Dearly Loved Read online

  “Rosa!”

  Rosa turned her back in a mock huff. “I don’t talk to people who lump my talents in with bad habits.”

  Meredith walked up to her, biting back a grin. “You have my most humble apologies.”

  Rosa turned, eyes twinkling. “Apology accepted. So what’s up?”

  Glancing away for a moment, she felt her face heat up. “Were you around when David Steller was released?”

  Rosa put her hands on her hips. “He was my patient. And in my opinion, he wasn’t ready to go home. He could barely make it to the bathroom with a walker.” She gave Meredith a teasing look. “Is there something up with you two that you want to tell me about? He constantly asked for you.”

  Feeling her blush deepen, Meredith took a breath. “Is he getting any kind of care at home? Or is he on his own?”

  “Unless he has a family member to help him out, he’s on his own. You know the hospital cut back on home health services.”

  She frowned, feeling uneasy. “Thanks.”

  Rosa waggled her fingers. “Just be sure and let me know when the wedding is.”

  She gave her a baleful look and returned to her duties.

  ***

  Meredith struggled through her shift, trying to concentrate on the tasks at hand, as her heart and mind were elsewhere. She paid for her distraction by ignoring the signs one of her patients might be nauseated. When it finally occurred to her to grab an emesis basin, she was too late. Her arms and smock got covered.

  In the bathroom, disrobing down to her tank top, Meredith vigorously scrubbed her arms and hands, determined to pay better attention to patient conditions. Back in the break room, she stared with dismay inside her locker. Her extra smock must be at home in the dirty laundry basket. Erin, hearing of her predicament, found her an old smock in an ugly green color, spotted with greasy-looking stains.

  Disgusted, Meredith yanked it over her tank top, only after sniffing it to make sure it was truly clean. Leave it to Erin to find the most repellent smock in the entire hospital. She clipped on her name badge, adjusted her stethoscope and resumed her duties, all the while calculating how she could check on David.

  ***

  Before leaving the hospital, Meredith looked up David’s address from his medical files. Feeling exhausted and looking bedraggled didn’t stop her from pushing the speed limit to his apartment, situated in the outskirts of Cedar Hill. She didn’t know what she planned to do; only that she had to make sure he was really okay to be on his own.

  Parking in a visitor’s space, she ripped off the ugly smock and tossed it in the back seat of the Saturn. She planned to throw it away so no other poor sap ever had to wear it. Dressed in her sage green tank top and a pair of faded blue jeans, she grabbed a backpack with her stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, digital thermometer, and some other basic medical supplies. David will probably be so out of it, he’ll never notice my appearance anyway.

  The apartments were newer with meticulous landscaping. David’s unit was on the ground floor near the parking lot. Noticing the drapes were closed, she rang the doorbell. She glanced at her watch. Eight thirty A.M. meant he could still be sleeping. After waiting several minutes, she rang the bell again. Then she heard the sound of a phone ringing inside.

  When she didn’t hear him answer the phone, Meredith grew alarmed. He’s either sound asleep or needs help. Without pausing to consider any consequences of her action, she turned the doorknob, relieved to find it unlocked. The door swung open and she went inside.

  “David?” She glanced around the living room, seeing some basic furnishings and a lot of boxes. The bare walls were the ubiquitous off-white color and the carpeting was dark blue. A large soft couch occupied the middle of the room, along with a coffee table, an end table, and two contemporary floor lamps.

  Closing the door behind her, she called his name again. Meredith peeked in a room to her right, seeing it was his bedroom. The blankets of his bed were rumpled and she saw several bottles of medication on his nightstand. Concern made her ignore any proprieties. She went in and checked his bathroom. Where is he?

  Meredith hurried back through the living room and entered the kitchen. “Oh, no!”

  In a pair of shorts and T-shirt, David lay prone on the kitchen floor with a small, fresh gash on his forehead. She rushed to his side, noticing one knee crisscrossed with white scars while the other leg showed the garish signs of his recent injury.

