Bride for a Single Dad

“Sure.” Helping out in the first-aid station didn’t sound too hard. And besides, she didn’t mind a little volunteer work.

“Thanks a lot, Jillian.” Greg sounded relieved. “I owe you.”

“No, you don’t. It’s not a big deal at all. Just take care of yourself and your son.”

“I will.”

The next day Jillian headed down to the lakefront early, so she could make sure to find a parking spot. The art museum was a beautiful modern white structure overlooking the shores of Lake Michigan. There were various art displays set up along the lakefront and she took a few minutes to browse through works by local artists before heading over to the small trailer with the universal red cross on the front.

There was a man and a woman inside. The guy looked somewhat familiar. He stepped forward. “Hi. Can I help you?”

“Yes. I’m Dr. Jillian Davis, I’m here to cover Craig’s shift.”

“Ah, that explains it. I didn’t think you were Craig.” His green eyes twinkled. “I’m Adam, and my shift is over.” He glanced at the woman. “Mary, would you mind giving Jillian the rundown of how we’re set up?”

“No problem.” The woman smiled at her. “I’m Mary Drover, the person who’s stuck here all day.” She rolled her eyes at Adam when he laughed. “Thanks for helping out. When I’m not here, you can get in touch with me on this two-way radio.”

“Nice meeting you, Jillian. See you later, Mary.” Adam gave them both a little wave as he left the trailer.

Mary spent a few minutes showing her around. The trailer was set up very much like a mini-emergency room.

“All right, I’m going to walk around outside for a while,” Mary told her. “Remember to call me if you need me.”

Jillian nodded. She hadn’t known what to expect from the first-aid station, but alone in the trailer, she looked around and thought maybe she should have brought something to read in order to keep busy.

It turned out her optimism was premature. Within ten minutes she heard a little boy crying and a young mother rushed in, her blouse smeared with blood. “My son Joey fell and hit the back of his head on the pavement.”

“All right, let’s take a look.” Jillian indicated the mother should set Joey, who looked to be about five, on the small exam table. They boy was still crying and she tried to soothe him while she examined the back of his head. “There, now, Joey, it’s all right. I know your head hurts, but you’re fine now.” Luckily the cut was pretty small, but there was some tissue swelling. “I don’t think it needs stitches,” she said to his mother. “But he does have a small lump here and I’d like to apply a cold pack.”

“No stitches? Are you sure? There was so much blood!” The woman held onto the boy, trying to ease his crying.

“Head wounds bleed a lot, but we’ll use the ice first and see how it goes.” Jillian smiled at the boy as his sobs quieted to smaller hiccups. She cracked a cold pack and mixed the chemical contents to activate it before placing it on his head. “There now, you’re so brave. How would you like a lollipop? If your mom says it’s OK,” she amended.

“Sure.” Joey’s mother appeared relieved when her son stopped crying and chose a grape sucker. “Thanks. I’m glad it’s not serious.”

“No, he should be fine.” Jillian wondered if most of the patients she’d see during the afternoon would be children. She didn’t really mind. Sometimes kids came into the Trinity Medical Center’s ED by mistake, instead of going to Children’s Memorial, which was right next door. She wasn’t a pediatrician by trade, but she could handle kids if needed.

Her next patient proved her theory wrong, when a frail elderly lady came in, after nearly fainting in the heat.

Jillian managed to get the woman to drink some Gatorade and assessed her to make sure she wasn’t having some sort of stroke or any other undiagnosed illness. However, after about thirty minutes, the woman seemed much better and Jillian allowed her to leave, although she cautioned her that if she became light-headed again to call 911.

“I will, dear. Thank you.”

The trailer was quiet for another fifteen minutes before her door opened again.

“Jillian!”

She was just as surprised to see Alec, holding a young girl whose heart-shaped face was streaked with tears. “Alec. What’s wrong?”

“Shelby’s arm swelled up from a bee sting.” He set his daughter on the exam table.

“Is she allergic?” Jillian asked, getting another cold pack ready.

“I don’t know.” Alec looked worried. “She’s never been stung by a bee before. I figured we needed to come here just in case she needed some epinephrine.”

Smart thinking on Alec’s part. “Hi, Shelby, my name is Dr. Jillian.” The girl’s sobs had quieted to small sniffles. Gently taking Shelby’s arm, she examined the large reddened area right above her elbow. “Do you remember what happened?”

“A bee kept flying near my soda.” Shelby’s tone indicated she despised the creatures. Jillian put the cold pack over the swollen area, trying to gauge if Shelby was showing other signs of an allergic reaction. Her breathing appeared good. “He wouldn’t go away, then the next thing I knew, my arm burned.”

