Free Nursing The Doctor by Bobby Hutchinson

first night I get off after tonight.”
    “And did she say yes?”
    He grinned at her, a wide, happy grin that wiped away the lines of strain his responsibilities had begun to etch around his eyes and mouth. “As a matter of fact, she did.”
    “I guess this means you might need me to baby-sit. Or is Darcy taking Zoe next week?”
    “I’m not sure. I haven’t heard from her yet. I could get Mrs. Hosko if you’ve got plans of your own.”
    “Plans? You jest, big brother. I’d be thrilled to baby-sit, you know that.”
    Kaleb hadn’t dated much since his marriage broke up, and Lily was grateful to see him excited and happy.
    Sometimes she had troubling visions of herself and Kaleb growing old together in this house, living their lives vicariously through Zoe, becoming more and more eccentric as the years passed. She thought of the strange conversation she’d had with Hannah.
    “You think you’ll ever get married again, Kaleb?”
    Lily often wondered if Kaleb had the same problems with love and trust that she did. He’d at least been courageous enough to marry, even though it hadn’t worked out, whereas she’d been unable to make the leap of faith that marriage represented.
    “Oh, yeah. I’d like more kids, for one thing. What about you, sis?”
    “I don’t think I ever will.” She thought again of what Gram had said. Staying single was less complicated, that was certain. It was also lonely and disheartening at times, but she’d learned to cope.
    Part of the reason she and Frannie were such good friends was because they were alike in that way. Frannie, too, had been wounded and wasn’t about to give her heart easily. Lily had never known her to go out with anyone more than two or three times.
    Glancing at her brother’s happy face, she wondered if she ought to warn him that he could get hurt if he fell for Frannie.
    But they were both adults, she reminded herself. The past didn’t have to dictate the future, did it? And one date did not a wedding make, either. She’d do well to keep her mouth shut.
    “You could just find yourself a lover or two, you wouldn’t have to marry them.” Kaleb’s grin indicated that he was teasing, but Lily had often given the idea serious consideration.
    She’d enjoyed her physical relationship with Richard. She missed having someone hold her in the night. Against her will, her thoughts went to Greg, his body a mass of casts and dressings. His social life, too, was going to be severely limited for an extended time.
    His injuries had been life threatening. Would he ever recover fully? As a nurse, she knew it had a great deal to do with his mental state, how hard he was willing to work at rehabilitation, how determined he was to regain his health.
    She wanted the best for him, she wanted him to make a miraculous recovery. He was fortunate, because he had lots of friends who’d be there to help along the way, and of course the entire medical staff at St. Joe’s turned the place upside down for one of their own.
    She thought of the bond between herself and Kaleb and Gram, and wondered about Greg’s family. He’d told her he’d grown up with his grandparents, that his grandmother was dead and his grandfather had had a stroke. That’s probably why there weren’t relatives around him when she’d been there.
    And as for the women he’d dated, his doctors had probably restricted visitors, she concluded. In another day or so there were bound to be dozens of ladies hovering around his bed, all eager to fulfill his slightest whim.
    She certainly didn’t have to be concerned about any lack of visitors for Greg Brulotte, Lily chided herself. And once again she was spending far too much of her time thinking about him. She had a couple of days of holiday left. She ought to figure out how best to enjoy them.
    Kaleb was on night shift tomorrow, so she’d do something totally frivolous before he left for work, like have a manicure, a pedicure, a facial, some surefire way to make