It Had To Be You (18 page)

After the kidding stopped, Jenn scanned the
room. “Any questions?”

Beck raised his hand. He’d thought about this
off and on since Jenn came to House 7. “Firefighter Beckett Sloan,
ma’am,” he said formally.

“
Yes, Beck. We’re glad to have you in
the department, and thanks for what you did over there.”

He nodded. “I had an idea after you came to
talk to us. There are some kids in Hidden Cove whose soldier
parents were killed in the Middle East and Asia. Is there any
chance we can include them in the junior camp?”

Immediately, Megan spoke up. “That is a
terrific idea, Beck. Why didn’t we think of it before?”

Jenn’s face lit, too. “I agree. Though
that’ll mean more volunteers, depending on how many kids of
soldiers we get.”

“
Maybe some vets from the Outreach
Center will volunteer. They’ve got soft spots for the children of
their brothers who died.”

“
Hmm. Beck, would you check that
out?”

His brows rose in surprise. “Me?”

“
Hey, don’t make a suggestion around
here. You get stuck with following through.” This from a big guy,
who he’d seen at Gabe’s lake condo. Rick Ruscio, he thought, with
some scandal in his background. He was holding hands with a pretty
blonde.

She said, “I’m a volunteer in the hospital
playroom. A lot of nurses and doctors talk about the camp. I bet
they’d volunteer if somebody recruited them.”

“
Faith, honey, didn’t you hear me about
offering a suggestion?”

Ruscio was totally besotted—geez another
couple in Happy Land—but it was Faith’s question that made Beck
moan internally. Jesus, he couldn’t get away from Lela. Would they
ask
her
to volunteer? Maybe she’d take a week at the big
camp instead.

This morning, when they’d woken up together
at dawn, she’d turned over, buried her face in his chest and said,
“We can’t do this, Beck. For a zillion reasons.”

It had killed him to say, “I know.…”

Still they’d lain there together, absorbing
each other, cherishing the closeness that would never come to its
natural conclusion.

Jenn interrupted his thoughts. “I’ll count on
you for that, Faith.” She switched on a PowerPoint presentation.
Now that we have all that to look forward to, let me outline what
Junior Hale’s Haven will look like. Each day we’ll take the kids on
field trips. Day one, we’ll visit the Anderson County Zoo, then go
to a movie. Day two will be at Play Station. They’re closing the
place just for us. For those of you who don’t know what that is,
it’s a huge warehouse-like space filled with attractions like a
rock-climbing wall, a variety of video and carnival games, and an
outdoor area with batting cages and other games. We’ll be there all
day.”

As Jenn continued to outline the movie they’d
see, the amusement park they’d go to and a few other activities,
Beck tried to focus on her. Still, his mind conjured lush, auburn
hair that tickled his nose all night long, curves that tortured his
body and the scent of the woman he cared for way too much.

o0o

“
Jack, your count is too high again.”
Lela spoke quietly to the overweight man sitting on the examining
table, who was having trouble keeping his diabetes under control.
“What have you been eating?”

The kind but very troubled man rolled his
eyes. “The pastries those church folks deliver every Monday
here.”

She arched a brow. “Do you only have one,
like we discussed?”

“
Um…”

She was exasperated this morning, and not
because of guys like Jack. She knew it was because she’d slept with
Beck last night, then he’d walked out of her life again. “Jack, we
set up a nutrition program for you. You have to follow it.” She put
the blood pressure cuff on him and pumped the bulb. “Hmm, this is
high, too. Have you been exercising?”

“
Yeah, I been doing that. Honest Nurse
Lela.” He explained his routine to her.

“
Good. But your pressure is still
borderline. If it goes any higher, we’ll have to send you to the
doctor for pills.”

He nodded vigorously.

When Jack left, she walked to the door with
him and noted that there were no others waiting for her. She’d be
here four hours so some guys were likely to straggle in.

