Page 6 of The Seal's Promise

“Hey, little man, what position do you play?” Dalton asked as he kneeled next to the small child still wearing his dirty baseball uniform.

“I’m third base, but today I was pitching.”

“Oh, that was my favorite position to play.” He used a folded folder to stabilize the arm and wrapped a few pieces of tape around it to hold it in place. “Now let’s see if we can find an empty bay and get a quick X-ray of this before we get you in a cast. I’m sorry to say, but I think you’re going to be out for the rest of the season.”

“That’s okay, I don’t really like baseball. My dad makes me play. I’d rather surf,” the kid said, wiping his tear-stained cheek with his other hand.

“That might be a little difficult, but I think those waterproof covers work pretty well these days on casts.”

“The kids in school are all going to think this is so cool.”

Dalton walked them to an empty bay and had the father help his son up on the bed. Then he checked the kid’s vitals.

“Excuse me, what are you doing?” a raspy voice asked from behind him.

He turned to find Brooke Garcia with her hands on her hips, glaring at him.

“Oh, Dr. Dalton, thanks for helping out tonight, it’s so crazy,” Dr. Tommy said, stepping into the now-crowded bay before handing the dad a clipboard of paperwork. “Sir, if you can complete these we’ll get your son’s X-ray ordered.” Then Dr. Tommy held the curtain for Dalton to step out before closing it behind them.

“Your grandmother said that if she doesn’t get her sandwich soon, she’ll walk over there and make it herself!” Dr. Tommy said with a smirk.

“You can’t just waltz into our ER and practice medicine,” Brooke said.

“I’m a licensed physician, there was no one at the intake desk, and the kid was in pain,” he defended himself, not missing the annoyed squint of her hazel eyes.

“It’s a liability for this hospital to have an uninsured physician see patients. We have a waiting room for a reason.”

“I think you’ll find I’m covered by the Good Samaritan law and my own personal liability policy. All I did was splint his arm and get him to stop focusing on the pain.”

“Don’t do it again.” She pointed at him before stomping off.

“Or take one of the empty attending jobs and you can see as many patients as you like is what she meant,” Dr. Tommy said with a hopeful grin.

He laughed at how eager the young doctor looked. “That’s a nice offer, but I’m just in town on some family business.”

“Well, think about it,” Dr. Tommy said, gesturing around. “All this could be yours too.” The young man’s smile was infectious.

Dalton grabbed the food from the front desk and found his grandmother napping amid all the noise in the ER. It gave him the perfect chance to really see her, and even with all her sass, it was clear she’d gotten older. Fifteen years had aged everyone. He sat quietly and thought about what it would be like to stay in Sandy Point permanently. Wes would probably never let him forget that he’d left just when things got hard. But, worst of all, he didn’t think he could live here without reliving the day his parents’ car crashed, knowing it had been his fault.

He’d never told anyone, but the day his parents died he’d been on the phone with his dad and had just told him he got into the Naval Academy.

CHAPTER FOUR

Brooke

Watch Your Step

“Max, we’re goingto be late for your game,” Brooke yelled down the hall of their small one-hundred-year-old Craftsman home.

“Coming!” She could hear her seven-year-old charging down the hall and trying to take the stairs two at a time, then appearing in his baseball uniform. “Ready.”

She couldn’t help but laugh as she ruffled his soft, light brown, wavy hair he insisted on wearing long on top. Then she kissed his forehead.

“Don’t forget your hat and sunscreen,” he teased as she grabbed her big tote with both already stuffed inside.

“Yes, yes, Mommy is pale and Max has a gorgeous olive complexion. No need to remind me.”

Although Brooke was half Colombian, it didn’t show in either her pale skin or her thick auburn hair. Max on the other hand got his tawny, tanned skin tone, light brown hair, and green eyes from his father’s side. He was shaping up to be a mini clone of his father, who couldn’t be bothered to show up to any of Max’s events or spend any time with him during his random visits to their hometown. In short, her ex-husband was a deadbeat dad. So Brooke played both parts, along with the help of her family.

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