Stolen Kiss With The Single Mum / The Nurse's One Night To Forever

“Y’all better get going or you’re going to be late for practice,” she reminded the two of them.

“Let’s go,” Scott said, and he wrapped his arm around her son’s shoulder as they headed for the door.

“Oh, and about that other thing… If you want to talk about it later we can,” Scott said, though from the tight expression on his face she knew he would prefer not to talk about it.

“There’s nothing to talk about. Everything’s good. We’re good, right?” she asked, and held her breath waiting for his answer.

“Yeah, sure. We’re good,” Scott said, and he hurried out the door with her son without looking back at her.

She took in a deep breath as the front door shut. The man was certainly not going to make this easy for her. And it was entirely that kiss’s fault.

CHAPTER THREE

WITHOUT THE BUFFER of Alston between the two of them Lacey and Scott had fallen into an awkward pattern of nods and one-word comments, which were not making their work situation a good one.

She looked over at him now, as he carefully numbed her patient’s arm. While most teenagers would have been looking away or turning pale on seeing the long needle, this kid was totally enthralled by the scene.

Scott reached for the suture she had prepared for him just as she reached for a four-by-four, and their hands touched for a second before they both pulled back as if burnt, the motion sending the tray stand rocking precariously.

Grabbing the stand support, she steadied the tray, then looked over at Scott. “Sorry, I’m a bit clumsy today,” she said, as she tried to cover the new self-consciousness she felt when they were this close.

Scott acknowledged her comment with another of his nods before he reached again for the suture and carefully sewed the cut closed.

“Wow! Mom, are you watching this?” asked Kevin, their patient. “This is sick.”

“No, Kevin. I do not want to watch,” the boy’s mother answered back “And you’re right. Anyone who’d want to watch is sick.”

Lacey looked over to where the woman sat on an old plastic chair that had been pushed into the corner when she had brought the tray stand into the room. The woman, who had been handling her son’s skateboard wreck well enough when they had first arrived, was now pale and diaphoretic.

Lacey felt like kicking herself. If she hadn’t been so absorbed in her own feelings she would have seen this coming sooner.

Leaving the boy’s side, she went over to where the woman was now hunched over with her head down between her legs. Kneeling beside her, Lacey ripped open an alcohol swab package and handed it to her.

“This will help some. I’ll get you a washcloth. Dr. Boudreaux is almost finished,” Lacey said.

The woman looked up and gave her a weak smile. “I’m sorry about this. I’ve never had a problem before,” she said.

“I’ll tell you a secret, but don’t tell any of the other staff members,” Lacey said as she moved closer to the woman. “I can handle the most gory trauma patients that come in here, but if my son gets a cut I have to call Dr. Boudreaux to handle it every time. It’s just different when it’s your kid that’s hurt.”

“Yeah, it is,” the woman said.

Lacey noticed that some of her color was back and she had started to sit up now.

“Okay, I’m finished,” Scott said. “Kevin, you are one tough kid. Maybe you should think about being a surgeon when you grow up.”

“Maybe,” Kevin said. “It would be real cool to be able to sew people up. But I’m more interested in electronics. Especially robots.”

“They are pretty cool. Did you know they’re using them in surgery now?” Scott said. “Someday it might be a robot stitching you up.”

The boy’s eyes grew big and his mother rolled her eyes.

“Let’s not plan on getting any more stitches,” she mother said as she moved from the chair to the exam table.

She thanked Scott, then turned to Lacey when he’d left the room.

“He’s a very nice man,” she said to Lacey, “and good with kids.”

“Yes, he is,” Lacey said.

“And he’s hot, too,” the woman said.

Lacey laughed as Kevin moaned at his mother’s comment, and then excused herself so that she could get the necessary discharge paperwork. As she walked back to the nurses’ station she saw one of the security guards heading her way.

“Hey, Lacey!” Karen called to her. “We need some help.”

“What’s up?” Lacey asked, as she signed on to her computer.

