Flirting with Temptation - By Kelley St. John Page 0,98
Paul said. “And there’s a local pharmacy that delivers, less than a mile away. They’ll be here soon. Just make sure someone brings up the meds for Jeff to his condo. I’ll be there. They’re delivering them here.”
“Thank you,” Gert said, then watched Paul leave.
“Rowdy?” Babette asked.
“No, Paul,” she said calmly, pushing Babette’s matted hair away from her face. At Babette’s furrowed brows, she added, “I’ll explain later.”
Chapter 20
Gertrude’s hand instantly tightened around Babette’s cell phone, which she’d borrowed to communicate with Paul throughout the night, as Paul nursed the patient on the fourth floor while she nursed the one here. It’d taken more than one prescription called in, but he’d finally found the perfect combination to not only relieve some of the internal pain from puffing up like a blowfish, but also to allow Babette and Jeff—who was much worse than Babette, according to Paul—to sleep.
Paul and Gert didn’t sleep at all, however, both of them staying up to take care of Jeff and Babette and talking to each other on the phone to help them fight the pull of exhaustion. He didn’t suspect either of their patients to need anything, but Gert didn’t want to risk Babette waking up in pain, and Paul had promised Babette that he’d make sure Jeff wasn’t in any either.
And at some point in the middle of the night, while she and Paul had chatted nonstop like two teens, Paul told her that he loved her.
Now he was saying something similar. Three words, but they weren’t about the two of them. “What did you say?” she asked, wanting to hear it again, for her granddaughter’s sake. She glanced at Babette, still sleeping.
“I said he loves her.”
“How do you know? Did he tell you?”
“Didn’t have to. The guy was hurting more than almost any patient I’ve ever seen, and he hardly acknowledged it. Instead, he kept asking how she was.”
Gert smiled. “She asked about him every time she woke up too. She’s still sleeping, by the way. Is he?”
“Just woke up. He’s a tough one, that boy. Got up and headed to the shower, saying he was going down to check on her. Personally, even with all the medications he took, I didn’t expect him to be out of bed before tomorrow.”
“He is tough, and determined,” Gert said. Good qualities for a grandson-in-law, in her book.
“Jeff?” Babette asked, rolling over and peering up at her grandmother.
“No, this is Paul.”
“Paul,” she repeated, as though trying out the name. Then she nodded slightly. “Dr. Stovall.”
Gert smiled. Naturally, Babette would remember Paul. True, he’d changed a bit since Babette had last seen him, but she would remember Paul and Emily as her grandparents’ best friends. “Yes,” she said. “Dr. Stovall.”
“Good choice,” Babette whispered, and Gert nodded.
“I think so.”
“Me too,” Paul said from the other end, and then he chuckled.
Babette’s condo door rattled as someone knocked sharply against it. “Paul, I think Rose and her friends are back,” Gert said. “I’ll call you when they leave. I’m sure they want to check on Babette.”
“Well, I’ll come down with Jeff, as soon as he’s out of the shower.”
“Okay. I’ll see you then. I may even try to brush her hair before he sees her.”
Babette sat up. “Jeff? He’s at the door?”
“No, I think it’s Rose, but he’ll be down here soon. You may want to clean up a bit, dear, if you can.”
She nodded and then pushed herself to the edge of the bed. “I’ll talk to Rose first. She was so sweet to come over last night, and so worried. Tillie and Hannah too.”
“They’re good friends,” Gert said, glad that Babette had someone here watching over her before she arrived. She’d send them thank-you gifts when all was said and done. The door rattled as the knocking grew more intense, and Gert hurried to open it.
It wasn’t Rose, or Tillie or Hannah. Kitty Carelle stood on the other side, the picture of rich beauty and determination in a pale blue pantsuit that matched her eyes perfectly.
“Oh,” Kitty said. “I thought this was—wait; we’ve met, haven’t we? You’re the Love Doctor’s, I mean Babette Robinson’s, grandmother, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” Gert said, dismayed. She and Paul were trying to get Babette and Jeff to finally admit their feelings today, and this pretty blond woman was going to definitely throw a kink in their plan.
“Is Babette here?”
“Kitty?” Babette questioned, leaning against the doorway to her bedroom.
Kitty’s arched brows climbed beneath her bangs, and her jaw dropped. “Oh, my! What happened?”