“Then, yes, it’s an emergency.”
Kimberly stood at the counter, waiting for Daniel to respond to his page. When the phone rang, her stomach jumped.
The nurse answered, explained to Daniel why she’d called. Her eyes cut to Kimberly, her cheeks reddened, and she hung up. “He doesn’t want to talk to you.”
Kimberly’s mouth dropped open.
“He said that if you needed anything related to Cardico for you to have Dr. Jessup paged.”
“Page him.” If Gregory was covering for Daniel, he might be somewhere in the hospital.
“Are you sure?” The nurse didn’t appear to want to page Gregory. “Dr. Travis was upset that I’d bothered him about you.”
About her. The mother of his son and he wouldn’t speak to her.
“I’m sure. Page him.”
Before leaving the hospital, Kimberly stopped by the ICU. Peyton and Cathy Clark sat in the waiting area. Peyton was playing with a handheld video game and barely looked up when she entered the area.
“Kimberly, how nice to see you.” Cathy smiled in recognition. “Have you heard the good news?”
“No.” But she could definitely use some good news.
“Aaron woke up last night and asked for Peyton.”
The boy glanced up at them, but went back to his game.
“That’s wonderful!” Kimberly exclaimed, excited that the family had received good news.
“Apparently he thought Peyton was shot, too. He was so relieved to see him.” Cathy reached over and patted her son’s thigh. “Dr. Travis came by this morning and says Aaron will probably be able to transfer to a regular hospital room tomorrow. Isn’t that wonderful?”
“Wonderful.” Daniel had been there and she’d missed him. “I’m so happy for you.”
One man had regained a bit of his life during the night and another had lost his.
“I came by to say goodbye as I go home this afternoon. I’m glad I did because I got to hear your good news.”
She spoke with Cathy a few more minutes. A nurse came in to announce they could visit with Aaron as he was awake and asking for his wife and son.
Kimberly hugged Cathy goodbye, smiled at Peyton and watched them hurry to room three, where Aaron Clark was awake and waiting.
Kimberly left the hospital, going to search for Daniel so she could tell him one last time what was in her heart.
“Ryan,” Kimberly greeted her son the moment she walked through the security checkpoint, thinking he’d grown a foot during the week she’d been in Boston.
She also thought he looked more like Daniel than ever.
Daniel. She h
ad so much to tell Ryan. Yet she had no idea how she was going to tell him that she’d spent the last week with his father.
That his father knew about him and had decided to shut them out of his life.
At least that’s what she had been left to assume from her conversation with Gregory. Daniel hadn’t responded to any of her attempts to contact him that morning.
She’d convinced Gregory to give her Daniel’s home address and phone number, but he either wasn’t at home or wasn’t answering his door and phone.
She engulfed all six feet one of her son in a hug, then realized he was holding flowers.