“There’s an elderly man in the lobby who insists his wife works here, but I’ve called all the units and all the offices are closed,” the guard stated.

“He doesn’t know where his wife works?” Lacey asked as she worked to finish up Kevin’s paperwork.

“That’s it—he seems very confused and I don’t know what to do with him,” Karen said. “He can’t give me an address or a phone number so that I can call his family. I’d feel better if you could check him out for me.”

Lacey looked up at the large screen hanging over the station. They were busy, but there were still a few open rooms.

“Take him to Fifteen and I’ll come by as soon as I get this discharge done,” she said.

Lacey finished the discharge, then headed to Room Fifteen. She’d worked with Karen long enough to know she wouldn’t have asked for help unless she had legitimate concerns.

An elderly man with mocha skin and snow-white hair sat in the chair next to where Karen stood. He was dressed in gray striped dress pants and a white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled above his elbows. The fact that he was clean and well-dressed told her that the man was not homeless—or at least hadn’t been homeless for very long.

“Lacey, this is Mr. Myers,” Karen said. “Mr. Myers, this is Lacey. She’s the charge nurse on duty right now.”

The man stood and offered Lacey his hand.

“Can you help me find my Janie?” the man asked after they shook hands.

“I’m not sure, but I’ll try,” Lacey said. “Karen says that your wife works here at the hospital. Do you know what she does here?”

Lacey found it hard to believe that this man’s wife would still be working, if she was near his age, but they did have some older volunteers who worked at the hospital. She watched as the man tried to work through her question. She could see his frustration and understood why Karen had brought him to her.

“I tell you what, let’s work through this another way. If you can give me your first name and your date of birth I can go check our records. Maybe then I can get a phone number, and we can call her and let her know you’re here to see her.”

To her relief the man rattled off his birthdate without any trouble.

“And your first name?”

“Pop,” the man said.

“Pop?” she asked.

“Yes, they call me Pop,” he said.

“I’m going to go see what I can find out. Can you wait here for me? I’ll try not to be long.”

The man agreed, then sat down in the chair. She noticed for the first time the small bouquet of daisies held in the man’s hand. Hoping she’d be able to pull up his information in the hospital data bank, she went back to the nurses’ station.

She caught herself looking over at Scott, where he sat across from her, working on his own computer. She thought about what the woman had said before she’d left and she had to agree. Scott was hot.

He’d let his hair grow out since he’d come home from Afghanistan, and he’d pulled it back today into a stubby ponytail. She’d joked with him last week about him growing out a man bun, pulling it back from his face to show him that he was close to having enough hair to put it up. But that had been before the kiss that had made things awkward between the two of them. Somehow that now seemed too intimate.

She was letting that stupid kiss, that hot and toe-curling kiss, ruin everything. All she wanted was for things to go back to the way they had been before they’d muddled things up.

Using the frustration that filled her, she hammered the keys of her keyboard. Right now she needed to be more concerned with finding information on Mr. Myers than how she was going to work things out between her and Scott.

“What’s wrong?” Scott said from behind her.

Jumping, Lacey swore, and then turned her chair around to face him.

“Excuse me?” she said.

She heard the anger in her voice and stopped. This was not the way to fix things between the two of them.

“I’m sorry. I’m just frustrated,” she said. “I’m trying to find some information so I can call this man’s family, but he can’t tell me his phone number or where he lives. He says his name is Pop, which has to be a nickname. It’s probably what his grandkids call him. Not surprisingly, I can’t find anything under the name Pop Myers.”

“Pop Myers? The Pop Myers?” Scott said, and smiled for the first time that day.

“You know him?” she asked.

“I know of him,” Scott said. “He’s an amazing blues and jazz piano player.”

“That’s great, but what I need right now is a number or an address for where he lives. His wife is probably out looking for him,” Lacey said as she turned back to her computer screen.

“Hold on,” Scott said. “I think I know someone who can help.”

