Special Delivery (11 page)

Brad turned a little pink.

“Olivia, this is Dr. Hope Love. Hope, this Dr. Olivia Campanelli.”

Ahhh, that’s where I knew her from. Olivia was a renowned cardiologist in Hollywood. She’d just released a well-reviewed diet book aimed at people with cardiovascular disease.

“Nice to meet you, Olivia.”

She merely nodded her head at me. All her attention was focused on Brad.

“You’re looking well. How’s it going at the new job?” She was practically drooling over him.

“Very well. Hope and I were just discussing how her father started the practice.”

“That’s nice.” She gave me a brief look and then turned her attention back to Brad. “I’m sorry I haven’t called lately. With the new book out, I’ve been hitting the talk show circuit. I just got back to town a couple of days ago.” Olivia brushed her hand over his shoulder. “Maybe we can catch up later this week?”

“Sure. That would be great,” Brad replied.

Olivia turned her attention back to me. “Nice to meet you again, Holly. Ya’ll have a nice dinner.”

She gave Brad another lingering kiss and turned away.

“Hope. My name is Hope,” I muttered under my breath.

“Olivia and I go way back,” Brad said. His face was still a little flushed. “We dated briefly in med school, and then we kept in touch when she moved to New York to do her residency. I knew that she’d moved to LA and gave her a call when I decided to accept the job at your practice.”

I guess I know who the friend was that he had dinner with here.

“You don’t have to explain anything to me,” I said, suddenly feeling defensive.

The waiter came by and left the check on the table. I started to grab for it when Brad beat me to it.

“My treat, remember?”

I shrugged my shoulders. Why did I feel so jealous? So what if Olivia was brilliant and supermodel beautiful? Brad and I were just friends and business associates. Why should I care that she wanted to sink her little paws into him?

“Would you like to go for a quick walk on the pier before we leave?”

I suddenly had visions of Brad and Olivia walking on the same pier and his kissing her. I shook my head clear of those thoughts. What the hell was the matter with me? I was acting like a school girl again.

“No thanks. I better get home. Busy week ahead.”

Brad looked a little hurt. “Ok, then. Let’s get you home.”

We drove back to the Hills in silence. When we got to my house, I opened the car door before he had time to shut off the engine. “Thanks again for dinner. It was nice. See you on Monday.”

“Sure. See ya Monday.”

I hopped out of the car and headed inside without looking back. From here forward, no more thoughts about Brad. We were colleagues. That’s all.

The dream was very vivid. I was a bridesmaid at Brad and Olivia’s wedding. Wearing a hideous Pepto-Bismol pink dress, I was walking down the aisle when…my phone thankfully buzzed me out of the stupid dream.

I looked at the clock at the same time I clicked open the phone. Two-thirty in the morning and it was my mother. Not good.

“Hope, I don’t want you to worry,” my mother began but, of course, I was already worried. “Your father wasn’t feeling well, so I took him to the hospital.”

Now I was wide awake. “What’s wrong, Mom?”

“They think your dad had a minor heart attack.”

There was nothing minor about a heart attack. I jumped out of bed and started looking for my clothes. “Where is he now?”

“They took him to Desert Medical. We’re still in the ER, but the doctor is admitting him. They’re just waiting for a room to open.”

“Mom, I’ll be on the road in ten minutes. I’ll call you back from the car. I want to speak to the doctor.”

“Now, your father already said to tell you not to come. He’s going to be fine.”

“Mom, I’m coming. Call you back in just a few.” I hung up the phone before she could argue.

I pulled on a pair of jeans and a shirt and called Brad. “Hey, sorry to wake you.”

“Yeah, it’s okay. What’s up?” He sounded wide awake.

I told him about my father and that I was heading to Palm Springs. “Sorry to do this to you, but I need you to cover for me until I get back.”

I was a little worried about leaving Brad in charge of my practice, but I had a great staff, so I knew my patients would be taken care of.

“Sure. Of course, Hope. That’s what I’m here for. Please call me when you get there. Let me know how Frank is.”

I threw together a bag of clothes and toiletries, not knowing how long I’d be gone, and jotted a quick note to Frederick letting him know what was going on. I was thankful I’d hired him. He’d manage fine while I was gone.

Once I hit the freeway, I called my mom back and told her I’d be there in two hours. The ER doctor gave me an update and said my father was doing well and in good hands. They were just sending him up to a room and would run more tests later in the morning. Despite my father insisting I stay home, I put my foot down firmly on the gas pedal and headed toward Palm Springs.

Traffic was light this early in the morning, and I kept the speedometer at 90mph almost the whole way. Luckily, most highway patrol officers were sympathetic to doctors who got pulled over for speeding, so I kept my hospital badge in my purse just in case. Thankfully I didn’t need it for this trip.

I got to Desert Medical in record time. After parking the car in the hospital garage, I sprinted up to the lobby and into the elevator. My mom had let me know what room my father was in. Even though she’d said repeatedly that he was fine, I still wanted to see for myself.

