Nursing The Doctor by Bobby Hutchinson Read Free Book Online Page B

taller, just an inch under six feet. She was slender, striking, with her long brown mane pulled into its characteristic tight knot at the nape of her neck, and her deep blue eyes filled with welcome behind funky round glasses.
    “You look great, Lily. Time off agrees with you. I love that skirt.”
    “Thanks, it’s new. I got it at that little boutique on Robson.”
    They chatted about clothes. Frannie asked about Zoe, whom she’d met, and about Hannah. The only one in Lily’s family Frannie hadn’t met was Kaleb; he’d been at work on the several occasions Frannie had dropped by.
    “How’s Heather doing?” Frannie’s sister was an artist and a single mother. Heather suffered from manic-depressive illness, which had caused her enormous problems in the past.
    “She seems really well. I think she’s staying on her medication, and Taylor’s happy in his day care.” Just as Lily doted on Zoe, Frannie adored her three-year-old nephew, Taylor. Being doting aunts was a bond the two women shared, among many others. They’d met at the hospital and become good friends over the past months, confiding in each other about their families and their personal lives. Neither of them was dating at the moment, and that, too, was a bond.
    The waiter came and they ordered bowls of the restaurant’s famous chowder. A large basket of sourdough bread arrived, and they each buttered a slice.
    “Isn’t it terrible about Doc Brulotte?” Frannie took a bite of her bread and murmured appreciation as she chewed, missing Lily’s shocked reaction to her words.
    “Dr. Brulotte? What...what happened?” Lily gripped the napkin in her lap with both hands. She was suddenly trembling.
    “I’m sorry, Lily, I forgot you’ve been away all week. Brulotte had an accident skiing last Sunday morning up at Whistler. He and Halsey were on the top of some mountain and he went over a ravine. He was brought in by medi-copter Sunday afternoon. I guess it was a near thing there for a while, he sustained major injuries, a fractured arm, a very bad compound fracture of one leg, broken ribs and internal bleeding. They removed his spleen, and one of the nurses from the OR said he lost a lot of blood. Good thing he’s such a healthy guy or he might not have come through, she told me. Lucky, too, that Doc Halsey was with him. He used the ski poles to splint the fractures and he had a portable radio to call the medi-copter.”
    The waiter arrived with the chowder, but Lily barely noticed. Shock waves reverberated through her system.
    She envisioned Greg Brulotte as she’d last seen him, laughing and teasing her over pizza, his mischievous deep brown eyes crinkling at the comers at some outrageous joke, his athlete’s body tall and muscular, bare arms with their thick mat of dark hair brushing against hers and sending involuntary shivers through her nerve endings.
    “Did...did he sustain damage to the spinal column?”
    “They don’t think so, but nobody’s certain yet.”
    “Have you heard how he’s doing?”
    Frannie shook her head. “Only that they’ve moved him down to orthopedics, so he’s out of intensive care. I heard some of the ER staff are going up to see him tomorrow.”
    “Kaleb’s off tomorrow. I’ll call and see what time they’re going.” Lily could hardly take it in. “I’ve worked with him ever since I started in ER. It’s awful having something like this happen to one of our staff. We’re sort of like family down there.”
    “I know.” Frannie gave Lily a sympathetic look. “It’s probably going to be a while before he’s working again, considering the extent of his injuries.”
    “Greg loves the ER, he’s a natural at it. He thrives on the excitement and the hectic pace.” Lily was hardly aware that she was speaking aloud. She was trying to imagine Greg with the injuries Frannie had described. “He’s not long on patience, so being injured isn’t going to be easy for him.”
    “It’s not easy for anyone.”