and assured Erin that she and Haley would make sure the kids got to school on time in the morning.

  In just over a half hour, Lily and a very disgruntled Drew were safely dropped off at the Adams house, and Tyler was on a gurney in the E.R., dressed in a hospital gown.

  “That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Jill nodded at the lab tech leaving the room, then rested a hand on Tyler’s thin shoulder. “We should have the films and lab reports back soon, and then we’ll see what’s going on. I think,” she added with a twinkle in her eyes, “that you just really like coming to see me.”

  He shook his head and gave her a weak smile. “Not here.”

  “Well, tiger, I’m guessing that we’re maybe going to keep you for a day or two. I’m hearing those darn old crackly pneumonia sounds in your lungs, and I know from your history that you’ve had this problem before. Right?”

  He nodded glumly.

  Jill straightened his gown. “Isn’t fair, is it? I know you’ve had the vaccine, but you must have picked up another strain. Some kids are more susceptible than others, but you’ll likely grow out of it, in time.”

  She clipped an oximeter over the end of his finger and read the screen, then bent over again to listen to his chest and back with her stethoscope. Smiling, she slid the side rails up on the gurney. “I think I’ll order a nice room so we can keep an eye on you. Okay? Erin and I will be back in a minute.” She motioned for a nurse to sit with him, then beckoned for Erin to follow her out to the nurses’ station.

  A few minutes later the reports arrived from the radiologist and the lab. Jill skimmed the documents, then handed them to Erin. “His oxygen sats are barely ninety, his temp has spiked to 103 and his white count tells me this is a bacterial infection. The films confirm that this is indeed pneumonia—involving both lower lobes.”

  Even given the years she’d spent in nursing before going back to school, Erin’s throat tightened at Jill’s words. “I was afraid of this.”

  ERIN STAYED BY TYLER’S bedside through the night, dozing fitfully, awakening every time he stirred or a nurse stepped in to check his vitals and IV line. His temperature rose during the night, then fell slightly. His breathing grew more labored by dawn. He picked at his breakfast and then rolled over, leaving everything untouched.

  Erin rubbed his back and spoke softly to him as he dozed off. The overwhelming love she felt for him welled up in her chest until she could barely speak. “You made such a change in my life, sweetheart,” she whispered, leaning down to brush a kiss against his cheek. “I love you so much.”

  At a soft knock on the door she turned and found Connor standing there, his eyes on Tyler and his brow furrowed. “Hi, buddy. Are you awake?”

  Tyler mumbled something and rolled halfway over. His face brightened. “Dr. Reynolds!”

  Ignoring Erin, Connor moved to the side of the bed and cast an experien
ced glance at the antibiotic and dextrose IV bags and rate of drip. Then he grinned down at the boy. “Looks like you’re taking it easy today. I’ll bet you just wanted a day out of school.”

  A faint smile played at the corners of Tyler’s mouth. “Rather be home.”

  “You’ll be there soon, I promise. Dr. Jill is taking really good care of you.” Connor gave Erin a cursory glance. “I can keep him company for an hour if you want to go home for a shower and change of clothes. My appointments don’t start until nine.”

  The offer was kind, the tone of his voice cold.

  “You don’t have to do that. I—”

  “It’s not for you.”

  “N-no. Of course not.” She wavered, then grabbed her purse and gave Tyler’s shoulder a quick squeeze. “I’ll be back in an hour, no more. Thanks, Connor.”

  He didn’t bother to say goodbye.

  AFTER CHECKING IN WITH Jane and Haley, who said Drew and Lily were welcome to stay another night, Erin dashed home for a quick shower, clean clothes and her briefcase.

  Throughout the day she alternated between her office—where she tried to catch up on her work for the day—and Tyler’s bedside, though by evening he was feeling better and was less willing to have her hovering over him.

  At eight o’clock, he announced that he wanted to watch a Harry Potter video, so she gave him a kiss and then settled into her office, where she began tackling a pile of mail and a deluge of e-mails.

  At nine she went to spend a half hour with Tyler, then kissed him good-night and went back to her office and worked for another hour.

  Each time her gaze landed on her briefcase, she sadly recalled Connor’s words. Obviously, I read far more into this relationship than I should have.

  Back in college, he’d seemed so hot, so distant and unattainable, that she’d barely dared to even dream about him. But now, she’d seen new and deeper sides to him. His gentleness with the children. His thoughtfulness.

  How could she have imagined, even for a minute, that he would be capable of harming a patient? Yet after one anonymous phone call, she’d let her suspicions destroy her chances with the one man she’d ever truly wanted.

  Restless, aching with regret, she fingered the stack of mail on her desk, then shoved it aside. The mail could wait. The e-mails. The copies of hospital patient records tucked in her briefcase.

  “Some lady called,” Haley had said. “Her number’s on caller ID.”

  Patty?

  Erin launched herself out of her chair and bent over her briefcase, pulling everything out and laying it on her desk. She retrieved her PDA at the bottom. She quickly called up her personal phone book and found Patty’s number, then punched it into her cell phone and began to pace.

  One ring…two…three…

  Sighing with frustration, Erin left another message, then ended the connection and paced the room once more.

  Patty could have called again and left a message on the answering machine back home. With any luck, a response from the Green Bay Courier could be waiting in the mailbox at the cabin, as well.

  Erin called Tyler’s nurse to explain that she had to leave the hospital for an hour or so, then she hurried out of her office. The administrative hallway was dark now, with just a dim Exit sign alight at the far end. Ahead, lights glowed in the lobby, and she could see Mrs. Banks on her knees tackling some sort of persistent spot on the floor, with her mop bucket at her side.

  The old woman looked up at Erin’s approach. “Gum,” she said with utter disgust. “Oughta be outlawed.”

