Touch And Go - Aiden Bates Page 0,15

the heel of my hand against my breastbone.

“Are you all right? Chest pain?” He moved closer and his voice softened so much I felt bad for being a shit.

“It’s all good, Dr. Dish.”

Oh, shit. Did I just say that? I clamped my mouth shut, and giggled when his jaw fell open, and he looked way less put together and intimidating.

“Uh…”

I kept laughing, and the pain in my chest relaxed.

When I finally calmed, he blew out a quiet breath and pointed those big blue eyes at me again. “Look. I have a lot of experience helping people, and not just in the hospital. I can’t shake the feeling you might need a hand.” Help people? Of course he would be some crusading hero. Probably had a cape at home. Maybe some tights. Oh, wow. That was a visual I couldn’t—maybe didn’t want to—shake.

I cleared my throat. “I appreciate it. And maybe you’re right, I might need some kind of help, but there’s really nothing you can do right now.”

“You sure?” God, all this care and concern was killing me. Making me weak enough to want whatever help he could give.

“Yeah.”

“If not right now, then…” He shoved his hand into his pants pocket and scuffed his knee against mine as he adjusted to gain access to his wallet. I caught a flash of the perfectly organized credit cards and thick wad of bills in there before I looked away. He cleared his throat, and when I looked back, he held out a business card.

“I got the pamphlets already—” Self-help, group help, one-on-one help. Yeah. I had the pamphlets.

“It’s my card. My personal details are on there. If you ever need any help—”

“I won’t.” But my hand moved by itself to take the card. My fingers grazed his, and a shock of energy moved up my arm when we touched.

“Keep it. In case you need it.”

I shook my head as I looked at the raised letters of his name. Dr. Derek Carlisle, PhD. There was no denying Dr. Dish was my type. Older, good-looking, kind, had his shit together. But what was I going to do? Ask him out on a date?

My life was in the shitter, and the last thing I needed was a complicated, but probably oh-so-steamy affair with Dr. Dish. I cleared my throat, gave him a single nod, and hauled myself up off the bench. I had to make tracks. The sun was setting and heading home wasn’t going to get any less scary in the dark.

5

Derek

The only way to stop myself from calling Seb back was to bite my tongue. I was glad to see the social worker I’d contacted had dropped off some clothes for him, an oversized button-down with a faded pastel pattern that made him look like a skater from the ‘90s. Not that he would remember the ‘90s…I took a deep breath and shook my head. I needed to move on. Not only was he a kid, but he clearly didn’t want my help. Time to let it go.

But halfway into the hospital doors, I found myself reaching for my phone. Eli had given me a ride to work, and I’d have bet anything that he was still sitting in his truck in the parking lot where I left him, playing games.

He answered with a grunt.

“Hey, are you busy?”

“I mean, yeah. This new Tetris is killer—”

I didn’t particularly have time to stand around and listen to how easily he could spin his colored blocks. I had work to do, lives to save, traumas to heal. “I need a favor.”

I could practically hear him sitting up to attention. “Anything.”

“There’s a kid, twenties, plaid shirt, heading out of the parking lot right now. I’ve got a really bad feeling. Can you tail him for me?” With every word, the feeling dug deeper into the lining of my stomach. He was in trouble.

“Is this the same kid with the wrist and the river you were telling me about?” Thank God he paid attention. Plus, I hadn’t really talked about much else between bites of food and cuddle time with my pillow.

“Yeah.” I braced for today’s savior complex lecture, but all I could hear was the engine turning on.

“I’m on it. I’ll keep you updated.”

I smiled as I made my way through the sliding glass doors of the emergency room. I’d been telling Seb he was a lucky guy, but so was I. I had Eli and my other brothers at my back, I could deal with anything