Page 6 of Saving Luke

After going over the rules and all the fun stuff, Noah and Lexi each walk around with a basket for the guys to pull names from. When it's Luke's turn, he hesitates and looks at me, so I give him a nod of encouragement, and he picks his name.

"Who did you get?" I ask.

"Alex," he says.

"Oh, he's a nice kid, and I stress kid. He was hurt on his first deployment out of boot camp. His family doesn't live nearbybut will be here for Christmas. So, do you need me to take you Christmas shopping?" I ask him.

I know I shouldn't. Not because I can't take him shopping, because I can. He’s one of the few permitted to leave the grounds with supervision. I shouldn’t take him because it might feel too much like a date, or at least to me. With all the confusing feelings, I should put some space between us.

But I know I can't back out when his eyes go big and full of hope and excitement.

"I can go out in town?" He asks, like a kid asking if he can open his Christmas gifts early.

"Yes, with supervision, and as your nurse, I'm on the approved list," I tell him. "On my next day off, I’ll come to get you, and you can help me do some of my shopping, too."

"What about your other patients?" His excitement seems to dampen a bit.

"Well, they will be ordering online because they either don't want to go or aren't approved to leave the grounds," I tell him.

He nods, and the excitement is back.

"Okay, but be warned. It will be all things Christmas. We will even get our picture taken with Santa," I tell him.

"Fine," he grumbles.

"And we’ll get Christmas cookies and hot chocolate at the food court."

"I like cookies," he shrugs.

"I’ll play Christmas music there and back."

"I doubt you can be more annoying with them than my sister," he says.

I smile, "Challenge accepted. Now, let’s get you to your physical therapy appointment."

The rest of the day goes by in a blur as I think about all the Christmas things I want to do on our day out.

The nurse in me is also making checklists on what we’ll need and making sure he doesn't overdo it.

Before I leave, I go and find Lexi in her office. I knock on the door before stepping in.

"Hey, I just wanted to give you a heads-up. I'm off the day after tomorrow, and I'm going to take Luke into town to go shopping for his Secret Santa. Since I planned to do my Christmas shopping then, too, it works out," I tell her.

She sits back in her chair and looks at me.

"I think it will do him some good to get out of here for a bit. But remember, he seems to have panic attacks with elevators," she says.

"Yes, his file says the car will be fine with the windows down, and I was thinking of going to that outlet mall with the food court and the carnival in the summer," I tell her.

"I think that's perfect. Make sure to fill out the forms and sign him out. You know the drill. Call me if you need me, but I trust you know what you’re doing."

As I head home, I think Lexi has a lot of trust in me. I hope I don't do something stupid to break that trust.

Luke

Today is the day Brooke is taking me shopping. I shouldn’t be so excited about this, but I am—not just because I get to get out of this place, but because I get to get out of this place with Brooke. I didn't even tell my sister because I know she'd want to take me herself or come along. But I need to do some Christmas shopping for her, too.

My other nurse that works, when Brooke doesn't, is here today, and she helped me get ready. I hated every minute ofher touching me. Maybe, because it wasn't Brooke, or maybe, because it was just another woman, but I can't be sure. It gave me the motivation I need to figure out how to get myself ready on the days Brooke isn't here for me.

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