Healing Hearts (New Hope Falls #6) - Kimberly Rae Jordan Page 0,82

his feet, the doctor said, “Where are you practicing these days, Ryker?”

“I’m not.”

Ryker was a doctor? Sophia stared at the man as pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place.

“Uh…sorry about that. I just assumed…” The doctor’s brow furrowed. “I heard about what happened in Syria. Glad you and Lydia were okay.”

“Yeah. Me, too.”

“So what are you doing if you’re not practicing?”

“Working for a friend,” Ryker said without going into more detail.

“You still have the touch, man,” the doctor said, his gaze going to Bryson and then to her before landing back on Ryker. “You always were the best of us when it came to that.”

“This is an exception,” Ryker said with an edge to his voice that Sophia had never heard before.

The doctor didn’t seem put off by it, however. “Well, if you do set up a practice, let me know. I’d love to be able to refer patients to you.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Doctor Barkman,” a nurse said as she came into the room. “They have some questions about the test you’ve ordered for Bryson.”

The doctor clapped Ryker on the shoulder. “Take care and keep in touch.”

Ryker nodded and stood watching as the doctor and the nurse left the room, then he turned his attention to Bryson. “Did they explain what all this is?” he asked as he gestured to the equipment now surrounding Bryson.

“Sort of,” Sophia said, though she wouldn’t remember most of what they said.

Ryker nodded. “Okay. The most important thing you need to know about at the moment is this.” He moved to the IV stand. “This is dispensing fluid to keep Bryson hydrated as well as an antibiotic to begin the fight against the bacteria that’s making him sick. Once they get the results back from the lumbar puncture, they’ll probably change to an antibiotic that is more specific to the bacteria.”

“Thank you for explaining all this to me,” she said, then paused, biting her lip for a moment. “Did him not being vaccinated cause this?”

“He’s not vaccinated?” Ryker asked, his brows drawing together.

“No.” Admitting that to him was harder than it had been to the doctors. “Could it have caused this?”

Ryker seemed to be considering his words. “Though some vaccines can help to prevent certain types of meningitis, it still isn’t a one hundred percent guarantee. There’s no way to know for sure how Bryson came down with it. I think it was just an unfortunate series of events, and likely not something you could have prevented.”

Though she knew that Ryker was trying to reassure her, it didn’t stop her from still feeling responsible. Sophia bent her head, pressing the heels of her hands into her eyes.

She tried to keep the tears at bay, but her fear for Bryson and now feeling like his sickness was her fault was almost too much. Her bad decision making had already impacted him so greatly, and it was too much to bear that now his life was at risk because of what she’d done or not done.

“Hey.” Ryker’s voice was soft as his hand settled gently on her back.

She wanted to lean into his strength, but she couldn’t. It was her fault that they were there, and she owed it to Bryson to be strong for him.

“Hey,” Ryker said again. “I know there are no guarantees in life, but Bryson is in good hands here. He’ll receive the best care possible.”

Sophia lowered her hands to her lap, clenching them into fists. Looking at Bryson through watery eyes, she nodded, not confident that her voice would work.

“Why isn’t he waking up?” she asked after swallowing a couple of times.

“That’s mainly because of the dehydration and the fever. But it’s not necessarily a bad thing. His body is fighting against the bacteria. Once the IV starts to deal with his dehydration and his fever begins to drop, he’ll be more alert, but it might take a couple of days.”

Sophia hoped that Ryker was right. She just couldn’t let herself consider any other option.

Ryker moved a chair over next to hers, then sat down in it. They sat in silence for a few minutes, and Sophia leaned forward to take Bryson’s non-IV hand. In direct contrast to the heat she’d felt on his forehead, his hands were cold.

She began to gently rub his fingers, trying to get them warm again, unnerved by how cold and lifeless they felt. “Why is his hand so cold?”

“That’s not uncommon when a fever is present. Particularly in a child,” Ryker explained. “The