Lacey watched as Scott pulled out his phone and started going through his contacts. This was the Scott she knew. The Scott she was comfortable with. The take-charge-and-make-it-work Scott.

Leaving the mystery of Pop’s family in Scott’s hands, Lacey went to the waiting room to call her next patient to be examined. Peeking into Pop’s room as she ushered an elderly woman who was suffering from shortness of breath down the hall, she saw that he was sound asleep in his chair, his respirations even. And although he looked a bit uncomfortable, she thought it was safe to leave him alone for a little bit longer.

After getting her new patient a stat breathing treatment and ordering the needed lab work, she decided she’d better check on Pop to make sure he didn’t need anything. She wasn’t surprised to find Scott in his room. Pop was awake now, and showed none of the signs of fatigue and confusion she had seen earlier. Moving into the room, she noticed a younger man standing by.

“I don’t understand, Pop—why did you leave the house without calling me? I could have brought you to the hospital if you weren’t feeling good,” the young man said, and then turned toward her and Scott. “Is he okay? He has some problems with his heart, but the doctor said all his tests were good at his last visit.”

“Hi, I’m Lacey,” she said. “Are you related to Mr. Myers?”

“This is his son, Jack,” Scott said. “He lives with his father.”

Lacey was impressed with how fast Scott had been able to locate Pop’s family—but then he was Scott. The man had a ridiculous amount of contacts in the city. If Scott didn’t know someone who could help someone, he knew someone who knew someone who could. It was why his local veterans’ program was doing so well. He had the will and the contacts needed to make a success of it.

“Jack, your father came here to see your mother. He says she works here, but we haven’t been able to find anyone by her name.”

Jack winced as if she had struck him. She watched as he took in a deep breath, then bent down in front of his father.

“Daddy, Momma passed last year. We went by the cemetery last Sunday after church—remember?”

The pain in the room was almost palpable. She knew first-hand that while grief would fade it never disappeared, and she could see the moment Pop comprehended what his son had said. The heartbreak in this elderly man’s eyes touched her so much that she found herself wiping away the tears that had gathered unexpectedly in her own eyes.

As the son hugged his father he looked up at her and Scott with searching eyes. And when Pop had calmed down, Jack asked to speak with Scott. The two of them walked out, leaving her and Pop alone in the room.

What could she say that would help him? While she knew now that the man had lost his wife several months ago, to someone with the memory problems he was having it had to feel just like it had when he had first been told of his wife’s death. She couldn’t imagine having to live through hearing about Ben’s death over and over. She had to say more than the sometimes scripted-sounding I’m sorry for your loss.

Kneeling down by the man, as his son had done earlier, she took his hands into hers. “Mr. Myers, I didn’t know your wife, but I’d like to hear about her if you feel like talking,” she said.

Talking about Ben with Scott and with her counselor had helped her deal with her loss. Maybe it would help this man too.

After a moment, with a faint smile on his lips, he began to tell her all about his Janie and the life they had built together.

Scott watched as Jack Myers escorted his father out of the ER. He’d had a long talk with the younger Mr. Myers and had recommended a local doctor who worked with dementia patients. While his father had not officially been diagnosed with the disease, Jack had known for a while that his father was having short-term memory problems. But, as most children were apt to do, he had been blaming his father’s behavior on his age.

“Were you able to help Mr. Myers’s son?” Lacey asked as she came up beside him.

“I gave him the name of a doctor to follow up with. And there are some medications that can help his father at this stage. He apparently started deteriorating after his wife’s death. He cut himself off from his friends soon after that. He hasn’t even been playing the piano since her death, which is something that has really surprised his son. Pop’s been playing since he was a young kid.”

“He’s suffering from depression as well as the dementia,” Lacey said.

Scott wasn’t surprised that Lacey had picked up on that fact. She’d suffered from depression herself after Ben’s death, and had cut herself off from her friends and family before he had made it back to the States and forced his way back into her life.