Damn it. She wished they were busier. She
needed something to occupy her brain. To stop thinking about Len
trying to end his life. About Beck and how he’d totally been there
for her, held her all night, made everything seem bearable if only
for a few hours. They’d woken together and stayed very still,
reveling in the feel of being so close.

“
Hey, Lela.” Nick came down the hall to
the clinic entrance.

“
Hey, buddy. I was wondering where you
were.”

He rolled his eyes. “I overslept.”

“
How wonderful. Insomnia’s been a
problem for you. You must be feeling good.” He did look better. His
eyes weren’t brimming with fatigue. “And is that a tan I see? Been
outside?”

“
I went for a picnic on the lake with
Amy yesterday.”

“
Good for you. Was it fun?”

“
Yeah. Then we went to a concert out
there and listened to some great band. It was outside, so there was
no dancing.” Automatically, he glanced down at his foot.

“
Oh, Nick. I’m so glad you did
that.”

“
Takin’ one step at a time, pardon the
pun.”

Lela laughed. She knew as a nurse that
patients who could joke about their condition, no matter how black
the humor was, were making progress.

So she gave Nick a big smile, then led him
inside to stock an assortment of creams and ointments they’d just
gotten in.

About an hour after they’d started, she
heard, “Hey, there.”

Hell. Beck had said,
I’ll try to stay away
from you. I promise.
So why was he here?

When she pivoted around, she saw him standing
in the doorway, dressed in khaki shorts, a brown T-shirt, with
sandals on his feet. He looked…delicious.

“
Sorry to stop by unannounced, but I
came to see Julie and wanted to talk to you, Lela, for a
minute.”

Nick said, “I’ll go get some coffee.”

Beck held up his hand. “Before you do, I
wanted you to know some vets here are going to volunteer at a camp
for kids of slain firefighters and police officers. They’re adding
children of soldiers this summer.”

“
That’s cool,” Nick
commented.

“
I was hoping you’d volunteer,
Nick.”

“
Me?” he said, his tone incredulous. He
even backed up a bit. “I can’t work at a camp. I can barely
walk.”

“
There are a lot of jobs you could
do.”

“
Like what?”

Beck went on to list several. Then he added,
“Or you could be my assistant counselor and come along in a
wheelchair.”

Nick’s face turned beet red. “No way,
Colonel. No fuckin’ way.” He brushed past Beck and out the
door.

Beck raised troubled, green eyes to Lela.
“Did I blow that?”

“
He said he’d never use a wheelchair.
It’s one of his main goals. You couldn’t have known.”

“
Damn it. I should have checked with
you first.”

She shook her head. “No, Nick needs to be
pushed out of his comfort zone. You’ve given him something to mull
over.” She smiled sadly at him. “What did you need to talk to me
about?”

“
The camp is looking for volunteers,
like I said, and somebody suggested drafting nurses and doctors. I
came to tell you I’ll be working Junior Hale’s Haven in
July.”

“
That’s so sweet of you.”

“
I wanted to warn you. If you volunteer
for a camp, you shouldn’t pick that week.”

Her heart plummeted. She just stared at
him.

“
Don’t look at me that way, honey. If
we’re going to stay away from each other, then we have to do better
than we have been.”

“
Of course. You’re right.”

He scowled fiercely. “I hate this.” He hit
the wall with his open palm. “All right, I’m getting out of here
before I say something I regret. Take care.”

“
Yeah, you, too.”

Lela sank down on a stool. Her insides were
churning and her heart ached. She cursed herself, and him, for
getting themselves into this position.

Then, she did what she’d learned to do in the
ugly outposts when soldiers died on her. She turned back to her
work and blanked her mind!

“
Incoming,” the charge nurse called out
and Lela went running from the medicine room. The paramedics
wheeled in a stretcher through the ER door, and Lela reached the
gurney just as Christian did.

“
Four-year-old fell into the river,”
the female medic said. “We found him twenty minutes after he was
last seen.”

Lela took the child’s pulse while Christian
checked his breathing.