  “I’ll be back, and I’ll be working late, in case anyone asks,” Erin said. “It could be a long night.”

  Shivering in the frosty air, Erin made for her car, her resolve increasing with every step.

  She knew how badly Connor had been hurt by the betrayal of the wife he’d loved, and she’d seen his reluctance to even begin to become involved again. Maybe there wasn’t any hope that he would forgive her own lack of faith in him.

  But if she could, she was going to make things right.

  TYLER FLOPPED from one side to the other, trying to get comfortable. The bed was hard. The sheets got bunched up easily, and there was some sort of crackly stiff cover on the mattress that made him feel sweaty and hot.

  The big clock up on the wall said almost eleven…and for the first time in two days, he was hungry.

  The last nurse, though, had hurried through listening to his chest and getting him to brush his teeth, saying things were really busy down in the E.R.

  Tyler eyed his IV pole and the tangle of plastic tubing looped over the T-bar at the top, then scooted up higher in bed and swung his legs around the railing. He hopped to the floor, grabbing on to the bed as a wave of dizziness sent spots dancing in front of his eyes.

  There was a room down the hall somewhere. One where the nurses always went to get him pop and ice cream and little pudding cups during the day. And since they were busy…

  He grabbed on to the cool metal IV pole and pushed it away from the bed. It caught on a chair leg and teetered, the plastic bags swinging at the top as the chair’s wooden legs screeched against the floor. He held his breath. Listened for footsteps and the irritated voice of that nurse telling him to get to bed, now.

  But no one came. And when he stepped out into the darkened hallway, it was empty, though from somewhere outside came the sound of distant sirens.

  Reassured, he slowly trundled the awkward stand down the hall and peered at each room as he passed, trying to gauge which might hold the little kitchen. The rumble of the hard rubber wheels sounded like thunder in the total silence. His steps slowed and his heart quickened as he neared the nurses’ station, half expecting a nurse to pop out from behind the desk like an angry jack-in-the-box.

  He held his breath and peeked around the corner. The chairs were all empty. Grinning now, he turned to look across the hall. Two doors stood ajar, each with light beaming through the crack.

  Tyler’s stomach rumbled in anticipation as he eased closer and nudged the first door a little wider, and then wider yet. He could see the edge of a counter, cupboards… Grinning, he gave the door another little push. Then his spirits fell as he saw the rows of medical stuff lined up behind the glass cupboard doors.

  The door swung wider. Like a creature from the movie he’d watched tonight, a figure whirled around with a loud screech, with gnarled hands and a wild look in its eyes. Reaching for him.

  Tyler’s heart jumped into his throat. With a scream, he grabbed the IV pole and raced for his room, tripping over its wide-set legs, getting tangled in the tubes, the pole swinging wildly overhead. Terror clenched his chest, making it hard to breathe.

  The metal pole banged against the wall as he wrestled it into the room. He slammed his door. Frantically reached for the lock…but his fingers only caught the cold, curved handle.

  His heart pounded out the seconds as one minute passed on the clock on the wall. Two minutes. Three.

  Something rustled out in the hall. His door swung open. He stumbled backward against the bed frame, trapped and helpless, his terror rising.

  But the face that appeared around the corner of the door wasn’t that of the wild-eyed woman down the hall. It was the impatient nurse who’d hurried him through brushing his teeth.

  “Well, young man! What are you doing out of bed?”

  “I—I…”

  “You know better than to be traipsing around your room. Just look at your tangled IV lines. Do you need to use the bathroom?”

  When he shook his head, she reached for the IV stand to move it out of his way, then helped him into bed and rearranged his covers. She tucked the call light within reach. “If you need something, you press the button. Remember?”

  Tyler swallowed hard. “A-are you the only nurse tonight?”

  “Until eleven o’clock.” She grabbed his wrist and took his pulse. Pulled the stethoscope from around her neck and listened to his chest, then checked his temperature. “And it’s a
busy night, so stay in bed. Promise?”

  He wanted to ask about what he’d seen down the hall. But if she was this mad about him being out of bed in his room, she’d probably blow up if she knew where he’d gone. “Y-you’ll be here, close by?”

  She gave him an odd look. “Of course. Now go to sleep.”

  Fear crawled like spiders through his stomach as he stared at the door after she left. Last night, Erin had stayed on the fold-out bed in the corner of his room, but tonight she’d had to leave.

  He’d never wanted to see anyone so much in his whole life.

  Fighting back his tears, he slid deeper into the bed and pulled the covers over his head, praying that the witch in the storeroom wouldn’t know where to find him.

  ERIN CHECKED the answering machine—no new messages since she’d been home this morning—and riffled through the bundle of mail she’d brought in from the mailbox. Bills. Sales flyers. Magazines. A postcard from her aunt Tilly in Florida. More junk mail.

  She tossed it all on the counter and started for the door, but an uneasy feeling swept through her as she touched the knob. Something made her turn back—a niggling feeling that she’d been missing a very important clue. Something just beneath the surface.

  Frowning, she went back to the counter and picked up one of the folders she’d been working on before Tyler got sick.

  She’d been looking at ways to cut labor hours in the various departments. One folder held printouts on all of the current employees, including their hire dates and number of hours they worked each pay period.

  Another bulged with copies of census data and the biweekly schedules for each department over the past three months—a folder she’d picked up Monday in Human Resources, on the spur of the moment.

  Why didn’t I think of it sooner?

  So far, there’d been little evidence to indicate any element of criminal intent in the deaths of men at the hospital. As Grace had pointed out, death was expected sooner or later in the elderly, especially those ill enough to be admitted. The few autopsies done had shown no sign of anything other than natural causes.