And now the two of them were back at square one in their relationship. Even so, as hard as it was for him to admit, while part of him wanted to forget the kiss between the two of them had ever happened, there was another part of him that couldn’t forget the pleasure of holding Lacey in his arms. It wasn’t something he was proud of, but it was something he needed to face if he was going to be able to set things straight between the two of them.

“It’s almost as if it’s better for his mind when he forgets that his wife is gone,” Lacey said.

“Yeah, that’s what his son said,” Scott said. “I also put him in contact with a friend of mine, to set up a time for Pop to go play at his club. Jack’s going to bring him around and see if maybe that will lift his dad’s spirits. I think getting him back out in the clubs is just what he needs. They were setting a date when I left them on the phone. You want to come if you’re off? You connected with Pop and I’m sure he’d love to see you again.”

“He might not even recognize me.” She started to walk away from him, then turned back. “Do you really think it’d help if I was there?”

“I do,” he said.

“And he’s really that good?” she asked.

“One of the best,” Scott said, then smiled.

“I’ll let you know,” she said as she walked away.

He knew she had a weakness for elderly gentlemen. She wouldn’t be able to stop herself from wanting to be there to support Pop.

Scott looked around the unit after Lacey had left to deal with the next patient. They’d held a normal conversation for almost five minutes. Maybe they could put the kiss they’d shared behind them. Maybe a night out was what they needed. A night away from everyone, where they could relax back into the relationship that they were both comfortable with.

But as he watched the redhead bend over a computer screen as she helped one of the newer nurses on the unit, he wondered if that was really what he wanted.

Lacey smoothed down her dress as she waited for the doorbell to ring. Nerves skittered down her back as she told herself once more that this was just Scott. She had no reason to be worried about tonight. It wasn’t the first time they’d been out to listen to a live jazz or blues band.

Only this time it felt different—and it wasn’t just the fact that she had taken the time to dress up in her favorite strapless dress and a pair of killer shoes that she knew made her legs look great.

It was entirely that kiss’s fault. But it was totally ridiculous, and she had to stop letting that one small moment in time mess up her life. She’d liked how things were before they’d crossed that line from friends to…to something more. The two of them needed to discuss things between them like adults, instead of letting things continue the way they were now, and tonight, while they were away from the hospital and out of earshot of Alston, would be the perfect time.

The doorbell rang and, as usual, Alston beat a path to get the door.

Standing up to greet Scott, Lacey suddenly felt as if she was waiting for her prom date. Blowing out a breath, she made herself head toward the door after giving the babysitter some last-minute instructions. She knew Alston would try to wait up for her, but he needed to get to bed for school the next day.

She stopped as she rounded the corner and caught site of Scott. Standing there in a simple chambray button-down and dark navy dress pants, the man was a romance novel hero come to life.

There had always been competition between him and Ben, with the two of them arguing about who was the tallest, but height was the only thing the two of them had had in common as far as looks were concerned. Ben had been the dark and dangerous type—something that had pulled her to him—while Scott, with his blond curls and light green-gray eyes, had looked more like a beach bum than a doctor.

“Ready?” Scott asked as he smiled at her. “Alston says he’s got the hottest babysitter on the block tonight.”

She watched as a blush stained her son’s face—one of the many things he had inherited from her when he’d gotten her red hair.

“You’re not supposed to tell my mom things like that. It’s in the man code,” her son said, then ran back to the living room where said babysitter was waiting.

“Sorry, I forgot,” Scott called after him, then looked at her and winked.

“Man code?” she asked. “Why hasn’t someone shared this with me? I might need to see this code before you start teaching it to my son.”

Lacey let herself relax into the laughter they shared on the way to Scott’s car, and to her relief the conversation between them remained on Alston’s soccer schedule and Scott’s work with the next Extreme Warrior challenge.

Arriving at the bar, which was named Jazzy Blues, after both types of music that could be found there, Lacey was surprised to see how many people were out on a week night.

