Nurse to Heal the High Seas Doc - Chapter 12
"Your wrist is broken.” Nicole pointed to the hairline fracture on the screen. “The good news is the break is minimal.”
“Weird to hear break and minimal in the same sentence.” Mallory let out a soft sob.
“It's a good thing. Really.” Shane looked over his shoulder as he grabbed the plaster supplies they’d need for the fracture.
The man was the perfect colleague. Nicole never had to ask for what was needed. He knew and acted. When she went back to regular practice, she was going to miss that.
“Shane is right. It's a good thing. It means I plaster it here and take the cast off in four weeks and move you into a splint. We can give you exercises afterward if there is any stiffness.”
Mallory didn’t say anything as Nicole started casting the arm. She and Shane worked in silence until the arm was fully immobilized.
When they were done, Nicole gave Mallory some pain meds and told her to stop by in a week.
“Do you think she was drinking?” Shane asked as the door closed.
Nicole looked at the closed door. “I don’t think so.” She was also positive that Mallory wasn’t giving her the whole truth. When she saw her at follow-up Nicole would ask some more questions. Make sure there wasn’t something they were missing. Not all pain was physical. “But we all have things we hide. Things we're ashamed of that we're positive no one will understand.” She shrugged then crossed her arms. ‘There's that frown again.”
Shane ran a hand over his face.
Trying to wipe the tell from his face?
“I know I asked you on a date.” He paused.
The silence clung to Nicole. Had he changed his mind between this morning and fixing Mallory’s wrist? If so, that was fine.
Except my heart feels like it wants to sob.
“You want to cancel?” She barely got the words out. This wasn’t supposed to be that deep. She liked Shane. Enjoyed his company. And he was an amazing lover.
I’m falling for him.
No, she’d started falling for him long before their dance night.
“You might want to.” He took a deep breath. “I am more than a hundred thousand dollars in debt. Not counting my student loans.”
That wasn’t what she’d expected. “You? You don’t strike me as a big spender.”
He closed his eyes, clearly trying control his feelings.
“Shane.”
“I didn’t create the debt.” Nicole opened her mouth but he held up his hands. “My parents did. They took out credit in my name and…yeah. Sometimes I feel like I'm drowning in it. It’s why I am here.”
Red patches coated his cheeks. This was nothing to be embarrassed about. Though Nicole wanted to throttle his parents.
“Why exactly is this a reason I wouldn’t want to date you?”
His lips twitched into a smile before he frowned, again. “Because I don’t plan to marry and saddle anyone with it.”
“Oh, well…” Nicole stepped up and placed a peck on his cheek. “I’m never walking down the aisle again. So no worries there. See you at six.”