And I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing.
Chapter Thirteen
Grace
The consultation appointment for Hayden’s surgery was today and I was a nervous wreck. And I wasn’t really sure why. It was just a consultation appointment for a hip surgery. Probably a replacement would be necessary to regain his full mobility. It wasn’t that big of a deal and Hayden seemed to be in great spirits, so why was my mind flying out of control? The nurse in me was taking over. Fumbling through every hiccup that could go wrong on the table. From fat embolisms that produce fatal heart attacks all the way down to nicked arteries that force him to slowly bleed out over the course of forty-eight hours.
It was all tumbling around in my head as we drove to the hospital.
The car ride was silent, and I was glad it was. I knew Hayden had a lot on his mind, and I had a lot on mine. I white-knuckled the steering wheel as we pulled into the parking lot, my nerves getting the best of me.
“Grace?”
“Yes?” I asked.
Yikes. I’d said that a bit too loudly.
“Are you all right?” Hayden asked.
“I’m fine. Didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.”
“Keep yourself up all night worrying about me?”
I looked over and saw the shit-eating grin on his face and felt my cheeks flush.
“Not necessarily,” I said.
“You’re a terrible liar, Nurse Grace. Now, let’s go figure out what the doctor can do to get me to walk again.”
I rolled my eyes as he unhooked his seatbelt.
I pulled his wheelchair out of the back of my car and set it up. Then I helped him into it before we approached the hospital entryway. He was getting very good at wheeling himself around, especially since his shoulder and his ribs were completely healed. I had problems not staring at his muscles, however. His arms had grown and his veins bulged more and more everyday, and it was hard not to imagine his arms wrapped around me.
I shook my head as the two of us stepped into the elevator.
“I have a feeling I know what the surgeon’s going to suggest,” I said.
“Then enlighten me with that mind of yours,” Hayden said.
“They’ll probably suggest a hip replacement. It’s the easiest solution, but it does come with serious recovery time. If you get the best hip replacement joint, it’ll last you about twenty years. But you’ll have it replaced again at least twice in your lifetime.”
“So this won’t be the only time I go through this,” he said.
“No. I’m afraid it won’t be. But it’ll get you up on your feet within a few weeks, and after two or three months you’ll be walking around unassisted like it never happened,” I said.
“Great,” he said flatly.
I knew he wasn’t happy with my answer, but in my eyes there was no other option. The elevator doors opened and Hayden wheeled himself out, whipping around the corners with the anger that flowed through his veins. I closed my eyes and tried to prepare myself for the surgical consultation. There would be a lot of questions about his care thrown my way and I knew Hayden wouldn’t enjoy all the answers I had to give to the man.
I was hoping things wouldn’t go drastically wrong with this.
Hayden knocked on the door and a gruff voice asked us to come in. He opened the door despite me trying to reach over and do it for him, and he shot me a look before he wheeled in. Great. Hayden was angry. I told him he’d be walking in a few weeks and somehow I was the bad guy.
Wonderful.
“Mr. Lowell, it’s an honor to meet you. I’m Dr. Campbell, and I’ll be the one performing your surgery. And this must be your in-home nurse, Miss… Grace Hunter?”
“That’s me,” I said with a smile.