Page 6 of Firefighter Midlife Wolf

“Yes, sir. Is he all right?” Hayden was on his feet as he took the doctor’s offered hand.

“For the moment, yes. We’ve got him stabilized with some pain medications, fluids, and oxygen. As I imagine you already know, he has a broken arm and a broken leg. We’ve done some X-rays, and the fracture to the leg is particularly bad. We’ll have to schedule him with an orthopedic surgeon, and it’s going to take quite some time to heal.”

It would keep him off the track team, but that was something he’d just have to live with. “Can I see him?”

“Not yet.” Dr. Anderson had dark chestnut hair and deep green eyes. He looked like the sort of doctor someone would see on a TV soap opera, especially how he swaggered around the ER like he owned the place. Hayden could tell the guy was arrogant, but he could be whatever he wanted if he could fix Jack. He glanced around and then tipped his head. “Come with me a minute, will you?”

Hayden followed him, but the lead ball in his stomach was starting to make it hard to walk. How bad could this be if Dr. Anderson wanted to talk to him privately, away from the nurses?

They stepped into a small office, and Dr. Anderson shut the door behind them. He gave Hayden a level gaze. “Your son…he’s not like us, is he?”

Suddenly, Hayden realized what he’d been too busy to sense before. Dr. Anderson was a shifter. Hayden’s wolf recognized it in him now that he had the chance. “No, he’s not,” he admitted. “His mother is human, and I’m afraid he takes after her.”

Dr. Anderson’s lips tightened, and he nodded. “I thought that was the case, but I wanted to confirm it. I couldn’t sense anything in him, but sometimes that’s repressed when the patient is under certain conditions.”

The pain of that statement stabbed through Hayden’s heart. “Is he that bad?”

“The arm and the leg will heal,” Dr. Anderson quickly reassured him. “The bigger concern is that he has two broken ribs, as well. That’s caused some internal bleeding. They’re prepping the OR for him right now, and he’s going to go in as soon as possible. We’ve got some great surgeons on the team, but the operation itself will probably take a while. I was hoping he might have a little boost to his system, if you will, that would help him along the way.”

That was one way to refer to shifter powers, and Hayden understood and appreciated why Dr. Anderson was being so careful about it. He just wished it applied to Jack. “What’s the prognosis after the surgery?”

“Don’t forget that this will be two separate surgeries due to the severity of the fracture in his leg,” Dr. Anderson reminded him. “I do believe that he’s going to fully recover, but it’s going to be a long road for him. We try to send our patients home as soon as possible because they recover better when they’re comfortable and in familiar places. He’ll need physical therapy, though, and probably a visiting nurse.”

“Whatever it takes.” Hayden had decent insurance, but he’d make it happen even if these things weren’t covered.

Dawn stepped up when the two men came out of the office. “Dr. Anderson, they’re taking Jack Westbrook to surgery right now. I’ll take Hayden to the waiting area.”

“Thank you. You might want to go ahead and give him some information from the visiting nurses’ agency. Also, give physical therapy a heads-up that they’ll need to see the patient as soon as possible post-surgery. Hayden, let me know if there’s anything I can do.” Dr. Anderson rushed off to help the next patient.

“He can be a bit of a dick sometimes, but he knows his job like no one else,” Dawn said quietly as she guided Hayden down a long hall. “It sounds like Jack is going to be just fine.”

Someone had painted a bright and happy mural that was supposed to make people feel better, but the smell of antiseptic counteracted it pretty well. “I’ve pulled people from burning buildings and wrecks before, but I don’t see them once they’re in the ambulance. I don’t know how you do what you do.”

“It’s instinctive,” she said as one side of her mouth crept up into a half-smile. “I can’t think of any other way to live. I’m sure it’s no different for you. Most people wouldn’t put their life on the line the way you do.”

“I guess not.” Hayden didn’t even think about that part of his job. He just did it.

“We’re going to do everything we can for Jack here, and the rest will happen at home. I’ve got a great friend who’s a visiting nurse, and I’ll make sure she’s the one who takes Jack’s case, okay?” She brought him into a waiting area and, once again, practically pushed him into a chair. “I’ll be back with some information for you.”

“Thanks.” Hayden had nothing to do but watch the clock.

4

Jessica pulled up to her next patient’s house. She’d been on the job for a week now, and things were finally starting to get better. She’d had much better luck locating all her patients, and it felt much less awkward to show up at strangers' homes. A few patients had even shown genuine appreciation, which helped her more than they could possibly know. She could do this, and she didn’t have the stress of the ER.

Gulping down the last of her afternoon coffee, Jessica grabbed her tablet to review the next patient’s chart. She’d only glanced over it before and wanted to ensure she didn’t miss anything. Jack Westbrook. Poor kid was only sixteen years old, just three years older than her daughter. He’d had a rough go of it at first, but a couple of surgeries had him out of the hospital and recovering at home.

She spotted Brandon’s name on the discharge paperwork from the emergency room. Lovely. The zing of irritation that shot through her wolf reminded her exactly why her new office was behind the wheel of her car. At least this Jack kid was in very good hands. The patients didn’t know that the widely recognized and well-spoken Dr. Anderson was spending his free time flirting with nurses and other support staff. They had no clue just how condescending he could be when he felt he had to explain himself to someone. They saw only a competent doctor who knew his stuff and could help them. Brandon’s best self was reserved for the patients, and everyone else got the short end of the stick, Jessica included.

Well, none of that mattered anymore. Jessica got out of the car and fetched her bag. It was sad to know this young guy had been in such a serious wreck, but kids sometimes had great outlooks about these sorts of things. This was her last appointment of the day, and it was warm and sunny. It’d be a good note to end on before she headed home. Jessica was smiling by the time she stepped up onto the covered porch and rang the doorbell.

A moment later, the door swung open to reveal a tall man in a gray t-shirt and jeans, a bright red oven mitt covering his right hand. His dark hair was cut short, and his deep blue eyes stared straight through her.

Jessica opened her mouth. She knew she should be saying something right now, her name, who she was with, and why she was there, but it was a jumbled mess in her mind as she gawked at him. He looked different when he wasn’t in uniform, but this was the firefighter she’d seen at Verna Muldoon’s house. Even if her eyes were playing tricks on her, with the different clothes and a different house, her wolf told her everything she needed to know. In fact, it was doing a backflip out of her body and springing down the porch stairs like a Slinkie. She fidgeted with the handle of her medical bag as she tried to pull herself together. Jessica could usually rely on her spiel, but it seemed wrong at the moment.

A smile spread across Hayden’s face. He leaned against the door, realized he still had the oven mitt on his hand, and quickly jerked it off. “Jessica, right? From Verna’s place?”

Thank God he remembered her, or this would’ve been even more awkward than it already was. “Yeah. I’m Jack’s visiting nurse.”

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