“And you’re sure you’ve never been stung before?” Jillian asked.

“I’m sure.” Shelby’s head bobbed up and down. Her dark brown hair was the exact shade of Alec’s but the similarities stopped there. Shelby had big brown eyes, not sparkling green ones.

“Alec, the epi-sticks are in that right-hand drawer over there. Maybe grab one, just in case.” Jillian held the cold pack on Shelby’s arm, and Alec crossed over, to find the epi-sticks.

She wrapped a comforting arm around Shelby’s shoulders. The little girl sighed and leaned her head against Jillian, as if the whole traumatic experience had worn her out.

Jillian soothed a hand over Shelby’s hair, catching a whiff of baby shampoo. Alec’s daughter was a cutie.

“What do you think?” Alec asked, his brows pulled together in a frown as he brought over the epi-sticks. “Is she allergic?”

“So far, so good.” She flashed him a reassuring smile. Carefully, so as not to dislodge Shelby from resting against her, Jillian lifted the edge of the cold pack to assess the swelling. The reddened area didn’t look any worse. “I don’t think so, but we’d better keep an eye on it for a little while.” Jillian waved a hand at the lollipops. “Do you mind if she has one?”

“No, I don’t mind.” Alec gave his daughter a curious look. “Shel, what flavor would you like? Cherry or grape?”

Shelby lifted her head from Jillian and pursed her lips. “Cherry.”

“All right, then.” He peeled off the wrapper and handed it to her.

She popped it into her mouth. “Thank you,” she mumbled, her speech garbled from the sucker.

“You’re welcome.” Jillian watched Alec with his daughter and remembered he’d said something about Shelby only living with him for the past year, since her mother’s death. She could only imagine how terrible that must have been for such a young girl.

“Why does the cold make the swelling go down?” Shelby wanted to know.

“Ah, good question.” She tried to think of a non-complicated answer. “When you hurt yourself, your body tries to fix it by sending white blood cells to the area. Which is good, but too much swelling hurts, too.”

Shelby scrunched up her forehead. “Doesn’t the body know better than to send so many white blood cells?”

Jillian had to laugh. “No, not really.” She lifted the corner of the cold pack again, keeping an eye on the clock. “See how much better it looks? The cold makes your veins close up and helps the body stop sending white blood cells to the area that hurts.”

Shelby peered at the sting site in her arm. “It doesn’t hurt very much either.”

The cold pack had probably numbed the area. Jillian glanced at Alec. “You might want to give her some Benadryl tonight, before she goes to bed. The antihistamine will help counteract any bee serum left in her system.”

“Benadryl,” Alec repeated, his brows pulled together in a frown. “I’ll have to buy some.”

Jillian opened drawers to see if there were any samples. When she found a small packet of Benadryl, she handed it over. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” He stepped closer to take the medication and his unique musky scent surrounded her. Suddenly, the small trailer seemed even more cramped, as his broad shoulders took up more than a little space. Now that Shelby’s minor emergency was over, Jillian didn’t know what to say.

Small talk had never been easy for her. She was more comfortable with books.

“Do you think we should head home?” Alec asked.

“No!” Shelby protested. “We didn’t get to spend hardly any time in the children’s tent.”

“Children’s tent?” Jillian wasn’t sure what Shelby was talking about.

“I got the tickets to come here today from my brother Adam. He told me they have a children’s tent where the kids can do finger-painting and stuff.”

Adam? She made the connection. “Adam was here as one of the volunteers. I thought he looked familiar.”

“I missed him? Figures.” Alec glanced at Shelby. “Are you sure you want to stay?”

“Yes.” Shelby gave a vigorous nod.

Jillian removed the cold pack, and took one last look at Shelby’s arm. “The swelling has really come down. If you want to stay, it should be all right.”

“All right, then.” Alec glanced at her. “Thanks again, Jillian.” He paused, and then added, “How long are you working?”

“Another hour or so,” she said.

He nodded. “Maybe we’ll see you later.”

“Sure.” Jillian knew he was just being polite.

Shelby happily jumped down from the exam table. “Bye, Dr. Jillian.”

“Bye, Shelby. Have fun in the children’s tent.”

Alec took his daughter’s hand as they left. He was a good father. And why that had suddenly become an attractive trait in a man was beyond her. Alec obviously cherished his daughter and the feeling was mutual.

