Healing Hearts (New Hope Falls #6) - Kimberly Rae Jordan Page 0,93
needed to put some distance between them before she completely broke her own heart.
As she sank down into the chair beside Bryson’s bed, taking his small hand in hers, she wished more than anything that they were home. She missed their little house. She missed Bryson running into the kitchen as she cooked, chattering on about one thing or another. She missed seeing him move around with energy and life.
But she knew that beyond all that, she needed to just be thankful that God had heard the prayers she’d cried, asking Him to spare Bryson’s life. Everything else from this point on was gravy—the icing on the cake. The doctors had said Bryson might have some lasting effects from this battle, but as long as she still had him, she’d deal with everything else.
And when Ryker came back, she’d do her best to encourage him to go back to his daily routine and stop spending so many hours at the hospital. A place she wasn’t altogether sure he really wanted to be, despite his profession. Because if he still wanted to be involved in medicine, wouldn’t he still be practicing?
They needed to get back to the schedule they’d fallen into before Bryson had gotten sick. He should only visit once a week like a friend, not be there every day like he was more than a friend. It would be the best for her and for him.
~*~
Ryker headed to the family room, hoping that it was empty so that he could call his mom back without having to leave the hospital. When he found it, it wasn’t empty, but there were only a couple of people there who didn’t even look up from their phones as he walked into the room.
Choosing a seat on the opposite side of the room, Ryker sank down on it and leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his thighs. As he stared down at his phone, he tried to formulate responses in advance to the questions his mom was sure to have.
Given how well known his family was in the medical world in Seattle, he’d been naïve to think that word wouldn’t get back to at least one of them that he was spending time in his old stomping grounds. And depending on who word got back to, it would quickly spread to the rest of the family.
Since it was his mom calling, he could assume that it hadn’t been Silas who had heard. His older brother would have called him directly to find out what was going on.
No, this had Callie’s grubby hands all over it. She had friends everywhere, so likely someone had called her to gossip about him. And she wouldn’t have called him to demand answers since she knew he would just clam up. Nope, she would have put a bug in their mom’s ear, knowing Ryker wouldn’t be able to resist her questioning.
With a sigh, he fished his Bluetooth earpiece out of his pocket and put it in place. Once it was connected, he placed the call to his mom.
“Ryker James Bennett,” she said when she answered the phone. “Why are you hanging up on me?”
“I didn’t hang up on you, Mom.” Ryker ran a hand through his hair. “I told you I’d call you back, and here I am, calling you back.”
“Why did you have to go?” she demanded. “Did I hear a child crying?”
Ryker wondered if he should just go ahead and blurt it all out or let her drag it out with a game of twenty questions.
“Yes. You heard a child crying.”
There was a pause, then a sigh before she said, “And whose child was crying?
And…a game of twenty questions it was going to be. “A friend’s son.”
“Ryker.” Her voice held a warning.
“Fine. Tell me what you know, and I’ll fill in the gaps.”
“What makes you think I know anything?”
“Because you rarely call me in the afternoon.”
“Rarely, but not never.”
“What did Callie tell you?”
His mom sighed. “She said that someone had seen you at PNWC. In the PICU.”
“Guess she has a spy here.”
“A spy?” his mom scoffed. “They’re called friends, Ryker. Might be smart of you to get a few for yourself.”
“I have friends, Mom.”
“Like the people whose son was crying.”
Ryker leaned back in the chair, crossing his arms. “Yeah. Just like them.”
“So what’s wrong with the child?”
“He’s been diagnosed with bacterial meningitis.”
From the intake of breath he heard in his ear, he knew she understood the seriousness of it. “Is he okay now?”