I showed my badge at the nurse’s station and introduced myself to the RN working there. My father’s room was right across the hall, and my mother must have heard me talking because she came out to greet me.

“Hey, Hope.” I’d never seen my mother look so disheveled and tired. She was normally well put together with perfect makeup and hair. However, now her black slacks and white blouse were winkled, and her normally well-coiffed, short, dark hair was messy. She’d had a long, hard night – and it wasn’t over yet.

My mom is shorter than I, and I leaned down and gave her a hug. “How is he?”

“Sleeping. The nurse gave him a sedative and he finally went to sleep.”

“I’ll go in and check on him.” My mother gave me that look, like she was about to protest. “I won’t wake him, Mom.”

“Okay. I’m going to get a cup of coffee. Be back shortly.”

Quietly, I opened the door and entered the cool, dark room. I had to cover my mouth when I saw my dad lying in the single bed. I’ve never seen him sick a day in his life. My dad is the strong one. Big, solid, and healthy. Now he lay in the bed looking fragile, with an oxygen tube in his nose, wires coming out of his chest, and an IV taped to his right arm. Machines softly hummed and beeped behind his bed. I couldn’t resist smoothing his hair away from his forehead. At sixty-three, my father was still handsome. He slowly opened his eyes at my touch.

“Hope,” he said in a gravelly tone.

“Hi, Dad. I’m here.”

“You…didn’t…have to…come.” My dad slurred his words.

“I know, Dad. But Brad is covering for me. You know you can’t keep me away.”

“Yeah…” His eyes flickered. The sedative must have been a strong dose.

“Dad, I’ll let you get some rest. We’ll be right here.” Before I could get all the words out, he was already out of it again.

Grabbing a blanket from the small closet, I lay down on the couch next to his hospital bed. My own eyes felt heavy.
I’ll just shut them for a moment,
I thought.

“Hope. Wake up.” My mom shook me gently on the shoulder. I opened my eyes and I saw her standing over me. She looked a bit better.

“The doctor will be here shortly. They’re taking your father in for surgery soon.”

“What?” I sat up and looked over at my father, who was asleep.

“I thought they were doing tests this morning.” I glanced up at the clock. It was already ten a.m. Where did the time go?

“Honey, I didn’t want to wake you. They came by at seven and did a cath. It showed a blocked artery. He needs a bypass operation, Hope.” My mom looked worried. “The nurse said Dr. Borago would be in to talk to us.”

I’d heard of Charles Borago and knew that he was a top heart doc in the area, so I felt a little better. I just couldn’t believe that I’d slept right through all that. I guess I was used to sleeping in a hospital.

“Okay. I’m going to get something to drink. Be right back.”

I knew most floors had a snack area for staff, so I went to the nurse’s station to ask. I didn’t want to risk going to the cafeteria and missing the doctor.

I found the snack room, which had a vending machine for soda and coffee. I fished a dollar out of my jeans pocket and fed it to the machine. While waiting for the soda to drop, I heard the door open behind me. I turned around and was surprised to see a familiar face.

“Holly? What are you doing here?” Olivia Campanelli was standing before me in her white doctor’s jacket.

“It’s Hope,” I said to her. I stood up a little straighter. “My dad was admitted last night. He’s having surgery today.”

A look of recognition crossed her face. “Oh. That must be who Charles was talking about. Sorry, I didn’t know it was your dad who was having surgery.”

“What’s going on here? I’m confused. I thought you were based out of Cedars-Sinai?”

“I am. Charles is part of our medical group, Southern California Cardiology Associates. He called me last night to come in and assist with the surgery. Our other partner is out on vacation.”

“So the surgery is set for noon?” Why did I feel like such an idiot while talking to Olivia? She was beautiful, smart and a best-selling author. And she had her sights set on Brad apparently.

She nodded as she reached for the coffee maker. “I’m just waiting for Charles to get here. How’s your father doing?”

“He’s asleep now. I haven’t talked with him since earlier this morning. He was out of it.”

Olivia put her hand on my shoulder. “We’ll take good care of him.”

I grabbed my soda and walked out with her.

“Here’s Charles now.”

A short, bald man walked our way. Olivia made the introductions.

“Nice to meet you, Hope. I’ve heard a lot about you. Your dad and I played golf together a couple of times.”

“Sure. I remember. Let me get my mother so you don’t have to repeat everything.”

I poked my head around the door to my dad’s room and called for my mom.

“The cath showed a ninety-five percent blockage in one of his arteries,” Charles said. “As you know, a bypass is needed to restore normal blood flow to the heart. The surgery will take about three to four hours.”

After the doctor answered a few of my questions, he went to talk to my father.

I felt comfortable with everything that Charles had said about the surgery, but I was still anxious. When one of the OR techs came to prep my father for surgery, I leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Mom and I will be waiting for you when you get out. I love you.”