Her memories of her own father were mostly centered around doing homework. He’d always been willing to help, showing great patience when it had come to her studies. Jillian had been an only child, and her parents had been in their early forties by the time she’d been born. They had viewed education as being highly important. Most of the other kids had had younger, more active parents, but Jillian hadn’t really minded. She’d loved books and once she’d hit high school had fallen in love with science. She’d known then she was destined to become a doctor.

Her choices, sacrifices some would say, had never bothered her before. There was no reason for them to nag at her now. Her career was something she’d worked for. Having a family of her own just hadn’t been a priority. Especially once her mother had gotten sick and her attention had been focused on caring for her mother, rather than her personal life.

Now she couldn’t help but wonder what she’d missed. When Shelby had rested her head against her shoulder, she’d been struck by a flash of tenderness for the motherless girl. Never before had she been so tempted to gather a child into her arms for a big hug.

At the end of her shift, Jillian stepped from the trailer to find Alec and Shelby walking toward her. Alec’s gaze was warm as he acknowledged her with a nod.

“Are you hungry? We were thinking of having barbequed spare ribs for dinner.”

Pleased they’d thought of her, she nodded. “Sounds good.”

They wandered over to where the food vendors were lined up along the edge of the festival grounds. Eating while talking wasn’t easy, although Shelby didn’t seem to have nearly the same problem as she chatted about their activities in the children’s tent.

After they’d finished their impromptu meal, Alec insisted on walking her to her car. With Shelby right there between them, she understood when he didn’t reach for her hand.

“Goodnight, Shelby.’ She smiled at the tired little girl.

“Goodnight, Dr Jillian.” Shelby gave her a beautiful smile, before yawning and rubbing her eyes.

“And, Alec.” Jillian kept her tone light. “Thanks for dinner.”

“Goodnight, Jillian.” Alec’s gaze met hers directly, and a sizzling awareness flashed between them. The glimpse of desire in his eyes convinced her she wasn’t alone in feeling the attraction. “I may stop in to see you tomorrow.”

Really? For a moment hope flared, until he added, “To get the list.”

“Oh, yes. Of course.” He was referring to the list of staff members she’d promised him. Work-related, not pleasure. Jillian unlocked her car and opened the door. “I’m working day shift tomorrow.”

“Oh.” Was that disappointment clouding his eyes? “Then I won’t see you. I’m working second shift.”

It was tempting to promise to work a double shift, just so she could see him. As Alec and Shelby walked away, Jillian couldn’t hide a keen sense of disappointment.

She’d run into Alec today by chance. But once he had his list, her opportunities for seeing him again would dwindle to almost nothing.

CHAPTER FOUR

JILLIAN headed to the hospital bright and early the next morning, despite her restless night. It was all Alec’s fault, she thought, feeling cranky as she walked in. Reliving those precious moments she’d spent with Alec and his daughter had made it impossible to fall asleep.

At least ignoring her fatigue was easier once she began seeing patients. What she loved most about the ED was the wide variety of illnesses and injuries. She was never bored—how could you be when you never knew what your day would bring?

At just before noon, one of the nurses, Susan Green, gestured her over. “Dr. Davis, you need to look at this patient. He’s suffered a pretty severe second-degree burn on his arm.”

“I’ll be right there.” Jillian quickly washed her hands before walking over to see the patient. She picked his clipboard up off the table to glance at his name and his vital signs. “Mr. Perry, my name is Dr. Davis. What happened? How did you burn yourself?”

“I was stupid,” Mr Perry admitted, grimacing when she lifted an edge of the cold towel that had been placed over the burn to gauge the damage. “I was trying to burn some garbage and as it rained the other day, everything in the fire-pit was wet. So I thought I’d use a little lighter fluid…” He sucked in a breath when she lifted the towel all the way off and the air hit the raw skin. “Stupid. There was a small explosion. I dropped and rolled in the grass, then went to stand in a cold shower.”

“Very smart,” she told him. “Exactly the right treatment for a burn.”

“Smart, yeah.” Mr. Perry, a well-built man in his forties, snorted. “Not smart enough to avoid a dangerous short-cut.”

“Maybe not, but this could be worse,” Jillian admitted. The burned area covered almost the entire expanse of his arm between his elbow and his wrist. “You still have hair follicles, which means you won’t need a skin graft. This burn will be painful, but once the area has healed, it shouldn’t leave a scar.”

“Good.” His smile was wan.

She replaced the cool towel. “I’m going to have one of the nurses wash this up and put a dressing over it. We’ll give you some percocets for the pain. You’ll need someone to drive you home, though, if you take the pain medicine here.”

“I’ll hold off on the pain medicine for now. Otherwise I’ll have to call my ex-wife,” Mr. Perry said with a sigh. “She won’t be happy with me.”

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