Chapter 1
“I want you to know that I’m always going to be in your corner. I asked you to put yourself in my hands and I promised that I would get you through this, one way or another. I know that you’re scared and I understand that you’re apprehensive about going under the knife. I’ve done everything that I can, but I’m afraid that the surgery is your last resort.”
It was another version of a speech Stephanie had given many times before. In fact, the entire scene was much the same each time. She would sit on her side of the desk, wearing her pristine lab coat, her reddish-blonde hair spilling over her shoulders. Her patient would sit on the other side, reacting to the news with either anger or sadness, both fueled by grief.
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but sometimes I have to tell them the truth. I can work miracles and I was hoping that I could do that for him, but the spot on his brain scan has grown considerably.”
“I don’t know why you just didn’t tell me this over the phone,” Arnold said, giving over to the angry side of grief. Arnold Julius was an up and coming PGA star that had both the accolades and the sponsors who were clamoring for the chance to sign him on the dotted line. But an unforgiving drunk driving accident had caused him to not only to lose his livelihood, but had also placed his life in jeopardy. “This can’t be happening. I need some time to think about this.”
Arnold stood and drew a few deep breaths, but otherwise fell into silence. He knew that going underneath the knife meant possible brain damage, or even death. If he had his choice, he would rather die on the table than live as some sort of vegetable.
Stephanie stood and moved to his side of the desk, putting her hand on his shoulder. This momentary comfort was the push he needed to transition his grief from anger to sadness, and gave him license to cry on her shoulder. She tried to talk to him, but he was inconsolable.
This was the part of the job that Stephanie didn’t enjoy at all, and she had been through a few too many of these scenes in recent weeks. She was getting burned out and she needed time to recharge her batteries someplace tropical with some bronzed bodies and tropical drinks. She could already feel the warmth of the sand underneath her toes and the baking sun bronzing her skin and turning her into a desirable creature of the night. “I have basically given him a death sentence. His only hope is a surgeon that is worth his salt. I’ve given him my two best recommendations. The rest is in the hands of him and god. I can’t get emotionally involved. If I do, I will only lose myself, and that is not something I’m going to allow to happen.
Arnold new this prognosis was a possibility, and he knew that he wouldn’t be pleased to hear it, but he didn’t expect to break down. His doctor’s warm hand on his shoulder was the action that broke the dam, and everything flooded out. As his tears began to slow, he realized he knew the decision he would make: he would go under the knife and hope for the best.
“I know that you have done everything that you can, Dr. Wallace. There’s been nobody like you. Everybody told me that I was a lost cause, but you said that there was hope.” Arnold paused for a moment and then gave a rueful chuckle. “Hopefully that was not an error in judgment on your part. I’m grateful for the time that I have been given. I wish that it could be longer, and maybe it can. Only time will tell.” Arnold didn’t feel like he was living up to his reputation as a strong and confident black man. Rather than stay and risk another emotional outburst, he gave the doctor a nod and moved towards the door.
Stephanie watched him walk out of the office, giving her a meek smile before he turned the corner. She wanted to run to him and tell him that things were going to work out, but she wasn’t sure she believed it herself. As she pondered his future, she could hear her nurse in the background, muffled, as if she were inside a tunnel. She was more concerned with Arnold and what his state of mind was like, unsure if he could truly understand that it wasn’t a lost cause.
“I don’t mean to interrupt your thoughts, as I’m sure that you have a lot on your mind, but I believe you will want to hear this. Your father, Coach Avery, has asked me to tell you to look at your messages. I’ve never heard him sound so worried. I hope that there hasn’t been anything that is going to prevent him from winning the championship.”
Jennifer Belle was a consummate professional, but when it came to college football, she was a fanatic.
“If there’s anything that you can do to make sure that the cup comes home to this town, then I implore you to do whatever you can.” Jennifer was hardly the only person in the town invested in a win—the college team was on the cusp of doing something that would give the area something to be proud of for years to come.
Stephanie looked at Jennifer, taking in her bubbly personality, and she wanted to shake her. There didn’t seem to be anything that rattled her or made her feel like life was getting her down. She was always enthusiastic, and the fact that she was the coach’s daughter had given Jennifer a reason to take the job out of hand.
“I’m not taking anything that you say seriously at the moment, Jennifer. I had to give Arnold some bad news. I know that I shouldn’t let it weigh heavily on my mind, but sometimes I can’t help it. There are always those that get underneath my skin.”
“I wish that I could say the same thing for my love life. It’s been on life support from the moment that my ex-boyfriend took a job overseas.”