  Meredith crouched beside him and felt for a pulse, breathing a sigh of relief to find it strong and steady. She lifted his shirt and checked his abdominal incision, worried it had been split open from his fall.

  “Who is under my shirt?” David asked in a froggy voice.

  Meredith jerked backward. She tugged his shirt down and gave him a worried smile. “Why are you the floor?”

  David reached for his head. “I must have stood up too fast and passed out. I can’t really remember.” Bringing his hand away, he spied blood on his fingers.

  Meredith caught his hand and lowered it. “You cut your head, on the countertop most likely. I have supplies with me and can get you patched up. First we need to move you to a better location.”

  Groaning, David eased himself to a sitting position. Meredith gave him a moment to catch his breath before slipping an arm around his waist. He grabbed onto the side of the counter and together, they struggled to a standing position.

  She angled her head to look up at him. He’s sure a lot taller than I remembered! “How are you doing? Woozy?”

  David nodded, closed his eyes and reopened them. “I think I’m ready.”

  “Where to?”

  “The bedroom. The couch is too small for me to stretch out on.”

  Meredith felt she was exerting more energy than David. He leaned heavily on her and she worried she might collapse under his weight. They made their way slowly to the bedroom.

  “Where is your walker?”

  David flashed a guilty grin. “In the bedroom, I think.”

  “And you were trying to walk without it because…?”

  “I wanted to see how strong my leg was.” When she gave him a disbelieving look, he rolled his eyes. “C’mon, Merrie, I’m only thirty. I don’t want to use a walker!”

  “Typical male nonsense,” she grumbled as they stopped at the side of his bed. “Okay, let’s get you down slowly...David!”

  David fell onto the bed on his back, taking Meredith down with him. She landed with an ooomph onto his chest.

  Scrambling off his body, breathing hard, she glared at him. “Very funny, Steller!”

  David raised his hands in innocence. “What? It was an accident.”

  Meredith stalked out of the bedroom to retrieve her bag, fuming at his actions. Once a flirt, always a flirt.

  Back in his room, she ignored the appeal in his eyes and went about her tasks in a brisk manner. She cleaned and applied butterfly bandages to the cut on his head, checked his blood pressure, temperature, monitored his pulse, and rechecked his incision. Meredith ignored David’s voice imploring her to slow down because she was making him dizzy.

  “Where do you keep your bedding?”

  “On my bed?”

  “Do you have a linen closet with extra sheets somewhere?” she asked, tapping her foot.

  “I haven’t unpacked them yet.”

  Meredith turned on her heel and went into the living room. She went through one box after another looking for sheets. When she came across his soccer league jersey packed with other sports memorabilia, she paused. Her temper dissipated as she smoothed the folds of the green and white jersey with her hand—number twenty-five of the Colorado Rapids team.

  Meredith heaved an exasperated sigh. Poor David. He’s been through so much. I need to lighten up with him. She looked through another box and soon found sheets and blankets. Back in his room, she prepared to change his sheets.

  “Do I need to get up again?”

  Meredith smiled at the weary look on his face. “Nope.
Just relax.”

  She eased out the sheets from under him and repeated the process in reverse to get clean sheets on the mattress. In minutes, David lay in a fresh bed.

  He raised his eyebrows. “I’m impressed.”

  “Still paying off school loans for that little skill.”

  David’s face softened. “Merrie, I really am sorry for dragging you down with me. I swear it was an accident. I lost my balance and just grabbed onto what was closest. Do you forgive me?”

  She sighed. “Just this once. Now, when was the last time you ate?”

  He pointed to the telephone near his bed. “Got the take-out places that deliver on speed dial. I had cinnamon rolls for breakfast this morning.”

  “You need fresh fruits, veggies, and stuff to help you recover faster. Shame on you, you should know better.”

  “Tell that to your hospital. They fed me worse.”

  A reluctant smile lifted her lips. “That I believe.” She looked around the room. “So, who do have to help you out around here?”