“
No pulse.” She glanced at the
woman—Sarah, her name tag read. “You said he was submerged twenty
minutes?” That needed to be clarified.

“
Yes. That’s our best
estimate.”

Lela looked back down at the blue, rigid,
little body. “The water could have been cold enough,” she said to
Christian.

“
I agree. Get him in ER 1.” He glanced
up at the paramedics. “You did cardio resuscitation?”

“
Yes.”

“
Good job.” They were wheeling the boy
away, but he added, “You could have saved his life,
Sarah.”

He and Lela brought the boy into the first
room.

A half hour later, she walked out, drained.
Christian was behind her.

Whipping off his surgical mask, he blew out a
heavy breath and leaned against the wall. For support, she guessed.
“Jesus, that was close.”

“
It’s not over yet.”

“
No, but he’s breathing.” Christian’s
blue eyes were animated. It was a nice sight. “He might be in a
coma for a while.”

“
Still, the family has hope.” She
nodded to two people who looked about fifteen, who were sitting
with Sarah, the medic—obviously the parents. The frightened
expression on their faces hurt to watch. “Go tell them,” she
said.

“
You come, too.” He grasped her elbow.
“It’s not often we bring people back from the dead.”

“
I can’t. I have to make a phone call.
I’m on break”—she glanced at her watch—”as of a half hour
ago.”

Lela made her way to the lounge and found one
inhabitant on the couch. Sophia Ramirez. She held a cup of coffee,
its strong scent permeating the room. “What are you doing down
here?” Lela asked.

“
I came hoping to have coffee with my
friend.”

Lela gave her a sideways look.

“
You’ve been positively bleak since
last week, and even though I know why, I’m worried.”

Too tired to argue, Lela took her phone out
of the pocket of her pink scrubs. “I have to call Josh.” Which
meant talking to Beck again. In the past week since she’d last seen
him, Tommy and her son had spent time together twice. Once, Lela
had taken them to the circus that was in town, and today, Beck had
taken them to a movie in 3D.

Beck answered her call after the third ring.
“Hi, Lee.” His voice was husky but restrained. They’d both been
determined to stay apart this time and had acted accordingly. They
even stayed distanced when they had to talk on the phone. The whole
situation had just gotten too painful.

“
Hi, Beck.” Her voice was full of soft
approval. She couldn’t disguise that. “How are things?”

“
The movie was great. The boys had a
good time.”

“
Did you?”

“
Of course, I find Shrek fascinating.”
He chuckled, the sound masculine, sexy. “From-one-ogre-to-another
kind of thing.”

She giggled and wanted to flirt but didn’t.
“Good. I should be done in an hour.”

“
We’re heading to my house as we
speak.”

“
I’ll swing by and pick up both boys
and drive them to the Allens.” Grandma and Grandpa had asked to
take Josh to Six Flags Amusement Park in the Adirondacks for a
couple of days while Len settled into the rehab they’d finally
convinced him to go into. Josh begged to bring Tommy along. Since
Beck’s son wanted to go, it seemed harmless.

“
You sound cheerful,” he noted. “Good
day at work?”

“
A four-year-old boy fell into the
river and was submerged for twenty minutes. We got him
breathing.”

“
Ah, a save. There’s nothing like it.
Especially a kid.”

Another thing they had in common—he
understood life and death in the same vein as she did. “I have to
go. See you soon.” She clicked off so they didn’t
bond
over
this, too.

“
Come sit.” Sophia rose and poured
another cup of coffee. She brought it to Lela and dropped down
across from her. “Even a save like that didn’t help ease the pain,
Lee. It’s written all over your face.”

Beck had taken to calling her the nickname,
too. “I don’t know what to do about it. We’ve stayed apart as much
as we can this week. Hell, I even skipped the PTSD meeting.”

“
And it’s not better?”

“
You know, it’s worse. Maybe because
Tommy and Josh want to hang out. I wish like hell it could be the
four of us together.”

Sophia was silent. Which was unusual, because
she always had something to say.