“I don’t think that you should get caught up with other people’s problems. You’ve told me from the moment that you hired me that we should never take our job home with us. With that being said, maybe it would be best to dedicate your time to something that will be more worth your while. Coach Avery has all the hopes and dreams of this town on his shoulders. Go and talk to your father and see what he wants. It will do you good to get some perspective. Stop and buy yourself something nice and put a smile on that face.”
In a past life, Jennifer was a motivational speaker. She’d gone to several high schools to put people on the straight and narrow. She had left that and went to nursing school after one of those kids decided that a life of crime was where the money was at. She felt responsible, but what she didn’t realize was that this kid was on the downward slope from the moment that he was old enough.
“I don’t have any pressing engagements for the rest of the day. I was planning to leave the office early and could swing by and see what my father wants. I’m not promising anything. Surely I’m not going to throw a team member underneath the bus for the chance at the championship.”
Stephanie grabbed her short, black, leather jacket. “Time to hop on my Harley and hit the open road.”
She went down to the parking garage and strode towards her black and red masterpiece. It was a beautiful design, with blue lightning bolts and flames that made her quite the conversation piece. She’d taken it to a custom shop and had paid an extravagant amount of money to get them to tailor it to her specifications.
“I see that look in your eyes. Believe me, I have that same look on the weekends,” Jeremy Nicholson said from behind her. “That is a beautiful piece of hardware. I don’t suppose that you know anything about motorcycles. Is this a hobby, or is this a lifelong dream that you have made a reality?” Jeremy was one of the new doctors in the office. He had liked Stephanie from the moment that he had come on board, but he had sensed that there was something painful in her past.
“I think that I bought it out of a knee jerk reaction to rebel against my parents. My mother is no longer around, but my father is always constantly on my back. The first day that I bought this thing, I made it my mission to drive over to his home and rev the motor. He came screaming out of the house and I only smiled. I turned and drove away with him shaking his fist in disbelief that I would put my life in danger like this.”
“My father had sent me an attachment on my phone. There were no names mentioned. He was worried that this was going to get out to the public and wasn’t taking any chances even with his daughter. The results of the scans were a little disturbing. That knee would need major rehabilitation. He was asking for a miracle and I wasn’t sure that I was gonna be able to give him what he wanted.”
“I know what it’s like to have a domineering father, and believe me, it’s not easy to get their approval. They expect so much from you that they don’t realize that you have your own mind and your own ideas about where your life is going to go. I did go into medicine for my parents, but I didn’t exactly make them proud by taking going into sports medicine, as lucrative as it may be. They wanted me to be a surgeon, but for me, it was all about those dreams that had yet to be fulfilled. I lost my chance to play professionally when I blew out my knee and my shoulder at the same time. Not to mention that I had a heart condition that needs to be monitored each and every day for the rest of my life.”
Stephanie gave him a sideways grin. “I guess we do have something in common. My father has always stressed the importance of family, but mostly he has the team on his mind. He wants to project that family-man persona, but it’s not exactly the truth. I believe that my mother died of a broken heart. He was never able to give her the kind of time and dedication that she deserved. He had his eye on the prize. That has never been more evident than it is now. If he can make it through to the finals, then that elusive cup will be right there for the taking.”
“I had dated Jeremy for one night of complete boredom that made me want to blow the back of my head off. He was a good friend, but I didn’t see it going beyond that. I’d made it very clear to him that I wasn’t interested in a relationship. He had done me the service of not pushing the issue.”
“I think that we do these things for our parents, so that they can live vicariously through us,” Jeremy mused. “I’m sure that a lot of kids do that to get their parent’s approval. I can’t say that I’m not happy with what I’m doing, but I always get this distasteful look when I walk through the door on Christmas holidays. They jokingly get underneath my skin, until I dismiss it out of hand. I can’t let them see that their words hurt. It won’t stop me from going home, but maybe I should take a page from your book. They have never seen my motorcycle. It’s a long journey, but maybe it would be worth it to see the expression on their faces.” Jeremy could almost imagine the shocked and stunned expression on his family’s faces. He loved them, but he didn’t need their constant needling or asking him when he was going to settle down with a good girl.
He didn’t like the good girls, and maybe that was what was keeping him from pursuing something more with Stephanie. He liked raw sexuality and women unafraid to be wild in the bedroom. He’d had his fair share of lovers that showed him what a real woman could do behind closed doors. It didn’t seem to matter where he found his next conquest; it could be one of his patients, or could be in the grocery store picking up a zucchini that was close to the size of his package. It was a great way to get them to know what his endowment was without having to sneak it into a conversation. It was his way of lightening the mood.
“You should really do that, Jeremy. That might get them off your back about having a family or settling down.” With that, Stephanie swung her leg over her bike before putting her helmet in place. Turning on the bike, the vibrations ran through her denim-clad thighs before she switched gears and pulled out of sight.