Surrender My Love Read Online Free PDF Page A

figure. “Who was the nurse with that patient?”
    Dr. Lipson turned and Brad watched his bushy dark brows meet as his face twisted with the effort of recollection. “Ummm…I think her name was something like Clare, or Cherry, or something like that.”
    “ Skinny, with long dark hair? Pretty?” Brad heard himself ask.
    One of Dr. Lipson’s bushy brows jerked up and a slow smile pulled the corner of his lips. “Yes. She was.”
    “Chloe?”
    “That’s it. Why?”
    Brad hoped his shrug was as nonchalant as he’ d intended it to be. “No reason,” he stated, stepping back to allow the doors to slide shut, blocking out the other man’s curious gaze.
    He stood silent for a moment, his thoughts flying in all directions and not sure which one to follow. Cursing beneath his breath, he punched the button to the first floor.
    His VIPs would have to wait.
     
     
    Chloe smiled and lifted the spoon of heaping mashed potatoes to her mother’s pinched lips.
    “One more bite, Mom . Then you can have your ice cream.” She sang the last words sweetly, hoping to entice the stubborn woman in the bed to acquiesce and consume more of her meal. But hazel eyes, the same golden brown as hers, stared defiantly, and Chloe sighed as her mother gave a firm shake of her head.
    Chloe was starting to grow concern ed. Over the past few weeks her mother had lost a good number of pounds, pounds her frail body could not afford to shed. At sixty, she was still a beautiful woman, but shadows lurked in the deep creases of her face and angular lines had replaced the healthy suppleness of once rounded cheeks. Two years ago, Rose Bennett had been in an accident. According to doctors, she was lucky to be alive.
    She’d suffered a traumatic brain injury that left her with the cognitive reasoning of a child. She needed help with every aspect of daily life and required twenty-four hour supervision. Rose had many good days, days when a smile lit her eyes, and she had the exuberance of a happy child, but there were also many bad days, days when Rose screamed and wailed for a husband and life that had been extinguished almost two decades ago. In her mind, the reality of today swirled sadly with a cloudy, unattainable past and there seemed no way to separate the two. Those days broke Chloe’s heart. She was thankful that today was a good day.
    “ Ice cream! Ice cream!” Rose started to chant, and Chloe knew once her mother had her mind fixed on dessert, there was no swaying her otherwise.
    “Okay. ” Chloe waggled a finger at her and smiled widely. “But tomorrow, you must promise to eat all your meals.”
    “Ice cream ! Ice cream! Want ice cream, Chloe!”
    Chloe wasn’t sure her mother had heard her, but found it difficult to remain stern when she saw the light glowing in Rose’s eyes . Ice cream was her favorite dessert. Chloe leaned over and gently wiped the corner of her lips with a napkin, then packed the dinner dishes onto a tray.
    “I’ll be right back.”
    Rose nodded excitedly and Chlo e smiled again, planting a kiss on her forehead. At least she’d be getting some calories. Chloe couldn’t be too upset. She made a mental note to inform the aides who worked with her mother that she could have ice cream whenever she wanted.
    Making her way to th e tiny kitchen, she glanced at the wall clock, expressing a huff of exasperation. Her brother was late again. She had to be at work in three hours and was hoping to go home and get some rest before her shift started. She was exhausted. She’d come here straight from work and hadn’t had a chance to sleep.
    She was in the kitchen scooping ice cream when she heard the door to the apartment open and her brother, Richard, call her name.
    “I’m in here!” she responded, trying to cool her simmering anger.
    “Hey, sis .” Richard’s thin body appeared in the doorway, his face displaying his usual indifference.
    “Don’t ‘Hey, s is’ me!” Chloe glared at her younger brother, taking in