Page 51 of Hush (Fighting Fate)

Taking one more step forward, I caught sight of Mom’s bedside chair, and with it, Dr. Miller. He held my kindle in his hands and he was reading to Mom from where I’d left off.

I stood there watching him for a few minutes, stunned. This wasn’t Dr. Miller, the doctor. This was Dr. Miller, the man. He was so gentle, so kind. This was the kind of man I would choose for my mother as a husband. This was the kind of man she deserved.

“Is this a new service the hospital’s offering?” I said, stepping further into the room.

Dr. Miller’s gaze flew up to meet mine and he blushed. “I’ve actually finished my shift now. I thought I’d read until you got back.” His gaze swung back to Mom’s peaceful face. “She seems to like it.”

I walked over to the opposite side of the bed and looked over Mom’s smooth, relaxed features. “Yeah, she does.”

When I looked back at the doctor, he was watching me with an intense gaze. He looked like he wanted to say something, but didn’t know how. Something inside me actually wanted him to. For the first time ever, I wanted to talk. I wanted to purge myself of all the secrets inside of me.

He sighed and put the kindle on the table. “I better get going.”

I nodded, disappointment prickling under my skin. It was a very strange sensation for me. Different.

“I’m keeping her on the same dose of morphine overnight. I’d prefer her to stay asleep so she heals. You should probably try to get some rest yourself. Try not to stay too late,” he said.

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“I won’t. I promise.”

He inhaled deeply, then with one last glance at my mother, he left.

Settling down on the chair Dr. Miller had vacated, I read the rest of the chapter to Mom, then tidied up her things before deciding to follow doctor’s orders and head home myself.

Traffic was heavy on the way home, but I appreciated the distraction from the never-ending thoughts that had been rampaging through my head since Mom’s hospitalization.

I didn’t know what it was about Dr. Miller. It was strange. In the wake of all the emotions he brought out in me, I felt kind of lost. I wasn’t sure what I should do – either right that minute or with my hellish life. I didn’t know why the good doctor made me question everything, but there just seemed to be an honesty about him that made me want to give that back.

As I turned into our street, I wondered if he could help us. Genuinely help us. As in get us as far away from Ken for the rest of our lives.

That line of thought lasted until I caught sight of Ken’s car in the drive. Shit. He was not what I wanted to deal with at that moment.

Pulling into the drive, I parked beside Ken’s car and climbed out, hoping I’d miss seeing him like I did the day before.

Unfortunately, lady luck had abandoned me. Again.

Ken sat in the lounge on a chair that had been turned so it faced the front door. At his feet was the brown bag from hell.

The door slammed shut behind me as I glared at the bag. “No way!” I said before he could open his mouth.

He shrugged. “I agree it’s bad timing, but unfortunately you can’t stop business for personal tragedies.”

I gawked at him. Personal tragedies?! What the hell? I took a step towards him, my hands clenching into fists. “If you think I’m going to do anything for you after you put my mother in hospital, you’re delusional!”

Ken’s expression didn’t change. He sat there all calm like he’d been expecting exactly that response. He shrugged again. “I wouldn’t say delusional, Kaeli. I’m a realist. I wouldn’t be sitting here with this bag waiting for you if I didn’t already know you’d be going.”

“I’m not going. I only said I’d go in the first place so you’d keep your hands off Mom, and considering she’s now in the freaking hospital, the deal’s off!”

He smirked. “You’d think, wouldn’t you? But I’m afraid that’s not the way it works.”

“Oh, yes it is!”

Slowly, Ken pushed himself to his feet. He cocked his head to the side a little and smirked. “I can’t remember…what was it TJ said after that first time you went? Something about me not sending anyone but you from now on…?”

I felt the blood start to leave my face as his words sunk in. Shit. I knew I had grounds to argue this with Ken, but I hadn’t considered how TJ would react to me pulling out. Would he consider me a threat now that I’d been to his house and seen the things that went down there?

“I could send someone else,” he said, taking a step forward. “Oh, TJ would be pissed at me and probably send one of his guys to let me know just that, but I’m not exactly sure what he’d do to you.” He raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips in contemplation. “He might do nothing – let you go, but I’m thinking he might think you know too much.”

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