forego. She didn’t need to know that his nightmares were all too real, though, so real that no drug in the world could possibly make a difference.
Predictably, Stephen’s mood had soured again. Kaylie felt his disappointment at this new setback and sensed his need to be up and moving around. When she suggested that he take a ride in a wheelchair just to get out of the room, however, his horror was almost laughably palpable.
“I’m not getting into any wheelchair!”
“Oh, I do fear that you are,” she said calmly. “How do you expect to get around otherwise?”
He glowered. “The same way as before.”
She shook her head. “You can’t put an ounce of weight on that leg until you get the walking cast, and I think you’ll find that the length of this one changes your center of gravity so that even hopping around on one leg will be very difficult. Trust me on this. You aren’t going farther than a few feet unless it’s in a chair.”
Stephen rolled his eyes. “Great. That’s just great.”
“It won’t be forever,” she pointed out, but he heaved a sigh and looked away.
Searching for some way to lighten his mood again, she made small talk and scrolled through the channels on the TV, none of which elicited more than a grunt of disdain from him. Then inspiration struck. She walked over to the bedside table and picked up the receiver of the telephone there. After checking the note in her pocket, she punched in a number and waited for the call to be picked up on the other end. A male voice answered almost immediately.
“Carter.”
“Hello, Carter. It’s Kaylie Chatam. Just thought I’d let you know that today would be a good time to stop by.”
“Great! We’ve finished our shift, but I think the guys are all still around. I’ll get them together, and we’ll head over to the hospital. What’s the room number?”
“Three-thirty.”
“Give us fifteen minutes.”
“Looking forward to it,” she told him. Aware of Stephen’s glower, she hung up, cocking an eyebrow at him in silent question.
“So now you’re arranging dates on my time?” he demanded.
“What?”
“It’s not enough that my doctors fall all over you? Now you’ve got to set up meetings with your other boyfriends when you should be taking care of me?” He stabbed a finger downward.
Kaylie gaped at him. Was he jealous? She laughed in answer to her own silly question. Jealous? Of little old her? No. The man was spoiled. He wanted her there to wait on him hand and foot. That was all. She parked her hands at her waist.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t I?” He tossed out a hand. “I’m not blind. I saw with my own eyes how they greeted you. Leland especially seems to think he has some claim on you. Isn’t he a little too old for you?”
She couldn’t help rolling her eyes. “Brooks Leland is my older brother Morgan’s best friend, if you must know. He’s like a member of the family, another brother almost.”
“Oh.” Stephen pondered that for a minute, his frown easing, but then the frown deepened again. “What about Philem? And don’t tell me he’s like a member of the family because I saw the way he looked at you.”
Kaylie felt heat blossom in her cheeks. “We’re friends.”
“Baloney. There’s something going on between you and Philem.”
“We’re not dating, if that’s what you’re implying.”
Stephen’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “But he’s asked, hasn’t he?” Suddenly, he grinned. “He asked, and you shot him down. Ha!”
“I didn’t ‘shoot him down,’” she insisted. “My father was very ill,” she added defensively, “and I didn’t feel I could be away from him.”
Stephen’s grin grew. “It’s because Philem’s going bald, isn’t it?”
“It is not! I told you—”
“Yeah, yeah, Daddy was too sick at the time. And what’s your excuse now?”
Kaylie blanched. “And now, we’re friends,” she told Stephen firmly, “not that it’s any of your business.”
The truth was that she and Philem had dated for a while, and she had liked him very well—still did like him—but when he’d kissed her, she’d suddenly found herself wanting to run in the opposite direction. After her father’s heart attack, she’d used his physical condition to allow the relationship to wane. They had remained on friendly terms, but that’s as far as it had gone. And as far as she would allow it to go.
“It is my business if you’re making dates for three-thirty in the afternoon when you should be working for me!” Stephen insisted.
Kaylie went to the door