  David shrugged. “Aunt Gloria offered, but she lives a hundred miles away. I couldn’t ask her to do that.”

  “There’s no one else?” Meredith said in disbelief. “What about all those fans KVL keeps going on about?”

  “Why? Jealous?”

  “David…”

  “Seriously, I’m new here in town and have only met the satellite dish installation guy.” He smiled broadly. “Priorities, you know. Gotta have ESPN and ESPN2 along with all the other sports channels.”

  She looked over to where a large television set, stacked with DVD and Blu-ray players on an end table at the foot of the bed.

  “What about a private nurse?”

  “Want the job?”

  Meredith looked at the ceiling. “You weren’t ready to leave the hospital. You shouldn’t be alone like this.”

  “Tell that to my insurance company.”

  “Don’t get me started.” She nibbled on her thumb and thought through her options. “Okay. I’m off for the next four days. I’ll help as much as I can, but you’re going to have to promise to take vitamins, eat properly, and rest. And only walk with your walker!”

  David saluted. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “And be on your best behavior.”

  “Aren’t I always?”

  Meredith raised one eyebrow before exiting his bedroom. In the kitchen, she wasn’t shocked to find nearly bare cupboards and refrigerator. A box of Saltine crackers, a can of chili, and some lunchmeat wouldn’t get him too far. The blue countertops were empty aside from a cell phone, wallet, and small stack of mail.

  She would run to the grocery store and get him stocked up with healthy foods for a start. In his room she’d seen a clothes basket with dirty clothes. She’d wash those along with his bedding at her house, guessing the apartment complex had only shared laundry facilities.

  After making a list, she went back into David’s bedroom and found him fast asleep. She let out a silent sigh. What am I getting myself into? I’m supposed to be avoiding this guy, not tracking him down at home.

  But he needs help.

  Hah. Maybe I’m the one who needs help.

  ***

  Several hours later, with armloads of groceries, Meredith returned to David’s place. She kicked the door by way of knocking and heard him yell that it was open. Once inside, she set everything down on the kitchen counter and went out to her car to retrieve more groceries along with the basket of clean laundry. Bitsy escaped from the car at the first opportunity and raced into the apartment.

  After she’d brought everything in, she checked on David, finding him lounging in his bed, hollering at a soccer game on TV with candy bar wrappers littering the floor next to the bed. Some of her anticipation fizzled out and died.

  David’s smile faltered when he saw where she pointed. He used the remote to reduce the volume of the TV. “I don’t have a waste bucket in here yet. But I’ll throw them away myself.”

  Meredith bent over and scooped up the offending wrappers, wadding them into a ball. “While I’m here I thought I could get some of your more necessary items unpacked. That is, if you don’t mind me going through your things.”

  David’s grinned at her. “Sure. And don’t worry, you won’t find anything incriminating in my stuff.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him, wishing he could be serious for one minute. “I wasn’t worried.” Suddenly, Bitsy rocketed onto the bed and jumped in his lap. “Bitsy, get down!”

  The dog ignored Meredith and looked up at David with a plea in his eyes. David ruffled the fur on its head.

  “Is this that stray dog you were telling me about? He’s cute.”

  “I only brought him with me because I can’t stand to leave him home all day on my day off. He’s alone too much as it is.”

  Bitsy proceeded to perform a series of doggy tricks. David praised and cheered him on while the pup seemed to go on to new heights to impress him.

  David glanced up at Meredith with a smile. “He can stay on my lap. Maybe he’ll eat up all the crumbs in my bed before you find them and give me a lecture about cleanliness.”

  She threw the ball of wrappers at him, hitting him squarely on the nose.

  David batted it away. “Hey! Don’t quit your day job!”

  Seven

  It was evening before Meredith had David’s kitchen unpacked and organized. Many of the boxes had been labeled, so she didn’t have to worry about finding anything incriminating, as David had so aptly put it. He’d been out of her life for a dozen years. How would she know private things might be packed away? A black book? Photos of former girlfriends? She shuddered, glad she hadn’t discovered anything of the sort.