It was easy to see that the bar had seen very little renovation in the last few years, with its scuffed-up wooden floors and whitewashed old wooden planked walls. The bar itself ran the length of the room, and a small corner stage was set into the back of the room. In the middle of the stage sat an old piano, and she saw that Jack and his father had been seated next to it.

Making a path through the crowd, she headed toward the two of them.

“Wow,” she said to Scott as the two of them wound their way through, “I didn’t expect to see so many people here.”

“I suspect the owner, Ronnie, has told a few people that Pop is going to be here tonight,” Scott said.

He had moved closer to her so that she could hear him, which put his mouth dangerously close to her ear and neck. She felt a shiver run through her. Then the movement of the crowd, as someone next to her pushed their way to the bar, pushed her back against him.

His arms came up around her, to steady her, and suddenly her knees felt weak. She paused for a second as another man passed in front of her. The feel of Scott’s body against hers was tantalizing. Then, taking in a breath, she forced down her body’s irritating reaction and made herself continue toward the back of the room.

She had been hoping that tonight they’d be able to slide back into their comfortable friendship, but if she couldn’t get control of herself the evening would be a failure.

Finally reaching the table, they took the two seats beside the Myerses. Pop Myers sat with his hands resting on the table, looking around the room. Would the man even recognize them or should she introduce herself to him again?

“Pop, do you remember Scott and Lacey? We met them at the hospital last week,” Jack said.

His father smiled at her and Scott, then went back to studying the room. She watched as the younger Mr. Myers drummed his fingers against the table, then reached for the empty glass that sat on the table. Putting the glass back down, Jack laughed.

“I don’t know why I’m so nervous,” Jack said.

“Don’t feel bad. I’m nervous too,” Scott said.

He looked from the son to the father. Had he done the right thing, recommending that Jack got his father back into the world of music? He knew he sometimes had a tendency to get carried away with his wanting to help others, but it had seemed such a simple thing to get Pop back out in the music community he had enjoyed for over fifty years.

The last thing he wanted, though, was for Pop or his son to feel pressured by something he had put in place. And it didn’t help that he had brought Lacey there too.

He had thought it would be good to have her there, to give Pop and Jack the support they might need, but he hadn’t known she was going to wear that sexy-as-hell dress tonight. And why did it bother him? He’d seen her in that same dress just a couple months ago, at a local art benefit, and it hadn’t affected him the way it did tonight. He’d planned for the two of them to share a nice night out as friends, listening to some live music as they had dozens of times before. He needed to be thinking “friend” thoughts, not “boyfriend” thoughts.

“We never had this kind of crowd back when I played here,” Pop said, startling all of them.

“You’ve played at Jazzy Blues before?” Scott asked.

They all waited while Pop seemed to be considering this.

“No, not Jazzy Blues… It was Norma’s then, but it looks the same,” Pop said. “But Norma never had this crowd. There must be someone special here tonight.”

Scott wondered if they should tell him that he was the special person everyone had come to hear. Probably not, since that might be something that could upset the man. They didn’t know for sure if he would want to play for them. Scott was only hoping he was right in assuming that since music had been such a big part of the man’s life he would still be able to.

Scott recognized the owner, Ronnie, as he walked up onto the stage and a small trio, made up of a guitar player, a drummer and a sax player, followed him. Scott felt as nervous as he had once when he’d been staring down from the edge of one of Alaska’s tallest mountains. He’d asked Ronnie not to make a big deal of Pop being there tonight, but apparently what he thought was a big deal wasn’t to Ronnie.

Taking the mike, Ronnie welcomed his audience, and introduced the band members one at a time. “We also have a very special guest here tonight,” Ronnie said, “Please join me and recognize the great Pop Myers!”

Scott watched Pop’s face as Ronnie called his name. The elderly man had turned toward the rest of the audience when they’d started clapping.

“These people came to see me?” Pop asked, but his face was still calm, no sign of the panic Scott had seen when he’d been lost at the hospital. “Well, isn’t that nice of them.”