Handle With Care Read Online Free PDF Page B

managed a small smile. “Thanks.”

    At home, Lauren didn’t mention Shane, but Josh brought it up right away.
    “Did you see him, Mom? Did you ask?”
    “Yes, honey. He brought a patient in, and after we took care of her, I had a word with him.”
    “You did? Awesome! You’re the greatest mom in the whole wide world!” Josh jumped up to give her a hug, and accidentally knocked over the enormous Lego building he’d been working on. It must have been an all-day project, with his arm in a sling.
    “Josh, he hasn’t given me an answer yet. He said he had to see if he could clear his schedule.” She bent over to kiss his cheek. “I know how much you want this, and I don’t want you to be disappointed if it doesn’t work out. I could always go with you.”
    “I know. It’s just that everybody else has a dad.”
    She bit her bottom lip, her breath catching. His comment sliced right through her, as it always did. “You have me.” She smiled, blinking back tears. “You’re my whole world, sweetheart.”
    “But I want to be like other kids, Mom. I want to have a dad too.”
    He’d only started asking for a father in the past few months. Around the time she stopped letting him see Gary from the Brothers organization. She wondered if Gary had given him the idea, but it didn’t matter who or why. He was now obsessed with wanting a father. “I’m so sorry, baby.”
    “That’s okay, Mom. We’ll find me a dad—don’t worry.”
    “Oh, hon. You have me and Julie and two sets of grandparents. For now. One day I hope you’ll have a father too.” Unfortunately for all of them, her parents lived in Phoenix, and she and Josh only saw them a few times a year. Her in-laws had moved to the west side of Florida and rarely came to visit. She didn’t have any brothers or sisters, so they weren’t any little cousins running around. They were pretty much on their own.
    “Can it be soon? I want a real dad to do stuff with.”
    “Okay. We’ll put that on my shopping list.”

    The next day Shane delivered a patient to the ER and then checked to see if Lauren was working. He found her standing outside a patient’s bay, making notes on a chart.
    He walked over to her and said in a low voice so he wouldn’t be overheard, “I’ll do it.”
    She jumped in surprise and quickly turned to him. “You mean the ballgame? Friday night?”
    “Yup. I managed to rearrange my schedule.” He glanced at Rick, still talking with another doctor about the patient they’d brought in, to avoid looking at her. “I know what it’s like not to have a father.”
    “You do?”
    She tilted her head to look at him, and he noticed, once again, how pretty she was. Until the accident on the boardwalk, he hadn’t really seen her. How had he missed that sleek, shiny hair, the glow of her skin, the little mole above her lip? Now, he wondered what it would feel like if he ran his tongue over it.
    “Shane, you grew up without a father?”
    He nodded. “He walked out when I was three, and eight years later Mom remarried. So I know how Josh feels.”
    She touched his arm. “This means so much to him. I can’t thank you enough.”
    “No big deal.” He stood close enough that he picked up a scent. She smelled like gardenias. He wondered if it was perfume or shampoo. Then he stepped back, effectively shutting off his senses. Didn’t matter that she was pretty. Didn’t matter that he hadn’t been with a woman since .…
    “It is to me.”
    Her eyes were shining, and she looked all flushed and excited. He gritted his teeth. The last thing he wanted was her damn gratitude. He didn’t know what he wanted, but it wasn’t that. “Well, I’ve got to get going. More lives to save,” he added lightly, poking fun at himself.
    She smiled. “Would you like to meet him at the game or pick him up?”
    “Depends.” He shifted his feet, wishing she would stop looking at him like he was the answer to her prayers. He had no answers, not for himself