Royally Claimed - By Marie Donovan Page 0,52
man on his butt who looked at her like Frank looked at Julia. If he ever had a daughter.
They heard a tapping sound and turned. Her parents’ landlord Senhor de Sousa stood in the doorway. Frank greeted him in Portuguese, asking how he was.
“Fine, fine,” he replied, taking a deep breath as if climbing the stairs had taxed his strength.
Julia gave her neighbor a narrow glance that Frank didn’t understand. Was she angry at the man for stopping by?
But she invited him in and smiled at him, the wariness never leaving her eyes. “A hot day today, isn’t it?”
Senhor de Sousa wiped his brow, which suddenly looked pale and clammy. “Yes, hot.” Then he dropped his English and lapsed into gibberish.
“What? What is he saying?” Julia grabbed the older man and guided him to a chair.
Frank shrugged helplessly. “I have no idea. It’s Portuguese, but a bunch of words that don’t make sense.”
She groaned. “Darn it, I thought he didn’t look good when he came in.” She held on to his arm. “Listen, Frank, call the ambulance right now. Tell them he’s having a stroke and they need to call ahead to the hospital. It’s a good hospital, right?”
“Excellent care,” he assured her and ran for the phone. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Julia talking slowly and carefully to her neighbor. She was doing some kind of neurological exam, moving her finger side to side and up and down in front of his eyes. She smiled at him and encouraged him to do the same, but even from across the room, Frank could tell that one side of his face was severely drooping. The older man could raise one arm, but not the other.
Frank finished giving instructions to the ambulance and hung up. “They should be here in just a few minutes. We’re fairly close to the fire station.”
“Come over here and help me steady him so he doesn’t fall out of the chair.” Julia had her hands on Senhor de Sousa’s shoulders, part for support and part to soothe him.
Frank reassured the man in Portuguese and although it seemed like forever, the emergency crews arrived. Julia told them what had happened, using Frank as a translator. He didn’t understand half of it, but the paramedics did, and they bundled her neighbor off to the hospital.
“We should go too, Frank.” Julia put her hand on his arm. “I have his daughter’s phone number. You call her and tell her we’ll meet her there.”
“Okay.” He called while Julia locked up the apartment and soon found himself back on the motorcycle again riding toward the island hospital, Julia behind him. Not what he had in mind for a romantic outing, but seeing her in action was impressive. If she hadn’t had her nurse’s training and education, if she hadn’t recognized the signs of Senhor de Sousa’s illness, he could have easily gotten worse, perhaps to the point of death.
Julia was a wonder, not just in her relationship with him, but in her chosen career, as well. Would she ever consider giving up the excitement and satisfaction of saving lives at the big city emergency room to stay with him? The Santas Aguas estate was usually pretty tame, aside from occasional cuts and broken bones that came with farm machinery and big animals. Thankfully there hadn’t been a serious accident in several years, but he couldn’t picture Julia hanging around the small infirmary waiting for a fieldhand with a barbed wire scratch to wander in.
And he wasn’t sure if she’d enjoy the formal duties that came with his life back in Portugal. His mother had mentioned spending less time with her charitable events and obligations and spending more time with his nieces and nephews, but somebody from the Duarte family needed to be on the boards of the Santas Aguas women’s club, Friends of the Library and the garden club. Frank sure wasn’t going to offer.
On the other hand, Julia could offer classes in CPR and first aid to the local scouts. Exciting stuff. He sighed and flipped on the turn signal to enter the hospital parking lot.
He spotted the emergency room drive-up lane. So did Julia. She tapped him on the stomach. “Let me off here. I’ll meet you inside.”
Frank pulled over and helped her take off her helmet. She strode into the E.R. without looking back. He’d never seen this focused and driven side of her until she’d diagnosed poor Senhor de Sousa’s stroke. She really