  Along with the kitchen, she also finished unpacking for the bathroom, linen closet, and some of the boxes for his bedroom. She noticed his towels were a trifle threadbare, the same for his sheets. From the scant supplies, it was obvious David hadn’t lived in one place for too long. There were no knick-knacks or decor of any kind to unpack as far as she had found—unless she included the awards, trophies, and soccer memorabilia. There were boxes and boxes of those. She left them packed, not quite knowing what to do with them.

  The grumbling of her stomach reminded her she’d forgotten to eat lunch. Between unpacking and taking care of David and Bitsy, she was exhausted. Now I have to come up with something for dinner. What would David think about delivery pizza? She felt too tired to cook a healthy meal. Besides, pizza was healthier than cinnamon rolls and candy bars.

  The doorbell rang. Bitsy came out of David’s bedroom and barked in the living room. Meredith opened the front door and found a man with several white bags marked with the name of a Chinese food restaurant. The man handed her the bags and turned to go.

  “Uh, wait, I haven’t paid you.”

  He smiled. “It’s paid for. The tip, too.”

  Figuring David must’ve paid with a credit card by phone, she inhaled the heavenly aroma of Kung Pao chicken. If that smell could be bottled, she’d wear it as a perfume.

  “Merrie?” David called from his bedroom. “Was that the food?”

  With the dog dancing about her feet, she brought the bags into his room. She set them in the space he’d cleared on his nightstand.

  “Your dinner came.”

  “Our dinner. Do you really think I’d only order for myself?”

  Meredith shrugged. “I’ll get your walker and help you into the kitchen.” Then she remembered he didn’t have a dinette set—just a couple of stools next to the kitchen counter.

  “Why don’t you grab some plates and napkins and bring them in here,” he said. “I’m more comfortable where I am.”

  Noting there was no chair in his room, or anywhere else in the apartment for that matter, Meredith wondered where she’d sit. The floor was the only option. A few minutes later, she returned with plates, napkins, and silverware.

  David scooted to one side of the bed and patted the other with his hand. Bitsy r
esponded with alacrity, jumping up next to him.

  “Not you, you little fuzzball,” he said pushing the dog off the bed. “I meant your master. Or mistress. Whatever you call it.” He looked up at her and smiled.

  Meredith hated the way she blushed at every little thing. “Thanks, but I’ll sit on the floor.”

  David sighed. “Don’t be ridiculous. There’s plenty of room here. We can watch a movie while we eat. There’s something starting that looks like a period piece. You love that kind of thing.”

  David watched Merrie’s expressive face with amusement. He could see she considered the situation a moral quandary. He patted the bed again. “C’mon. I’m crippled and therefore safe. Sit.”

  Bitsy plunked down on his haunches and put his paws up in the air. He chuckled at the dog’s antics. “Too bad your mistress doesn’t obey as well as you.” He opened a box from one of the bags and pulled out a piece of chicken for the dog. Bitsy wolfed it down.

  “You’re teaching him bad habits,” Meredith said coolly as she perched onto the opposite edge of the bed.

  Smiling at her stiff posture, he set the bags onto the bed between them and dished up the food.

  “Hope you like what I chose.”

  “It smells fantastic.”

  He handed Meredith her plate and a set of chopsticks. “You used to always say a prayer when we ate together. Will you now?”

  Giving him a measuring look, she nodded and closed her eyes. “Heavenly Father, we thank you for this food. Please bless it to the nourishment and strength of our bodies and please continue to bring complete healing and recovery to David. Amen.”

  “Thanks, Merrie.” His smile deepened when he saw her face redden. Picking up the remote control, he switched the channels until he came to the opening credits of The Scarlet Pimpernel.

  “Is this still one of your favorites?”

  “Yes,” she said slowly, as if she couldn’t believe he remembered. “But if there’s a soccer game or something else you’d rather watch, that’s okay.”