Page 19 of Dr. Brandt

“Be there in a sec,” he answered.

“Shit, Cam!”

“Right here.”

“I have Jackson with me, and you don’t have enough room in your car,” I informed him.

“No worries. I called an Uber, and they’ll be here in twenty minutes. That gives Jackson and me enough time to meet so he can make sure he’ll want me to be his doctor.”

“Oh, my God. Thank you,” I said in disbelief, looking around for the man who always seemed to be a step ahead.

“Well, if it isn’t Jackson,” I heard Cameron say over the sounds of car engines and squeaky luggage wheels rattling all around us.

“And if it isn’t the doctor my mom hijacked to come and save my ass,” Jackson answered while shaking Cam’s extended hand.

“Jacks!” I said with irritation. “Language, please.”

Cameron’s grin lit his eyes. “Yes, easy on the language. We don’t want to offend Captain America over here,” he winked at Jackson as he cocked his thumb to point in my direction.

Why do I even bother? I thought, watching my boys as they laughed. Oh, shit. My boys? Maybe I should’ve boarded that flight with my fiancé after all.

“Can we?” I said, interrupting my thoughts.

“We can,” Cameron said. “All right, kid. Give me the rundown. You into sports?”

“I’m an all-star player and MVP for my football team,” Jackson said with his usual confident grin.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Cameron folded his arms and gave Jackson his undivided attention. “Any other sports?”

“Basketball, also MVP,” Jackson proudly proclaimed.

As I watched Jackson give Cameron the details of the life these seizures were stealing fromhim, my heart started to sink, a brutal reminder needed in this precarious situation.

“Nice,” Cameron’s eyes shifted to mine, then to Jackson. “Anything else?”

“Baseball,” Jackson said as if he were now challenging Cam.

“Position?” Cam asked.

“Shortstop. Sometimes, pitcher,” Jackson answered.

“MVP?” Cameron leaned in and playfully asked.

“Yes,” Jackson chuckled sheepishly. “I sound like a complete ass.”

“It’s not bragging if it’s true. And, if you give me the honor of becoming your doctor, I’d gladly work my ass off to get you back into all those games.” He looked at me, “Sorry about that language, Cap.”

“Fix this boy,” I playfully elbowed Jackson, “and you can curse all you want.”

“Hell yeah,” Jackson said, and then I was in a big bear hug with my six-foot-tall son. “Let’s see if we can crack the code on this shit.”

I rolled my eyes at Jackson and Cameron, laughing at my expense. “How about we get you both checked into a hotel? Let’s also try to refrain from cursing before your mom kicks both of our asses.”

“I’ll call the hotel we were in before Warren checked us out without giving Dr. Brandt a chance. Maybe they can extend the room there,” I said, pulling out my phone.

Part of me expected to see a text from Warren—because that’s what a decent person would do in this situation, assuming a decent person would be in this situation at all—but no. So, what the hell ever, and too bad for his ass because I knew I did the right thing for Jackson, and I felt that now, more than ever, this kid would be just fine. My relationship, however, not so much.

“Oh, hell no. My patients aren’t staying in that shithole,” Cameron said after Jackson told him which hotel I was attempting to rebook.

---