Hard as Stone by Sara Brookes

Author:Sara Brookes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ellora's Cave Publishing Inc.
Published: 2013-11-18T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Four

As Brady walked the blocks between Garrett’s building and the hospital, he realized the night with Garrett had given him the courage to see the world differently. To see that flaws and imperfections were perfectly natural. To know it was all right to fuck up once in a while because things were out of his control.

He couldn’t save everyone, only himself.

Brady’s newfound confidence faltered a bit as he drew closer to the building that seemed to have caused him so much heartbreak lately.

Can I do this?

Despite his hesitations, he stepped through the automatic doors and the familiar strong ammonia scent slammed into him. He was surprised to discover the utter normalness of it actually comforted him more than it scared him. It was a marked change from the reaction he had when he’d bolted from the building a few days ago. The busy cadence of the emergency room flowed around him, brimming with life and death.

“Dr. McConnell, it’s about time you came back. They could use you in exam room three if you’re up for it.” The head nurse, Cora Altason, glared at him from her seat behind the main station, her chocolate colored hair pulled back in her customary French braid.

Everything had continued on without him, as if he’d never had his breakdown.

A thread of sheer panic wove through Brady’s stomach as Cora frowned at him. He pushed his fear away, using the weight of Garrett’s words last night as an anchor. “What do we have?”

She huffed out a breath and nodded, morphing instantly from displeasure with his behavior last time he’d been in the ER to staunch professionalism. “Patient is seven years old and complaining of upper respiratory distress. His mother is with him and won’t let any of the nursing staff examine him. The rest of his vitals are normal, but his temperature is a little elevated.”

“By how much?” he asked as she fell into step beside him.

“Just a few degrees. Mother says he normally runs a little high and we shouldn’t be concerned with it.”

The raised eyebrow she gave him as he pulled on a thin, bright yellow disposable gown over his scrubs told him she was skeptical about his presence. And who could blame her? He’d bolted in the face of adversity and it didn’t sound as if this would be the ideal patient to take on at the moment.

But he was determined to at least try. “All right.”

“Dr. McConnell?” Brady paused at the door to the exam room and looked back over his shoulder. She stared at him over the edge of her horn-rimmed glasses. “Good to have you back.”

That’s as good as it’s going to get from her. Brady smiled as he pushed through the door with his hip. The sterile cleanliness of the room smacked into him, settling the last of his nerves. These exam rooms were where he belonged—helping patients, diagnosing and saving lives. He’d been a fool to bury himself behind paperwork because he’d been scared.

He’d been selfish to deny any patient who could benefit from his expertise.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.